Shaw and McKay grounded their ecological model of delinquency exclusively in the dynamics of local communities. Although recent developments in human ecology have emphasized communities' adaptation to external contingencies, this internal emphasis still dominates criminology. The analytical model described in this paper has three constructs that reflect changes in the communities' internal composition: household characteristics (owner-occupied versus rental, unemployment rate, and percentage of households averaging more than one person per room); racial/ethnic composition; and residential stability. The model's fourth variable reflects unexpected changes in the racial composition of nearby areas, an external construct. The results suggest that such external processes significantly affect local rates of delinquency and may explain why some stable, organized communities nevertheless have high delinquency rates. 2 tables, 6 footnotes, and over 20 references. (Author abstract modified)
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