Psychological Theories Of Juvenile Violence

Aggravated assault is when an individual attacks with the intent to kill or inflict severe bodily injury with a use of a weapon (Patel, 2018). The number of serious violent offenses committed by individuals ages 12 to 17 has declined by 61% from 1993 to 2005 yet juveniles continue to be responsible for committing about 24% of violent crimes (Greene & Heilbrun, 2014). In order to report a crime committed by a juvenile, the perpetrator has to be under the age of 18 years old (about 12 to 17 years old). Juveniles under the age of 18 committed 22,363 offenses of aggravated assault in 2016 (FBI, 2018). The information stated does not specify on race or gender but generally, any gender and any race could be a perpetrator of criminal act, especially

Juveniles use violence for many different reasons such as to belong to a group, be able to adjust to their environment, get rewards that are unattainable through social norms, and to express internal anger (Khromina, 2007). With this being said, the conflict theory is compromised of four major factors. First, individuals are shaped by social conflict due to the occurring conflict of limited resources. The second factor is the reasoning behind the conflict. The third factor is the dominating groups in society that are caused by conflict over resources and the last factor are the unfair influence that the dominant groups have over society (Khromina, 2007). There is constant competition in society because of the underprivileged being oppressed. Due to the poor qualified schools, lack of economic opportunities and struggles to keep themselves safe, whether that is physically, emotionally, and/or mentally, they turn to violence to improve their situation and release any inner anger they have inside themselves. “Conflict is a permanent part of society and cannot be eliminated with the removal of social classes in society” (Khromina, 2007) as it is impossible. We must focus on youth as a whole rather than only focusing on delinquents. Another theory that can cause juvenile violence is social learning theory, which might be one of the many huge factors that play a role on juvenile violence. Social learning theory is where a “person’s learning and social experiences determine behavior” (Meena, 2016). If children were to witness aggressive behaviors get rewarded, they will react with the same behavior they have watched. Social learning theory emphasizes on three social contexts: familial influences, subcultural influences and symbolic models. Familial influence is where children