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Effects of peer pressure on teenagers
Effects of peer pressure on teenagers
Family influence on juvenile delinquency INTORDUCTION
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Summary of Interview The subject that was interviewed for this research study is a Mexican American 25 year-old-man whose occupation is laying concrete. He is the father of two children who were born when he was in high school and his first semester of college. When he was 12 he attended a Baptist church, but then lost interest as he became more intrigued by money. When he was a teenager, he went to a total of three different high schools. The delinquent behavior such as selling drugs and stealing began around the age of 14 or 15, where he spent most of the time running away from police officers. He also states how his pride, careless attitude, and social sphere were the main influence of his behavior. Even though his role model was his dad, …show more content…
They can be easily learned from parents, relatives, friends, or other peers. In other words, delinquency can be learned through interactions and associations with other people. This is because “people learn behaviors and definitions of behaviors [through] interactions with [others]” (Brauer & Coster, 2012, p. 378). In the interview, the man mentions how he didn’t know why exactly he behaved the way he did, but he does come to the conclusion that paying close attention to those who you decide to surround yourself with is quite significant. The social learning theory is founded on research that has indicated that the strongest factors that correlate with delinquency are the affiliation with delinquent peers. From the very beginning he knew that his social sphere was toxic as they participated in delinquent behavior together. Peers are powerful influences and incredible learning tools, thus when an adolescent is exposed to negative influences, the learning process and imitation of criminal behavior facilitates. Although, in some instances, learning delinquent behaviors is more of a genetic makeup problem rather than a social issue. According to research “some people may be more receptive to the [type of] learning they receive from their delinquent peers” causing a “more readily [reinforcement of] their own delinquent behavior by …show more content…
This theory assumes that “individuals generally decide on their behavior on the basis of opportunities, costs, and benefits” (Seddig, 2015, p. 3). After analyzing the interview, the 25-year-old man depicts weak bonds with school and with his father, which essentially are the main pillars for this theory. When an adolescent is not doing well academically, their chances of being involved in delinquent behavior increase. Travis Hirshi argued that people were kept in check by their social bonds or attachments to society. For example, if an adolescent does not have interest in going to school or learning, the most probable outcome is for the dropout rates to increase. These individuals lack commitment in pursuing an education, a promising job and refuse to be involved in sports or religious activities. Being committed and involved “constitutes a temporal boundary for delinquent involvement, because it simply limits the opportunities to commit delinquent acts” (Seddig, 2015, p. 3). With time, as social bonds weaken, interest in conventional values decrease. It can be assumed that because of this, he chose to get a fake I.D. at the age of 14 to start working in order to support his delinquent activities. He had a greater interest in money rather than on an education. Clearly, he was detached from an educational experience, which could be a
In Chapters six and seven of Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives by John Laub and Robert Sampson, the lives of numerous men are shared and analyzed. The authors use life history interviews as well as crime history to help explain their theory. They interviewed these men various times throughout their lives, from a very young age up until age seventy. In Chapter six, Laub and Sampson mention the lives of a few men who have turned to desistance, or stopping, in committing crime. There were two subgroups, “nonviolent desisters” and “violent desisters”. These men had tough upbringings, living in deteriorated homes in Boston. Their parents were not supportive and showed little interest in parenting. Throughout the chapter, the men mentioned various turning points that occurred in their lives in which turned them to becoming desistant to crime. The Glueck’s analyzed and interviewed three men. Leon, Henry, and Bruno were the men. Leon’s turning point for his desistance was his marriage. Henry’s turning point stemmed from his decision to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. And for Bruno, he said that his turning point was attending The Lyman School for Boys. While the men stressed one specific turning point for them, all three mentioned how all three factors (marriage, the military, as
Laub, John H., and Robert J. Sampson 2003. Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: Delinquent Boys to Age 70. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
My delinquency prevention program is related to different kinds of criminological theory. The theory that relates to my program is The Social Bond Theory. The Social Bond Theory says that an individual will commit delinquent acts if his or her bonds to society are weak. These bonds to society are attachment, belief, commitment, and involvement. Attachment is the concerns you have about what people think of the individual. Belief is the traditional value system the individual believe in. Commitment is where the individual invest his or her time. Involvement is the activities the individual is involved in. If these bonds are strong, then the individual usually avoid delinquent activity.
This paper looks at the different theories of criminal behavior that explain why people commit crimes. It goes deeper to analyze the specific theories in a bid to determine why a person may commit a certain crime and another person under the same circumstances may not. The paper focuses on key factors that motivate unruly behavior among people and why such factors are present in some people and not in others. In doing so, the paper leans more on children in order to determine how delinquency behavior is progressively imparted on them as they undergo developmental trajectory.
According to Differential Association, criminal behavior is learned based on the interactions we have with others and the values that we receive during that interaction.
Criminals are not born; they are created or molded into individuals who participate in criminal behaviors. There are several factors that influence deviance beginning with social structures, generational values and attitudes and social bonding. The concepts of all five theories briefly clarify why criminals partake in deviant activities; however, I believe three learning theories - Social Disorganization, Differential Association and Hirschi’s Social Bonding - best explain how social structures and interactions correlate with the cultivation of criminals.
they are currently in. A juvenile committing crime may the only way they know to display their anger and feelings of neglect.
Social or bond control theory assumes that people, especially teenagers, will have delinquent acts when they are not controlled. In other words, whenever individual’s bond to society is weak, a person is likely to commit crimes. In the social control theory, there are four elements of the bond to conventional society that influence people’s behaviors, including attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.
First and foremost, the theory states that criminal behavior is learned, meaning that the behaviors of an individual are influenced and shaped by those they associate with (Clinard & Meier, 2015). The primary reference point here is the nuclear family. Parents teach their children how to walk and talk, who grow up with siblings or in some cases, elderly relatives. With good reason, it is widely held that these interactions create the foundation of the individual’s conception of societal norms and values. That being said, if the individual is capable of assessing proper behavior in society, they are also capable of learning what is considered
During the time I lived in Colombia my parents didn’t have much, their social-economic strength, and unfavorable effect of juvenile offending, the advancement of powerful treatments is of most extreme significance (Tarolla, Wagner, Rabinowitz, & Tubman, 2002). If the high elevation of crime it is important to really create programs to prevent the urge to wanting to commit status was poor and times were difficult. My parents who went from living from a middle class had to adjust many things the the lifestyle took a change. I was now forced to go to a very low standard school for people with low incomes, this is where I was introduced to a whole different world of survival of the fittest. They used most of the money they acquired to pay for a secure condominium, since my city was very dangerous at the time. Living in the condominium I meet a lot of kids my age whom came from parents with high paying jobs so by living amongst them, I desired their lifestyle, I wanted to be able to go out and spend money when I wanted to, I wanted to buy myself nice clothing, I wanted to go to a private school, because this is where all these kids
“Criminality is learned in the same manner as any other learned behavior” (Siegel). People, and criminals, learn motives, values and techniques from interactions and experiences with other people. This can be with parents and family members or peers in someone 's life. The theory says that the criminal need someone to teach them the criminal acts before they commit the act themselves. This theory “affirm[s] the importance of criminal contact as a means for learning how to offend” (McCarthy). Most people do not wake up one day and decide to start being criminals. Most of the time, that person has friends and acquaintances around them already doing criminal acts. That person might think that the acts are criminal and bad but, after a while of hanging around them, especially if they never get in trouble, the deviant acts will look more normal. People become “delinquents because of an excess of definition favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law”
According to life course theory, peers will have a significant influence on delinquent behavior in early adolescence and this influence grows as the primary social environment in which an adolescent functions shifts from parents to peer networks but then diminishes in late adolescence as it shifts to an increased commitment to conventional activities. This explicitly points to a changing pattern of influence within the social institution of peers.
According to the text “Juvenile Delinquency: The Core” the social structure theory associates juvenile delinquency rates to socioeconomic structure conditions, for example poor communities, families that are usually unemployed, families that have a continuous cycle of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), single parent households, families with incarcerated fathers, sons and even moms and daughters. Some of these children are raised by grandparents or placed in the foster care system. Many young people in these communities are parents themselves – babies raising babies. This I know because this describes many of the youth in my community.
In the article “Prevalence and Development of Child Delinquency” written by Howard N. Snyder, he explains that “Older juveniles often influence younger children. In addition, studies have shown that juveniles who associate with deviant peers are more likely to be involved in delinquent behavior and arrested at a younger age than those who do not associate with such deviant juveniles” (Snyder 36). Children that are abused and/or associate themselves with delinquents run a greater risk of developing delinquent behavior themselves. According to "Breaking the Cycle of Violence: A Rational Approach to At-Risk Youth." Written by Judy Briscoe, “Peer rejection may also influence child and adolescent delinquency by inducing the rejected child to associate with deviant peer groups and gangs. Gang membership provides a ready source of co-offenders for juvenile delinquency and reflects the greatest degree of deviant peer influence on offending. Also, youth tend to join gangs at younger ages than in the past, which leads to an increased number of youthful offenders.” (Briscoe 8) Although children tend to have the same values and beliefs as their parents, their different experiences and influences while growing up shape their beliefs and their view of the world, which has a direct impact on their ability to make rational decisions. It’s possible that if a child had
It is understood that there is no one single cause for juvenile delinquency. There are many factors involved, including biological, environmental, social, and punitive influences. Nathan Fisher acknowledges this in the article “Factors Leading to Bad Juvenile Behavior,” written for Demand Media. Recognizing that there is not a single issue related to why juveniles become offenders helps develop effective prevention and intervention techniques to address the issue of delinquency.