Juvenile Delinquency
There is no doubt that various experts can give us many theories as to the causes of juvenile delinquency, including one's economic background, substance abuse, delinquent peer groups, repeated exposure to violence, increased availability of firearms and media violence. However, I feel that the number one cause of juvenile delinquency is the breakdown of families, including lack of parental control over children. It is ironic in America, today, one must have a driver's license to operate a vehicle, a permit to own a gun and even a license to own a dog, but one does not have to have training or a license in order to become a parent. Without specialized educational programs in child development and parenting, many of
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Experts agree they are generally three parenting styles that reportedly escalate these conflicts.
The authoritarian parent tends to emphasize rules and very harsh consequences. There is little room for discussion or negotiation. The indulgent parent tends to spoil the child and expects little or no responsibility at home, choosing instead to clean up after the child both at home and in his social misbehavior.
The indifferent parent is so preoccupied with his/her own life and activities that little time and energy is given to either involvement or appropriate structure.
The type of parenting that does work is simply called authoritative parenting. This type of parent assumes a role of authority in the child's life, but the rules and structure are sensible and flexible to accommodate the child's growth toward adolescence and young adulthood. The parent's intelligent explanations of the rules plus reasonable enforcement help to maintain a steady reduction of control as the child matures.
Studies have been made to determine the causes of juvenile delinquency. Many of these studies have focused on family relationships. In one study, comparing delinquent and non-delinquent youths showed that over ninety percent of the delinquents had unhappy home lives and felt discontented with their life circumstances. Only thirteen percent of the non-delinquent
My last point as to why children turn to delinquency is due to a lack of communication with their parents. According to Clark and Shields at https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-19417319/family-communication-and-delinquency (1997) they state that “the importance of positive communication for optimal family functioning has major implications for delinquent behavior. They also discovered that communication is indeed related to the commission of delinquent behavior and differences are shown within categories of age, sex, and family marital status.” This has been caused due to the new family model known as the nuclear family. What this is, is a family with parents who are both working, and the extended family is spread throughout the country making it very difficult for children to receive any too little form of supervision, as well as communication from their family. This also goes back to the sheep and the sheep dog theory that without guidance and rules a child is doomed to have a lack of actions versus consequence ideals.
The changes in family values and structure in the United States has helped contribute to juvenile delinquency today. Society needs to recognize problems within the home before trying to find solutions to problems for todays at risk youth in America. Major structural changes inside of the home could adversely affect the raising of juveniles leading to delinquency. Some of the issues I will discuss in my paper are divorce, child abuse, mothers working outside of the home, and single-parent homes. Ineffectively raising a child can cause low
Honestly, how corrupt is the Catholic Church? What are they trying to hide? These are just some of the questions Geoffrey Chaucer undoubtedly asked himself while writing the “Canterbury Tales”. Unphased by the option of the Catholic Church he set about to write a story in which voiced his unadulterated opinion. The Canterbury Tales begins as a pilgrimage decides to visit the relics of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
A group of seven juvenile delinquents sit at a table sporting jumpsuits that’s draped over their street clothes, not knowing what’s expected to happen next during their jail visit at the Douglas County prison in Georgia. The cameras, that are rolling for Beyond Scared Straight, a reality television series that takes at risk teenagers to different state run prisons across the United States to give them a glance of where they 'll end up if they continue making wrong choices, show the confused look on the delinquents’ faces when they see the next prisoner walking through the door. Instead of a pair of six foot, 300 pounder monsters that were charged for two counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder like some of the inmates that the
This research is important because understanding what makes a juvenile delinquent is necessary to know. Parents can be educated on what is affecting their teen to contribute to delinquent behavior. The family structure has been avoided by many citizens. Educating the public on the family structure can make a different in a teen’s life.
When a juvenile commits a crime, it is not considered a crime, however it is considered juvenile delinquency. A massive problem throughout the US is juvenile delinquent acts. Juveniles acting out in a delinquent manner can be caused by many things. However, there is not just one reason why a juvenile may commit these acts. Instead there are many reasons that could lead up to delinquency. In this essay, I will be discussing a few theories as well as ways juveniles may receive treatment.
“This fabulous novel is rich, complicated and wise enough to satisfy a reader of any age,” says Atlanta Journal-Constitutional (Zusak, 0). In grade eleven, university level English, students may study Brave New World by Alex Huxley, but The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a much more suitable novel to study. The Book Thief incorporates an amazing plot with excellent characters, is beautifully written, and is the perfect novel to analyze.
Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a similar path just like normal adolescent development and children tend to follow delinquent and criminal behavior rather than engaging in it randomly. Research has shown that there are two types of delinquents, those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behavior begins in early childhood, and those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence. With either type, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviors and justice system involvement (APA, 2017).
Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.
Firstly, the environment, especially when it comes to socialization and the parent-child relationship, plays a significant role in the development of delinquency. The early stages of a child’s life are the most important because during this time he or she learns the acceptable values, behaviors, attitudes, and actions determined by the environment around them. It is during this developmental stage that children also begin to form their sense of self-control, and according to Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990, “parents must monitor their children,
In the United States, juvenile delinquency is becoming a major problem in the communities across the country. Because of the actions that these juveniles engage in on a regular basis, taxpayers across the country are having to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars to rehabilitate these children in order to help them make better choices. This leads citizens to wonder what factors actually cause juveniles to live a life of crime rather than success. In short, there are three main factors that often cause children to live a life of crime. These three factors are social influences, psychological characteristics, and academic potential.
Supportive parenting is a term used to describe parents whose authoritative parenting style is firm, with clear and consistent limits, but with warmth, proactive teaching, interest and involvement in their child’s peer activities, as well as calm discussions while disciplining. Authoritative parents tend to be firm and set clear and consistent limits. Although strict, they are loving and supportive, and communicate to the child the rationale for their punishment, along with an explanation for why they should behave a certain way. This encourages independence in the child (Feldman, 2014).
Marijuana is much safer than a lot of other drugs. It can be smoked, vaporized, eaten in edibles, the oil can be extracted from the plant and taken in a capsule or rubbed on a pained area as a lotion, and many other ways. Any one of these ways are safer than snorting or injecting a drug. Other drugs have a higher addiction potential and are very harmful to the body in numerous ways. Other drugs also have a high overdose rate, whereas marijuana doesn’t. Marijuana has no reported overdoses, and in fact, one would have to consume a vast amount marijuana in such a time that is impossible to do so.
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.
grew by 86% from 1988 to 1992, which was more then any other type of juvenile