57). Research shows that delinquency and youth violence have been on the rise over the decade growing in epidemic proportions since 1993 (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998). Delinquency means for one to break the law and does not have to involve any form of criminal activity in one doing so. However, it is known that antisocial behavior, delinquency, and violence share common roots and similar consequences according to Mcwhirter et al. (2013). Violent crimes committed by youth has escalated by youth victimized by youth violence doubling the in juvenile arrests for violent crime by 2010, and fueled anxieties about future crime wave as the juvenile delinquents mature into adults (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) with female delinquency making its mark up the ladder according to research.
Consequently, as the effects of homelessness, neglect and abuse become apparent; a person will be more likely to commit a crime. Through interactions within an imposed economic class; subcultures, frustrations about poverty and deviant values are exposed. These can influence people to commit violent crime.
Social Learning/Differential Association theory is also reflected in the program as it recognizes the influence of social environment and peer interactions on delinquent behavior in youth. Exposing the youth to these positive mentors who actively display their engagement in trying to create job opportunities and improve their neighborhoods provides alternative models of behavior and positive reinforcement. Also, involving the mentors in community-based initiatives and encouraging them to work within neighborhoods, the program widens youth’s social networks and exposes them to positive community influences, which reduces the youths exposure to delinquent peers and deviant groups. Social Disorganization theory suggests that crime and delinquency are more prevalent in neighborhoods characterized by weak social institutions, disorganized communities, and a lack of social control. These neighborhoods experience higher rates of poverty and have limited access to resources and support services.
Analyzing the juvenile delinquency, this can be perceived from different mindsets. Merriam-Webster defines juvenile delinquency as conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action and a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment. Also, a crimes committed by a person is only name a juvenile if the individual is under the age of eighteen In today’s society majority of kids are not born to be criminals or defined as above as delinquents. Children usually develop these habits or lifestyles choices due to poverty, circumstances and culture.
The youth that experience some type of abuse, poverty, neglect will engage in some type of criminal
As such, reduction of crime to zero levels would trigger massive job losses. Another widely-held view of the root of crime is the breakdown of the family institution, inadequacies in the political, educational, and economic institutions as well as weakening religious beliefs. Crime is thus likely to occur in a society with weak social ties and absence of social control since people who grow up in places characterized with drug use, violence, and deprived parenting are more likely to take to criminal activities later in life than those that enjoy good schooling system and family life. Therefore, no one is born a criminal, but adopts the behavior as they grow up depending on their broader social
Chapter three was on the individual causes of delinquency. This includes the discussions of rationality, sociobiology, development, and much more. Many theories are brought up, as well as studies for reinforcement. The rationality of crime is a large topic when it comes to juvenile delinquency and is part of that conversation within this topic.
They are so closely related that the greatest factor influencing local gang activity and violence is drug-related. Drug dealing is a very common occurrence within gangs because that can be a source of income. So, once a juvenile gets involved with a gang, they are exposed to drugs and other illegal substances. Another issue lending to delinquency is that once a juvenile becomes involved in a gang and begins dealing drugs, it is almost impossible to get out of the gang.
It might be to do with the fact that they could come from a broken home, they could’ve been abused, they live in poverty, or the lack of parental control. I believe to a certain extent that the individuals background plays a part in why young people commit crime, although I feel it is a way of them expressing themselves to get noticed, for example if a young lad has come from a council estate and committed a few petty crimes and went to prison his peers would then respect him and his street cred would go up this is also known as hyper masculinity. I would also argue to the point in which it may not always the background as you could have somebody who came from an upper class background, went to school and done well then go downhill from college by mixing in with the wrong crowd and getting up to stuff which they wouldn’t of thought about doing before. This links into Robert K. Merton’s “Strain theory”, this specific theory was built around the “American dream”. I feel that this theory fits in with Antisocial behaviour as there are 5 different types of deviance, which are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion, It also proposes that people commit crime to fit in, there are many different barriers which the individual will have to over come in order to feel that they fit
“Youth who begin delinquent activities early are at greatest risk for becoming chronic offenders ((McWhirter, 2012).” The risk factors impacting this case could be the neighborhood where he is living. This social influence can have a large effect on Billy’s behavior. The largest social environment for children is their families and
Dysfunctional family dynamics, including parental neglect, abuse, or inadequate supervision, may leave teens feeling rejected and unsupported, making them more likely to seek validation or a sense of belonging from peers who engage in delinquent activities (Kim et al., 2023). Furthermore, the appeal of peer groups that romanticize rebellion or impulsive behavior can have a strong influence on impressionable teenagers, leading them to mimic antisocial practices in an effort to fit in or increase their social standing among peers. Additionally, teens may resort to acting out in the form of delinquency as a coping method to relieve feelings of frustration, anger, or alienation, caused by stressors such as bullying, academic pressures, and untreated mental health issues (Rodriguez, 2016). Overall, understanding the intricate relationship between environmental factors and emotional impulses behind teen delinquency is essential before implementing effective prevention and intervention strategies that will support at-risk adolescents and their
Any of those things could be contributing to the higher rates of delinquency. Therefore, neighborhoods depreciated and land developers were in conjunction with political leaders to buy land and make a fortune in the process which caused social disorganization, detachment from conventional groups, and delinquency or perhaps not intentionally, by their decision
When someone discusses the social disorganization theory it is currently focus on the relationship between people crimes social control and deviant’s behaviors caused by the environment for example if u live in an area where most crimes were to happen like domestic abuse drug trafficking or gang violence then the people around or more likely to commit crimes than ones who live in good neighborhoods. Today in our community crime effects schools work even our own homes. According to Na’im H. Madyun the author of Connecting Social Disorganization Theory to African-American Outcomes article stated that “due to high poverty single parent households it is very difficult to create social ties to the community because they believe that society does not want to help the neighborhood who have very high crime rates”(Madyum) What he means by this statement is that when someone in a neighborhood even the school is effected by crime then most kids will end up being a delinquent at an early age for example they’ll start joining gangs by recruiting them through media or on the street and getting involve in crimes while they are in middle school or high school due to parents who go to work to work every day or might be addicted to drugs and abuse their kids in their own houses.
Understanding the risk and protective factors of child delinquency is imperative in order to create and implement treatment and intervention programs. Because children’s behavior develops during the first five years, it is important to know what risk and protective factors could increase the likelihood of a child becoming a child offender (Wasserman et al., 2003). Moreover, overcoming the risk factors would help prevent the child offender from becoming a juvenile, and later, adult offender. As Wasserman et al (2003) stated, “risk factors for child delinquency operate in several domains: the individual child, the child’s family, the child’s peer group, the child’s school, the child’s neighborhood, and the media” (pg.1). As one can see, children are exposed to risk in partially every aspect of their lives.
There are many reasons to consider but focusing on the cause, the effect, and the extent of child abuse, will aid us in understanding its involvement with juvenile delinquency. When researchers look into the cause of child abuse there is not a single source to this wide spread issue. According to our book Juvenile delinquency: theory, practice, and law of all the factors associated with this topic there are three topics that seem to touch ethnic, racial, religious, and socioeconomic boundaries. First is that parents who themselves suffered abuse end to abuse their own children. Second, the presence of an unrelated adult increases the risk of abuse.
