Studies have shown in the past, that some of the main underlying factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency are differential association, peer pressure, socialization, age, mental health and drug/substance abuse. All these independent variables in some way can said to either directly or indirectly influence criminal behavior in juveniles. Other factors like demographics, race, and violent / nonviolent crimes are also taken in consideration at a smaller level. In many of the studies one would think that race would be a main variable but most research has chosen to only consider it as a factor and not as a main variable. When looking at Criminal Juveniles most studies define a juvenile who has committed any crime punishable by the Criminal justice system. Delinquent behavior is also included in most studies, behavior that is outside of the norms of society.
Teens in America have a higher age group of violent offenders than many other age groups. The article SECONDARY EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE DURING CHILDHOOD, Suggests that Secondary exposure to violence might have something to do with higher numbers of juvenile delinquents. Secondary exposure to violence is “defined as witnessing or hearing violence, as opposed to primary violence, being the victim of a physically violent act” (Buka et al., 2009, p. 31) Blacks are more likely than Whites and Hispanics to experience Secondary exposure to violence and Hispanics are more likely than Whites to Experience secondary exposures (Gladstein et al., 1992; Martin et al., 1995). Exposure to this type of violence is witnessing someone getting shot, stabbing or great physical harm. (Gibson et al 2009) According to other studies exposure to violence has to do with location. Blacks and Hispanics ...
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... fact does matter as a predictor of juvenile delinquency. A national survey of seniors in high school found out that over 90% admitted to have tried alcohol and about 60-70 percent was frequent users (Johnson et al. 1995). Studies have shown that drug use and substance use has gone down in the last 5 years but research has also shown that exposure to peers and friends who use drugs are at higher risk to use and abuse. Reed and Roundtree suggest that peer pressure can be traced to differential association and situational group pressure along with socialization models. This is just an assumption they do not claim it has a direct correlation suggest that theorists have tried to explain criminal behavior through various theories in the past. This cross sectional analysis draws from these models and attempt to see what leads to substance abuse and then causing crime.
High crime rates are an ongoing issue through the United States, however the motivation and the cause of crime has yet to be entirely identified. Ronald Akers would say that criminality is a behavior that is learned based on what an individual sees and observes others doing. When an individual commits a crime, he or she is acting on impulse based on actions that they have seen others engage in. Initially during childhood, individuals learn actions and behavior by watching and listening to others, and out of impulse they mimic the behavior that is observed. Theorist Ronald Akers extended Sutherland’s differential association theory with a modern viewpoint known as the social learning theory. The social learning theory states that individuals commit crime through their association with or exposure to others. According to Akers, people learn how to be offenders based on their observations around them and their association with peers. Theorist Akers states that for one, “people can become involved in crime through imitation—that is by modeling criminal conduct. Second, and most significant, Akers contended that definition and imitation are most instrumental in determining initial forays into crime” (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 2011:57). Although Akers’ theory has been linked to juvenile delinquency in the past, it has also been tested as a possible cause of crime overall. Individuals learn from observation that criminal behavior is justifiable in certain circumstances. In connection with juvenile delinquency and crime, peers and intimate groups have the most effect on individuals when associated with criminal behavior. One is more likely to mimic the behavior of someone who they have close ties with, whether the behavior is justifiable or...
According to the Monitoring the Future study (previously called the High School Senior Survey), in 1996, 50.8 percent of high school seniors reported having used illicit drugs (1996). The study also found that male juveniles arrested for drug offenses had the highest rate of positive drug tests when compared to youth arrested for other types of crimes. Substance abuse and delinquency often share the common factors of school and family problems, negative peer groups, lack of neighborhood social controls, and a history of physical or sexual abuse (Hawkins et al., 1987). Substance abuse is also associated with crimes of violence and income-generating crimes such as robberies in youth. Other social and criminal justice problems often linked to substance abuse in juveniles is drug trafficking, youth homicides, gangs, and
There are many individual-level variables that can explain why juveniles become involved in delinquent acts. One important variable that plays a major role in this is the major affect that family context has on the role of child development. More specifically, the idea of child abuse comes into play that has always been researched and focused on as a major part as to why some juveniles become involved in delinquent acts. Child abuse involves important family characteristics that affect the growth of a child and will ultimately damage them both physically and mentally. If a child is damaged at a young age, then they way they think and perceive the world changes, especially if help is not given to them in their time of need. Child abuse is a serious issue and is a major point that affects juvenile delinquency and the role they play in society, meaning if they have a positive, or negative role and the way they will live their life.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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.
The United states has been facing a crucial problem with juvenile delinquency, Juvenile and delinquency can have different meanings depending on the state and laws. The term juvenile can also be replaced with adolescent, youngster, and minor. Anyone under the age of 18 is legally not considered as an adult. Delinquency refers to an action taken by a juvenile that would be considered a crime if an adult committed that action. A juvenile could be charged for performing an act that is illegal for their age. Juvenile Delinquency is a relevant social issue in the united states that is significantly and has historically been affected by the social welfare system, polity, and the family structure.
Over the past half century, violence in the United States has increased dramatically. Children who were raised in a tough, low-income neighborhood often fail to escape exposure to violence. They may witness homicides, assaults, and some may even have had a friend who had been killed. According to recent research, these children have higher violence rates than those kids who grew up in a non-violent neighborhood.
One article that covers the results of a national survey states that ¡§Adolescents¡¦ levels of alcohol and drug use have been found to be strongly associated with peers¡¦ use. However, other studies have shown that a student¡¦s drinking was more strongly influenced by how much he or she thought close friends drank than by perceptions of the extent of use by students in general¡¨(Results 2). This is a statement that I can agree with because growing up I have watched many young people become greatly influenced by their friends. Now a days the phrase ¡§peer pressure¡¨ concentrates on pressure from a direct group of friends rather than a students peers as a whole. Another reason the article gives for the cause of Binge Drinking is that ¡§Students who perceive that more drinking occurs than actually does provide themselves with an excuse for drinking more because ¡¥everyone is doing it¡¦¡¨ (Results 2). Everyone knows that most youngsters want what every other kid has, this idea relates in the...
In most states juvenile delinquency are criminal acts committed by minors’ ages 10 to 18 years old, the crimes are categorized as status offenders or delinquent offenders. Offenses committed by status offenders can only be committed because the offender is a minor, such as running away from home, truancy and underage drinking. (Mooney, pg 115) then there are delinquent offenders whose offenses would be a crime if they were committed by an adult. Depending on the nature of the crime, minors are tried in a juvenile justice system or can be transferred to the adult justice system. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, it is estimated 1.7 million youths are in the juvenile justice system with 100,000 cases being heard in juvenile court annually. Currently, it is estimated that 70% of the youths arrested are boys and 30% are girls, although African-Americans make up only 17% of the total youth population, they are 30% more likely than white youth to face harsher sentences and be transferred into the adult
The most known factor is their parent’s influence. If the parents are doing drugs and being abusive throughout the juvenile’s life then they will grow up probably thinking that is the way the world is and that it is okay to do. The more often the parents do drugs and are abusive the more likely that the juvenile is going to be abusive and might turn into a drug user because that’s what they knew growing up. Family structure is also a known factor family history could cause delinquency. As families grow there could be a chance that if the delinquent is the eldest they are more likely to feel like an outcast and that could lead to delinquent actions. Peers also create a big influence, especially today. If their friends are doing drugs and drinking alcohol that will play a big factor in why they are acting like they do. Community factors just like peer influence could create a bigger influence on the child, if the majority of the community is alcoholic or a drug dealer there is a high chance that the child will grow up to be one of those two things or even worse. The last factor that could possibly factor into juvenile delinquency is the school polices, if the child gets suspended or expelled often then that could possibly factor into the way the child acts. If the juvenile tends to get suspended often and that is all that happens to them, it could mean they do not think anything else will be done
Juvenile delinquency is described as illegal behavior committed by minors. A juvenile delinquent is usually a person who is below eighteen years old and commits an act that would have been charged as a crime if they were adults. Although, depending on the severity of the offense committed, it is possible for people under eighteen to be charged and treated as adults. Factors like peer pressure, poor parenting, social problems, adolescent rebellions, or psychological and biological factors, are the primary causes of most juvenile delinquencies. Because of the increase in this types of crimes, justice has become more aggressive less tolerant when determining the consequences of this crimes.
In fact, research suggests that most adolescent crime is committed in groups of peers (Goldweber, Dmitrieva, Cauffman, Piquero, & Steinberg, 2011), which has led to a number of developmental theories to explain how delinquent peers are linked to adolescent offending. Most notably, social learning theories suggest that youth learn and adopt delinquent attitudes and behaviors through their association with other delinquent youth (Akers,
The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.
Juvenile Delinquency refers to a violent or non- violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is a debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her action. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.