Juvenile Delinquency: Causes, Strategies and Interventions, Essay Example

Objective      

The objective of this work in writing is to examine the causes of juvenile delinquency and to identify the best strategies and interventions designed to stop juvenile delinquency.

Statement of Thesis

The younger the age that a child becomes involved with the juvenile justice system, the more likely that they will remain involved with the juvenile justice court system and the more likely they are to commit additional crimes and more serious crimes. However, addressing this problem can bring about a reduction in juvenile criminal offenses.

Introduction

The work of Flores (2003) reports that the number of juvenile delinquents between the ages of 7 and 12 that the nation’s juvenile courts handled increase at a rate of 33 percent over the last ten years. It is stated that offense patterns “reflect more serious crimes among these youngsters” and as well these young people are stated to be “two to three times more likely to become serious, violent, and chronic offenders than adolescents whose behavior begins in their teens.” (Flores, 2003) It is also reported that children under the age of 12 have been shown to inflict deadly hard and this represents a concern that is significant for both society and the juvenile justice system. (Flores, 2003, paraphrased) The arrest rate of child delinquents is stated to have changed between the years of 1988 and 1997and specifically stated is: (1) there was a 45 percent increase in arrests for violent crimes; and (2) drug abuse violations by juveniles increased at a rate of 156 percent. (Flores, 2003) Flores reports that the Denver Youth Survey, described as a follow-up study of approximately 1,500 youth who are high-risk demonstrated that at ages 11 to 12 approximately 10% of boys and girls had a police contact due to delinquency. (Flores, 2003, paraphrased) In 1997, there were an estimated 181,300 delinquents under the age of 13 years of age handled by the U.S. courts. Youth who were referred to court prior to age 13 for their first delinquency offense were found to be much more likely to become chronic juvenile offenders than youth who were referred to court the first time at an older age.

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency

The work of Mandel (2008) entitled “What Causes Juvenile Delinquency?” reports that “psychologists, sociologists and criminologists” worldwide have “debated the various causes of delinquency.” In fact, juvenile delinquency “continues to confound a broad range of behavioral specialists the world over.” (Mandel, 2008) While some hold that child abuse is a primary factor in juvenile delinquency some theorists holed that “socio-economic conditions combined with peer influences can be an enormous factor in the development of delinquent behavior.” (Mandel, 2008) It is related that the work of Hoge, Andrews and Leschied tested three hypotheses on delinquent behavior in a sampling of 338 youth. The first theory is stated to be centered on the parent-child relationships and that the second was centered on influences of peers while the third is centered on attitudes held toward authority. It is clear that Hoge, Andrews and Leschied demonstrate that there is no one factor but indeed it is a combination of factors that are shown to be the “strongest predictor of delinquent behavior.” (Mandel, 2008) Family relationships in combination with delinquent peers are shown to be the highest among all predictors for delinquency. (Mandel, 2008, paraphrased) Research conducted by Wong is stated to have as its focus the notion that social bonds are a means of providing encouragement or delinquent behavior. (Paraphrased)

Wong notes that young people who are in association with individuals or groups who have goals that are positive and who are committed to their goals are much less likely of engaging in behavior that is delinquent in nature. The work of Vitaro, Brendgen and Treblay demonstrate that the theory of spending time with deviant friends result in a great deal of pressure being exerted on youth to adopt the same behaviors as those friends plays a great role in juvenile delinquency.  It is interesting to note that they also hold that the presence of even “one non-deviant friend may be able to mitigate some of the influence from friends who engage in deviant behavior.” (cited in Mandel, 2008) The work of Matherne and Thomas report that a primary reason that youth from traditional family units are not as likely o engage in delinquent behavior is “the presence of family resources.” (Mandel, 2008) This is because the traditional family with more resources is likely to provide a home life that is more stable and to also have more time to spend with their children. This is because traditional familieshave been found to “allocate more time for family interaction, such as communication.” (Mandel, 2008) It is noted that ineffective parenting is just as likely to impact the youth as effective parenting. Children with parents who have poor communication skills are who are not able to establish strong emotional ties as well as those how fail to provide support to their children are parents whose child is more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. (Mandel, 2008, paraphrased)

It is reported in the Child Delinquency Series Bulletin that data from the first three years of the OJJDP’s Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency which examines “he co-occurrence of serious delinquency with specific areas, namely, school behavior, drug use, mental health, and combinations of these areas” that most of serious delinquents are “not involved in persistent drug use” and these individuals do not have school or mental health problems of a persistent nature. (Juvenile Justice, 2004) Also addressed in the study were the questions of: (1) What is the prevalence of victimization involving serious injury in the general juvenile population? (2) What are the proximal and distal factors associated with becoming a victim who sustains a serious injury? (3) Which risk factors or combinations of risk factors best predict victimization involving serious injury? (Juvenile Justice, 2004) Study findings show that many victims “were prone to engage in illegal activities, associate with delinquent peers, victimize other delinquents, and avoid legal recourse in solving conflicts.” (Juvenile Justice, 2004)

Groups of Offenders

Very young offenders have been categorized into three groups as follows:

• Serious child delinquents who havecommitted one or more of the followingacts: homicide, aggravated assault,robbery, rape, or serious arson.
• Other child delinquents (excludingserious delinquents).
• Children showing persistent disruptive behavior(including truancy andincorrigibility), who are at risk ofoffending. (Flores, 2003)

Flores states that in more than 20 studies reviewed findings show that there is a “significant relationship between an early onset of delinquency and later crime and delinquency. Child delinquents, compared with juveniles with a later onset of delinquency are at a greater risk of becoming serious, violent and chronic offenders and have longer delinquency careers.” (2003) Behaviors that were shown by juveniles who engage in property offenses and violence include the following:

• Onset of conduct problems in the preschool years;
• Aggressive and covert problem behaviors including lying and shoplifting;
• Hyperactive/impulsive behavior at a young age. (Flores, 2003)

Some family characteristics that have been found to contribute to early-onset child delinquency include those as follows:

• Antisocial parents
• Substance abusing parents;
• Parental psychopathology;
• Poor parenting practices such as lack of monitoring and lack of positive reinforcement.
• Prevalence of Physical abuse; and
• A Large family size. (Flores, 2003)

One of a combination of the following factors has been found to accelerate the child toward a path of juvenile delinquency:

• Antisocial tendencies of children with persistent early disruptive behaviors;
• Associations with peers who already show deviant behavior; and
• Negative consequences of peer rejection. (Flores, 2003)

Risk factors for child delinquency linked to the school and community are stated by Flores (2003) to include the following:

• Low levels of teacher satisfaction;
• Little cooperation among teachers;
• Poor student-teacher relations;
• The prevalence of norms and values that support antisocial behavior;
• Poorly defined rules and expectations for conduct; and
• Inadequate rule enforcement. (Flores, 2003)

Stated as risk factors that emerge during pregnancy and from infancy onward are the following risk factors:

• Child Pregnancy and delivery complications
• Neurological insult
• Exposure to neurotoxins after birth
• Difficult temperament
• Hyperactivity/impulsivity/attention problems
• Low intelligence
• Male gender

Risk factors associated with the family include the following:

• Maternal smoking/alcohol consumption/drug use during pregnancy
• Teenage mother
• High turnover of caretakers
• Poorly educated parent
• Maternal depression
• Parental substance abuse/antisocial or criminal behavior
• Poor parent-child communication
• Poverty/low socioeconomic status
• Serious marital discord
• Large family size

Stated as risk factors that emerge from the toddler years onward are those as follows:

• Child Aggressive/disruptive behavior
• Persistent lying
• Risk taking and sensation seeking
• Lack of guilt, lack of empathy
• Family Harsh and/or erratic discipline practices
• Maltreatment or neglect
• Community Television violence

Stated as risk factors emerging from mid-childhood onward are the following:

• Child Stealing and general delinquency
• Early onset of other disruptive behaviors
• Early onset of substance use and sexual activity
• Depressed mood
• Withdrawn behavior
• Positive attitude toward problem behavior
• Victimization and exposure to violence
• Family – Poor parental supervision
• School -Poor academic achievement
• Repeating grade(s)
• Truancy
• Negative attitude toward school
• Poorly organized and functioning schools

Peer risk factors include:

• Peer rejection
• Association with deviant peers/siblings

Community risk factors are stated to include:

• Residence in a disadvantaged neighborhood
• Residence in a disorganized neighborhood
• Availability of weapons

Stated as risk factors that emerge from mid-adolescence onward are the following:

• Child Weapon carrying
• Drug dealing
• Unemployment
• School School dropout
• Peer Gang membership. (Flores, 2003)

Interventions

Reported as interventions that have shown promise are those as follows:

• Classroom and behavior management programs.
• Multicomponent classroom-based programs.
• Social competence promotion curriculums.
• Conflict resolution and violence prevention curriculums.
• Bullying prevention.
• Afterschool recreation programs.
• Mentoring programs.
• School organization programs.
• Comprehensive community interventions. (Flores, 2003)

According to Flores (2003) since child delinquents “often have many concurrent problems, including antisocial behavior, learning difficulties, mood problems and exposure to child abuse and neglect” several agencies have historically provided services to this group of young people. There is stated to be a need acknowledged for more coordination between the juvenile justice system, schools, child welfare agencies, and mental health agencies in dealing with juvenile delinquents and their multiple issues. Recommendations made by the Juvenile Justice research study reported by Flores (2003) include that there is a need for more research in the area of child delinquent development and epidemiology and the relations between child delinquency and other behaviors as well as escalation from delinquency of children to the commission of more serious and violent offending. Also needed is research on risk and protective factors that influence delinquency continuity and the escalation of offending.

Conclusion

Juvenile delinquency has been growing rapidly over the past ten years and study findings show that the earlier the onset of juvenile delinquency the more likely the juvenile is to commit more serious offenses. There are however interventions that can be used in dealing with the juvenile delinquent which are successful in ending the pattern of the offense committed by juvenile delinquents. It is not just one factor but also a combination of factors that leads to the young person committing delinquent offenses and these risk factors include family, peer, community and school risk factors. This study finds that in order to address the problem with juvenile delinquent offenses it will be necessary to address the risk factors associated with delinquency of juveniles and this includes addressing the juvenile’s behavioral problems, problems in the juvenile’s family, peer-group, community and school.

References

Flores, J. Robert (2003) Child Delinquency: Early Intervention and Prevention. May 2003. U.S. department of justice. Office of justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/82A097AE-978C-4F63-9C68-30B6829A7A2F/1745/ACE_Child.pdf

Hoge, R. D., Andrews, D. A., & Leschied, A. W. (1994).  Tests of three hypotheses regarding the predictors of delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 22(5), 547-557.

Keller, at al. (2002).  Parent figure transitions and delinquency and drug use among early adolescent children of substance abusers.  Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(3), 399-423.

lark, R. D., & Shields, G. (1997).  Family communication and delinquency. Adolescence, 32(125), 81-89.

Mason, A. (2001). Self-Esteem and delinquency revisited (again): A test of Kaplan’s self-derogation theory of delinquency using latent growth curve modeling. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30(1), 83-101.

Matherne, M, & Thomas, A. (2001). Family environment as a predictor of adolescent delinquency.  Adolescence, 36(144), 655-664.

Morris, et al. (2003). “An assessment of disproportionate minority confinement in San Mateo County.” Prepared for the San Mateo Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission.

Pabon, E. (1998). Hispanic adolescent delinquency and the family: a discussion of sociocultural influences.  Adolescence, 33(132), 941-954.

Risk and Protective Factors of Child Delinquency (2004) Juvenile Justice. Retrieved from: http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/203555/jj5.html

Siegfried, C. B., Ko, S. J., & Kelley, A. (2004). “Victimization and Juvenile Offending.” National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., & Tremblay, R. E. (2000).  Influence of deviant friends on delinquency: searching for moderator variables.  Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28(4), 313-322.

Wiebush, R., Freitag, R., & Bair, C. (n.d.). “Preventing delinquency through improved child protection services.” U. S. Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.   Retrieved from: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/187759.pdf

William, J. H., et al. (1999). Racial differences in risk factors for delinquency and substance use among adolescents. Social Work Research, 23(4), 241-263.