Mark Lynch 
Understanding Youth Crime [PDF ebook] 
An Australian Study

This title was first published in 2003. Adolescence is popularly understood as a transitional phase of turbulence and extremes. It is also often associated with »trouble». Criminal justice statistics, however, reveal that youth criminality remains a relatively rare phenomenon, less than one percent of the total adolescent population in any given year. This exceptional book is based upon a major Australian research programme to consider the key social factors impacting upon the lives of young people. A sample of 1, 300 young people was divided into three major subgroups: a »control» group, drawn from state secondary schools and closely approximating the general population; a chronically marginalized cohort representing a »vulnerable group», and a group of offenders, most of whom were incarcerated at the time of the research. With its rich data source and highly integrated structure, the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of adolescent criminality and associated policy both in Australia and internationally.