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Social Disorganization Theory
Social Disorganization Theory
Social Disorganization Theory
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The Impacts of Social Disorganization and General Strain Theory On Juvenile Delinquency Kevin Williams Georgia Gwinnett College Introduction When people think of the term “juvenile delinquency” they may think of the extreme regulations some schools have begun to enact upon individual students in response to major issues such as bullying and school shootings. Criminal prosecution seems to have become the normality in many bullying cases these days as some students can find themselves being suspended for making guns out of paper, or even drawing a gun. Though these “no tolerance” policies that some schools have come up with in order to prevent delinquency from happening may help deter these negative behaviors in some circumstances they are in no way a practical solution, overall. Rules are essential to order, but what are the reasons youth become delinquent and how can we identify the causes? Two theories that present strong cases towards why youth commit delinquency are the General Strain Theory and Social Disorganization Theory. At the micro level, General Strain Theory attempts to identify different types of strains that can result in juvenile delinquency. These include a loss of positive stimuli, the preventing an individual from attaining their goals, and introducing negatively-valued stimuli. At the macro level, Social Disorganization attempts to identify the structural and cultural contributions to juvenile delinquency, ranging from areas of poverty to disorganized schools, and the impact these types of structures can have on juvenile delinquency. Four empirical journal articles have been chosen to identify what contributes to juvenile delinquency using the selected theories previously mentioned. These art... ... middle of paper ... ...ive relationship when observing bullying and crime rates. Secondly, it was astounding to see the impact on students who did not have a good family structure and did not feel loved or cared for by both parents and the teachers. Not only did this contribute to issues of self harm, but also bullying and suicidal thoughts. Additionally this also contributed to youth having a low self control which leads to an array of delinquency. Rather than adding a continuation of strict impractical and often time’s irrational forms of “no tolerance” policies and rules that create a strained environment in schools, we can learn from each of these theories and address the issues found in the studies from school structure down to family structure. Clearly this would be a difficult task but it would be very helpful in addressing the many issues juveniles face in schools and at home.
Juvenile delinquency may evolve around many different factors before it becomes a problem for society to solve. Gender and family structure can be a large and underlining cause of why children enter the criminal justice system. By examining the gender and family makeup, one could better understand how to treat a troubled individual.
This paper will analyze the different theoretical issues pertaining to the modern juvenile court, determine their origin, and suggest a course of action for resolving these issues to the best extent possible. It is important to note, however, that the juvenile justice system alone cannot ever prevent all juvenile crime, respond perfectly to every situation or treat every suspect fairly. Furthermore, an effective antidote to modern juvenile crime would necessitate far broader action, addressing underlying social structure inequalities that breed poverty and social disorganization.
In the current days, we have a problem with our youth, they aren’t finishing school. Majority of middle school and high school students will not graduate because of a problem called the “School to Prison Pipeline”, this zero- tolerance policy that has been adopted by many schools, police officers, and judges. In my research, I tend to find “How is School to Prison Pipeline affecting juveniles around the United States?”. This topic is very interesting to me because how are juveniles being treated like criminals at a very young age, when they have done nothing wrong.
Students that have been labeled “delinquent” need help in beating the odds to become successful adults. As C. Ogletree discusses article, Total Reform for a Broken System, a program needs to be created that includes family involvement and support to create concrete goals and means for students to achieve them, in the aim of becoming successful students throughout each school until graduation. It is a great goal for school institutions to strive in changing students’ behavior for the better, giving them a fair opportunity in education. Not to single out those of low-income homes, race, or learning disabilities. It should be the goal to get to the heart of misbehavior that is introducing so many students into the juvenile justice system. School institutions need to be place of supportive and structured learning from day one. Students enter school as young children, for the first time away from parents, relying on educators to guide them throughout their day. School Institutions should look for a positive approach that emphasizes on individual strengths to promote learning. The restorative circles program is having been introduced into school systems as an alternative to the zero tolerance policies. It creates an involvement of communication between all parties in any issue. Whether it be good or bad, it offers support for students to discuss issues and ideas, opening a line of communication between parents, teachers, and students, which will be key a student’s
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
Across the wide body of studies delving into delinquency in America, it is easy to locate research on and analysis of minorities, underprivileged socioeconomic urban centers, and turbulent family structures. However, this leaves a significant section of the delinquent population largely neglected: white middle-class youth. Contrary to the factors shown to affect delinquency in others and the applications of theory applied to them, the issues plaguing this particular portion of adolescents are in many cases entirely unique, suggesting the necessity of a more nuanced approach from angles that have up until fairly recently remained unexplored.
This strain then causes negative feelings, especially anger towards those they blame for the circumstances, which leads the individual to crime and delinquency (Hoffman, 2011). Strain theory can also be used to explain delinquency for various groups, such as why males are more delinquent than females, as they respond to situations in different ways (Agnew, 2012). Agnew’s strain theory also recommends policy implications to minimize the occurrence of delinquency, mainly by minimizing strain individuals face (Hoffman, 2011). It is, however, a fairly new theory and there lacks empirical evidence that supports or rejects it and does not take into consideration non-social forms of strain (Peck, 2011). It is also a very broad theory, and while it is one of the great advantages of the theory, it also means that it must be broken down, examined and tested piece by piece (Peck,
Ramirez, F. (2008, April/May). Juvenile Delinquency: Current Issues, Best Practices, and Promising Approaches. GPSOLO .
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency factors in order to explain and understand juvenile delinquency.
Social Disorganization Theory is based upon looking for outside motivations that contribute to the acts of delinquency. Some of the connections, however, that the theory makes to the letter to the Chicago Times are the following: heterogeneity from the Social Ecological Model, Disorganized neighborhoods from the Collective Efficacy Model, and social control from the Sampson and Grove’s Model. The letter explains youth want more protection and better relationships with police and community. The Social Ecological Model says, “differences among people living in a given area, there is a lack of shared norms” (Bates and Swan 2014:122). Without heterogeneity (relationship between individuals/ social groups) in a mutual agreement of wanting a
Smångs states that juvenile delinquency is a group phenomenon, he says that “friends of juvenile delinquents are delinquent to a much greater extent than friends of non-delinquents” (Smångs, 2010, pg. 609). Juveniles are influenced, or transformed, by their relationships with their peers. Juveniles want to fit in and feel accepted, it is common for juveniles to act differently to try to impress their peers or fit in. The study actually compares two different rival theories; this is to help collect a more accurate series of results.
It suggests that socialization builds self-control and alleviates the inclination to become involved in delinquent behavior. “In this way, families inspire children to coform to parental norms and expectations, and to the norms and expectations of the larger society” (Burfeind and Bartusch, 2011: 171). Hirchi does not believe that motivation is a factor in understanding why youths become involved in juvenile delinquency. Instead, it stipulates that juveniles who offend have a lack of self-control due to a lack of social bonds that would of make the juvenile feel opposed to committing crime. It concludes that people engage in delinquent behavior when their social bond with society is
Therefore, if the individual role amongst his conventional group and his institutional group is failure, then he or she will participate in crime and commit to what is expected of him, through these groups, once strain causes bonds to weaken a youth is free to engage in delinquency.
Bridges, K. M. Banham . "Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 17.4 (1927): 531-76. scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.