Juvenile Delinquency in Context - Research Paper Example

? Annotated Bibliography – Juvenile Delinquency in Context Annotated Bibliography – Juvenile Delinquency in Context Cuevas, C., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., and Ormrod, R. (2007). Juvenile delinquency and victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(12), 1581. The author’s of this study look at correlations that exist between victimized as an adolescent and becoming a juvenile delinquent. The findings indicate that since delinquent youth engage in risky activities, they are likely to become victims of crimes themselves. This study does not just look at victims first in and effort to determine if they then become juvenile criminals themselves, but it also look at juvenile offenders who subsequently become victimized themselves. The authors also look at other possible causes of juvenile delinquency, such as bully and experience some form of traumatic stress. The Development Victimization survey forms that basis for much of the study, and it uncovers evidence that quite a few groups of adolescents are labeled as delinquent, but do not suffer from victimization themselves. Also, it is discovered that being a victim does not necessarily lead someone to become a juvenile delinquent himself or herself. Iravani, M. R. (2012). A social work study on juvenile delinquency. Management Science Letters, 2(4), 1403-1408. The authors of this article present the findings from an empirical study that examined the effects that different factors in society played on adolescents become labeled as a juvenile delinquent. The study design employed the distribution of a survey to 100 adolescents who are known to have committed a crime. Specifically questioned were such areas as family conditions, religion, economic situation, the impact of media, and physical and psychological characteristics. The authors wanted to see to what extent each of these factors played, if any, in the incidences of juvenile delinquency. It was discovered that having a better family condition contributes to a lower risk of engaging in risky behavior that leads to juvenile delinquency. Having both parents at home also leads to more opportunities to head off such behavior before it rises to the possible level of becoming a crime, thereby minimizing the risk that juvenile delinquency will occur in young people who have a more stable home life. Khurana, A., and Gavazzi, S. (2011). Juvenile delinquency and adolescent fatherhood. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 55(5), 756-770. This is an interesting study that explores the prevalence of juvenile delinquency amongst teenage fathers. A good sample size of nearly 3,000 males participated in the study, and the findings are explored in the 14-page study article. It was discovered, among other things, African American youth have equal rates of fatherhood as other European races who are also offenders. This study leads to the conclusion the juvenile delinquency as a whole can lead to risky sexual behaviors contributing to teenager fatherhood, and this has little to nothing to do with race. It was also reported that European youth you commit crimes have higher rates of drug and substance abuse than others, and are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors. In essence, the authors of this study contradict other research, and commonly held beliefs, that racial stereotyping has a great deal to do with the rates of certain minority groups having a higher propensity toward behavior leading to juvenile delinquency. Kirschbaum, K., Grigoleit, L., Hess, C., Madea, B., and Musshoff, F. (2013). Illegal drugs and delinquency. Forensic Science International, 226(1-3), 230. While much research has been conducted about the influence of drugs and other types of substance abuse on an individual’s behavior, not much is known about the factors involved. This study takes different types of juvenile crimes and determines if there is a correlation between a particular type of substance abuse. In the end it was discovered that there is no set tie between delinquency and drug use, although there are obvious indicators that there are mitigating factors connect certain crimes, the background of the youth, and the propensity to abuse drugs. The study is based on a solid sampling of over 4,800 cases of delinquency, of which the most common type of crime was property related offenses. This study is quite important as it examines possible relationships that exist in youth that abuse drugs, and the propensity that they then have to commit either violent or petty crimes. By understanding the correlations, youth workers will better be able to understand any possible warning signs. Patacchini, E., and Zenou, Y. (2012). Juvenile delinquency and conformism. The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 28(1), 1-31. This is a study that looks juvenile delinquency from the perspective of conformity. In essence, data is presented that looks at different types of juvenile crime, the influence of peers on behavior, and the desire to conform. This data is then used to develop strategies that help professionals in areas dealing with adolescents to determine the various types of peer influences that motive juveniles to commit particular types of crimes. A particular focus is petty crimes, as statistics are still alarmingly high for the number of young people that participate in such behaviors. The authors conclude their study by recommending various policies be adopted to help minimize the effects of conformity by restructuring the social networks that juveniles places themselves in. Since this study discusses the effects of conformity of juvenile crime, the primary focus is on how to use that need to conform and channel it into more positive behaviors moving forward. Polier, G., Vloet, T., and Herpertz-Dahlmann, B. (2012). ADHD and delinquency – a developmental perspective. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 30(2), 121-139. This is a unique study to looks at the possible relationship that exists between adolescents with ADHD and the likelihood that they will become juvenile delinquents. Until now, research has not been conclusive about this fact, tending to lead to the conclusion that the presence of ADHD must be compounded by other factors leading to a propensity to commit crime as a young person. This article delved a bit deeper into the issue, studying juvenile delinquents from the time they are adolescents through to their adult life of crime. It was discovered the juvenile delinquents with ADHD developed into adults who exhibited a range of other risk factors such as neurocognitive impairment, high parental psychopathology, poor social function, and other noticeable mental disorders. This study can prove quite useful in examining the effects that ADHD has on a person’s desire to commit crime. Ryan, J., Williams, A., and Courtney, M. (2013). Adolescent neglect, juvenile delinquency and the risk of recidivism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(3), 454-465. The authors of this study look at the correlation between young people who are abused at home and their propensity to exhibit behaviors that lead to juvenile delinquency. The findings do indicate that victims of child abuse, in addition to those that neglected at home when they are younger, are factors that increase the likelihood of youth committing a crime that will sentence them to a youth correctional facility. Factors of neglect that are examined include a lack of parental monitoring, outright rejection by the parents, or a breakdown in family relationships. When one or more of these factors are present, it was found that adolescents are likely to be repeat offenders of moderate to high-risk adverse behaviors. The authors used a diverse population, including various ethnic groups, and used data from the child welfare office and juvenile justice centers in the state of Washington. Sherman, L. (2006). Crime and juvenile delinquency. Gender Issues, 23(4), 60-68. The author of this study focuses on research from a sociological perspective. He looks specifically at the reality that much of juvenile crime is located in the inner-cities of America. The study makes mention of the fact that age, race, and income levels of the family are important factors contributing to juvenile delinquency, yet he discovers data that points to an overwhelming influence of the inner city causing young people to have a propensity to commit crimes at an early age. He looks at data from the National Crime Victimization and Survey, and from the Uniform Crime Reporting System to arrive at his conclusions. He also looks at specific types of crime committed and ties this to other mitigating and demographic factors that are present in the life of the juvenile. Read More