Delinquent Subcultures in Neighborhood Settings: A Social System Perspective

Abstract

A social systems perspective is utilized here as a frame of reference for examining the nature of delinquent subcultures in neighborhood settings. It is argued that the tendency of delin quent subculture theorists to treat neighborhood and larger social entities as homogeneous wholes obscures a proper under standing of the delinquent subculture. Instead, the delinquent subculture is seen as a subsystem in interaction with other en vironing systems which together make up the neighborhood. The resulting configuration of subsystems must be specified and the delinquent subculture placed within this context before the true nature of its functioning can be determined. A particular neighborhood study serves as a case illustration to demonstrate the utility of this conception.