Juvenile Crime and Socio-economic Factors - Term Paper Example

No one is a born criminal and it is evident that the surrounding socio economic environment acts as an important ingredient and a positive catalyst in turning a young boy or girl into a vicious criminal who might be breaking some one’s house or threatening some one at his/her gun point. In the following paragraphs a detailed investigative analysis has been led to explore the different avenues through which these socio economic factors make their inroad into young blossoms to turn them into dried hays waiting to be ignited with faintest of sparks and provocation.

Before moving into details it is worth mentioning that the following analysis would be based on a set of socio economic indicators that comprises of; family, socio-economic class and factors that also includes community factors, educational background, urbanization, media, exclusion and influence of the peers. Family: Juvenile period is the formative period of human life and family plays the most critical role in this juncture. A family with healthy atmosphere cultivate the socially acceptable norms within the siblings that help them to grow into responsible, matured social being in the long run.

In sharp contrast a family that is subject to unhealthy environment and does not provide enough psychological nourishment towards the siblings might be considered as the breeding ground for juvenile criminals who in no time would become a social menace. Metaphorically a tree determines the kind of fruit it is going to produce in future. A strong statistical evidence might be produced here a “study of 250 boys found that among boys at age 10, the strongest predictors of later convictions for violent offenses (up to age 45) were poor parental supervision, parental conflict, and parental aggression, including harsh, punitive discipline.

” (Shader, 6) Again if the seniors of a family are already engaged into anti social activities, then the child manages to witness such activities on a regular basis and that work as a kindergarten, ironically for criminal lessons. Going by social process theory, individuals react to such conflict situations with hostility and anti social activities (Zarka). It is worth mentioning a study in this respect that was “carried out in prisons in the United States reveals that families involved in criminal activities tend to push their younger members towards violating the law.

More than two-third of those interviewed had relatives who were incarcerated; for 25 per cent it was a father and for another 25 per cent a brother or sister.” (chapter 7: Juvenile Delinquency, 196) Evidence has also been found that a family where peace and love are distant issues between couples and that displays continuous marital disorder results in creating an environment that eventually promotes juvenile delinquency. This is also true for families with evidence of divorce, though at the end it depends much on family unity than on single or double parenthood.

Socio-economic class and factors including community: It seems that children from economically weak background tend to be more into juvenile crime. This socio-economic class based idea held strong in 1950s and 1960s. However statistical analysis since 1960s revealed that youths belonging to the economically middleclass are also almost equally into juvenile delinquency. This is in accordance to the social structure theory of crime, which explains