Predicting Juvenile Delinquency in Austria: A Test of Different Theoretical Approaches

Criminal acts committed by youths remain a contested issue in most Europe. This paper sheds empirical light on the situation in Austria based on data from the third round of the International Self-Report Delinquency Survey (ISRD3) which includes a random sample of students from grade 7 to 9. In this contribution multivariate analysis predicting juvenile delinquency in Austria are shown. Hereby we include key risk factors related to domains such as personality, family, school, peers and leisure time activities. By this means, an assessment of the relative predictive strength of theoretical concepts such as self-control, morality, social control, social learning, and routine activities is given. Conclusions will be drawn with view to possible domains for prevention.