Juvenile Delinquency Contributing Factors and Problems Defining Juvenile
Juvenile Delinquency Contributing Factors and Problems
Defining Juvenile Delinquency • Refers to antisocial or criminal acts performed by juveniles • Persons who are under the age of 18 1 1
Status Crimes • Underage Drinking • Violating Curfew • Truancy 1, 5
Gender/ Race • Boys— 75% • Girls— 25 % • African American youths are 5 Xs more likely to commit murder than Caucasian youths 1
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Causes of Juvenile Delinquency • Environmental • Interpersonal • Personal www. tyc. state. tx. us/research/profile. htm l
Causes • Environmental Factors 1. Poverty 2. School 3. Media Violence
Factors • Poverty – Adolescents from lower SES families commonly commit more crimes than those from a higher SES family. *However, SES has been found to be less of a factor. * • School – Schools known as disorganized schools – rules are only sporadically enforced. • Media Violence – Television, Video Games, Movies, Music.
Causes cont. . • Interpersonal Influences 1. Parents 2. Peers
Interpersonal Influences Family: Disrupted homes and strained family relationships can be linked with delinquent adolescents. Ø Fatherless adolescents is a major factor in the contribution the child’s delinquency. Other connections to delinquency include a lack of cohesion among the family and troubled relationships. Ø Abuse and neglect in fully intact families lead to a cycle of delinquency.
Interpersonal Influences cont. • Peers: When adolescents become delinquent it is because they are socialized into it, mainly by their peers. An adolescents close relationship with a peer, who is already delinquent, usually occurs after negative family interactions and continued rejection by mainstream peers takes place.
Causes cont. . • Personal Influences 1. Personality 2. Self-Esteem 3. Psychological Disorder 4. Biological Factors 5. Substance Abuse
Important Factors: • Personality - Social assertiveness, defiance, ambivalent to authority, and have a lack of self control are all traits associated with the personality. Ø Measured personality traits of distress (anxiety, depression, low sense of well-being, and low self-esteem) and restraint (impulse control, suppression of aggression, responsibility, and consideration) (Weinberger, 1997). They found that 88. 9% of adolescents with low levels of restraint and high levels of distress were rearrested during the follow-up. The delinquent with high restraint and high levels of distress committed fewer but more serious crimes. 1. • Self-esteem – Delinquents consistently show signs of low selfesteem while others can sustain high self-esteem through denial, these become proficient at denial. • Psychological Disorders – ODD, Conduct disorder, ADHD 2.
Factors cont. • Organic and Biological influences Ø Genetics is thought to play a key role. Temperament can be genetically predisposed. Levels of Testosterone of Serotonin. • Substance Abuse Ø It has been shown that drinking is strongly associated with delinquency. Ø Concurrently there is a strong relationship with drug usage and criminal activity.
Juvenile Justice System • Police 1. First contact 2. Take action -ignore offense -warn juvenile -report problem to parents
Police Actions cont. . 3. Report the problem to parents 4. Refer cases to schools, welfare agencies, clinics, counseling centers or family society 5. Take the juvenile into custody for questioning 6. Arrest juveniles and turn the matter over to juvenile courts
Critique of Police Actions • One of the biggest problems with the juvenile justice system is in the beginning the cases are left entirely to the police discretion
Profiling 1. Residential Districts 2. Ethnicity • One reason why adolescents may become bitter toward police officers
Early Reforms in Juvenile Court Cases • 1900’s -legal system treated juveniles as adults • Reformers—worked to change this policy -Argued that juveniles should be rehabilitated rather than punished -Strove to enact parens patriae a. The philosophy that juvenile court is to act in the best interest of the child
Highlight: The Case That Changed Juvenile Court • Gerald Gault (15 year old boy) --arrested for allegedly making obscene calls to a neighbor --was sentenced to live in a detention center until the age of 21 --at the time the maximum sentence for an adult was a two month jail stay and a $50. 00 fine
Highlight cont. --the Supreme Court was presented with the case in 1967, and the verdict was found in Gerald’s favor (5 to 4 ruling) • Today, the juvenile and adult systems are separate; and minors are now guaranteed judicial rights
Juvenile Court System • Judge Qualifications --understands the law and child psychology and social problems behind it
Court Systems cont… • Probation Staff Under State Supervision --have a limited case load • Record System --is maintained and safeguarded against indiscriminate public inspection
Correctional Systems Juvenile Offenders --probation --suspended sentences --ordered to get medical or psychological aide
Correctional Systems cont. Probation System • Backbone of the correctional system --stage where juveniles are placed under the care of probation officers Detention Centers --approx. 1/3 of adolescents in detention centers are not juvenile delinquents --they are either abused or neglected and have fallen under the care of the court system
Token Economy • The 24 hour positive learning environment --A reward system Students earn points for good behavior which can be converted into money --the worst rehab for juveniles is sending them to adult prisons
Preventing Juvenile Delinquency • Research Results --children are at risk of becoming delinquent even before age 6 --early prevention can reduce the rate of delinquency http: // www. gcc. state. nc. us/pubs/annrpt/part 1. htm http: //www. gcc. state. nc. us/pubs/annrpt/part 1. htm
Prevention cont. • Family 1. Structure 2. Role Models 3. Parent Responsibility www. notmykid. org/parentarticles/delinquency
Religion—What the Research Says! Mixed Results: --Overall, religion does seem to help, when combined with other factors such as family environment
Prevention Programs • INSIDERS—Involving Neighborhood Schools in the Delivery of Existing Resources to Students • PIE--Positive Involvement Enterprise Program • Specialized Programs—Boys and Girls Club http: //www. gcc. state. nc. us/pubs/annrpt/part 1. htm www. bgca. org
Effects of Juvenile Delinquency Family • Disruption of family routine • Possible Divorce for Parents 1, 12
Family cont. Siblings • Resentment --other siblings can start acting out in order to get attention --or other siblings go virtually unnoticed by parents
Families cont. • Recent studies show sibling influences are independent of other factors. --role model status --focused more on brothers due to aggression levels
Family cont. • Financially --lawyers --court fees --psychological counseling costs Usually free or low cost Cost of incarceration per child—$35, 000 to $64, 000 per year http: //www. apa. org/monitor/julaug 03/youth. html
Effects on the Adolescents Themselves • Feeling of Belonging --gang activity --may give them a way to act out their aggressions --sense of control • Drug use as a means of escape 12
Effects on Society • Tax Hikes --vandalism (can cause rise in property taxes) --court costs and fees --prevention programs in some cases have been found to be more cost effective early intention programs can prevent as many as 250 crimes per $1 million spent while the same amount spent in prisons would prevent only 60 such crimes a year. http: //www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/2/00. 02. 01. x. html
Resources 1 The 2 Adolescent Development, Relationships, and Culture. F. Phillip Rice, Kim Gale Dolgin Benda, Brent & Corwyn, Robert F. (1997). Religion and Delinquency: The Relationship After Considering Family and Peer Influences. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 81. 3 Cohn, Alvin W. , 2004, Juvenile Focus, Federal Probation, 68, 64 -67. (Journal Article) 4 Feld, Barry C. ; 5 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology; September 22, 1997; 5 http: //en. wikipedia. org (encyclopedia) 6 Jenson, Jeffrey M. Howard, Matthew O. ; July 1, 1998; 7 Parker, Jennifer S. Morton, Todd L. Lingefelt, Megan E. Johnson, Katie S. (2005). Predictors of Serious and Violent Offending by Adjudicated Male Adolescents. North American Journal of Psychology; 2005, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p 407 -417, 11 p, 2 charts 8 Pearce, Lisa D. & Haynie, Dana L. (2004) Intergenerational Religious Dynamics and Adolescent Delinquency. Social Forces, 24, 1553 -1572. 9 Regnerus, Mark 2003. Linked Lives, Faith, and Behavior. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, p. 189 -203. 10 Regoli, Robert M. , and John D. Hewitt. Delinquency in Society (3 rd edition). The Mc. Graw Hills Companies Inc. , 1991. 11 Sloane, Douglas M. & Potvin, Raymond H. 1986. Religion and Delinquency: Cutting Through the Maze. Social Forces, 65, p. 212 -213. 12 Slomkowski, Cheryl, Richard Rende, Katherine J. Conger, Ronald L. Simons, Rand D. Conger. Child Development. January/February 2001, Volume 72, Number 1, Pages 271 -283
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