Divorce and Its Impact on the Development of Juvenile Delinquency Cases, Research Paper Example

Statement of the Problem (Section A)

Divorce is undeniably one of the pressing issues considered to have a great impact on the society at present. Notably, the Pergamon journal on Aggression and Violent Behavior notes the fact that separation and divorce also influences some of the most degrading situations of social insecurity that occurs at present. The study by Walter, McKenzie and Schwartz (2003) have insisted on the fact that with the unstable attitude that young children of divorce develop, the chances of becoming more aggressive becomes common in consideration with the behavioral development of these young individuals. This fact is further supported by the US Department of Justice as they released the article on Risk Protective Factors of Child Delinquency. This article specifically points out how child delinquents often live with undefined families. About 54% of the crimes committed by child delinquents are often related to not having someone to watch over their actions during the time (3). True, lack of parental guidance and increased social pressure both contribute to the occurrence of violence perpetrated by the young ones.

The 21st century has continued to see a rise in fatherless families, according to a 2004 report from Nation Master. Divorce rates have continued to rise in the United States, with about 4.95 divorces occurring for every 1,000 people in America, as of 2004 (Wasserman, et al, 2003). As divorces have continued to increase, some have questioned the role the father plays in post-divorce parental situations and how children are seeing less and less of their natural fathers. Some feel that it is by no coincidence that the increase in divorce rates and the absence of the natural father from the child’s life have coincided with increased violent behaviors in children. This paper intends to investigate the relationship between divorce rates, absence of the father, and a rise in child violence in the United States.

In a research forum on children and families, Sharmita Lawrence (2002) released a study on Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy specifically focusing on the research findings that inform the connection between marriages and child development issues. This material provides a clear indication on how familial problems often affect the child’s perception of the society and how respect of others should become a part of their lives. Having divorced parents on the other hand results to a feeling of emptiness that is sometimes filled by the children through having an illusionary family (4). Losing this picture often pushes them to decide to do aggressive responses to situations they face in life as they mature (5). This is further concluded by Akiba’s (2002) study regarding Student Victimization and how domestic situations affect the behavior of students in school as they mingle with their teachers and their peers. Akiba specifically evaluates the different components of school violence and finds out that one of the most common reasons behind such violence in class is the occurrence of broken-family backgrounds on almost 50% of the perpetrators of violence such as bullying (830). Relatively, these materials support the idea that the behavior of young delinquents is specifically affected by those surrounding them and the life backgrounds that they have to live with as they grow into mature adults.

The survey that shall be imposed as part of this research shall intend to explore the most common issues relating to family relations that are most often than not causing turmoil in the society today. True, families, being the most basic units of the society, also stand to be the primary relative social organization an individual first gets acquainted to. Whatever arrangement a family may have would specifically influence the thinking of the young individual still spurring to understand the world outside the boundaries of the family. The current status of almost 65% of families today ending up in divorce has been assumed to be a normal trend that families tend to follow (Wasserman, et al, 2003). Relatively though, through the years of research it has been found out that such an occurrence affects not only the understanding of the young ones regarding family setups but also impacts their behavioral development especially with regards a child’s perception of the society. Issues regarding respect and benevolence as well as the tolerance for violence often become a part of the growth process of children being brought up in broken families.

To be able to find out if divorce does really affect the thinking and behavior of an individual as he grows towards maturity and adulthood, a survey approach shall be handled in line with the completion of this research. The relative connection between familial arrangement and individual development shall be mirrored through this process. Through considering 15 participants to the survey, measuring the behavioral, psychological and social development of each individual shall be given way. The participants shall be contacted online through a forum for individuals belonging to broken families. Their current status in life shall be recorded through this research and shall also include whether or not they have been involved in juvenile delinquent cases when they were at a young age. The participants shall then be divided into two groups, the ones who committed juvenile delinquent cases and those that did not. This division is set to create a measure of comparison hence making a directive course that could identify whether or not divorce among their parents actually affected their decisions in life as they grew into maturity. It is expected that this form of methodology shall create a more unbiased form of research that shall address both the pros and cons of divorce in relation to the increase of crimes committed by young individuals in the society today. Consideration over such balance of topic presentation and issue analysis shall render this research impartial and more reliable for the sake of actually understanding how much divorce impacts the individuality of a person and how he or she relates to the society thriving around.

In support to the desire of creating a consistent definition on what divorce is and what makes it one of the most compelling points of consideration in investigating cases of juvenile delinquency, the 15 participants shall be subjected to personal interviews with the researcher. This interview [although handled online] shall be more personal in the case that the questions would be more directed to their personal conditions and issues in relation to being born or being brought up under the set up of a broken family. The questions shall specifically address their personal reasons behind their decisions [especially on the part of those who have had some delinquent records during their younger years]. The connection between each individual and the past that they have been brought up into shall be identified and thus be measured in consideration with how much their perception of the society has been changed because of the occurrences they have witnessed in their homes.

Noting that some of the participants may have some reservations especially in consideration with sharing their past experiences with strangers, this research’s methodology shall allow some leeway options hence protecting the course of communication that the researcher shares with the participants, hence respecting their privacy and their right to keeping their experiences intact to themselves. Nevertheless, the information or the data that shall be gathered from the survey shall be used to its fullest so as to instill greater value to the research being completed herein. With this approach, it is expected that balance of interests and the impartiality of information would be better handled through the presentation of the data collected for the study.

Works Cited

Akiba, Motoko. (2002). Student Victimization: National and School System Effects on School Violence in 37 Nations. American Educational Research Journal Winter 2002, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 829–853. http://web.missouri.edu/akibam/html/pdf/Student%20Victimization.pdf. (Retrieved on January 28, 2012).

Lawrence, Sharmila. (2002). Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being. http://www.researchforum.org/media/DomVio.pdf. (Retrieved on January 28, 2012).

Wasserman, et al. (2003). Risk and Protective Factors of Child Delinquency. US Department of Justice. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/193409.pdf. (Retrieved on January 28, 2012).

Walter, et al. (2004). Separation/divorce sexual assault: The current state of socialscientific knowledge. Pergamon: Journal of Aggression and Violent Behavior. http://www.ncdsv.org/images/Separationdivorcesexualassault.pdf. (retrieved on January 28, 2012).