The first two research questions that Ageton and Elliott addressed in their article, "The Effects of Legal Processing on Delinquent Orientations" where whether legal processing created or promoted increased deviant/delinquent behaviour and how strongly other extra-legal factors played into the effect of the legal processing (Ageton, 1974:89). Their data came from a previous six year long study of delinquency and dropout rates in eight California schools; they were about to take this data set and obtain several pertinent variables about self-perceived delinquency identified by the authors as "delinquent orientation" (Ageton, 1974:90). This measure of "delinquent orientation" was measured using a scale developed from California Psychological Inventory which was identified by Gough (1960) to identify how the individual views themselves; the authors rely on Gough (1960) to show that on the scale juvenile delinquents score lower than non-delinquent adolescents and therefore it is used as a measure of delinquency throughout the six year longitudinal study (Ageton, 1974:90). In this study ...
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
Using pertinent theories of juvenile delinquency, this policy proposal will first highlight areas in the Illinois Juvenile Justice system that are in need of updates and modifications and secondly identify specific changes to be made in the current system. Through the application of rational choice, social control and strain theories along with an analysis of current research in the field, the submitted proposal will present one key policy change that may further reduce the number of juvenile delinquents both now and in the future. The suggested change will include the creation of the Department of Juvenile Outreach, an extension of the city's ongoing efforts at rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. This policy proposal will take into consideration social disorganization and subculture theories to explain juvenile delinquency further. The creation of the Department will coordinate and facilitate community programs and social services aimed at targeting juveniles at-risk of offending or even re-offending. For the purposes of implementation, this policy will also include budget and personnel requirements as well as different measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested changes in reducing criminal activity among juveniles in Illinois and possibly even the United States.
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.
Across the wide body of studies delving into delinquency in America, it is easy to locate research on and analysis of minorities, underprivileged socioeconomic urban centers, and turbulent family structures. However, this leaves a significant section of the delinquent population largely neglected: white middle-class youth. Contrary to the factors shown to affect delinquency in others and the applications of theory applied to them, the issues plaguing this particular portion of adolescents are in many cases entirely unique, suggesting the necessity of a more nuanced approach from angles that have up until fairly recently remained unexplored.
“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.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Thus, the shifting perceptions of the justice system has transformed what it means to be a child and an adult due to their pervasive, and punitive approaches to crime and delinquency. Although adolescents today enjoy many new freedoms and greater time to experiment, those that don’t conform to “normative behaviors” and engage in socially constructed definitions of delinquency, often end up under the firm hands of the juvenile justice system. Despite the creation of this phase in an adolescent’s life, the injustices within the adult justice system have breached into the juvenile system, thus, blurring the lines of what it means to be an adolescent in modern times. Thereby, the adolescent stage is constantly being manipulated to conform and match the social construction of crime and delinquency, and the rise in the practice of trying juveniles as adults within the court system and mandating life sentences is evidence of this
The reason for the lack of sufficient changes in juvenile delinquency is that the problems that leads to juvenile delinquency starts in the home and there has not been enough attention paid to the family dynamics which causes delinquency. Parents are the first relationship chi...
99-100). Bailey & Lott conducted their research by administering a questionnaire to 268 students enrolled in sociology courses at a sophomore, junior and senior level at an Urban Midwestern University (1976, p. 101). Freshmen were excluded as most would not fall into at least 19 years of age and would not be “subject to legal sanctions as adults for at least one year” (p. 101). Of the 268 questionnaires administered only two were excluded as the “students refused to cooperate in the investigation” (p. 101). The students were asked to “estimate their own chances of apprehension and conviction if they were to violate the law rather than those of ‘generalized other’ or ‘someone like themselves’” (p. 101). According to the pretest, it would be appropriate to say that “the method being used should focus upon self-perceptions in criminal involvement” (p. 102). The severity of punishment section of the investigation focuses on the students’ perceptions of severity sanctions. These were measured by asking them to apprehend: 1) “what would happen if they were caught by the police committing each of the five offenses (marijuana use, sale of marijuana, petty theft, grand theft, and shoplifting)”, and 2) “the reaction they would expect from parents and friends if they were caught committing each offense” (p. 102). The
Onwediwe, I. (2004). “Theoretical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency: Root Causes and Control.” ProQuest Criminal Justice, 66, 153-156.
Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency factors in order to explain and understand juvenile delinquency.
Theories have often been developed to explain how delinquents violate social norms and still manage to maintain positive self images of themselves. Neutralization theory, developed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza in 1957 set out to do just this. Critics, however, have claims that the theory, on it’s own, is not a sufficient explanation for adolescent’s participation in crime in delinquency. It has also been claimed by critics that neutralization theory is best viewed as a components of larger theory of crime and can be incorporated into other theories such as social bond theory.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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.
There are many theories that attempt to explain the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency and the factors that cause it. There is, and has been, a great amount of young people who engage in delinquent behavior throughout the nation and worldwide. What exactly is the catalyst that incites these young people to commit crime and stray from the ethical norm established in society? Are all youth susceptible to the temptation of deviant behavior or is it just some? Theories suggest different possible etiologies, which include: social factors, biological factors, psychological factors and physiological factors, among other things that may mold a child into a juvenile delinquent.