Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice

Girls are small minorities in the juvenile justice system, and as a result are often marginalized with their needs unmet. Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice exposes the system’s failed attempts to apply male-oriented theories to the delinquency of females, and sheds new light on the unique problems girls face as a result. Authors Meda Chesney-Lind and Randall G. Shelden analyze the lack of relevance of mainstream theories and approaches to girls, including extensive analysis of research and theory and compelling in-depth interviews with delinquent girls. The text also covers the relative success of alternative programs to incarceration. Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice was awarded the American Society of Criminology’s Michael J. Hindelang Award for ​“outstanding contribution to criminology, 1992.”