Developmental Theory And Delinquency In Children

There are many theories that contribute to what may cause Juvenile Delinquency, one of which is called Social Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory states that behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through intimate contact with others or indirectly through media. Social learning theorist Albert Bandura, Walter Mischel, and Richard Walters indicate that children model their behavior according to the reactions they receive from others, the behavior of their parents, and the behavior they view through media.

No, I don’t believe that all delinquents are psychologically abnormal. Many theories relate to delinquent acts such as Choice Theory and Trait Theory. The trait theory suggest that delinquent acts come from personal problems and conditions. Choice theory believes that juvenile offenders are rational decision makers. The decision to violate the law comes after weighing of the benefits and cost of criminal behavior. These two theories suggest that a person reacts to environmental and social circumstances in a unique fashion. For example, a youth that lives in a poor neighborhood would sell illegal drugs to make money. Another might do great in school to get away from their environment.

One theory on of what causes juveniles to become delinquents, is the Strain theory which was revised by Agnew (1992). The Strain theory is basically the idea that when a juvenile is unable to achieve their goals, it leads them to committing delinquent acts. According

I do believe that a latent trait could cause a person to become delinquency prone if left unchecked, but I do feel that the environment in which the youth resides and the socialization around them has a much greater affect on producing delinquency as a whole. Although I do not necessarily agree with Latent Trait theory, I do agree with this statement stated within the theory, “people age out of delinquency, because as they mature, there are simply fewer opportunities to commit such acts and greater inducements to remain ‘straight’. They may marry, have children, and obtain jobs” (Siegel Pg. 139). This lack of opportunity created by maturation coupled with strong social ties to family and friends could have a strong effect in diminishing

A review of a wide range of literature indicates that researchers have conducted significant research on this particular topic on juvenile delinquency and the impacts that the general strain theory has had in understanding such behaviors. However, the majority of these studies have not been able to provide a clear connection between the negative behaviors shown among teenagers and youths and their criminal behaviors. In most cases, researchers argue that such behaviors may come about due to

When it comes to juvenile delinquency an adolescent personality is usually impacted from different factors such as early child hood experiences of witnessing a crime, seeing a violent act, being the victim of a crime, or being around others or family who engaged in criminal activity, these factors can either create an adolescent with a positive or negative attitude, or an anti-social behavior which could create a path for a delinquent behavior (Wilson, p. 34). A study has shown that family interactions accounts for about 40 percent of the cause of an adolescent with an anti-social behavior, the study also shown that aggressiveness which is a common trait of adolescent who engage in delinquent acts is usually created from peer influences (Wilson, p. 34).

This essay will talk about the lack of family structure can be one of the biggest causes of delinquency. It touches on four objectives on how lack of family structure can be a cause to a child’s delinquency.

The theory of social disorganization establishes that a person is not born delinquent but his environment influences the behavior of people. "The theory of social disorganization states a person's physical and social environments are primarily responsible for the behavioral choices that a person makes." (Bond, 2015). When I analyze this statement, I go back to my time in the neighborhood and start to remember how many young people who were my neighbors were corrupted by the atmosphere of our neighborhood. Which leads me to think because in my neighborhood although the environment was not very good, some went out being honest and studies, without ever having a problem with justice and others today are in jail.

This paper will be going over social learning theory and how it affects juveniles and its relation to Juvenal delinquency. Social learning theory states that learning social behaviors happens through observation and learning from others. This paper will be explaining how family, friends, and socialization affect the child's behaviors in relation to juvenile delinquency. Also going over the strengths and weaknesses of the social learning theory.

In the United States, juvenile delinquency is becoming a major problem in the communities across the country. Because of the actions that these juveniles engage in on a regular basis, taxpayers across the country are having to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars to rehabilitate these children in order to help them make better choices. This leads citizens to wonder what factors actually cause juveniles to live a life of crime rather than success. In short, there are three main factors that often cause children to live a life of crime. These three factors are social influences, psychological characteristics, and academic potential.

In real general terms, I do agree with Loeber’s three paths that lead to a delinquency career. He explained quite well the various pathways a deviant juvenile may end up taking throughout their course of life, but he fails to mention the social constructs that may had or currently are affecting the said child. Not every person will commit crime at the same time in their lives or for the same reason and Trajectory Theory does a decent job in explaining why.

What determines criminal behavior? Are they born to be a natural born killer, is it in their genes, or is it a learned behavior? There are multiple factors resulting in criminal behavior, from genes to environmental factors. Although it is said and believed that criminal behavior is biologically determined there are even more learned or environmental factors that play a role in criminal behavior.

Through an understanding of causes of juvenile delinquency society may come to deal preventively with delinquency; certainly treatment of the offender needs to be based upon an understanding of the causal mechanisms that have produced him. In this paper we'll describe three theories of juvenile delinquency such as Social Learning Theory, General Strain Theory and Behavioral Theory and discuss appropriate preventive programs based upon these theories.

Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a similar path just like normal adolescent development and children tend to follow delinquent and criminal behavior rather than engaging in it randomly. Research has shown that there are two types of delinquents, those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behavior begins in early childhood, and those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence. With either type, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviors and justice system involvement (APA, 2017).

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.