Category: Juvenile Delinquency

Do you think that individual factors or family factors are more important when creating interventions for delinquent youths? Give reasons for choosing one or the other. What type of intervention do you think is most effective?

Conviction among behavioral scientists is that, factors that contribute to juvenile offences are multidimensional, constituting biological, social, and psychological factors. Each of these dimensions further constitutes numerous factors, which have the potential of making youths get involved in delinquent behaviors (Corrado, 2002). In realization that family factors have a great influence in juvenile delinquency, it becomes clear that juvenile offence constitutes a complex system. This complex system is manifested through social and economic disadvantage of the family, parental conflict and deviance, attachment and involvement of family members, social constraints such as rules, discipline, and supervision (Corrado, 2002).

Accordingly, youth delinquency behaviors on large scale are being precipitated by family and community factors. For instance, experts in the fields of child development, psychology, and criminology are convinced that family system variables play critical role in the development of delinquent and deviant behaviors (McGaha and Leoni, 1995 cited in Quinn, 2004). Moreover, “family-related variables consistently have been shown to be factors in the absence or presence of criminality” (Quinn, 2004); for example, according to field research carried out by McGaha and Leoni (1995) observation shows that individuals who are tightly bonded to social groups such as family, school, and church are less likely to commit delinquent acts (Quinn, 2004).

Family factors contributing to delinquency among youths include: poor parental monitoring, lack of parental communication including little warmth and great hostility, poor or lack of parental attachment, negative peer influence, lack of parental involvement in and appreciation for education, parental substance abuse, marital discord and disruption, absence of one or both parents in homes, and prevalence of poverty in the family (Quinn, 2004). In a related study carried on African-American youth males in attempt to find out factors that drive their tendency to be involved in delinquent behaviors, it was found out that social class was not a factor that prompted delinquency behaviors among these youths. Factors cited by the youths to contribute to their behaviors include parental rejection, family poverty, family education experiences, poor supervision and unresolved family conflict, and attachment deficit (Quinn, 2004).

Numerous empirical tests with regard to social control models on delinquency prevention and intervention have shown that interventions that promote family management skills have capacity of being the most cost-effective strategy for reducing problem behavior in youth (Dishion and Kavanagh, 2003 cited in Quinn, 2004). For example, a parent-focused group based on family management produced reduced coercive interactions between the parent and youth where at the same time teachers note that this model has been effective in ensuring reduction in antisocial behavior among the youths (Quinn, 2004). Today, focus has shifted to family intervention programs that address youth problems and their utilization is on the increase. Multiple family group models attempt to address psychopathology and delinquency among the youths.

The success of these models has been enormous for example: family-based social services to stabilize families who are abusive or impoverished; psycho-education groups for schizophrenic patients and their families; family group intervention in positive parenting programs that integrate primary care services; and structured family intervention groups to address early-onset school-related problems and risks of delinquency (Quinn, 2004). All these interventions provide support for the utilization of family-community perspective in delinquency intervention and according to two authors Snyder and Huntley (1990) early intervention constitute the most effective form of treatment to delinquents’ behaviors. Further, the authors propose that the family should be the main focus of prevention and clinical interventions and that establishment of social policy and programs should be directed to the family (Quinn, 2004).

Family group model has evolved as the best form of intervention for youth delinquency behaviors due to its nature of resembling community-based model. In general community-based models outperforms institutional placements where suggestions made is that programs and methods that put more emphasis on prosocial skill development are highly placed to be 10 per cent to 20 per cent more effective in minimizing cases of delinquency than individual counseling or general education (Quinn, 2004). In summary, family intervention model specifically the family solutions program (FSL) is regarded to be effective in that it is ‘owned’ by the family and through this, the younger siblings in the family have an opportunity to learn early and avoid cases of delinquency behaviors as compared to their older siblings.

Discuss risk and protective factors for juvenile delinquency. Choose 3 treatment strategies discussed this term and identify how these interventions serve to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors for youth.

Discovery made is that risks factors put majority of youth in great danger of becoming delinquent while protective factors function to prevent or insulate youths from becoming delinquent (McShane and Williams, 2003). It should be noted that risk factors do not necessary results or cause delinquency while at the same time protective factors do not prevent delinquency (McShane and Williams, 2003). Further, numerous researches indicate that risk or protective factor is related to delinquency. Risk and protective factors are interrelated affecting one another as youth develops. Six kinds of risks have been identified to be the most prevalent among the youths and adolescents. The six include biology and genetics, family, personality, social environment, ecological environment and educational environment (McShane and Williams, 2003). In most cases the six categories operate in collaboration and normally influence each other while at the same time the interaction of risk and protective factors is generally different for each particular juvenile (McShane and Williams, 2003).

According to the developed social development prevention model, Communities That Care (CTC) developed by J. David Hawkins and Richard F. Catalano there are five categories of risk factors that have been found to be predictive of juvenile delinquency. Families influences such as parental conflict, child abuse, poor family management practices, and the problem behavior affecting the family for example “teen pregnancy, criminality, school drop outs, and substance abuse” are part of family risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency (DIANE Publishing Company, 2004). Third are the school experiences such as “early academic failure, lack of commitment to school, and low school bonding” (DIANE Publishing Company, 2004).

Fourth, there is a peer group influence such as friends who exhibit habits of engaging in problem behavior that may include minor criminality, drugs, gangs and even violence (DIANE Publishing Company, 2004). Lastly, is the community and neighborhood factors such as economic deprivation, high rates of substance abuse and crime coupled with disorganization in the neighborhood (DIANE Publishing Company, 2004). Further, according to the CTC model protective factors have to be established and incorporated in order to counter risk factors. Protective factors in nature are qualities and conditions that moderate juvenile’s exposure to risk. Protective factors further are categorized into three basic categories: individual characteristics such as resilient temperament and a positive social orientation; bonding with prosocial family members, teachers, adults and friends; and also health beliefs and clear standards for behavior (DIANE Publishing Company, 2004).

Treatment strategies that usually function to reduce risk factors while at the same time enhances protective factors include family-based therapies that in large scale improve treatment outcome for youth delinquents. Family is seen to be the best avenue to encourage positive family functioning and relationships. Family-based therapies can further be enhanced to ensure they address key areas of treatment for delinquent youths such as development of sense of self and self-efficacy, positive parental and family relationship, effective transactional patterns, and effective family interaction relationships that exhibit functional extrafamilial systems (Lowinson, Ruiz and Millman, 2005).

Another treatment strategy includes PATHS (promoting alternative thinking strategies). According to PATHS strategies, an educational curriculum is generally designed to promote emotional and social competence skills (Ford, 2009). PATHS curriculum has become popular in elementary schools where it is taught three times every week and the main areas that are covered by teachers include teaching the students emotional literacy, self-control, social competence, positive peer relations and interpersonal problem-solving skills (Ford, 2009). In general PATHS lessons include, “instructions in identifying and labeling feelings, assessing the intensity of feelings, managing feelings, understanding the difference between feelings and behaviors, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, reducing stress, self-talk, reading and interpreting social cues and understanding the perspectives of others” (Ford, 2009, p.264).

The last intervention strategy is that of Multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC). This strategy is designed to be cost effective alternative to residential treatment where it put more emphasis on treatment of delinquent youths having problems with chronic antisocial behavior, emotional disturbance and delinquency (Ford, 2009). According to this treatment strategy, community families are recruited, trained and closely supervised to provide MTFC-placed youths with treatment and intensive supervision at home, in school and in the community (Ford, 2009). The aim largely centers on impacting positive reinforcement necessary for appropriate behavior.

References

Corrado, R. R. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (2002). Multi-problem violent youth: a foundation for comparative research on needs, interventions, and outcomes. NY: IOS Press.

DIANE Publishing Company. (20004). Juvenile Justice: Status of Delinquency Prevention Program and Description of Local Projects. NY: DIANE Publishing.

Ford, J. D. (2009). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Scientific and Professional Dimensions. NY: Academic Press.

McShane, M. D. and Williams, F. P. (2003). Encyclopedia of juvenile justice. NY: SAGE.

Lowinson, J. H., Ruiz, P. and Millman, R. B. (2005). Substance abuse: a comprehensive textbook. PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Quinn, W. H. (2004). Family solutions for youth at risk: applications to juvenile delinquency, truancy, and behavior problems. NY: Psychology Press.

The major causes of juvenile delinquency

Causes of juvenile delinquency can be grouped into three main categories. These include the individual risk factors, the family risk factors, and finally the mental health factors. Under the individual risk factors, it is prudent to note that a lack of proper education coupled with lower intelligence might pose a serious risk to a minor in terms of engaging in criminal activities while still at a tender age.

It has been proven that a child who does not receive adequate education has a higher probability of engaging in crime than the one who is well educated. However, this does not refute the fact that there is a portion of those who are educated but still engage in childhood crimes until when they are adults. In addition, when a child is unable to delay the desire to gratify all of his or her needs, it opens up a pathway towards juvenile delinquency.

Secondly, the development of criminal acts among children is also linked with various family risk factors. The nature of family upbringing may determine the final behavioral pattern of a minor. For instance, if parents are generally ignorant of the law and perhaps break the same laws in front of children, there is a possibility that such children may gradually develop into juvenile delinquents. Moreover, there are some parents who do not supervise the behavioral development of their children and therefore they are not aware when their children are going astray, such lack of parental concern is a major recipe for juvenile delinquency. Other family-related issues include abuse and neglect of minors as well as conflicts among parents.

Thirdly, there are quite a number of mental health factors that may trigger juvenile delinquency. Although there are certain mental health factors that can be diagnosed in the early life of a child, there are those that cannot be openly examined.

The major problems with combating juvenile delinquency in Luzerne County

Luzern County is one of the regions that have been experiencing a growing trend of juvenile delinquency for a considerably long time. Although the county administration in collaboration with the local children’s department officers has been working against curtailing juvenile delinquency in this region, there are quite a number of challenges that are yet to be resolved. Combating childhood acts of crime has been thwarted by a lack of adequate data of children who have been suspected to be taking part in petty crimes. While the local government authorities have set up myriads of rehabilitation centers to cater to the growing number of juvenile deliquescent, there is a serious lack of cooperation between parents and the local law enforcement authorities.

Moreover, the county appears to be quite large in terms of geographical coverage. Although some funds are usually allocated to the county in order to cater to the growing menace, additional funding is still required. For example, the process of rehabilitating minors requires adequate staffing officers positioned in various strategic locations within the county. Attaining the latter objective has not been easy at all.

The differences between the juvenile justice system and the adult justice system

The juvenile justice system is specifically concerned with prosecuting delinquent acts and not crimes. When the acts committed by children surpass certain levels, they may be considered petty crimes. However, the adult justice system is specifically meant to prosecute acts of crimes after which an individual may be sentenced to a jail term when found guilty.

Secondly, when a minor has been presented before a jury, it is usually the duty of the presiding judge to listen to the case and finally determine whether the child is indeed delinquent. However, the adult justice system does not allow this type of adjudication hearing. Moreover, the adult criminal justice system aims at punishing the offender if he or she is found guilty of the alleged offense. In the case of a delinquent minor, the purpose is not to inflict any kind of pain on the minor. The latter is supposed to be given some lenient form of a sentence with the aim of offering the much-needed rehabilitation measures.

Finally, adult courts are more formal than those that handle cases for minors.

These differences exist because a minor taking part in criminal activities is largely considered to be acting out of childhood aggression without a clear state of the mind and maturity. In the case of adults, crimes are committed within the full conscience of the perpetrator. This explains why the two justice systems cannot be the same.

The development of the relationship between youth and the police

As children grow up, they are usually exposed to the events taking place in their immediate surroundings. Their views and perceptions are shaped by the occurrences within their environment. Most importantly, views expressed by others also tend to form the larger part of their individual opinions in life. The police force is generally known to be aggressive when performing its duties. In some cases, they even turn out to be ruthless when carrying out arrests of suspected criminals. As the youth grow up, they develop a negative mindset of the police and largely consider them as enemies to their freedom in life.

The bitter relationship between the youth and the police (due to ruthlessness) is the main reason why policing delinquency has not been successful. Hence, the policing system should be restructured in such a way that all members of a given community can relate well with the officers. The police force should adopt a more friendly and humane way of arresting criminals.

Social Learning Theory vs. Social/Self Control theory in juvenile delinquency

According to the social learning theory, there are quite a number of determinants that are instrumental in the social growth of an individual. These include the environment, personal intrinsic behaviors, and how the two interact cognitively with each other. For instance, aggression during childhood may be aggravated by regular exposure to family conflicts. Additionally, adolescents are mostly influenced by peer pressure. The peers form a vital part of their social learning. On the same note, when adolescents are exposed to violent peers, they are highly likely to acquire a violent type of social learning.

On the other hand, the social/elf control theory asserts that there are four social bonds that impede minors from taking part in delinquency. They include beliefs, involvement, commitment, and attachment. This implies that the four given bonds are capable of preventing minors or adults from committing various offenses.

However, I support the social learning theory as the best explanation of why people engage in acts of crime. We are heavily influenced by our peers in most things that we do even during adulthood.

The study of juvenile delinquency

There are two main methods of studying juvenile delinquency. These include theoretical and empirical research studies. Although both methods are usually executed using scientific principles, they inevitably complement each other. Under the theoretical method, studies are carried out past qualitative data. There are a lot of psychological and scientific explanations that are attached to theoretical study. This method is nonetheless difficult to prove. However, empirical research studies use real data gathered from the field. Participants are surveyed using a particular study design and methodology. This method requires a lot of time and monetary resources for it to be successful.

Gender as an important factor in the study of delinquency

In the case of boys, the social/self-control theory is most applicable bearing in mind that they are minimally influenced by their peers when it comes to setting certain social standards. On the other hand, girls are more prone to social influence and therefore the social learning theory fits them. In other words, girls tend to be more aware and conscious of their environment than boys. This compels them to seek a sense of belonging so that they can fit within their immediate social constructs.

The continuing significance and importance of race as it relates to juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency has been significantly affected by the aspect of race in the sense that there are conflicting studies on how race has influenced juvenile arrests. For example, there are studies that indicate that juvenile delinquent arrests are usually biased in terms of race. There are certain races that are targeted when it comes to such arrests. Nevertheless, there are studies that reveal that race is not a determining factor when making arrests relate to juvenile delinquency.

If the two divergent studies are disregarded, it is still factual that most delinquent cases are prevalent among minority groups since most households can hardly secure the best education for their children. Poverty is also a major contributor to juvenile delinquency among minority races.

The ways the superintendent of a school district can reduce a high rate of juvenile delinquency

I would begin by making sure that no new cases of juvenile delinquency spring up. It is better to tackle the challenge before it takes place. I will initiate this strategy by investigating the local causes of juvenile delinquency. In particular, I will target individual homes by putting up measures on how living conditions can be improved. As such, the provision of employment to family members that have attained working age will be a priority in my measures. Moreover, I will work alongside the local education officers to make sure that all children who have attained the age of going to school are not left out of the system.

Parents’ education for prevention of children’s delinquency

I would start talking to my children at the tender age of 4 years because they can at least comprehend what happens in the immediate world. Child age 4 years is also very inquisitive and learns a lot by what he or she interacts with within the immediate environment.

Sociobiological reasons of juvenile delinquency

There are quite a number of socio-biological reasons why juvenile delinquency takes place. In the case of children below ten years, psychological disorders play an integral role in shaping their characters. Some of these minors may also be experiencing learning disabilities and that is why they find themselves ready to overact in order to compensate for their slow pace of learning. The case with adolescents is even more vivid than those of young children. For instance, puberty is a major precursor to delinquent behaviors among adolescents. This may continue up to the time when they become young adults.

The labeling process

When a minor is continually noted to be conducting him or herself in an unacceptable manner, there is a higher likelihood of being labeled as a juvenile delinquent. Even though such a character may be acting out of curiosity and innocence, the label may not be disregarded that soon. However, such labels may assist in correcting some upcoming delinquent acts before the minor gets out of control.

The relationships between the family and delinquency

The immediate family plays both a destructive and constructive role in the process of molding young responsible characters in society. For instance, families that often engage in conflicts are highly likely to impact negatively minors who mainly learn through cognition. On the other hand, families that demonstrate cohesiveness and care for each other are least likely to experience difficulties with the development of their children’s behavioral patterns.

Today the issue of juvenile delinquency is as relevant as ever. In many countries, the crime rates are increasing, and youth occurs to be involved in a range of various malefactions. Such tendency is terrifying, as it means that the lives of many people occur to be negatively affected even before they turn twenty. Moreover, they are not likely to change their lifestyle, so they become criminals soon. Realizing the threat of such situation, a number of researchers paid attention to this issue.

They conducted researches to find out why the youth get engaged in delinquency, what influences their behavior and how it can be treated. We have selected six articles related to the topic. They investigated the issue in different perspectives but came up to the decision that the best way to treat young offenders is to utilize multisystemic therapy. To evaluate the information provided by the scientists, we will pay our attention to such elements of delinquency prevention as community environment, parenting, and economics.

The study conducted by Dopp, Borduin, Wagner, and Sawyer (2014) focuses on the economic benefits that can be gained by utilizing multisystemic therapy. The researchers maintained cost-benefit analysis focusing on the community. They claimed that this therapy helps to reduce the crime rates. Thus, the taxpayers do not need to cover such great amount of gaps in economics. The need for the representatives of public health care and law decreases and their services are not extra paid.

Moreover, the safety improves, and the number of crime victims reduces. It means that they do not need to pay for the services they would be likely to need being injured or having damaged property. They also paid attention to the family’s benefit, as children’s wrongdoings have a high cost. Still, this article does not pay attention to the expenses needed for the therapy. This gap is filled by the research conducted by Underwood, Dresner, and Phillips (2006), who discussed the community treatment programs. They admitted their high costs but underlined that the results worth them.

As a rule, the people who are willing to help the youth to improve their behavior are their parents. Still, very often they are not able to cope with this issue alone. Thus, they refer to the professional that help them to utilize multisystemic therapy. They learn how to control and monitor their children, how to find a common language with them and enhance relations. Curtis, Heiblum, Ronan, and Crellin (2009) compared different kind of delinquency prevention and came to the conclusion that multisystemic is the best one. After evaluating its effectiveness, they claimed that it helps to improve family relations, reduce recidivism and enhanced school attendance.

However, some parents mention that they felt little improvement in their relations with children according to the study conducted by Tighe, Pistrang, Baruch, Casdagli and Butler (2012). These authors did not stick to their own data; they considered the participants’ ideas and concerns. Of course, they were happy even having such results, but we can see that the multisystemic therapy is not a panacea, and individual approach is still needed to be taken into consideration.

Serious antisocial behavior, which can be observed among the youth, has an adverse effect on the community’s safety. Being engaged in bullying and vandalism, teenagers not only violate social norms but also influence the lives of their families as well as victims negatively. Tiernan, Foster, Brennan, Cunningham and Whitmore (2015) underline that many people who are involved in juvenile delinquency become drug or alcohol addictive. For the multisystemic treatment to be effective, they need to cope with their bad habits and stop contacting with deviant peers.

Changing the environment they used to, teenagers require support and control from their families and mentors. It means that people from the neighborhood and school are to be also involved in streamlining the treatment. Robinson, Winiarski, Cunningham, Foster, and Whitmore (2015) support this idea. They also underline that such approach makes treatment more efficient and provides benefits to society. It is mentioned that the parental monitoring is one of the less effective components of the therapy, so consultations with professionals and reducing interactions with deviant peers from the neighborhood are to be emphasized.

Thus, we can summarize that juvenile delinquency has an adverse effect on the families and society. It affects economic state, relations with parents and people around. Among the possible treatments multisystemic therapy is considered to be the best one. It concentrates on the individual, one’s behavior and relations with others. Parental monitoring is not really helpful, and more attention is to be paid to the rest of components. Thus, the youth is to consult professionals and change the circle of contacts to gain positive outcomes.

The conclusion can be made from the analyzed articles that the multisystemic therapy presupposes the involvement of community and family into the process of treatment to influence the behavior of young people in a positive way. They considered the issue in different perspectives (costs, relationships, general outcomes, individuals, and society) but the same conclusion was made, which underlines its veracity.

References

Curtis, N., Heiblum, N., Ronan, K., & Crellin, K. (2009). Dissemination and effectiveness of multisystemic treatment in New Zealand. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(2), 119-129.

Dopp, A., Borduin, C., Wagner, D., & Sawyer, A. (2014). The economic impact of multisystemic therapy through midlife: A benefit analysis with serious juvenile offenders and their siblings. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82(4), 694-705.

Robinson, B., Winiarski, A., Cunningham, P., Foster, S., & Whitmore, E. (2015). Social context, parental monitoring, and multisystemic therapy outcomes. Psychotherapy, 52(1), 103-110.

Tiernan, K., Foster, S., Brennan, P., Cunningham, P., & Whitmore, E. (2015). Predicting early positive change in multisystemic therapy with youth exhibiting antisocial behaviors. Psychotherapy, 52(1), 93-102.

Tighe, A., Pistrang, N., Baruch, G., Casdagli, L., & Butler, S. (2012). Multisystemic treatment for young offenders: Families’ experiences of therapeutic processes and outcomes. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(2), 187-97.

Underwood, L., Dresner, K., & Phillips, A. (2006). Community treatment programs for juveniles: A best-evidence summary. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 2(2), 286-304.

Introduction

There are various reasons why there exists crime in various parts of this world. Juvenile delinquency is a term that is commonly used to describe illegal or antisocial behavior portrayed by children especially adolescents. Various issues can be attributed towards juvenile delinquency for example bipolar or more commonly known as stress attributed to a post-traumatic experience or peer pressure. Irrespective of the cause of juvenile delinquency, juvenile drug abuse is certainly most commonly related directly to either an increase or a decrease in any form of juvenile delinquency. Using existing databases as the main research method, we are going to prove the validity of this hypothesis.

Drug Abuse

Drug or substance abuse is a maladaptive system or pattern in the use of a certain substance that can hardly be considered as a dependent substance. Abuse of drugs does not however always entirely exclude dependency. In the United States of America, the most commonly abused drugs are cocaine, alcohol, methaqualone, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. However, the UN (United Nations) estimates the existence of over 0.5 Billion people in the world who knowingly and without any medical reason abuse cocaine, heroin, and even synthetic drugs. The most commonly abused drugs in the USA by juveniles are marijuana and alcohol (Puzzanchera, 2008).

Drugs Correlation with Youth Crimes

Since the early 1990s, the high use of illegal drugs has been steadily rising amongst youth especially in the United States. According to Dickson (1997), the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other types of drugs among those children in the 12th grade has been on the rise statistically since 1981. By this time over 65 % of students in senior classes had already admitted to once having used these illicit drugs. Though the figures dropped slightly by 1992 to just slightly over 40 %, the figures again started increasing past 1993. By 1996, more than 50% of all seniors in high school had reported that they had used some illicit drugs (Dickson, 1997).

Concurrent with the rise in drug abuse among juveniles is the rise in several total arrests in the United States of America by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (Douglas, 2008). There has generally been a steady increase in the number of persons arrested in the USA since 1992 due to various crimes committed. This correlates to the increase in the use of drugs in this country. In 1992, there were slightly more than 13,898,234 arrests documented by the FBI. This was a drop from 14, 195, 100 documented arrest in 1990., these figures again correlates to the drop in drug use up to 40% by the youth in this same period. These figures of arrest have also been on a gradual increase in response to the gradual increase in drug use (Douglas, 2008).

One might question these findings since they affect the whole population but yet there has been documentation of 195,700 youth arrested for violations relating to drug abuse. This rate is known to have hit a 145% increase since 1990. Even though this represents only a fraction of the over 2,180,500 arrested juveniles for various other crimes, more often than not, they are charged with having committed more than one crime. If the first crime far outweighs the second crime, then it is usually recorded that they have been arrested for the serious crime only. Consequently, research into data of the arrested Juveniles has shown that besides their original charge, they are usually charged together with having abused drugs.

Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) is a program that is normally carried out by the Institute of National Justice. This program has previously measured drug abuse prevalence in male juvenile detainees. This study has also portrayed an increase in the use of drugs among juvenile males since 1993. It should also be interesting to note that there has also0 been an increase in the number of juvenile youth in detention centers since 1993. A substantial drug use rate was also found in juveniles that had committed serious criminal violations.

A more substantial data source for this claim might perhaps be found from one finding of Beck Kline in 1988 who after examining juvenile detainees, found out that 39 percent whose ages were below 18 years were under drug influence. 9 years later, a study by Defrancesco of 113 youth who were considered delinquent in a detention facility of the state found that up to 82 % of them all were daily alcohol users and other drugs (Douglas, A). Interestingly, another separate study was done in 1988 in the Washington District of the USA statistically showed that youth who were involved in peddling and using drugs most likely did commit other crimes more than those who only peddled the drugs.

Conclusion

It is therefore from the data discussed above that a conclusion portraying this hypothesis to be true is reached. Drug abuse is directly related to Juvenile delinquency as noted above. This is albeit the fact that further research needs to be conducted to find out whether drug abuse leads to juvenile delinquency or vice versa.

References

Dickinson, T. & Crowe, A. (1997). Juvenile Delinquency and Substance Abuse. Web.

Douglas, A. (2008). Drug War Facts.Web.

Puzzanchera, C. (2009). Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office.

The United States is one of the few countries which recognize the necessity of sentencing juveniles to life without parole (Whitehead & Lab, 2010). In 2009 there were at least 2.500 underage people, condemned to life imprisonment (American Academic of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010). The question arises whether it is an effective form of managing the behavior of these people. In the majority of cases, the juvenile offenders, who serve life imprisonment sentences, were convicted of aggravated murder that is usually punishable by death. Therefore, to a certain degree, this is a human way of managing behavior and most importantly, protecting the community. This is the main and only advantage of this approach.

However, one should not forget that the main objective of juvenile justice is to provide the person with an opportunity to re-enter the community and rehabilitate oneself. In turn, life without parole entirely deprives the person of this opportunity. Additionally, juveniles are not always aware of the consequences, entailed by their actions; therefore, the rules, applied to adults, are not suitable for them. The judge, who passes such a sentence on a juvenile, should take into account circumstances that led to the murder, the personality of the victim, the exact age of the offender. These steps are necessary for determining the extent of responsibility.

It is difficult to say whether sentencing a juvenile to life imprisonment is morally wrong. Probably there are some cases when such an individual does deserve this penalty. Yet, contemporary American justice is becoming more restorative rather than retributive, which means that its main objective is not to punish the criminal, but to address the needs of the victim and help the offender to restore his/her status in the community (Whitehead & Lab, 2010). This argument is particularly relevant to juvenile delinquency. This is why life without parole should not be expanded.

Reference List

American Academic of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2009).” Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders”. Web.

Whitehead J. & Lab. S. (2010). Juvenile Justice, Sixth Edition. NY: Anderson.

There are various theories developed over more than a century that would explain delinquent behavior among juveniles. They focus on different factors, including internal or external factors that influence an individual. This paper aims to introduce three sociological theories and to discuss one of them to understand why the problem of juvenile delinquency arises, as well as to offer ways how specialists may solve it.

Theories of Delinquent Behavior

Strain theory is one of the ways to describe how society may push people to engage in criminal activities. It was developed by R. K. Merton in the 1930s by analyzing American culture as it was at the beginning of the XX century (Burfeind & Bartusch, 2016). It implies that people are expected to achieve success but do not always have the means for it, which results in strain. Seeing adults achieving success illegally may push juveniles towards delinquent behavior.

The labeling theory also discusses the strong effect of society on the individual’s choices. It was developed in the 1960s by H. Becker and implied that the second and the following cases of offensive behavior occur after a person was formally called delinquent (Shoemaker, 2018). Juveniles, who are usually sensitive to their public image, may develop a deviant personality in response to the labeling practice.

The theory of social disorganization builds around the idea of an individual’s surroundings. C. Shaw and H. McKay researched Chicago in the first half of the XX century and connected delinquent behavior with ineffective institutions of social control (Shoemaker, 2018). School and family are extremely important to juveniles regarding their worldview, and the failure of those communities to guide them may result in turning to questionable ideals and morals.

Resolving the Issue of Juvenile Delinquency

The theory of social disorganization may be one of the ways to explain why juveniles start to cause legal problems. According to the literature, it is a “result of a breakdown of institutional, community-based controls” (Shoemaker, 2018, p. 98). One of the main points of this theory is that the environment causes individuals to act in a certain way. Thus their behavior is a natural response rather than inner deviations.

Moreover, social disorganization happens in areas affected by such processes as industrialization and population growth, which allows assuming that it is typical for urban territories. However, studies demonstrate that some elements like ethnic background and family state are also significant in rural places, making the theory partially applicable there (Moore & Sween, 2015). In other words, it is worth analyzing any environment, which plays an important role in the life of juveniles in a researched area to understand the reasons behind their delinquent behavior.

There are several characteristics of a community that may become a basis for the development of an area of a delinquent. They include such elements as income rates, ethnic homogeneity, residential mobility, and others. As industrialized cities attract a workforce, they rapidly become overpopulated, and the areas with dense communities of mixed backgrounds appear. In such conditions, it starts to be more difficult for organizations of informal control to be as effective as previously.

In the case of juveniles, they include such places as families, neighbors, and schools. In turn, the areas which fail to keep the effectiveness of social control forces are later transformed into delinquency territories with specific values and traditions. The absence of conforming values shared by a community leads to the inability to cooperatively solve issues and provides ground for the development of subcultures.

The processes that spur delinquent behavior among juveniles include several patterns of interactions between young people and their peers and society. Some of the earliest assumptions made by Saw and McKay offer four of them, beginning as disorganization and resulting in the lack of social control (Burfeind & Bartush, 2016). When young people are not engaged in socializing within a normative community, they are more likely to be exposed to delinquent behavior. Failure to bond with friends and family also results in a lack of control. Low participation in community activities prevents youth from acquiring positive social norms and values, pushing them towards seeking alternative ones.

Regarding the factors listed under the overview of the social disorganization theory, it is ultimately important for specialists to solve the issue of delinquent areas. Sociologists are one of those who may use their theoretical knowledge and practical skills for this purpose. The strategy would include several steps targeted at finding the origin of delinquent behavior among juveniles, properly analyzing the information, and offering ways of changing the situation.

Firstly, it is important to carefully study the area where young people are causing legal problems. A sociologist must carry out an analysis of a community that lives on the determined territory. The characteristics that should be examined would be structures of families, their income levels, as well as population density, ethnic and cultural variability, and residential mobility. The data can be taken from a local statistics office specializing in demographics.

Secondly, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of social institutions within the studied community. A sociologist must analyze whether there are enough schools for the size of the population and how does youth spend the time after classes. If the place is highly populated, it is likely that the neighborhood controls are weak. Thus, it is the task of a sociologist to evaluate the affordability of afterschool activities. Religious institutions and hobby clubs may also play an important role for young people.

Finally, a sociologist should identify the weakest points in a community where informal social control is not effective. Depending on the case, the corresponding action plan must be offered. The theory implies that there are many factors that result in the development of delinquent areas. However, some of them cannot be resolved by sociologists as they rely mostly on external factors. For example, residential mobility is something that specialists cannot control since the process occurs due to the economic conditions of a region and the demand of people for housing based on their workplace.

At the same time, there are factors that can be influenced by collective effort. For example, a sociologist may create a counseling program for families that wish to have a better understanding of proper interaction patterns between parents and children. Depending on the demographics, specialists may also offer options of programs or services for youth that the community lacks. The described actions are targeted at creating forms of informal control in a situation where the high density of the population does not allow such societies as neighborhoods to perform the task.

Conclusion

Different social theories explain delinquent behavior based on various factors, including the environment, social expectations, labeling, and others. Each case may be described either by one or by a combination of them. Young people often find themselves at risk of adopting a negative attitude. It is the task of a sociologist to properly evaluate the reasons behind delinquent behavior among juveniles and to develop a corresponding action plan.

References

Burfeind, J., & Bartusch, D. J. (2016). Juvenile delinquency: An integrated approach (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Moore, M. D., & Sween, M. (2015). Rural youth crime: A reexamination of social disorganization theory’s applicability to rural areas. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 4(1), 47-63.

Shoemaker, D. J. (2018). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior (7th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

Generally, a child occupies a very important niche in the community and the society, as it’s the sole hope for the society’s future growth and development. Bearing this in minds of many persons at different authorities and organizations, investigations of the manner of molding children to attain and show behavior character reputable to the community is crucial.

However, it becomes difficult to establish the kind of child by merely having a current physical look of the person, but it requires scrutinizing the individual past and present environments to well know the party’s character and personality (Ortiz, 2008, 23). The investigatory processes to know the individual’s character and personality involve the use of complex and simple approaches, and these serve to provide organizations or institutions dealing with child welfare with important information that would help them develop effective strategies and policies required in the protection of the child, as well as in correction of the child’s criminal deeds.

Analysis

Colleen’s Case: Missouri’s model

Concerning Colleen’s case, it is vivid that she is being brought up by a guardian of close family members. She has led a desolate and unhappy life. This has resulted in the development of a high ill-tempered character in her life. Due to her high temper, she reacts emotionally against pranks, which ultimately shows the loss or lack of self-control. Such kind of reactions is also aggravated by her teenage stage, which is generally sensitive and delicate in one’s life.

Her offensive reactions may thus be emanating from immature thinking, where an individual lacks the skill and mental ability to give a second thought to actions s/he intents to accomplish. Colleen’s tender age and mental immaturity have led to acting abruptly to activities that are beyond her powers, hence falling into traps of committing criminal offenses without her awareness. For instance, though trespassing is a surely wrongful act in the court of law, she commits the crime of involuntary manslaughter when attempting to defend herself from the woman’s attempted arrest.

She emotionally faced the issue with full force without taking a second thought of the dangerous chemical weaponry material that she severely attacked her with, and consequently deprived her life. Following this attack, it is clear that she committed a criminal offense. As shown from the data is that her parents have neglected her, and this might be a major factor contributing towards this ill-tempered kind of life, or rather from the family life point of view, Colleen has not been properly nurtured to have the moral and social values imparted in her life.

The absence of her father to provide the family basic needs and with her mother becoming a drug abuser, she then lacked the laying of proper foundations of her life to instill parental love (maternal and fraternal love), hence, causing her to have no love for others or other things. Though she lives with one of the close family members, she often runs away from home and returns on her own.

The disturbing behavior is likely caused by a combination of factors, with peer association with the opposite sex being a major one, people most of her social class who would, directly and indirectly, lure her to committing criminal acts like getting involved in the consumption of illegal substances. The use of such substances might have perhaps heightened her tempers or affected her mental stability leading her to sometimes act irrationally (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services & Children’s Bureau, 2003, 94)

Using the Missouri risk/need assessment model, we establish that her first introductory referral to risk was zero but she has in the recent past gotten into criminal referral. There is no assault referral indicating there is no need for counsel on sexual misconduct. Peer relationships and substance abuse are some of the things pointed out to have blemished her expected good behavior. It is still shown that the case for parent management style is a chronic condition.

Based on the Missouri model, the grant total score is eleven. This is a high-risk level by the set scale, and she would be punished for committing misdemeanors and class C & D felonies. Colleen would be easily corrected by applying sanctions counseling and supervision. The intervention programs seem to disburse most of the services needed for the major part of behavior change. However, integration of another type of program which includes prevention and education programs and division of family service could mitigate the rate of her behavior change (Champion, 2007, 4).

Washington model

From Washington’s model, Colleen has committed her first offense at a risk level 2, which did involve traffic felony and misdemeanor. She had not been involved in activities in which she utilized weapons which is a major problem with most of the young people engaging in robbery and theft cases. Colleen has however has shown a bad temper with her neighbor and this led her to be a victim of an against-person felony at least once. She has not been in parallel with criminal authorities in other areas other than those mentioned above and drug abuse.

Though she often runs away from home, none of such actions have been reported to the authorities and neither has it been reported to have attempted to escape from criminal convictions. There is little more to add as part of the investigatory information on social life history, hence from the integrated grid scales, shows that Colleen’s overall risk level is moderate.

Xander: Missouri’s model

On Missouri’s model, it appeared that Xander was not at great risk due to his tender age and this shows that with continued behavior of criminal offenses, he can soon enter into adult convictions. According to the revealed information, he has been involved in several criminal offenses in the past. So to him, though he has not been in close contact with his father, there is no evidence of augmented neglect in the provision of instructions and guidance to the child. Her mother whom she is well close to knowing him well and has been strict and puts every effort to ensure that he provides for his physical needs as well monitors his behavior to grow in a good manner.

Despite all the efforts that his mother in dissipating to ensure he matured in the right ways, peer pressure is a major challenge towards her efforts to realization of substantial results. His engagements as a gangster member may be contributing to the perils that have fallen on before and consequently changed his character. However, the parent’s commitments at work and unclose relationship cannot be neglected as a major factor leading him to behave in a crooked manner. As revealed from the computed score, with a total of six, the individual is not putting the community in the worst condition of criminal offenses in the future; however, his contribution would be considered moderate if his behavior trend goes on unaffected.

Washington model

Washington’s model indicates that Xander’s age of introduction to criminal offensive action put him at a high risk of a fallen victim of crime offender in his future life. This is well indicated by the repetitive behave that he has shown in the past, still confirming the trends of recidivism. This is an individual who has fallen into the hands of the juvenile justice system several, a fact which emphasizes the dangers that he may even pose to society in the future.

Accordingly, the total score points are fifteen in the portion of criminal scoring which is higher than that of his peer counterpart. On the social part of life, he has gained some knowledge and experience from the education systems and this might have reduced his cruel behavior conduct in a way, however, his dropout from school put derailed him from the mainstream institutions set to impart knowledge and behavior change to young people.

Consequently, such kind of behave increases the chances of him being a threat to the community or society due to anti-social conduct. This model shows that his parents have instilled a bit of moral value and love for others as it’s indicated in his anticipated need to accomplish his educational goal, which will be an achievement to him and a sign of honor to his parent.

On the Washington grid-scale, Xander is shown as an individual who would pose the greatest threat to the community. The kind of his misconduct would overly highly affect from the social life point of view as well as criminal activity perspective (Kirk, 2008, 177)

Recommendations

Ongoing through the criminal investigatory tools, there are several things that we found as critical in the probing juvenile misconduct and selection of the appropriate corrective method. We would therefore recommend the following in the endeavor to increase effective corrective measurement within the juvenile justice system:

• There is a need to develop a standard corrective measurement technique and selective tools so both at the state level and nationwide. This would ensure that there is increased validity of the results obtained using the different methods in the United State.
• The instrument for investigation and corrective measurements should also be developed to meet both criminal and social factors being measured both in nature and form. Thus, Colleen should be put in a supervised rehabilitation center.
• The measuring instrument should provide a clue of the anticipated solution to the researcher to avoid putting the adjudicated juvenile on the wrong corrective program that would aggravate the situation rather reduce the situation.
• The corrective programs indicated within the tools of measurement to meet a standard that is best for a combination of behavior conducts and individual goals. I would recommend Xander to be established in an adjudicated educational center.

References

Champion, D. (2007). The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law, Prentice, Pearson publishers.

Kirk, S. (2008). Development and field testing of a family assessment scale for use in child welfare practice settings utilizing differential response. NY, Academy press.

Ortiz, J. (2008). Using quantitative methods to guide qualitative research in differential response: Columbus, OH.

Siegel, L. (2004). Differential response in Missouri after five years. MO: Institute of Applied Research.

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services & Children’s Bureau (2003). National Study of Child Protective Services Systems and Reform Efforts: Washington.

Introduction

This paper seeks to discuss and analyze the casual theory of juvenile delinquency by describing an instance of juvenile delinquency as highlighted in the mass media, by describing the casual theory of juvenile delinquency with the definition of the basic concepts, by applying the theory to the instance of juvenile delinquency, by describing how the theory explains the delinquents acts, and by discussing the appropriate institutional response.

Analysis and Discussion

Description of an instance of juvenile delinquency highlighted in the mass media

An instance of delinquency as highlighted in mass media is the case of Columbine Shootings where the person involved is minor. On one fateful day in Columbine High School, in 1999, Erica Harris and Dylan Klebold, both made shooting at their schools. They entered their school in cars and parked at slots not assigned to them where each could view a main exit of the school. Prior to that, they had set a small fire bomb in a field half a mile away from the school, which was as a diversion for emergency personnel. They placed other bombs in the school premises including the cafeteria and the library as the two have intended to open fire on students fleeing the school through the main entrances once the cafeteria bombs detonated.

When the cafeteria bombs failed, the two armed themselves with their weapons, and walked toward the cafeteria, and proceeded to the highest point on campus so they could view the cafeteria’s side entrance and the school’s main entrance to their left. From there, they pulled out their shotguns and began shooting at students (Scott and Castaldo, whom they know and who were sitting on a grassy knoll while eating lunch. Scott died instantly while Castaldo was critically wounded, being hit 4 and 8 times respective.¹

The two have killed other people in the school at a young age hence making them juvenile delinquents in a real sense. It must be pointed however that before the killing, in 1998, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were count with tools that had been stolen, from a van found near Littleton, Colorado. After the arrest and trial, where both pleaded guilty to the theft, the judge gave them a sentence under juvenile diversion. Having been required to attend various classes together, including a class on anger management, it is believed that this could have caused the two to plan a killing spree as described above.²

Description of the casual theory of juvenile delinquency defines the basic concepts 1-2 pages. Apply the theory to the instance of juvenile delinquency

The casual theory of juvenile delinquency connotes a flippant attitude on the part of killers who were minors at the time they had violent behavior. Such attitude may just be caused by a circumstance that has an association in the past upon which the minor is made to react that could amount to violent acts that are disruptive of society’s norms including things that may be considered crimes. This researcher believes that casual theory has close relation with the differential association theory, which is credited to twentieth-century criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland. One of the propositions under said theory posits that a person is likely to engage in crime when he or she has learned more attitudes that are favorable to violation of the law, than attitudes that are unfavorable to it. Thus it could be argued that learning under said normally occurs in the course of social interaction, and the criminal behavior could be learned in the same manner as any other social behavior. The contacts made early in life, particularly those that are intimate, frequent, and lasting tend to produce impact short-term ones but casual ones have great chances of reminding past experiences. Since one has more exposure through close social interaction, to a great number of attitudes favorable to crime than conformist attitudes and behaviors, that person’s criminal tendencies have a great chance of development while still a child.³

This could be used to explain the Columbine shootings where two minors before the horrible killings, were exposed to video games that may have really affected their way of thinking that killing people is more favorable to them. It was a US psychiatrist by the name of Jerald Block, who argued that the killers’ actions are not well explained by diagnoses of the other analyst including the Secret Service. Block states that Klebold and Harris were engrossed in games that would have affected their view of the world. A game like Doom has made killer’s lives most rewarding while playing on the computer which virtual appeared to them as realities. This means that their playing games have gotten them into trouble when Klebold and Harris started to get their computer access restricted. Their anger to society was somewhat being projected into the games and which they had the chance to unleash into the real world when they were restricted access. Moreover, Block explained that the computer restrictions caused great amounts of idle time that would have otherwise been used by the two in their online activities, and which idle time was used by them to express their anger and thus further aggravating their antisocial tendencies. Block also explained that that the plan to attack the school was found in Klebold’s writings as per the investigation of Klebold’s diary.⁴

Description of how the theory explains the delinquent’s acts

Since the related theory states that a person is likely to engage in crime when one e has learned more attitudes that are favorable to violation of the law, than attitudes that are unfavorable to it, it could be argued that Harris and Klebold may have used more of their time feeding their subconscious minds that in defeating their enemies by the number of killings, this satisfies their self-esteem since they are given equivalent scores in the games that could have them to feel great about themselves.

By exposing themselves to computer games where there are war violent characters with whom they can associate and identify, they entered into a world where killing has given them a place or has put them in a world where a reward is more easily forthcoming which is rather casual. Gaining reward therefore while killing their enemies has become a big reality in their minds. No wonder they have a strategy to implement their objective as may be seen in the computers.

This explanation finds a very logical relationship too with how Block explained their immersion in games like Doom by Klebold and Harris that has become more gratifying for the two than the pleasure of acquiring knowledge in the books or in a conventional way.

As to whether there is a social interaction that has occurred as a basis of the criminal behavior learned as other social behavior, this researcher believes there is since the computer games involve a transaction with the characters that even extend to identifying oneself to one of them. As to the possibility whether the two has made contacts early in life that are intimate, frequent, and lasting as to cause more impact, this researcher believes that the almost daily playing of the computer has replaced their normal way of thinking or that they just found some refuge in playing the games that left a mark in their personalities.

Description of the appropriate institutional response

The institutional response for juvenile delinquents under the casual theory would not be to punish them unless the minor could not be controlled physically in which case imprisonment would be the most appropriate thing to do at least while being corrected or rehabilitated.

As stated earlier, before the killing spree the two were already caught on January 30, 1998, with stolen tools that had been stolen from a parked van,² where they sentenced by the judge sentenced them to juvenile diversion, after trial. What can be considered as an actual institutional response was the requirement for the two to attend various classes together, including a class on anger management? Harris was also reported to have attended therapy sessions with a psychologist and continued to do so for about a year.

As part of the diversion sentence, both adolescents were required to attend classes and to meet with parole officers. Having expected to learn from their mistakes the authorities eventually released from diversion even weeks earlier than expected due to their good behavior.¹ What was surprising was when Harris wrote a rather fawning letter to the owner of a stolen tool, because aside from apologies, there was also empathy by him.⁵ Doing such a thing could have alerted the authorities to the inapplicability of the response. Hence it was not surprising to note that even during that time he has bragged in his journal entries about the fake regret, and this has even resulted in applause upon himself.⁶ True to these preliminary signs, Harris was still under his psychologist’s care when the planned attack with Klebold was executed.

Conclusion

What could be found in the case of Harris and Klebold even after they were sentenced to juvenile diversion was to go with their planned killings of students and other people. It would seem that the treatment administered and mandatory classes and visits to parole officers, which are part of institutional response to the problem, were not effective. To say that the institutional response was inadequate is to blame the institutions while to say that is adequate or appropriate is to overlook the killing spree which is of course horrible. To balance things, it is perhaps best to say that determined criminal is almost inevitable unless better research could help decision-makers to update the present laws or rule on juvenile delinquency. There is, therefore, a need to update the present level of research to possibly update the ways to address this kind of problem.

Reference

1. “Columbine”. The Final Report. No. 9, season 1.
2. Release of juvenile records The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2002.
3. Akers 1994, Siegel 1992.
4. Jerald Block. Lessons From Columbine: Virtual and Real Rage, American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry. 2007.
5. The Depressive and the Psychopath. Web.
6. Dylan’s Journal Entries. Web.

There is no use denying the fact that throughout all the history of humanity youth was the main force that guaranteed its further development and promoted the appearance of new features which helped society to evolve and adapt to a new environment. Additionally, very often youth is the first to respond to some challenges which society can face. That is why its development is the main factor in the prosperity of any society. However, nowadays, more and more young people become involved in crime. This threatening tendency results in an increase in the level of juvenile delinquency in the whole country. Some sociologists describe the situation as catastrophic (“Chapter 7. Juvenile Delinquency” 190). For this reason, it becomes obvious that some measures should be taken to prevent juvenile delinquency in the USA.

First of all, it should be said that the issue of juvenile delinquency has always been actual for society. However, its state was not so complicated as nowadays (Bush 23). Incoherent society, under this term combination of tendencies and processes, which lead to an increase of the level of crimes committed by a certain group of people, is meant. Children aged from 7 to 14 years are usually related to this very group (“Juvenile Delinquency”. para. 5). Due to this fact, it is possible to describe the existing problem as the increase in the number of crimes that children commit. It is a very important phenomenon that has a pernicious influence on society.

To find possible solutions to the issue it is necessary to analyze the main factors which lead to an increase in the number of crimes committed by youth. It should be said that nowadays, traditional reasons are combined with the new ones and this combination turns out to be very dangerous. Among traditional reasons, it is possible to outline poor conditions of living under which children exist. It has already been stated that environment has a great influence on the personality of a child and, that is why, being surrounded by people who often break the law, children have no other choice but to follow this example (Dowd 46). Additionally, poverty also makes a child break the law. Indeed, conditions in the family and relations between parents are also important. Nevertheless, the traditional influence of these factors is aggravated by new ones. There is hardly a person who has no access to a computer and the Internet in the modern world. Being very important tools, these issues, however, can have a pernicious influence on the personality of a child (Roberts para. 3). There are many claims connected with the strangling of the scenes of violence in video games. The development of digital technologies increases the level of realism in these games and very often they look very beautiful. Additionally, the development of virtual reality and games with an open world introduced the possibility to perform any actions. For this reason, young people, as the main players, obtained the possibility to commit any crime in the virtual world which, in its turn, resulted in the appearance of manifestations of aggression accumulated in games of this sort. Moreover, very often the actions, which took place in games, coincide with the plots of some movies. That is why, being very popular nowadays, cinema can be taken as one of the main reasons for the development of juvenile delinquency.

Thus, taking into account the main reasons for increase of the level of juvenile delinquency, it is possible to suggest several steps which could help to solve this problem. First of all, the necessity to introduce strict censorship becomes obvious. The modern entertainment industry does not care about the moral development of a person, being aimed at earning money. Additionally, using the liberty of speech and democracy as a smear, filmmakers do not care about the content of their movies, including violent and sexual scenes in the majority of works. Thus, the introduction of censorship can help to change existing tendencies. There should be a certain limit to the number of violent scenes in all movies. Nevertheless, some work should be done in order to improve the climate within the family as it influences a child greatly. Psychologists should work with these families in order to find the roots of a problem and suggest certain ways to solve it. Besides, more attention should be given to the issue of moral and ethical education (Mann and Reynolds para. 11). The fact is that nowadays young people do not have moral values and landmarks which can help them to evaluate some issues and their actions. That is why one of the most important tasks of schools and other educational establishments is the formation of the worldview of a child with humane values which will be able to help him/her act in different situations.

To conclude, it is possible to say that the actions outlined in the work are just several possible solutions to the problem, though, a great number of other variants exist. Resting on this fact, it is possible to say that investigation of the issue of juvenile delinquency should be continued.

Works Cited

Bush, William. Who Gets a Childhood? Race and Juvenile Justice in Twentieth-Century Texas. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.

Chapter 7. Juvenile Delinquency.2003. Web.

Dowd, Nancy. Justice for Kids: Keeping Kids out of the Juvenile Justice System. New York: New York University Press, 2011. Print.

“Juvenile Delinquency”. California Courts. n.d.. 2015. Web.

Mann, Emily and Arthur Reynolds. “Early Intervention and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention: Evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study”. Social Work Research. 30.3 (2006): n. pag. Web.

Roberts, Cynthia. Juvenile Delinquency: Cause and Effect. n.d.. Web. 2015.

Introduction

The theory of cognitive development stems from the different stages under which a child develops and how he perceives the world at that stage.

The person credited with one of the studies about cognitive development theories was Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980). He divided the schemes that children use to understand the world into four major stages (Huitt & Hummel, 2003):

• Sensory-motor period (children of 0- 2 years)
• Preoperational period (2 – 7 years)
• Concrete operational period (7 – 11 years)
• Formal operational period (11 years and above)

In the sensorimotor period, the child’s actions are mostly reflex in nature. The reflex development actions may include sucking of objects, following objects with eyes, and even clasping the objects.

After the reflex developments, a child undergoes a second stage within the sensorimotor stage. This is habitual development. In this stage, a child will develop certain habits, which are done repeatedly. This stage leads to the secondary circular stage that a child will develop the ability to coordinate his actions and the pretensions of the actions. At this stage, a child can perform certain actions repeatedly and also be able to differentiate the means of doing actions.

The stage that follows is when a child develops logic to coordinate the secondary actions. This stage leads to the stage where a child tries to experiment with things i.e. the new means to which he can meet the ends. And, finally, the stage within sensorimotor is when a child develops the issue of trial and error in his actions.

The preoperational period can well be determined by how a child can mentally act on objects. This period may include processes such as:

• Symbolic functioning: – in this process, a child can represent an object that is not physically present by the use of mental words, symbols, or objects.
• Centration: – this stage characterizes a stage at which a child concentrates on only one stimulus or action.
• Interactive thoughts: – a stage that a child believes in action without knowing why he/she has that belief.
• Egocentric: – this stage is when a child sees an object in his version and not any other version. For instance, a child who is left in the house alone might do a certain thing and think that no one will know since he is alone in the house.
• Inability to conserve: – In this stage, it is perceived that a child is not able to conserve mass, volume, and number after the original has changed. This can be demonstrated by what a child may perceive to be correct according to her teacher’s teaching and not otherwise what the parent says.
• Animism: – in this stage, a child plays with objects such as dolls believing that such objects have lifelike qualities and can act.

The concrete operational stage characterizes a stage that a child uses logic appropriately. The stage includes processes such as:

• Seriation: – In this process, a child can analyze objects according to certain characteristics, for instance, according to certain colors or shapes.
• Classification: – in this process, a child is no longer subject to the limitation issue of animism but can be able to identify different sets of the object.
• Decentering: – In this aspect, the child will be able to take multiple actions of problems to solve them.
• Reversibility: – in this process, the child can be able to work out arithmetical numbers, i.e. he understands that numbers or objects can be changed and get back to the original value.
• Conservation: – At this stage, the child will be able to understand that the arrangement or appearance of objects is not necessarily related to their quantity or strengths.
• Elimination of egocentrism: – In this stage, the child is now able to view things from a different perspective.

The fourth and final stage, the formal operational stage, enables a child to think abstractly and reason logistically as well as concluding any source of available information. At this stage, the character traits that are biologically inherited can be exhibited.

“Psychologists with a cognitive perspective focus on mental processes – the way people perceive and mentally represent the world around them, and how they solve problems”. (Larry, Brandon & Joseph, 2006. p 92). The theories of Kohlberg look at the moral orientation of offenders and law-abiding citizens. He believed that the serious offenders had a moral orientation that is different from the law-abiding citizens.

Information processing cognition theories try to explain antisocial behavior in terms of perception and data analysis. Before a person acts, he has to undergo certain stages concerning the action. He first encodes the information and interprets it, and finally will look for proper responses before acting on it.

This approach enables adolescents to use information properly so that they can make reasonable judgments to avoid antisocial behavior, unlike juvenile delinquency that may use the deficit of the cognitive and end up being social misfits through the decision they make while under stress. These can be as a result of how one learned to do things while was under the stages of development, how they learned to interpret events and react, and as well as what they learned to form their aggressive parents.

Most juveniles who misbehave in society tend to believe that society is aggressive against them. Some do overreact to the slightest provocation and believe that such action is by defending themselves yet they are misreading the whole situation. The personality of a juvenile constitutes to a high degree how he can cause delinquency actions. some of these personalities are shaped by the environment and others are biological.

According to (Larry, Brandon & Joseph,) Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor Glueck identified the following traits that characterize a delinquent: –

• Self-assertiveness – Suspicion.
• Extroversion – poor.
• Defiance – destructiveness.
• Ambivalence – mental instability.
• Impulsiveness – sadism.
• Feeling unappreciated – hostility.
• Narcissism – lack of concern for others.
• Distrust of authority – resentment.

This research according to them (Gluecks), the delinquent’s personality increase the probability of “(1) they will be aggressive and antisocial and (2) their actions will involve them with agents of social control, ranging from teachers to police”, (Larry, Brandon & Joseph)

School-based programs that prevent Juvenile Delinquency

Schools do play a very important role in preventing youth crimes. The teaching and non-teaching staff in the school can help the youths develop a healthy and happy youthful future. The communities do also provide support for the school program by allowing the socializing of youths. Many of the cases of juvenile delinquencies are school-based and can therefore be prevented by school-based intervention (Hahn et. al.2007).

The locations and operations of schools can influence the delinquency among juveniles. For instances schools that are in urban, poor areas and disorganized countries experience high disorders than the schools in other areas.

The schools have regulations and codes of contact that help them to prevent delinquencies. For instance, the Drug, Free Schools and Communities Acts of 1986 allowed the state to provide substantial funds to schools to operate drug prevention programs in schools (Sherman 2000). This control policy can be more useful and effective than the issue of policing and the construction of prisons to punish juveniles.

The school programs can be used to prevent the problems or what causes the problems of juvenile delinquency. The programs can be effected within the school buildings or outside as long as one is a student of that school.

The schools can prevent delinquency through environmental change strategies. This includes:

• Building school capacity: – this entails changing the school decision-making authority to enhance the capacity of the school. This has to involve the staff of the school, students, and the communities at large to come up with goals that the school has to achieve and through which means. This means will mostly have to be in line diagnosing the problems within the school and how to prevent them. This means coming up with a way of improving communication as well as co-operation in the school community among all the stakeholders.
• Setting rules and norms of the school: – this entails having schools’ rules and codes set out clearly and having to be followed by all students. Days are set aside for certain commemoration, for instance, a day for the “Red ribbon week” which campaigns against drug abuse and bullying among students in the schools ( Brady, 2002).

The schools can as well prevent juvenile delinquency through individual change strategies. This strategy implies changing the knowledge and skills of a student, his attitude and believes as well as his behavior in general. This is through means such as:

• Instructing students: – this is the most common means of strategy change. It implies telling the students factual issues and increases their awareness about bad or unwelcoming societal behaviors. The students can be encouraged to behave well in society by making them appreciate the diversity in the society, and also improving their moral character. The best examples of these actions are campaigns such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E), Law –Related Education (L.R.E), and Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T).
• Behavior Modification and Teaching Thinking strategies: – this directly involves changing the behavior of the youth. It tracks down the behavior of the youth over time and uses feedback to change the unwanted behavior. The external force can be used to shape the behavior of the student. The students are taught skills that can help them stop any bad behavior that a peer wants to influence him, rather than acting impulsively. Therefore, students need to rehearse and practice these skills so that they can know how to avoid bad influences when a friend proposes or acts in a suggesting manner.

Schools can as well increase positive behaviors through peer groups. In peer groups, there have to be peer councilors and peer leaders who will teach the students positive behaviors and also to whom the students consider as role models. Furthermore, the school also uses mentoring to increase moral behavior in society.

Recreational and leisure activities: – activities that provide fun to the juvenile increase the chances of reduced cases of delinquency. Youth having fun for instance in the famous “Midnight Basketball” will keep them busy and reduce the causes of delinquency (McNeill 2002).

Results of the programs

Studies have shown that schools management influenced the disorders in schools. A school that management allows and encourages more co-operation and communication experiences a high rate of teachers’ morale and a low rate of disorders. The schools that have well-elaborated rules for students and students feel more cared about also experiences fewer disorders. The schools that have built enough capacity experiences less disorder than the school with poor capacity.

Programs that set norms and rules for certain behavior expectations for instance through the campaign have been found to reduce the cases of marijuana use and alcoholism hence reduced the cases of juvenile delinquency in the end.

More competency social promotions work more in reducing drug cases than the programs that do not focus on competency.

Schools also have programs such as the Safe Schools Unit of the San Diego Country (CA) office, which provides safety to students and an intervening program to ensure safety to students and an intervening program to ensure safety particularly in the cases of gang-related (Vickers 2000). These procedures also include plans that train teachers, students, and parents in handling gang-related violence. Such approaches along with other measures of crime prevention have ensured the safety of the San Diego schools being improved.

Schools have come up with programs that will see the improvement of their student’s grades. The students with lower grades feel inferior and isolated. This is more so because grades are sued as a measure of judging a student’s performance. Such students might even get punishment at home, while at school they are considered to be outcasts. Hence such cases might lead to students resenting and undertaking behaviors that are not morally upright in society. Therefore, such students need friendship at school and home to relieve pressure.

Schools provide knowledge and skills for students that can play a key role in shaping students’ principles. Education is continuously getting prestige in society and not all students are capable of continuing with their education after finishing general school. Such a situation might lead to youth engaging in activities that are not right to realize their value in society. The schools hence have to ensure that students get enough knowledge and skills that can help them in society.

Peer programs use students to resolve conflicts that arise among students. Student leaders have also been used to pass the message to fellow students. This is because most youths find the information delivered by fellow youths more appealing than when delivered by adults.

Summary and Conclusion

The school-based programs that need to reduce or prevent juvenile delinquency have to be implemented by staff and other management of the schools. Therefore needs high fidelity integrity in implementing them. Some school management might end up watering down the recommendations to suit certain conditions, or just because of the challenges they face in implementation. Hence if the management does not show ambitiousness in adopting and implementing the programs, the school-based program is bound to fail to cause increasing or uncontrolled juvenile delinquency cases.

Another challenge in the school-based programs is how to initiate and maintain a change that is more meaningful to schools. The programs have to be implemented in a conducive environment to achieve possible results.

In dealing with changing the behavior of youths, a program like D.A.R.E might be facing problems in its objective achievement because of the uniformed police and other execution methods rather than using teachers might be accountable to its failure. D.A.R.E campaigns have to be put in instructional campaigns to increase the achievement of its objectives.

In conclusion, the school acts as a critical avenue opportunity for the youths to change behaviors. This is because most of the years of youth are spend in school. School-based programs have been found to reduce a significant rate of crime among the youth especially those in lower social-economic societies. Therefore, school-based programs have been found to reduce juvenile crimes despite the difficulties in implementation.

References

Brady J (2002); Red Ribbon Resources Newsletter. Web.

Hahn. R, et. al. (August 10, 2007): The Effectiveness Of Universal School-Based Programs For The Prevention Of Violent and Aggressive Behavior.

Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Web.

Sherman, L W. (2000): The Safe and Drug-Free Scholl Program, Web.

Siegel L.F, Welsh. B, Senna J.J; (2006): Theory, Practice, and Law; ISBN 0534645666, Thomson Wadsworth.

McNeill D. (2002); Youth Violence; What Can We Do About It; A Report Of The Josephson Institute Of Ethics. Web.

Vickers S. (2000); San Diego County Department of Probation Prevention, Web.