Psychodynamic Theory In The Juvenile Justice System

Psychological theories have dominated practices in the juvenile justice system for decades. There are several different theories to consider, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Juveniles with deviant behaviors have been profiled in various ways, but not one juvenile fits in a mold for social theory. This is one weakness that applies when placing a deviant in one group of social theories.

The rational choice theory has been popular with deviant profiling, but its drawback is that one rationalizes their behavior before completing the criminal offense (Siegel, 2015). However, deviants who participate in this behavior may not be doing this for personal gain (Carney, 2015). Some may be pressured into doing this because of their peers, not

For example, many institutions use treatment models such as individual and family counseling (Bryne, 2010). However, Freud only focused on a subgroup of the general population, so certain approaches to deviant behavior will not work. Traditional methods of approach are hard to evaluate. The reason that therapy is one sought out approach is that many judges will order a psychiatric evaluation on the offender (Carney, 2015). The strength to psychoanalytic theory is that a juvenile will have a higher rate to rehabilitate into

While some approaches to rehabilitation involve therapy and restructuring individuals thinking processes, one might argue against this approach (Carney, 2015). Blackburn (1993) and Siegel and Welsh (2015) explain that this approach focuses on intellectual and moral development. This approach is widely used in the criminal justice system for rehabilitation in therapy and with juvenile delinquent programs. The disadvantage to this theory is that juveniles may just obey the law to avoid punishment, therefore not learning from their mistakes (Siegel, 2015). For example, a person who is on parole for a first offense may learn how to avoid getting caught again by learning what behaviors police watch for. Other examples include learning from other juveniles who have been caught doing the same thing in the past (Blackburn, 1993). In short, while it is the best method of approach, one may be able to “get around the system”, therefore doing the same deviant acts again at a later date without feeling