Anger in Controversy: Parents and Prisons - Essay Example

Anger in Controversy: Parents and Prisons The controversy that made me angry centers on juvenile delinquency and single parents. I have read an article written by Jennifer Morse as part of a class requirement. The group members were assigned to discuss the arguments presented in the article titled “Parents and Prisons”. The author argued that people should rethink of their choice in raising a child single-handedly because this has grim consequences for the child. The particular consequence that the writer pointed out is that children of single parents have a high risk in becoming juvenile delinquents.

Upon reading the article, I immediately felt angry because the subject touched a raw nerve in me. My first reaction was to gather observations from real life-experience. I have friends who have been raised by single parents yet they became productive members of the society. Also, I have seen many people who had experienced a complete set of family but became very bad adults. In the article, Morse presented weak arguments, which incensed me further. First, the article stated some news reporting the dumping of a dismembered body by two boys.

I reacted by saying that such news is typical even before, because the crime appeals to sensationalism that makes the reading public buy newspapers. Grisly accounts of murders, whether or not involving parents is common since ancient times. This was just part of the initial reactions to the article that in a way showed how subjective I was on the issue.Second, the article cited some studies that link mental illness and single parents. Ms. Morse quoted that “people who have a family history of certain kinds of mental illness may also have a higher propensity to become single parents”.

This is an overstatement that most single parents would disagree with since many families with both parents intact also exhibit a dysfunctional system. Even if a family is complete, an abusive father can render as much as physical and emotional damage to a child, especially when the mother keeps quiet about such abuse. To further establish a good counter-argument, I did some research on my part. I came upon a study made by Jan Mccord titled “Long Term Perspectives on Parental Absence “ that reported contrary results to what Morse claimed.

The study concluded that “poor child rearing” increased the risk of juvenile delinquency (p.117, 2002). Even families with a complete set of parents can increase the risk of criminal behavior if the father‘s interaction with family is weak and/ or the mother has poor control according the results of the study. This does not mean that Morse's arguments are completely baseless; rather, it is very biased against children of single-parents. Indeed, my anger has blurred my reasoning and immediately caused me to become biased on the controversy.

The anger fueled me to look deeper for evidence that refutes her argument. While it is true that Ms. Morse’s claims are controversial, individuals like me should be more objective in evaluating her viewpoint. Carlyle was right, people should step back on a controversy and look into both sides of the issue. As I became angry, the issue was taken personally as an affront against people I know. I should have also looked for evidence or studies that supported the claims of Ms.Morse. Nevertheless, my stand remains the same: bad parenting and not single-parenting causes juvenile delinquency.

Works CitedRutter, M., & Robbins, L. (1992). Long Term Perspectives on Parental Absence . Straight and Devious Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood (pp. 117,125). London: CUP Archive. (Original work published 1992)