Juvenile Delinquency Quincy College Chapter Three Fall 2016

Juvenile Delinquency Quincy College Chapter Three Fall 2016

Disclaimer • The Information in this presentation is a representation of the material in the textbook of this class. It is not to be assumed that the Instructor agrees with the material, or this material represents the views of Quincy College or the Instructor. Students are encouraged to provide their feedback in relation to the material

Delinquency This review introduces the concept of delinquency and. . • Psychology/Psychiatric disease • Behavior Related Problems • And how they are related to delinquency, and… • Sociological reasons for delinquency

Chapter Three Review: Individual Causes of Delinquency • Positivism: Laws govern human behavior and these laws can be understood and used • Social contract: An unstated agreement between people and its government as to the rights and obligations of each • Free will: The ability to make rational choices, among possible action and select one over the other

More…. . • Ultarianism; The greatest good for the greatest number • Felicfic calculus: Humans strive to obtain a favorable balance between pleasure and pain • Rationality of Crime:

More Theories • Rational Choice Theory; Delinquents make choices to commit crimes • Routine Activity Approach: Crime is related to nature of everyday patterns • Progressive era: Circa 189 to 1920, when a wave of optimism swept through American society

Even More…. • Determinism: Biological and psychological traits lead to delinquency • Biological positivism: Biological characteristics drive juveniles, not delinquency • Born Criminal: An individual reverts to earlier evolutionary level and is unable to conform to modern society

Factors… • Sociobiology: Biological factors and the influence of the environment upon the individual • Twin and adopted studies: Some evidence of genetic contributions of criminal behavior • Intelligence: …

Juvenile Behavior • Research indicates that intelligence is related to criminal behavior • Neuropsychological factors: Criminal behavior may be related to Neuropsychological impairments • Brain functioning and Temperament/Learning Disorder: ADHD, Learning Disorders and other brain functioning can lead to impulsiveness and/or criminal behavior

Psychoanalysis • Psychoanalytical explanations: Personality developed early in life- Four explanations how childhood emotional problems may lead to delinquency: …

Says…. . • 1) Behavior related to neurotic personality development • 2) Delinquent behavior related to defective superego • 3) Violence may be resulting from overdeveloped superego repressing negative emotions

Leading to…. • - 4) Delinquent behavior may be the result of compensatory gratification, seeking gratification missed in earlier life • And… • Reinforcement theory: Behavior is governed by rewards and punishments • Personality and Crime: Delinquency can be attributed to basic inborn characteristics

Delinquency and Psychology More: • Psychopath: Hard core Juvenile Delinquents, usually diagnosed with a Conduct Disorder • Cognitive Theory: Children develop cognitive abilities through interactions with the physical and social worlds

Development • Developmental Theories of Delinquency: Delinquency has a beginning, continues for some into adulthood, and ends for most at some point in their lives • Trajectories of offending • Moffitt: Poor neurological scores were associated with early onset of delinquency

More… • Tremblay: • High levels of kindergarten disruptive behavior predicted higher levels of delinquency • Physical aggression during kindergarten is the best behavior predictor of later delinquency

Development • No significant groups of boys started to show delinquent tendencies after their kindergarten year • Hyperactivity and anxiety predicted smoking and drug/alcohol use up to the age of 15

Questions ? ? ? • Thank You