Problem of Juvenile Delinquency and Education - Coursework Example

Juvenile Delinquency and Education Number Introduction Child delinquency refers to illegal conduct demonstrated by juveniles, that is, minors (persons below the statutory age of the majority) (Shoemaker, 2009). Juvenile delinquency is commonly also termed juvenile offending in most texts and speeches. In the United States, juvenile offense applies to an individual below age 17 who does something against the law that would have led them to be charged in court if they were adults. Based on the severity and the nature of committed crime, it is possible for those below the statutory age (18) to be charged and tried as adults. Evidence indicates that juvenile delinquency and arrests are exponentially on the increase. Juvenile crimes often encompass violent crimes, property crimes and even status offenses like smoking by underage persons. Juvenile delinquency has been proved to be more prevalent in young boys than it is in girls with most experts asserting that this phenomenon is a result of masculinity which renders boys more likely to commit offenses with toughness, power, aggression, valiance and competition their preferred way of expressing and asserting this masculinity. Other factors that are thought to result in this variation include treatment of the boy child and genetic make-up (specifically the 10-repeat allele of the dopamine transporter gene DAT1). Furthermore, juvenile delinquency is more rampant in certain races, that is, blacks and Latinos. Poverty/ low socioeconomic statuses have been cited as the chief cause of this disparity alongside other factors such as parenting (such as harshness and negligence) and peer influence (Shoemaker, 2009). Risk Factors There exist a number of predisposing factors that quite commonly result in juvenile offenses. Parenting style is one of them with permissive parenting (featuring poor/ lack of discipline at homes), neglectful parenting (encompassing the absence of parental monitoring and knowledge of the activities of a child), indulgent parenting (where the child is overly indulged and left to spoil) and authoritarian parenting (where there is harshness in instilling discipline in a child with no explanations for such actions whatsoever) blamed for many juvenile delinquency cases. Other factors of risk in juvenile delinquency include peer pressure, poverty, poor school grades/ performances, peer rejection, high levels of serotonin (which causes bad tempers and low self control), low resting heart rate (causing fearlessness) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) (Shoemaker, 2009). There have equally been mentioned other additional risk factors categorized as individual risk factors which include impulsiveness/ inability to delay gratification, low intelligence, lack of empathy, restlessness and aggression. Several psychologists argue that whether a child will grow up into a juvenile delinquent can be detected early enough from behaviors such as cruelty to siblings and/ or animals. Other aspects of the family may also predispose a child to these crimes. These may include things such as domestic violence amongst parents, drug abuse, single parenting and divorce incidences (Myers, 2004). Relevance I was motivated to delve particularly into the issue of juvenile delinquency as I have witnesses first hand many close relatives and friends in the past waste their opportunities and education because of juvenile delinquency. This is not to mention the untold suffering and devastation that the effects (direct and indirect) have had on the families and the societies in which these delinquents lived or committed their crimes. I remember a specific occurrence where a neighbor’s child had to be detained at an early age for a juvenile offense they had committed. In the end, the child lost interest in school and academics in general because of the stigma that he had to contend with from fellow students following the ghastly ordeal. As I write this piece, the said individual leads a lifestyle characterized by heavy drug abuse, poor finances and broken relationships. Juvenile delinquency is one of the leading causes of school drop outs, soaring crime rates and only serves to ensure that some of our young are left behind in terms of education and personal development. Juvenile delinquency and education are inseparable, with both having known effects on each other. Poor academic performance/ achievement for one, increases the chances of one committing juvenile offenses while juvenile crime hinders one’s chances of pursuing education with utmost zest, dedication and quality. Juvenile delinquency distracts a leaner and so do the rehabilitation process and the aftermath of it all thus affecting the quality or even continuity of their education. My desire is to determine whether these observations regarding juvenile delinquency stem from deficits in brain function or from influence of parents/ peers/ siblings or are as a result of other social elicitors (Haugen, 2009). It is therefore crystal clear that efficiently tackling and understanding juvenile delinquency with aims of preventing or rehabilitating offenders is vital in the field of education in particular (as argued above). Moreover, juvenile delinquency can lead to intense and uncontrollable drug and substance abuse which is known to retard brain activity and hence lower education potential that one is capable of reaching. Also, juvenile delinquency incidences may render a particular region insecure and unsafe to set up schools, businesses, infrastructure, and so on, consequently stunting the education sector of the area in numerous ways. Importantly still, juvenile crime and such related recklessness have in some unfortunate cases led to the acquisition of deadly sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/ Aids and others that permanently leave one unable to have a child of their own. When such happens, the affected individual falls into a sad state of apathy, self pity and hopelessness. Their education and life in general ceases to be of meaning (Haugen, 2009). A number of crime theories have since been linked with juvenile delinquency in order to understand and explain the rising trend. Rational choice theory states that the causes of the crime are in the offender and not the external environment. In this case, delinquents are driven by free will, personal responsibility and rational self interest. The social disorganization theory on the other hand links culture, absence/ breakdown of communal institutions and relationships such as family, church, social groups, schools and so on, which originally enhanced co-operative relationships among people. Another important theory used to explain juvenile delinquency is the strain theory whereby delinquency is evoked by hardships experienced by disadvantaged poor in attaining socially valued goals through means that are legitimate/ institutionalized. Fo0r instance, those with low education levels are prone to resort to violence to attain employment/ wealth. However, certain limitations have been advanced regarding the use of the strain theory in explaining juvenile delinquency. The theory, for instance, does not explain violent crime which causes the most worry to the public and also does not highlight why children from poor families would exhibit low academic results. In addition, most of the juvenile delinquency cases are not always driven by financial issues (Myers, 2004). As for the differential association theory, juvenile delinquency is blamed on peer influence and gangs, with young people said to be motivated to commit crime and learn criminal skills from their peers. Reduced influence from peers after marriage has been highlighted as the chief reason for minimal crime tendencies, and young people with criminal friends have been observed to be more prone to committing offenses. However, many argue that criminals barely hang out with would-be criminals and question how the criminal peers themselves attained their criminal ways in attempts to diminish this theory. As for the labeling theory, once a young person has been branded/ labeled a criminal, they are more likely to accept that role, associate with others who have equally been labeled and in the end, commit offense. Proponents of this theory hold that those commonly labeled are males who hail from poor families. In the social control theory, exploitation of the socialization process and learning assists in enhancing one’s self control and can considerably minimize one’s tendencies to partake in antisocial behavior (Myers, 2004). As a professional, I endeavor to further explore these theories in attempts to enhance comprehension of juvenile delinquency, the psychology behind it and other social behavior that may impact negatively or positively on the quality of life and education. There are quite a number of preventative and even rehabilitative responses that have been used and proposed concerning juvenile delinquency. These include drug abuse education and treatment, youth sheltering, youth mentoring, educational support, rampant family planning services, parenting education, amongst others. My goal is to come up with novel ideas on how such measures can be best implemented as well as proposing legislations and rehabilitation techniques aimed at enhancing child education by fighting juvenile delinquency from all fronts possible. The foundations of one’s education are laid in their childhood years. Juvenile delinquency threatens this foundation in astronomical proportions and is thus essential that effective control measures are established and that delinquents are eased back into learning so that no child is left behind (Haugen, 2009). References Haugen, D. (2009). Education. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. Myers, D. (2004). Psychology (7th ed.). New York: Worth. Shoemaker, D. (2009). Juvenile delinquency. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. Read More