Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. University of Chicago Crime Lab, Chicago, IL, USA.
Science. 2014 Dec 5;346(6214):1219-23. doi: 10.1126/science.1257809.
Every day, acts of violence injure more than 6000 people in the United States. Despite decades of social science arguing that joblessness among disadvantaged youth is a key cause of violent offending, programs to remedy youth unemployment do not consistently reduce delinquency. This study tests whether summer jobs, which shift focus from remediation to prevention, can reduce crime. In a randomized controlled trial among 1634 disadvantaged high school youth in Chicago, assignment to a summer jobs program decreases violence by 43% over 16 months (3.95 fewer violent-crime arrests per 100 youth). The decline occurs largely after the 8-week intervention ends. The results suggest the promise of using low-cost, well-targeted programs to generate meaningful behavioral change, even with a problem as complex as youth violence.
每天，美国都有超过 6000 人因暴力而受伤。尽管几十年来社会科学一直认为，弱势青年的失业是暴力犯罪的一个关键原因，但旨在解决青年失业问题的项目并不能始终减少犯罪。本研究检验了从补救转向预防的暑期工作是否可以减少犯罪。在芝加哥的一项针对 1634 名弱势高中生的随机对照试验中，分配到暑期工作项目的青少年在 16 个月内暴力犯罪减少了 43%（每 100 名青少年中减少 3.95 次暴力犯罪逮捕）。这一下降主要发生在 8 周的干预结束之后。结果表明，即使是像青少年暴力这样复杂的问题，也可以通过使用低成本、针对性强的项目来产生有意义的行为改变。
