The similarities and differences between school failure and delinquency according to Siegel and Welsh include the following. According to Siegel and Welsh children who do poorly in academics and those they refer to as school under achievers are most likely to be deliequents.it is documented by both that school failure is a one stronger predictor of delinquency if compared with economic class membership, peer group relationships, radical and ethnic backgrounds. Studies comparing delinquents and non-delinquents academic records scores on standardized tests failure rates and other academic measure found that delinquents are recurrently academically deficient as compared to their counterparts and this is a condition which almost requires them to perform antisocial and delinquents acts. Siegel and Welsh further establish that academic failure and delinquency is commonly found in chronic offender, students leaving school having achieved a high school diploma are less likely to resort to delinquencies as compared to those who never graduated high school as recorded by Marvin Wolfgang Philadelphia delinquency in birth cohort study only 9 percentage of the offenders are school graduates. In comparison 40 percent of offender population had 12 or more years of school as compared to the 90 percent of the general population and it is summed up that school experience is a very important factor in shaping an adolescents life. Siegel and Welsh confirm that school failure is a direct cause of delinquent behaviors. Emotional frustration and rejection is what is felt by children who fail at school in turn they seek out same minded companions and together they engage in antisocial activities having been convinced themselves that they won’t achieve su... ... middle of paper ... ... in place they are only allowed to work minimal hours to have enough time to concentrate on their homework and it is ensured that these children attend school for employing an underage child is a crime. Returning to the point of working children who have part time jobs resorting to delinquencies, unless the job is illegal but otherwise there is just no way this child will be a delinquent he won’t have time to go to school, go to work, rest and vandalize something all in one day, commitment to school may become less when a child works but again unless it is an illegal job let’s consider the situation where he drops out of school and goes to work full time if it’s an illegal job of course nothing but delinquent acts is to be expected but if it’s a legal job he is highly likely to stay at work unless he encounter a negative factor which entirely changes his direction.
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.
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.
In the book, Samenow strongly emphasizes that children become delinquent by choice. The theory of choice holds that youths will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions. Delinquent behavior is a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives that the chances of gain outweigh any possible punishment or loss. (Siegel & Welsh, 2011)
Students that have been labeled “delinquent” need help in beating the odds to become successful adults. As C. Ogletree discusses article, Total Reform for a Broken System, a program needs to be created that includes family involvement and support to create concrete goals and means for students to achieve them, in the aim of becoming successful students throughout each school until graduation. It is a great goal for school institutions to strive in changing students’ behavior for the better, giving them a fair opportunity in education. Not to single out those of low-income homes, race, or learning disabilities. It should be the goal to get to the heart of misbehavior that is introducing so many students into the juvenile justice system. School institutions need to be place of supportive and structured learning from day one. Students enter school as young children, for the first time away from parents, relying on educators to guide them throughout their day. School Institutions should look for a positive approach that emphasizes on individual strengths to promote learning. The restorative circles program is having been introduced into school systems as an alternative to the zero tolerance policies. It creates an involvement of communication between all parties in any issue. Whether it be good or bad, it offers support for students to discuss issues and ideas, opening a line of communication between parents, teachers, and students, which will be key a student’s
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.
Spence, Ralph B. (1950). Impact of education on juvenile delinquency. Journal of Educational Sociology, 24 pp. 3-9 (1), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/2263979
Children who are victims of abuse are likely to display aggressive and demanding behaviors. Being a victim of abuse may interfere with how the child may view themselves, their self-worth and their well-being. In attempts to explain why delinquent is a result of abuse the social learning theory is used. It is explained that delinquent and antisocial behaviors are
Laub, J, & Sampson, R. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: delinquent boys to age 70. The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
In the last century, juvenile delinquency has been on the rise, because of poverty and the poor conditions youth are forced to live in. These conditions have contributed to a feeling of hopelessness for them. Many of the schools in poor neighborhoods,
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Krohn, M., & Massey, J. (1980). Social control and delinquent behavior: an examination of the elements of the social bond. The Socialogical Quarterly, 21(4), 529-544.
Studies indicate that positive parenting, including normative development, monitoring, and discipline, clearly affects whether children will become delinquent. Adequate supervision of free-time activities, whereabouts, and peers are critical to assure that children do not drift into antisocial and delinquent patterns of behavior. Surprisingly, little is known about normative and moral development with the family as they relate to delinquency. Single-parent families, and in particular mother-only families, produce more delinquent children than two-parent families. Research indicates that parenting practices account for most, but not all, of the ...
Walker, Hill M. et al., “ The path to school failure, delinquency, and violence: Casual factors and some potential solutions,” Intervention in School and Clinic. Nov 1999. First Search. Feb 2007
Warr, Mark. "Parents, Peers, and Delinquency." Social Forces Vol. 72.No. 1 (Sep., 1993): 247-64. JSTOR. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.
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.