Social Learning Theory and Delinquency

670 Words2 Pages

Delinquency is made up of many theories, but the primary hypothesis that it consists of is the social learning theory. The social learning theory consists of teaching right acts instead of delinquent acts since the person is a child. It consists of the learning from other whether it includes parents, peers, or even television. Delinquency is learned, people are not born to be criminals, for the most part they are born to be good and they should be taught to do well, in some instances however the lack of discipline affects a person’s acts and/or personality. The emphasis of social learning is that individuals learn acts and ways of thinking from others. For example a child whose parents are drug users will eventually learn to do drugs as well from his/her parents, or another example would be if the child's friends are in a gang, the child most likely tag along and learn the ways a gang works.
Even today in the United States, social learning is one of the theories that is most linked to willful neglect, according to Kim, Kwak and Yun. They mentioned the accompanying idea, “Among these explanations, social learning theory and social bonding theory enjoy wide adoption and great respect i (Winfree, Backstrom, & Mays, 1994)n modern criminology.” (Kim, Kwak, & Yun, 2010) That idea gives the audience the understanding that out of all the theories out there social learning and social boding are what people use in theory. The primary thought of the theory is the following; “Social learning theory indicates that crime is learned behavior, acquired through contact with parents or peers.” (Kim, Kwak, & Yun, 2010) Most of the behaviors that are portrayed by delinquents are made up of neglect and loneliness. “Research studies focusing on the ca...

... middle of paper ...

...under, R., & Rine, C. M. (2011). The Intersection of Social Process and Social Structure Theories to Address Juvenile Crime: Toward a Collaborative Intervention Model. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment , 21:909–925.
Kim, E., Kwak, D.-H., & Yun, M. (2010). Investigating the effects of peer association and parental influence on adolescent substance use: A study of adolescents in South Korea. Journal of Criminal Justice , 17-24.
Prather, W., & Golden, J. A. (2009). Learning and Thinking: A Behavioral Treatise on Abuse and Antisocial Behavior in Young Criminal Offenders. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy , Volume 5, No. 1.
Winfree, L. T., Backstrom, T. V., & Mays, G. L. (1994). Social Learning Theory, Self-Reported Delinquency, and Youth Gangs: A New Twist on a General Theory of Crime and Delinquency. Youth Society , 26: 147.

Open Document