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Effects of family structure on juvenile delinquency
Effects of family structure on juvenile delinquency
How a child’s family influences adolescent behavior and development
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This paper is based off of the article titled, "The Effects of Family Type, Family Relationships and Parental Role Models on Delinquency and Alcohol Use Among Flemish Adolescents." All material that is written in this paper uses information gleaned from the article. The article discusses a study of Flemish youth and how different family environments effect youth turning into delinquents as well as effecting alcohol consumption. The article explains the results of questionnaire that was administered to ten different schools in Belgium which tested 1,688 kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen. The test included an independent variable, dependent variables, mediating variables, as well as control variables. The independent variable was used in this test was family type. Family type is categorized into three groups, two parent families, single parent families, and step families. The dependent variables consisted of delinquent behavior and alcohol use. The kid's delinquent behavior was based off of an eleven item scale consisting of common delinquent activities such as gett...
However, Peter had left the household in 2001, but still supported the family financially. In the book Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach by Curt R. Bartol discusses the parental and family risk factors of single-parent households. In the early studies it was concluded that delinquents are more likely to come from homes where parents were separated or divorced. In recent studies researchers have looked into the correlation of single-parent households, the quality of the parent-child relationship, economic status, emotional support available, and more. In the study of “conflict-ridden vs. conflict-free” it focused on the process rather than structure of family. Children from a single-parent home that are relatively conflict-free are less likely to be a delinquent than children from conflict-ridden “intact” homes. A stable, secure, and mutually supportive family is exceedingly important
According to Price & Kunz, (2003) family structure is a major factor in explaining delinquency. The research aimed at finding a link between cohabiting and other family types with delinquency (Price & Kunz, 2003). They made an important finding that adolescents from cohabiting families are at greater odds of engaging in non-violent delinquency compared to those from biological-parent families. The findings contradict the findings of other studies that show that that youth from broken families are likely to engage themselves in delinquent activities. For example, in one longitudinal study by Juby and Farrington, (2003) they found out that children especially boys who were from non-intact families portrayed negative behaviors compared to those that were from intact families (Juby & Farrington, 2001). Moreover, Prince & Kunz, (2003) performed a meta-analysis involving divorce and juvenile delinquency. They also made a finding that children from divorced homes have a high rate of delinquency compared to those from intact homes.
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.
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.
These researchers believe that intensive intervention approaches are needed for youth who display antisocial behaviors because such behaviors put them at even greater risk for abusing substances. They also state that when youth engage in antisocial behaviors, the parents tend to be less accepting of them, show less affection, support and attachment to them. The parents may also have harsher attitudes and discipline with such youth. In addition, according to Santisteban et al (1997), research has shown that parents of youth with antisocial behaviors often use reinforcement inappropriately, use inconsistent parenting styles, and have a lot of family conflict and poor attachment to their children. Family therapy and intervention can be useful in helping parents to become a protective factor to help youth deal with stressors they are facing and to prevent their abuse of substances. However, if families do not receive interventions or help, youth with antisocial behaviors are more likely to be influenced by antisocial peers, drug use, and criminal activity in their neighborhoods. Also, if the parents force their problematic youth out of the home too soon, then they will be more easily influenced by
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.
Popkin, S. J., Leventhal, T., & Weismann, G. (2010). Girls in the 'hood: How safety affects the life chances of low-income girls. Urban Affairs Review, 45(6), 715-
Traditional families are becoming a thing of the past. Women are no longer staying at home and assuming their womanly roles that society once expected from them. Due to their choices and living environment, they have to do what they can to raise the children that being into this world.
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.
Families serve as one of the strongest socializing forces in a person's life. They help teach children to control unacceptable behavior, to delay gratification, and to respect the rights of others. Conversely, families can also teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior. In adults' lives, family responsibilities may provide an important stabilizing force. Given these possibilities, family life may directly contribute to the development of delinquent and criminal tendencies. Parental conflict and child abuse correlate with delinquency. Though not all children who grow up in conflictive or violent homes become delinquent, however, being exposed to conflict and violence appears to increase the risk of delinquency. At this point, researchers have not pin pointed what factors exactly push some at-risk youth into delinquency. A child with criminal parents faces a greater likelihood of becoming a delinquent than children with law-abiding parents. However, the influence appears not to be directly related to criminality but possibly to poor supervision.
Juvenile delinquency is a serious problem and leads to negative outcomes for youth, families, and society as a whole. Adolescents under the age of 18 who are arrested for committing a criminal act are processed through a juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system is grounded on the principle that the youth have different needs than adults. During adolescence, youth are forming their identities and still developing mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. Due to their early stages of development, juveniles who violate the law should be treated differently than adults.
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.
The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.
There has been a mass increase of juvenile delinquency in the United States, which has made a notable change in our society as a whole. It also directly affects parents, teachers, families, the perpetrators themselves, and of course, the victims. Law enforcement agencies in the United States have made an estimated 2.11 million arrests of minors. These perpetrators who were arrested have either been placed in confinement or they are under court supervision. Juvenile delinquency is described as illegal or immoral behavior, generally among young people under the legal age of eighteen. In order to reduce these high rates of delinquency, parents, and other adult figures, must first ask themselves, what is causing this? What external and internal
There is no one certain theory, regarding juvenile delinquency, that can completely distinguish all the determining factors that makes youth turn to crime; although, the study of all these theories and ideas can bring criminologist one step closer to uncovering the truth about juvenile delinquency. Only the further understanding of juvenile delinquency can help the prevention of future juvenile offenders. This paper will focus on the individual factors of delinquency, as well as the social elements, and provide an explanation of how the combination of the two elements may cause children to engage in criminal activity.