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 Outline on the Social Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
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See Also:  An Overview of Methods
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See Also:  An Overview of  Examples of Research in the Social Sciences
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Social Scientists of the Chicago School, circa 1900, 
     were interested in urbanization & the social problems associated w/ it
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Through years of research & hundreds of studies they eventually concluded 
      that there is a correlation btwn population density & delinquency
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The Chicago theorists believed that crowding caused delinquency
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And indeed even today we see that delinquency rates are high in densely populated neighborhoods
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But as early as the 1930s, some social scientists began to question this result
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In 1984, Fischer demonstrated that virtually all the correlation btwn crowding & delinquency 
      disappears if income is controlled
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Chicago School found that 
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      Hi Crowding :: Hi Delinquency
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      Lo Crowding :: Lo Delinquency
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Fischer found that 
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      Lo Income  ::  Hi Crowding :: Hi Delinquency
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      Lo Income  ::  Lo Crowding  ::  Hi Delinquency
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      Hi Income  ::  Hi Crowding  ::  Lo  Delinquency
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      Hi Income  ::  Lo Crowding :: Lo Delinquency
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Fischer used a research technique called control
      where he held constant all relevant variable except one in order to clearly see its effect
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Fischer used Income as a Control Variable
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Holding Income constant at a low level, Fischer found that 
       delinquency was high in both crowded & uncrowded areas
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Holding Income constant at a high level, Fischer found that 
       delinquency was low in both crowded & uncrowded areas
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The correlation btwn Crowding & Delinquency is Spurious, that is,
      there is an apparent, although false, association 
      btwn two or more variables caused by some other variable
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The End