Ageism and Risk-Taking Behavior in Juvenile Justice

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One potential form of oppression in this case is ageism. Johnny is 17 and in juvenile court. A main reason Johnny is involved in the court system is due to risk taking behavior. While risk taking behavior is developmentally appropriate for his age and stage, the courts do not always see it in that light. A study conduced with young adults, the average age being nineteen, explored what impact risk taking had on the social process and what impact ageism had on risk taking. Essentially, this study tracked the risk taking behavior of individuals who were placed in social situations where risk taking could have a social benefit as well as being surrounded by ageist attitudes such as the fact they are young means they will take risks. Risk taking included substance use and sensation risk taking which ranged from risky sexual acts to violence. This study showed a positive correlation between ageist attitudes and social benefits in regards to risk taking (Popham, Kennison, Bradley, 2011). Many judges take this risk taking behavior into account, and it can be hypothesized that judges display agist attitudes when working with …show more content…

This socially rampant drug use is also the culture he grew up in. Johnny’s family has a history of substance use, as does the section of town he resides in. Substance abuse may have been normalized at an early age. “It was found that most of the users had initiated substance abuse…with peer influence…and socialization were the main reasons for maintenance. Non-users never gave into substances because of personal values, awareness of the impact of health an family values” (Gopiram and Kishore, 2014, p 59). This was addressed by education regarding the biological and emotional effects of substance use as well as a discussion of the type of life he would like to lead. This discussion correlated with building social skills for positive social

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