Family Structure and Juvenile Delinquency

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Traditional families are becoming a thing of the past. Women are no longer staying at home and assuming their womanly roles that society once expected from them. Due to their choices and living environment, they have to do what they can to raise the children that being into this world. Women nowadays are becoming mothers at an early age and often have to the raise the child on their own. Due to this hardship, they must improvise when it comes to adjusting to the change of now raising a child and their parenting skills. They must manage their personal goals while trying to provide a stable structure for their child. Many times they fall short due to their lack of resources and stress. Regardless of their romantic relationship status, it often falls on the mother to raise the child. Even though it is important for both parents to be present in a child’s life, if a parent is participating in deviant behavior, then sometimes it is best for the child to be raised by one parent. The slightest dysfunction in a family structure can be detrimental to a child’s development. Children often act out and take part in delinquent activities. In order to increase a child’s chance to succeed in life, they must be raised in a stable environment involving two parents. This helps them to feel included in the family and will help build their confidence and independence later in life. Sarah McLanahan earned her bachelor’s in sociology in 1974 and her doctorate in 1979 (Gilbert). This is clearly her calling, because she has a passion for this. “She is currently the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, where she directs the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing” (Sara S. McLanahan, 2005). Sh... ... middle of paper ... ...nd Commitmen: [Five Star Lift Edition]. St. Louis Post - Dispatch (pre-1997 Fulltext) , p. 13.B. Fragile Families. (2010). Retrieved March 20, 2014, from The Future of Children: http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/20_02_FullJournal.pdf In G. Gilbert, Rich and Poor in America: A Reference Handbook (pp. 143 - 144). Goldfarb, Z. (2014, March 05). Sociology: The Most Fragile Families. Retrieved March 21, 2014, from Princeton Alumni Weekly: http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2014/03/05/pages/7775/index.xml Meadows, S. O. (2008). "Stability and Change in Family Structure and Maternal Health Trajectories.". American Sociological Review 73.2 , 314-34. Sara S. McLanahan. (2005). Retrieved March 20, 2014, from Princeton: https://www.princeton.edu/~mclanaha/index.htm Siegel, L. (2014). Juvenile Delinquency: The Core, 5th Edition. Belmont: Linda Ganster.

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