Theories of Delinquency.

• Date: 22 September 1992
• Author: Lynch, Michael J.
• Published date: 22 September 1992
• Author: Lynch, Michael J.

SHOEMAKER'S THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY IS A CAREFULLY CRAFTED AND WELL-written text. It provides an excellent introduction not only to theories of criminal behavior as they apply to juveniles, but also to theoretical perspectives that can be applied to adult criminal behavior. Beyond its wellrounded theoretical coverage, the book contains an introductory chapter that briefly reviews some issues of concern to criminologists. This chapter contains valuable information that is essential to those embarking upon the study of criminal behavior. The material covered here is presented clearly and concisely and covers such thorny issues as causality, defining a theory, and the verification of theories. In my view, this material could be expanded upon, since it serves as the basis of many primary assumptions that criminologists make in theory construction and theory testing. Shoemaker's introductory comments about theory and theory testing cover points that need to be pounded" home to introductory criminology students who might otherwise form false premises about the field and its ability to solve the crime problem. Shoemaker does these students a great service by reviewing these issues up front in an easily understandable and accessible format. In addition, Shoemaker's approach is useful because it can serve as an anchoring point for criticizing theories of crime and help students develop the ability to criticize theories of criminal behavior as well as purported tests of...