Juvenile Delinquency In The US

Socioeconomic status, social standing, or class of an individual has long been documented as a direct correlate to delinquent behavior (“Socioeconomic status” 2017). However, not many studies actually show whether or not changes in socioeconomic status increase or decrease the amount of delinquent behavior in kids (Rekker et al., 2015). As a result, similar to the aforementioned study, another panel study was conducted to test how fluctuations in socioeconomic status effects delinquency (Rekker et al., 2015). In regards to the sample, participants were a community of 503 boys. Their caregivers provided informed consent to be surveyed annually for ten years from ages 7 – 18 years old (Rekker et al., 2015). To measure delinquency, they used three

Every individual in the United States has been affected by juvenile crime. It does not just affect the parents of the juvenile but also the neighbors, teachers, other families, and the police. Juvenile delinquency is the act of committing crimes and offenses by youth personnel. Essentially, criminal behavior engaged in by minors and is the major problem of youth in modern society. Juvenile delinquency is important because it has implicated misery to the victims and has conveyed problems to its perpetrators. While delinquency rates have been decreasing, the rates are still far too high. Numerous programs to prevent juvenile delinquency have been attempted but not all of them succeed in stopping the youth from entering the lifestyle of crime.

Environmental factors have long been known to increase criminality. Even a little thing like graffiti has now been shown to double criminal activity. Living in an environment where crime exists, is what causes juveniles to become delinquents. Many children that grow up in a home where violence exists, are most likely to follow their peer’s steps and do what they do.

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).

Introduction Identifying the main reason behind the crimes committed by youths in the current world is difficult because of the socialization complexity and social mechanisms that surround the presented cases. Nevertheless, there are many reason why juveniles engage in delinquent behaviors. Some reasons can be but are not limited to one’s environment which includes family institutions, friends, schools, and social systems that may put them at-risk. Personality traits also play a critical role for antisocial behaviors, which have been known to be linked with delinquent behaviors. Despite these many factors, the punitive model of juvenile justice has been embraced in order to hold juveniles more accountable for their criminal acts and to introduce a level of punishment into juvenile justice (Taylor & Fintsch, 2015).

Juvenile delinquency is defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as “…a violation of the law committed by a juvenile that would have been a crime if committed by an adult; also: antisocial behavior by juveniles that is subject to legal action” (https://www.merriam-webster.com). As juvenile delinquency continues to be a great social concern, getting to the source of the problem and identifying solutions is paramount. Case studies have been conducted to identify early risk factors for delinquency. There are many programs in the state designed to help youth resist committing crimes and to prevent youth, who have already been in the juvenile justice system, from making repeated offenses. In order for these programs to be successful, they

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, is when “a violation of the law is committed by a juvenile and is not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Juvenile Delinquency). The juvenile system is different from the adult system in many way and most juvenile delinquents are from the age of ten to the age of seventeen (Juvenile Delinquent). Once the delinquent or anyone is at the age of eighteen, they are considered to be an adult. Therefore, in the justice system they are tried as an adult. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, peer influence, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. Teens are greatly influenced by the interactions and surroundings they are around. Their behaviors can result from the parent and/or their peer influences. Parents play a great role in the child’s life and a teen’s peers also play a strong role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not insight. This research will examine links between the social environment of teens and how it influences the teens actions and behavior which leads them to commit an offense.

Crime is a major issue in America today; an issue that continues to eat away at our country economically. Because of the immensity of the issue, there have been numerous speculations into what the cause of crime may be in an effort to find a solution. Many people lean towards believing that a one’s home life, economic status, and location are all factors in the possibility of becoming involved in criminal activity.

We live in a world where there is a great deal of investment allotted to our children and our culture tend to be overprotective of our youth. Rightfully so, our younger citizens are considered the building blocks of our nation and the carriers of our legacy in the future. But in spite of stringent laws that seem to protect our youth, other factors such as race, poverty, and environment are catalysts for delinquent youth behavior. Juvenile crime is on the rise and is one of the nation’s serious problems. Concerns about these crimes are widely shared by government officials from federal, state, local, and the public. Given its association with aggression, substance abuse, mental health problems and generally disruptive behavior, juvenile delinquency requires high levels of public policy and media attention from professionals located within multiple disciplines in social work, psychology, law and criminal justice. Teenagers being tried as adults have grown in an alarming rate and in some cases, juvenile defendants are as young as twelve and thirteen. This issue raised concern from youth advocate groups on the assumption that our juvenile justice system is failing to accomplish what they are supposed to do, which is to protect our kids by correcting them through treatment and guidance rather than punishing them. Recognizing the risk factors that causes juvenile delinquencies, having an efficient juvenile justice system

Many young people who are at risk of becoming delinquent often live in difficult circumstances, such as poverty, parental alcoholism, abusive conditions, and urban overcrowding. Teens who experience these are at greater risk of falling into juvenile delinquency (World Youth Report 194-95). Crimes, such as theft, are often committed as a result of needs having to be met – food, clothing, shelter, or because teens feel that they need to keep up and have the same luxuries as their peers (Banham Bridges 559). Juvenile delinquency is often thought of as involving only teens from disadvantaged homes, but teens from affluent homes also commit crimes due to lack of parental control or

In addition to character traits, environmental factors are a huge contributor to delinquent behavior. Environmental factors include parenting, peers, mental illness, neighborhoods, education and more. A 25 year-long study proved that inadequate schooling/ education is connected to juvenile delinquency. One of the discoveries from the study showed the following: “A 25 year-long study consisting of 1,500 children in low-income inner-city Chicago neighborhoods found that children who attended a high-quality preschool were 28% less likely to develop drug problems or be incarcerated in adulthood. Additionally, they were 22% less likely to be arrested for a felony and 24% more likely to attend a four-year college.” (Contributing Factors, 2016).

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).

Deviance among adolescents in our society has many different causes and multiple theories throughout the history of criminal justice have been developed to attempt to explain, prevent and reduce incidents of status offenses and juvenile delinquency. There are theories varying from individual, to social and environmental. All of these theories have their merits and contribute in one way or another to the advancement of the understanding of juvenile delinquency and the treatment and prevention of delinquency within our society. Those that have proven to be successful we have applied in our justice system while those that are proven over time to be ineffective or defective we have discarded. There is no single theory that applies to all delinquent behavior in all situations. It is best to determine what theory may work best in each specific case based on the individual and the specific situation. Dodge’s information processing theory of social problem solving (Crick and Dodge 1994) was developed by Kenneth Dodge in an attempt to explain the interaction between the child’s cognitive development and their social environment. This theory combines elements of both the individual and the social environment and examines how these two variables interact with each other to present a model for juvenile delinquency. During my investigation of this topic I discovered that an adapted model of Dodge’s theory existed that seemed to be more encompassing of the causes of juvenile delinquency,

Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.

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.