Supporting the Juvenile Delinquent: The Antisocial Appraised, Understood, and Reassured - Article Example

Supporting the Juvenile Delinquent: The Antisocial Appraised, Understood, and Reassured By: Full name] [course] [date] Supporting the Juvenile Delinquent: The Antisocial Appraised, Understood, and Reassured Rowdy, defiant, uncontrollable, impulsive - these are adjectives that are often associated with adolescents as they reach the stage of developmental turmoil These behaviors typically describe them due to the changes and transitions they go through. However, an instance comes when these actions become too aggressive and are done contrary to the laws or the norms of society that they have already been deemed as delinquent behavior (Wickliffe, “Juveniles Commit Crimes”). Juvenile delinquency first came to be in the year 1899 “when the first juvenile court began to treat young offenders differently from those who were older” (Trojanowicz & Morash 5). It becomes a case of juvenile delinquency when the act is committed at approximately up to the age of eighteen. Age considerations may vary from state to state but 10 years old is considered by experts as the most logical lower limit cut-off point when children already start to decipher between right or wrong. Not every juvenile who breaks the law can be called a delinquent as this will depend on the frequency and severity of the offense. Moreover, in order for a behavior to be considered delinquent by state laws, it has to fall under two categories (Trojanowicz & Morash 5). One category is that the behavior is considered criminal for adults such as murder, rape, fraud and robbery. Those which are not considered seriously harmful to other people like drug abuse and trespassing also fall within this category. Another category is called status offenses and they refer to behaviors that may not be legally prohibited for adults and may include truancy, being out of the parents’ control, and running away from home. The courts specifically find delinquent behaviors as dangerous especially when they form a pattern that violates the law based on the jurisdiction of the juvenile court (Wickliffe, “Juveniles Commit Crimes”). In spite of this, the courts’ main goal is to put the adolescents’ welfare on top priority. Based on the standards set by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the juvenile courts make sure that judges and staff are those who adhere to non-punitive and individualized treatment for the delinquent. This is done so in order for the courts to be able to consider the situation that the delinquent is in and arrive at a disposition that is based on the full knowledge of his needs. Afterwards, if he would need care and treatment services, the courts also ensure that adequate facilities and effective personnel are available at his disposal. In the end, the general well-being as well as legal and constitutional rights of the adolescent, his family, and the community are all considered to arrive at the best possible decision. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquent behaviors are apparent with both boys and girls. Boys tend to get arrested due to major offenses ranging from vandalism, theft, rape, to drugs. Meanwhile, girls are prone to incorrigibility, running away, gang involvement, and sex offenses. But one delinquent behavior that has been an issue of national policy is antisocial behavior (Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 2). Clemens espouses that antisocial behavior is the result of a personality of the hardcore juvenile delinquent (112). Antisocial behavior has been defined by Mayer “as repeated violations of socially normative behavior and usually involving aggression, vandalism, rule infraction, defiance of adult authority, and violation of the social norms and mores of the society” (qtd. in Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 6). Therefore, a juvenile delinquent who is an antisocial is someone who can be charming, of good intelligence, and not delusional or irrational but at the same time can be unreliable, insecure, lacking in shame and remorse and will tend to commit all kinds of misbehavior even when the stakes may be too small (Clemens, 112). Despite all these, the antisocial is unable to learn from past mistakes and tend repeat them over and over again. Consequently, he has no real capacity for love, kindness, or trust, and can be too carefree about life. Additionally, Wright et al. describes antisocial behavior to be characterized by “low self-esteem, poor peer and adult relationships, and instability in the home life” (qtd. in Barnes 40). Considering the significant impact that the antisocial and his behavior have on society as a whole, it is important to examine what has been done in terms of studies and researches to address the concern. Studies have shown that juvenile delinquency in general can be attributed to recent changes in the family set-up including incidents of divorce and working mothers as well as the consequences of overcrowding, abuse, and the creation of an emotional vacuum within the adolescent (Wickliffe, “Juveniles Commit Crimes”). More about the family and negative parental role modeling can be attributed to antisocial behavior in specific. Robins made a follow-up study of white children that were referred to a psychiatric clinic for antisocial behavior (qtd. in Wickliffe, “Juveniles Commit Crimes”). It was found that these children’s fathers were found to have problem behaviors as well. Thirty six percent of them did excessive drinking, 21% had poor study habits, 26% were non-supportive or neglected their children, and 20% were physically cruel. Additionally, 48% of these children’s mothers and 23% of their fathers were either psychologically disturbed or mentally handicapped. Similarly, Robin, West, and Herjanic study on black children suggested that convicted parents tended to have convicted children and that when they were juveniles they had similar rates and types of behavior (qtd. in Wickliffe, “Juveniles Commit Crimes”). Research further indicates that antisocial behavior has a genetic connection (Barnes 39). In one study of individuals who were diagnosed with antisocial behavior personality disorder it appears that males were five times more likely to inherent the disorder among first-degree biological relatives while females were ten times more likely to inherent it than the general population. Meanwhile, Avshalom Capsi and colleagues made a study on the personality traits of youthful offenders in New Zealand and Pittsburgh (qtd. in Clemens 115). They found out that “the personality correlates of delinquency were robust in different nations, in different age cohorts, across gender, and across race”. Delinquents tended to have a personality configuration that was characterized by high Negative Emotionality or the tendency to experience aversive affective states and at the same time a weak Constraint or difficulty in impulse control. More importantly, they discovered that delinquents with negative emotions may readily resort to antisocial behavior when they have a combination of Negative Emotionality and weak Constraint. Other characteristics that have been found to be highly associated with antisocial behavior have something to do with factors that put the adolescent at risk or the so-called called risk factors. Reddy et al. defines risk factors as conditions or situations that are empirically related to particular outcomes (qtd. in Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 9). A lot of risk factors are associated with antisocial and violent behavior and they can either be internal or external. Internal risk refers to individual, within the self and intrapsychic factors. In specific, studies of psychological characteristics relating to cognitive deficits, hyperactivity, and early involvement in antisocial behavior showed consistent relationship with violent behavior in boys. Conversely, external factors referring to family, school, community and peer relations that create contexts for daily living are environmental variables that create a significant impact on the lives of adolescents (Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 12). In particular, McEvoy & Welker found that home conditions consisting of harsh and ineffective parental discipline, family conflict, child abuse and rejection of parents, all tend to predict chronic patterns of antisocial behavior in children and youth (Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 13). This further means that methods used at home to deal with conflict and problems tend to be the same methods adolescents use outside of the home. The school is another potent unit that influences children and how they behave. Flannery enumerated risk factors in school and they are: high student/teacher ratios, insufficient curricular and course relevance, and weak and inconsistent adult relationship (qtd. in Christle, Nelson & Jolivette 15). Additionally, the school environment is most of the time prone to children teasing, fighting, and harassing each other that when they are ignored or not given appropriate attention by adults, such aggressive behaviors get reinforced and lead toward more violence (Furlong & Morrison, qtd. in Nelson & Jolivette 15). Adolescents’ involvement with delinquent peer groups inside and outside of the school is also indicative of their low social control, poor self-concept, and interpersonal inadequacy (Brook et al. qtd. in Barnes 40). Relating with antisocial peers is a result of modeling of antisocial behavior and attitudes. As such, adolescents who witness antisocial behavior are more likely to exhibit them than those who just talk about it. The sad thing is that, in a thirty-year follow-up study made by Robin, it was found that antisocial behavior before the age of eighteen tend to persevere in adulthood in the form of sociopathy that “over 50 percent of the sociopathic males showed an onset of symptoms before the age of eight” (qtd. in Clemens 112). As such, it is very important to explore a theory that may offer an explanation for antisocial behavior in order to find ways to deal with this conundrum. Sigmund Freud through the psychoanalytic theory has proposed that all significant personality formation occurs during the early stages of the person’s life span and is primarily shaped by his interaction with the adult environment (Trojanowicz & Morash 64). The individual goes through the psychosexual stages of development from the oral, anal, and phallic stages. Clemens relates that each stage creates social pressures on the child that will ultimately influence the way he deals with innate sexual and aggressive drives (110). The first stage occurs from ages 0 to 1 and the oral cavity is considered to be the center for pleasure satisfaction. As such, the infant tends to suck, eat, and chew. In the anal stage, urinary and bowel movement becomes the pleasurable activity for the 1 to 3-year-old. Finally, in the phallic stage, from ages 3 to 6, the young child receives pleasure from the genitals. The psychoanalytic theory assumes that when these basic drives are repressed or controlled in an abnormally low level, it may develop into various behavior disorders. For example, when these desires have not been met at this early stage of life, it will tend to seek gratification at a later stage. Conversely, an adolescent who has been deprived in the oral stage may become an alcoholic or may become cruel to other people if toilet training during the anal stage was too restrictive. It is very evident then that the adolescent’s family plays a very significant role in the his proper development especially that childhood experiences tend to persevere and still influence how he will interact with the larger society. In fact Aichhorn, has worked closely with the youth through the psychoanalytic theory of personality development and believes that the antisocial individual have developed considerable hatred to their parents (qtd. in Clemens 111). This in turn, could have created in him a sense of disrespect for all other adults and especially those in authority that they tend to defy and rebel against them. Furthermore, it is also relevant to this theory that the personality is composed of the id, ego, and superego that helps the child distinguish socially acceptable and socially undesirable behavior (Clemens 110). The id is that part of personality that embodies primitive desires and whose main goal is to gain immediate satisfaction of these instinctive needs. It is dodged in the unconscious part of the mind. On the other extreme is the superego which is the moralistic part of personality and is insistent on always following what is “right”. The ego then is that part that attempts to strike a balance between the two and makes behavioral decisions based on established social norms in the conscious world. However, when the personality mechanisms are distorted then this can lead to antisocial behavior – the individual being unable to put his id under control and is consequently determined to gratify his needs for sex and aggression without any concern over how other people in the society may be adversely affected by it. In addition, Clemens relates that some followers of the Freudian psychology also espouse that antisocial behavior could be attributed to a defective superego in which his conscience was not properly developed and thus could not feel any sense of guilt or shame for his misdeeds and could not even learn from it (111). This is evident in the various incidents of shootings in schools in the late 1990’s (Santrock 117). In specific, Luke Woodham was only 16 years old when he stabbed his mother to death and shot nine of his classmates. He used to have a reputation of being a chubby nerd in his school at Pearl, Mississipi. But when he was interviewed after the incident, he related that “murder is gutsy and daring”. Santrock further attributes antisocial behavior to widespread poverty in urban areas (112). He believes that impoverished homes tend to create powerlessness and rage in adolescents as a result of frustrations over unmet needs and daily exposures to violent scenes. Also, many of these adolescents tend to receive minimal parental supervision and guidance that they end up doing things their way without any consideration for anything else. It appears that juveniles who have exhibited delinquent behavior are in dire need of a comprehensive program that will deal with each aspect of the condition especially in the areas of family dynamics, school involvement, peer relationships and emotional stability. Such a program can be divided into three stages and the first one being on prevention which is said to be the most effective strategy toward antisocial behavior (Bilchik qtd. in Christle, Nelson, and Jolivette 3). Studies have indicated that a lot of antisocial behavior could have been prevented only if situations in the home are characterized by intimacy, close parental guidance, and a consistent discipline structure. All these should not be maintained later in the home but as early as infancy to childhood because anything that takes place at this stage create behavioral patterns that tend to persist in adulthood. Parents then should undergo enrichments seminars in which they will be re-educated about the different developmental stages and make them aware of the tasks that needs to be achieved at a certain level so that defeating patterns of behavior can be avoided. Also, even if parents became adolescents them selves at certain times of their lives, teenagers nowadays are different from them that instead making them conform to traditional values, parents should examine how they respond to their adolescents and how it may be adversely affecting them instead of helping. Parents should also spend more time with their growing children so that they will be able to closely monitor their social life and ensure that they do not indulge in antisocial behaviors by belonging in gangs. Parents may not choose who their adolescents go out with but may subtly encourage them to be careful about people they are with as they can be very influential. Preventive strategies can also be used in school with the use of a formation program in which children are assisted in their moral or conscience development. The school should be a place in which constant verbal praise and encouragement are given to children when they behave properly. Otherwise, a fair and just system of giving sanctions or consequences for misbehavior should be carried out for them to realize which behaviors are hurting to other people. Moreover, teachers should pay attention to reports made by children on bullying incidents because they tend to build a low self-esteem and a cycle of violence in which the victim becomes the bully in the absence of a mechanism by which they can ward off their perpetrators. Still, the school staff should not only focus on children who are explicit in their behavior but also those who seem introverted and doesn’t interact well with other kids as this internal factors are also at-risk for the development of antisocial behavior. Whenever antisocial behavior has already developed despite efforts for prevention, then the second phase of the program called therapeutic interventions should be activated. Adolescents with antisocial behaviors have roots in negative emotionality as the studies have indicated. Thus, individual counseling and therapy is called for to assist the young in facing his life issues and developing ways of coping with troubled situations that will not place them in further trouble with the society. The therapist can journey with the antisocial and unravel past hurts that may have created an emotional vacuum in the adolescent. Adolescents often feel that nobody cares for them that being able to express themselves freely with a counselor can give them so much relief and veer them away from thoughts of suicide or wasting their life away by challenging the law and its capacity to put them behind bars. If the need arises, the therapist may call on their loved ones for a family therapy that will foster long-term favorable relationships with them. Ultimately the goal of the therapeutic phase is to assist the adolescent in developing positive coping skills and self-reliance. The last phase of the program for the antisocial involves preparing the environment outside of juvenile facilities or detentions. The real challenge for the antisocial is to face the society itself and he should be given all the opportunities for success to prevent him from going back to his old ways. As such, the antisocial should be referred to agencies that will cater to their specific needs like further education or a new job to help them for the rest of their life. Indeed, the antisocial for a juvenile delinquent is a big challenge to take on. But with proper guidance and an investment in time and attention will help them to become better persons and become very productive citizens in the society. Works Cited Barnes, Cherie. “Outreach Intervention Reduces Recidivism in Juvenile Delinquent.” Compelling Counseling Interventions. 24 November 2008 . Christle, Christine, C. Michael Nelson, and Kristine Jolivette. “Prevention of Antisocial and Violent Behavior in Youth: A Review of the Literature.” University of Kentucky. Youth Antisocial and Violent Behavior. 24 November 2008 . Clemens, Bartollas. Juvenile Delinquency. 4th ed. Massachussetes: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. Santrock, John. Educational Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Trojanowicz, Robert and Merry Morash. Juvenile Delinquency: Concepts and Control. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983. Wickliffe, Joseph A. Why Juveniles Commit Crimes. 2008. Yale-New Haven. Teachers Institute. 15 November 2008 < http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/ 2000/2/00.02.07.x.html>. Read More