Studies have shown in the past, that some of the main underlying factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency are differential association, peer pressure, socialization, age, mental health and drug/substance abuse. All these independent variables in some way can said to either directly or indirectly influence criminal behavior in juveniles. Other factors like demographics, race, and violent / nonviolent crimes are also taken in consideration at a smaller level. In many of the studies one would think that race would be a main variable but most research has chosen to only consider it as a factor and not as a main variable. When looking at Criminal Juveniles most studies define a juvenile who has committed any crime punishable by the Criminal justice system. Delinquent behavior is also included in most studies, behavior that is outside of the norms of society.
Teens in America have a higher age group of violent offenders than many other age groups. The article SECONDARY EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE DURING CHILDHOOD, Suggests that Secondary exposure to violence might have something to do with higher numbers of juvenile delinquents. Secondary exposure to violence is “defined as witnessing or hearing violence, as opposed to primary violence, being the victim of a physically violent act” (Buka et al., 2009, p. 31) Blacks are more likely than Whites and Hispanics to experience Secondary exposure to violence and Hispanics are more likely than Whites to Experience secondary exposures (Gladstein et al., 1992; Martin et al., 1995). Exposure to this type of violence is witnessing someone getting shot, stabbing or great physical harm. (Gibson et al 2009) According to other studies exposure to violence has to do with location. Blacks and Hispanics ...
... middle of paper ...
... fact does matter as a predictor of juvenile delinquency. A national survey of seniors in high school found out that over 90% admitted to have tried alcohol and about 60-70 percent was frequent users (Johnson et al. 1995). Studies have shown that drug use and substance use has gone down in the last 5 years but research has also shown that exposure to peers and friends who use drugs are at higher risk to use and abuse. Reed and Roundtree suggest that peer pressure can be traced to differential association and situational group pressure along with socialization models. This is just an assumption they do not claim it has a direct correlation suggest that theorists have tried to explain criminal behavior through various theories in the past. This cross sectional analysis draws from these models and attempt to see what leads to substance abuse and then causing crime.
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
The youth justice system’s functions are to not only regulate the laws and ramifications of crime in the youth population, but to rehabilitate and reintroduce these juveniles into society. Of the three criminological explanations that can shape a juvenile justice system; individual, situational and social structural, social structural implications is by far the most effective ideology in shaping a modern youth justice system. Shaw and McKay (1942) emphasize in their studies that youth deviance is strongly linked to the social structure they belong to. In support of this theory, Cunneen and White (2011) state that crime is a social phenomenon that can not be directly connected to a person’s individual or personal biology. With that being said, there are a number of theories that can be best used to construct a youth justice system from a social structural angle, including; social strain or social disorganization, social bonds and differential association theories. Each of these theories, from their own theoretical angle, can provide framework and ideologies on how to better the youth justice system in a number of facets in order to target modern youths’ social structural and delinquency struggles.
“Children are a product of their environment”, is something I constantly hear when a either a young person is acting out or a young person doesn’t look “socially acceptable”. Delinquency and children’s behavior was something I have grown to become interested in during our class; thus leading me to analyze different theories on youth and the factors that prompted the onset of delinquent and how they continue to sustain their negative behavior. I personally do not completely agree with any one theory that applies to youth and child delinquency, yet there are points within each theory that I can agree with. In the following pages I will describe theories such as Choice Theory, Biosocial Theory, and Differential Association Theory.
According to the Monitoring the Future study (previously called the High School Senior Survey), in 1996, 50.8 percent of high school seniors reported having used illicit drugs (1996). The study also found that male juveniles arrested for drug offenses had the highest rate of positive drug tests when compared to youth arrested for other types of crimes. Substance abuse and delinquency often share the common factors of school and family problems, negative peer groups, lack of neighborhood social controls, and a history of physical or sexual abuse (Hawkins et al., 1987). Substance abuse is also associated with crimes of violence and income-generating crimes such as robberies in youth. Other social and criminal justice problems often linked to substance abuse in juveniles is drug trafficking, youth homicides, gangs, and
There are many individual-level variables that can explain why juveniles become involved in delinquent acts. One important variable that plays a major role in this is the major affect that family context has on the role of child development. More specifically, the idea of child abuse comes into play that has always been researched and focused on as a major part as to why some juveniles become involved in delinquent acts. Child abuse involves important family characteristics that affect the growth of a child and will ultimately damage them both physically and mentally. If a child is damaged at a young age, then they way they think and perceive the world changes, especially if help is not given to them in their time of need. Child abuse is a serious issue and is a major point that affects juvenile delinquency and the role they play in society, meaning if they have a positive, or negative role and the way they will live their life.
The study seeks to determine the most prevalent causes among the criminal population that induce a propensity for criminal behavior. There needs to be a balance among attributing behavior to specific causes, but strong causal designs of intervention programs can risk unsuccessful or uncertain program outcomes, although weak causal reasoning cannot be adopted to practical use and the creation of interventions (Borowski, 2003). Past theories occasionally described juvenile delinquency attributed to a single factor: Poverty and social disorganization in neighborhoods, or more proximal causes such as problematic peer influences or ego deficiency (Borowski, 2003). The approach in recent models has been that delinquent behavior is due to a large number of factors operating at different levels, including both proximal and distal factors. The study will be operate from this perspective because it would be difficult to attribute juvenile delinquency, which can take many forms, to a single factor that invariably serves as a cause in all cases.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Many in the juvenile justice field have tried to understand the cause of juvenile delinquency. There are many different theories describe the cause and effect of variables and how they react. However, through much research, we have concluded there is not just one single path or journey that determines the fate of the juvenile. There are many different risk factors that build in order to increase a youth's chance of becoming an offender. This is kind of like a domino effect. Risk factors are described as the characteristics that present themselves to determine if the individual or youth will become a delinquent. These factors may include; home life, income status, gender, and social. It can either be one or all that play a part in the way the
Juvenile delinquency may evolve around many different factors before it becomes a problem for society to solve. Gender and family structure can be a large and underlining cause of why children enter the criminal justice system. By examining the gender and family makeup, one could better understand how to treat a troubled individual.
The United states has been facing a crucial problem with juvenile delinquency, Juvenile and delinquency can have different meanings depending on the state and laws. The term juvenile can also be replaced with adolescent, youngster, and minor. Anyone under the age of 18 is legally not considered as an adult. Delinquency refers to an action taken by a juvenile that would be considered a crime if an adult committed that action. A juvenile could be charged for performing an act that is illegal for their age. Juvenile Delinquency is a relevant social issue in the united states that is significantly and has historically been affected by the social welfare system, polity, and the family structure.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
In furthering a genetically predisposed and socially-influenced explanation, there is an abundance of considerations when explicating criminal behaviour; for example, a non aggressive, psychologically sound individual may be influenced by peer pressure into recreational drug usage, as “Psychoactive drug abuse commonly results from a combination of low self-esteem, peer pressure, inadequate coping skills, and curiosity.” (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005) therefore suggesting that light recreational drug abuse can accrue to a dependence due to a multitude of social influences, which invariably leads to further crime in order to financially support an addiction.
According the Rogers (2013), there are causal factors at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels that can lead youth to engage in delinquent activity. At the micro level, the factors that predict delinquency involve: being male, low educational achievement, low impulse control, childhood aggression, antisocial behavior, and hyperactivity. At the mezzo level, family conflict, lack of family support and appropriate discipline, and negative peer pressure can be risk factors for juvenile. On a macro level, youth that live in poverty or in high-crime urban neighborhoods, and are exposed to violence at home and in their neighborhoods, have a higher risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors. Many poor urban communities often lack adequate schools, which can lead to poor academic performance and students disconnecting from
In most states juvenile delinquency are criminal acts committed by minors’ ages 10 to 18 years old, the crimes are categorized as status offenders or delinquent offenders. Offenses committed by status offenders can only be committed because the offender is a minor, such as running away from home, truancy and underage drinking. (Mooney, pg 115) then there are delinquent offenders whose offenses would be a crime if they were committed by an adult. Depending on the nature of the crime, minors are tried in a juvenile justice system or can be transferred to the adult justice system. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, it is estimated 1.7 million youths are in the juvenile justice system with 100,000 cases being heard in juvenile court annually. Currently, it is estimated that 70% of the youths arrested are boys and 30% are girls, although African-Americans make up only 17% of the total youth population, they are 30% more likely than white youth to face harsher sentences and be transferred into the adult
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.