Juvenile Delinquency Theory

“The so-called traditional family, with a male breadwinner and a female who cares for the home, is a thing of the past” (Siegel, Welsh, & Senna, 2003, p. 194). This particular type of family structure can no longer be considered normal. Sex role changes have created a family in which the mother now plays a greater role in society and the economic process. The number of households that have children living with both parents has substantially declined. “Early social science researchers asserted that the “broken home” was the single most important factor in understanding delinquency” (Burfeind & Bartusch, 2011, p. 185). Less than half of the children born today will live continuously with their mother and father throughout their childhood. A disturbed home environment is believed to have a significant impact on delinquency. Family is the contributing unit towards children’s values and attitudes that mark the paths throughout their lives.

More specifically, sexual abuse is the most critical pathway to delinquency among girls (Ruddell & Thomas, 2009, p. 140). In the case of Cyntoia Brown, the audience learns early on that the sixteen year old faced sexual abuse from a man called “Kutthroat.” In an interview with Dr. William Bernet, forensic psychiatrist, Brown admits that “Kut,” real name Garion McGlothen, would choke her until she passed out, force her to strip, and hold a gun to her until she complied with his orders (The 16 Year Old Killer: Cyntoia's Story). According to Ruddell and Thomas, physical and emotional victimization in girls can also lead to delinquency. In fact, 92% of girls interviewed report some form of victimization in their lifetime (Ruddell & Thomas, 2009, p. 140).

The Coalition for Juvenile Justice states that “70% of girls in the juvenile justice system have been exposed to trauma”(Kuhn). These traumas consist of high levels of rape, post traumatic stress, witness of murder and serious injury (Kuhn). Overall, girls have higher rates of mental disorders (80% compared to 67%) and are more likely to internalize their behaviors. Paula Schafer argues that the most prominent issue for girls is not their violence or aggression, but rather untreated trauma (Schaefer). To further this issue, many of the rehabilitation programs are created for boys, with very little attention paid to girls. It is possible that these programs can actually negatively impact the girls involved by triggering the stress from traumatic experiences (Kuhn). The abuse that girls experience create even more problems throughout the course of their interactions with authority such as police and correctional officers. These girls develop survival skills to cope with the abuse they have endured. Going into survival mode means putting up walls and becoming aggressive and defensive (Schaefer). The juvenile justice website mentions that many girls run away from home because of the trauma they are experiencing from their family. This observation alone helps criminologists understand why there are so many girls entering the system

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 compare and contrast some psychological and sociological approaches to studying juvenile delinquency and disorder behaviour. The question is what makes people behave disorderly. Youth disorderly behaviours are studied using different approaches including psychological and sociological approaches. Both psychological and sociological approaches to studying juvenile delinquency are necessary. This essay starts with outlining and defining disorderly behaviour and juvenile delinquency. Then, it will look at the work of Eysenck, the Cambridge Study of Delinquent Development research which was a longitude study and the Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential theory by Farrington, all fit in psychological approach; studying the connection between personality and disorder. It will then look at Sociological approach by looking at the work of Howard Becker, Stan Cohen and Stuart Hall. This essay will be analysing and comparing their theories and separating the differences and noting the similarities in their ideas. This essay will provide evidence for each theory. It will then conclude by specifying significant similarities and differences in the light of the evidence presented.

(2) family conflict and child abuse- This proposition stems from issues in the possible effect of marriage, separation, or violence witnessed conflict between their parents or inflicted on them. (3) absence of positive parenting- This proposition stems from the notion that parents are their child’s first teachers and role models and Sampson & Laub (1993) explains that the impact of parents is essential in providing children with deliberate instructions in crime. (4) criminal parents-

Studies have shown that around 70 percent of victims of sexual abuse are female. The abuse can have a short term and long term effect in victims due to trauma. The abusive environment can then lead to these young women running away from home in an attempt to escape the abuse. In order to avoid detection, which could mean they would be sent back home due to the way the present laws are set, they engage in petty crimes to survive. These petty crimes include shoplifting, prostitution, drug use, disorderly conduct, loitering, etc. Interviews with run-away girls showed that they got angry when labeled as delinquent because they did not have any attachment to the delinquent activities they engaged

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.

A juvenile is a youth teen ranging from as young as nine years old to the age of 18 who engages him or herself in any illegal criminal behavior. Therefore, defining delinquency, which is not as hard, however, figuring out the reasons why youths commit crimes is. However according study of juvenile delinquency is important because it provides us with trustworthy and reliable theories that can help us understand the motives of juveniles. These theories fall under the biosocial theory, Social Disorganization theory, and Social Learning theory.

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.

Juvenile delinquency is of great concern in the United States. In 2007 over 2 million arrests were juveniles. There are two types of juvenile delinquency. The first type of offense is a behavior that would be a criminal violation for an adult. The other offense is called a “status” offense. Status offenses are delinquent actions that do not apply to adults, like running away and truancy. This paper will discuss the impact of gender and family on delinquency and the treatment by gender in the juvenile justice system.

Girls who grew up in stepfamilies were involved in more delinquent behavior compared to girls who lived in in-tact homes. For boys, living in a single parent family greatly increases the chance of delinquent behavior while living in a stepfamily does not. The test also showed that a good relationship with the mom and dad helped lower delinquent activities in girls. For boys, having a good relationship with their dad and lower conflict in the family helped lower delinquent activity.

This assignment will illustrate that by understanding the fundamentals of combatting juvenile delinquency and applying the theories to command practice will enhance the overall knowledge of the material. This document will demonstrate the juvenile delinquency reduction efforts and programs currently in operation in the Tampa area community. In addition, I will propose ways to improve the Tampa area community’s juvenile delinquency prevention efforts. Next, this paper will attempt to apply the main sociological theories that underlie these interventions that shape the community’s public policy for delinquency prevention. Finally, this paper will identify an appropriate strategy geared toward preventing delinquency that in consistent with the Behavioral theory.

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,

Family dynamic and relationships have a tremendous on the emotional and psychological development of a Child. Studies show that children who experience strenuous or abnormal relationships with family members are more likely to participate in crime as a juvenile. Naturally parents have the strongest impact over their child teaching them through experiences, consequences and supervision.