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Unraveling the Social Context of Physique and Delinquency

A New, Long-Term Look at the Gluecks’ Classic Study

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Part of the book series: Nato ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 292))

Abstract

In 1950, Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck published their now classic study, Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency. One of the most frequently cited works in the history of delinquency research, the Gluecks sought to answer a basic and enduring question—what factors differentiate boys reared in poor neighborhoods who become serious and persistent delinquents from boys raised in the same neighborhoods who do not become delinquent or antisocial? To address this question, the Gluecks studied in meticulous detail the lives of 500 delinquents and 500 nondelinquents who were raised in the same low-income environments of central Boston during the Great Depression era (circa 1928–1940).

The data were derived from the Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck archives of the Harvard Law School Library, currently on long-term loan to the Henry A. Murray Research Center, Cambridge. We thank Chris Kenaszchuk for research assistance.

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sampson, R.J., Laub, J.H. (1997). Unraveling the Social Context of Physique and Delinquency. In: Raine, A., Brennan, P.A., Farrington, D.P., Mednick, S.A. (eds) Biosocial Bases of Violence. Nato ASI Series, vol 292. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4648-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4648-8_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4650-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4648-8

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