How Did The Boys And Girls Club Impact Society

"The Club is like my second home. If I weren't here every day then I'd just be hangin' out, maybe getting into trouble. I get to do fun things here. I get to see my friends" – Boys and Girls Club Member. When started, the Boys and Girls Club’s main mission was, “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” As a side effect of caring, the Boys and Girls Club has helped deter crime as well as end the cycle of violence in several young people’s lives. By applying the Social Learning Theory and showing the positive outcomes that are associated with good behavior, The Boys and Girls Club has helped change the lives of many children and parents.
Whomever

a person associates with fully influences their attitudes, behavior, and thought processes more than one might think.

The Social Learning Theory has had a long-lasting impact on society as well as the field of criminology. It can be traced back to the American Criminologist, Ronald Akers. He graduated with his Ph.D. in Sociology from The University of Kentucky. In 1966 he collaborated with Robert Burgess to reformulate Sutherland’s differential association theory of criminal behavior and has worked on expanding it as well as modifying it as the Social Learning Theory that is known today. According to Akers, people develop motivation to commit crime through the people they associate with. He states that people learn deviant behavior by observing and learning from the social factors in their day to day lives. Akers also reasoned that, even though criminal behavior is developed through social interaction and modeling, it is sustained over time through the actual consequences of criminal acts, both social and nonsocial (Akers, 1973). Akers social learning theory focuses on four main concepts- Differential Association, Differential Reinforcement,

Imitation, and Definitions. According to Akers, Differential Association includes “learning mechanisms that work through direct and indirect, verbal and nonverbal communication, interaction, and identification with others” (Akers, 2011).With differential association it does depend on the frequency, and length of time of the contact. Differential Reinforcement basically is a process where individuals experience and expect the consequences of their behaviors, good or bad. Imitation can be defined by the process when people engage in the behavior of others that they have formerly witnessed. Definitions are the individual’s own beliefs, attitudes, justifications, and orientations about what is and is not acceptable behavior (Akers, 2011).
The Boys and Girls club is a program that provides a variety of services for the children and youth of the public.

In every community, boys and girls are left alone to find their own amusement and friendship in the streets. A growing number of kids are at home with no adult care or supervision. That is where the Boys and Girls Club steps in. They have a variety of programs and services that not only get the children off of the streets, but also teach the kids life skills that they would be without if not for the Club. As it states on the Boys and Girls Club website, “Boys & Girls Clubs are a safe place to learn and grow – all while having fun. It is the place where great futures are started each and every day.” There are so many different programs that the Club offers for their after-school programs and summer camps. The main programs are Education and Career, Character and Leadership, Health and Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports, Fitness and

Recreation.
The Boys and Girls Club offers various programs that help with positively reinforcing good behavior as well as keeping the kids of the streets and away from criminal activities.
When the youths are brought into this environment at the Club, they are introduced to new values as well as many different positive role models. The positive reinforcement that they receive from doing good things at the Club leads to better behavior versus if they were out on the streets, where they would be learning criminal behaviors.