Ch 6

Question 1

Contemporary constructions of youth

Answer 1

• The concept of youth is socially constructed (age, social status, social process)
• youth are often regarded gs “at risk” and “as a risk”
  → “at risk”: vulnerable to various negative outcomes and seen as a danger to themselves (eg. Substance abuse, cyberbullying); internalizing problems
  → “as a risk “: engaged in behaviours that threaten others and broader society (eg. Criminal behaviour); externalizing problems

Question 2

Tobacco (at risk)

Answer 2

• Tobacco: smoking has transitioned from being “normal” to “deviant”
• youth smoking patterns: 1970 - 1990 = decrease, 1991 - 1999 = increase, 2000+ = decrease
  → the increase was due to Canada reducing taxes on cigarettes to make them more affordable
• primary motive is friends, peer pressure, family income/education, parental smoking
• control efforts include legislation, advertising restrictions, anti-smoking campaigns, and individual efforts

Question 3

Illicit drug use (at risk)

Answer 3

• Youth are more likely to abuse prescription or over-the-counter medications than illicit drugs
• reasons for use vary: stress relief, social reasons, curiosity, drug use among peers (strong correlation)
  → whether it becomes problematic depends on individual, community, family, and school factors
• enslavement hypothesis: the belief that using drugs once will cause addiction
• gateway hypothesis: the belief that using soft drugs will lead to the use of hard drugs

Question 4

Alcohol use (at risk)

Answer 4

• “Binge drinking” is of particular concern (higher rates among traditional university students, members of fraternities/sororities, and university athletes)
• university alcohol use has become polarized (facilitated by stringent university policies)
  → people abstain more but there is also an increase in frequent binge-drinkers
  → try to keep drinking off campus but then students associate with casual/frequent drinkers instead
• prevention paradox: focus on frequent binge-drinkers rather than occasional binge-drinkers, target individuals rather than the environment of those individuals
• not associated with future alcoholism but does have negative consequences

Question 5

Youth crime (as a risk)

Answer 5

• Perceptions of youth crime are very different from the patterns of youth crime (due to moral panics)
  → seen that youth crime is getting out of control even though it is declining and there is low involvement in serious/violent crimes
• focusing on youth offenders obscures the fact that youth are disproportionately victims of crimes
• explanations for youth crime:
  → parenting (authoritative parenting style: moderate levels of control/supervision and high levels of affection reduce the likelihood of youth crime)
  → social bonds, self-control, social learning
  → differential association
  → the importance of “mattering”
  ~ the primary predictor of youth crime is crime within peers (effective parenting can mitigate this) ~

Question 6

Gang-involved youth: causation and motivation (as a risk)

Answer 6

Empirical research
→ family indicators (ie. unstable home, non-authoritative parenting style)
→ community indicators (ie. lack of resources, pre-existing gangs)
→ personal indicators (ie. substance abuse, low self-control)
→ school indicators (ie. few opportunities)

Ethnographic research
→ material incentives
→ recreation
→ refuge and camouflage
→ physical protection
→ time to resist (status frustration)
→ commitment to the community (familial traditions)

Question 7

Gang-involved youth: the construction of the gang problem (as a risk)

Answer 7

• Media portrayals of gangs are often racialized (creates associations between race and criminality)
• controlling youth crime and gangs:
  → levels of control: formal, informal, retroactive, preventative
  → sites of control: families, communities, and the Criminal Justice System
• Canadian youth justice legislation:
  → juvenile delinquents act (1908)—child welfare (parens patriae): believed youth were misguided and needed support, job of the state to keep best interests of the child in mind (probation as punishment)
  → young offenders act (1984)— criminal justice: youth need to be held accountable (high incarceration)
  → youth criminal justice act (2003): more lenient on first-time offenders and harsher punishment for serious offenders

Question 8

Street youth

Answer 8

• Defined as individuals who are 25 years of age or younger who are houseless/underhoused
  → runaways (escape from home) versus throwaways (abandoned, kicked out)
• risks of street life:
  → decreased rights, opportunities, social supports
  → victimization and exploitation
  → heath risks
  → criminal behaviour