Juvenile Crime: Why They Commit the Crimes They Do - Research Proposal Example

Causes of juvenile crime have been debated for a long period. According to many, the increasing cases of divorce and separations as well as working mothers, children now being entrusted to day care centers, and television have been the leading causes. This leads to less supervision, overcrowding as well as effective socialization with children. This creates emotional vacuum thus makes a child develop without proper societal values and goals. One reason why juveniles commit crimes is because of the risk factors associated with them as they were growing up (Marvin et al., 1972). These include poverty, drugs, exposure to violence, unstable family setup, and delinquent peer groups in addition to media violence.

The major causes include the effect of the media and availability of firearms (Meadows and Kuehnel, 2005). In 1980s, 42 percent of juveniles were living in poverty and this led to an increase in violence. Issues of child abuse are more likely to render one a juvenile offender and the symptoms include high levels of aggression and antisocial behaviors. Criminology studies that the major causes of crime lie within an individual and not in their external environment. This is where juveniles motivate themselves through free will and personal decision.

This is clearly shown in the rational choice theory.  Raine (1993) shows that children who perform poorly in school are more likely to become offenders as it will be hard for them to attain wealth and status legally. Young males for instance are quite impulsive as they disregard their actions’ long- term consequences. They lack self control this is why they offend. There is a conduct that usually develops during childhood that manifests itself at adolescent life. Alvarez and Bachman (2003) researched with adolescents who are offenders and they showed lack of empathy and ignorance to societal norms.

They develop socially unwanted behaviour and later they become career