Introduction

Juvenile delinquency is a term used to describe illegal actions by a minor.

This term is broad in range and can include everything from minor violations like

skipping school to more severe crimes such as burglary and violent actions.

Understanding why a minor commits a crime is essential to preventing future

crimes from happening. Addressing the issues that has led to the choices that the minor

child has made can help them change their actions in the future.

By addressing many of these issues at an early age, adults may be able to stop

juvenile delinquency from starting. If delinquency has already occurred, addressing these

issues and building protective barriers may allow the child to develop in a more secure

environment and avoid problems in the future as well as when they are adults.

1. Role of Culture Diversity, Social Strafication, Family, Neighborhood and

Peers in Delinquent Behavior of a Juvenile.

Culture, Peers and Delinquency gives us an expansive look at the potential ways

in which culture affects teens and their decisions. This collection of five essays gives

readers insight into how traditional cultural values can have surprising correlation with

teen behavior patterns, specifically in regards to how and why teens turn to drugs,

violence, and elopement.

 All social scientists, including sociologists or psychologists, more than any other

factor, emphasize on the awareness of the family and its unmatched importance.

Although they do not neglect the impact of school, peer groups, mass media, etc., but

they consider the role of the family to be more effective; because the person learns the

acculturation process in the family and the personality of individual is developed and

formed in the family; while other factors are mostly involved in the socialization of

individuals. Freud believed that human personality consists of three components the id,

ego and superego is the internalized representation of those values and morals of society,

which have been taught by parents.

Social norms are certain behavioral techniques that are formed according to social

values of society and it is by their observance that the society becomes systematic. In

terms of sociology norms are called "standard patterns of behavior and action"; these

models represent the ideal or desired behavior of society. Official regulations, legislation,

jurisprudence and religious customs, ethnical practices and the like are considered as the

norms of society.

Family environment is the first environment in which the individual grows and

learns the norms. Although many factors are involved in the incidence of delinquency in

children and adolescents, but in the first step, it is the families that have a decisive role in

the fate of their children, in a way that they can lead the child to the right path with
proper training or prepare a condition and environment for realization of delinquency by

children. Usually, in terms of behavior, the parents of delinquent children and adolescents

are very rough and strict or very inattentive and ignorant towards their children. Often the

parents of these children and adolescents have difficulty in communicating with their

children and cannot properly serve their obligations towards their children.

Being able to identify and understand the effects of these family-based risk and

protective factors is important in preventing children and youth from becoming involved

in illegal, harmful, and/or inappropriate conduct.

2. Theories of Delinquency

a. Anomie Theory

The term anomie has been widely used for the past several centuries to

describe societal conditions. Although it has been defined and applied in different ways

throughout history, it has been prominent in historical discussions of the consequences of

rapid social change and the intersection of culture and social structure. Anomie theory

was popularized by the classic works of Émile Durkheim and Robert Merton. It is also

central to Steven Messner and Richard Rosenfeld’s contemporary explanation for the

substantial variation observed in rates of serious crime across nations generally, and to

their explanation for why America exhibits one of the highest rates of serious crime in

particular. Merton’s anomie theory and Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional-anomie

theory (IAT) are prominent criminological theories and have stimulated a relatively large

body of empirical research over the past few decades focused on identifying the social

and cultural conditions that are most conducive to producing particularly high or low

levels of crime.

Anomie refers to a conflict within a society with regard to its ideologies and

norms and its reality.  The anomie theory of delinquency argues that anomic societies

cause delinquency because of the stresses on individuals that arise from the condition of

anomie.

b. Subculture Theory

Cohen’s subcultural theory assumes that crime is a consequence of the union of

young people into so-called subcultures in which deviant values and moral concepts

dominate. Subcultural theory became the dominant theory of its time.

According to Cohen, the union of young people into subcultures is the result of

adjustment and status problems of their members caused by the inequality of the existing

class society.
 Subcultural theory is not an actual learning theory, but rather a hybrid

of learning, anomie and other theories. Another special feature is that subculture theory

only deals with juvenile delinquency, but not with criminal behaviour in general.

c. Differential Opportunity Theory

The theory of differential opportunities combines learning, subculture, anomie

and social disorganization theories and expands them to include the recognition that for

criminal behaviour there must also be access to illegitimate mean.

Differential opportunity theory was one of the first to integrate the ideas from two

distinct theories. The motivation for deviance strain theory was combined with the

theories about means to learn criminal behavior. Differential opportunity theory was used

to explain the emergence of three different delinquent subcultures: the criminal, the

conflict, and the retreatist subcultures. Over the years since its inception, differential

opportunity theory has received mixed empirical support.

This theory also simply put holds that a poor kid growing up in the slums might

take to crime because of the lack of opportunity in his environment but if the

environment is reversed and he is put in an opportunity rich environment he will move

away from a life of crime. Conversely, if a rich kid from a privileged background is

forced to live in a deprived environment, he will gravitate towards a life of crime.

d. Social Disorganization Theory

Social disorganization theory suggest that a person’s residential location is more

significant than the person’s characteristics when predicting criminal activity and the

juveniles living in this areas acquire criminality by the cultures approval within the

disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Therefore, location matters when it comes to

criminality according to social disorganization theory.

Social disorganization is a theoretical perspective that explains ecological

differences in levels of crime based on structural and cultural factors shaping the nature

of the social order across communities. This approach narrowed the focus of earlier

sociological studies on the covariates of urban growth to examine the spatial

concentration and stability of rates of criminal behavior.

e. Control Theory

Control theory has also been used to explain why most people do not engage in

other deviant behavior. Deviant behavior is acting in a way that does not fit in with the

norms of society. Deviance may or may not also be criminal behavior, actions that violate
the law. For instance, dancing on the sidewalk by myself may not violate any laws, but

the behavior could be considered deviant, depending on the circumstances.

Imagine what would happen if you decided you wanted a new television, but did not want

to pay for it. You steal it, get caught, and are punished for your criminal act. Was it worth

it? For most people, the possibility of obtaining a television is no reason to risk their

freedom to live outside of jail or risk the judgement of people in their life. Being

punished with jail time is an example of an external control. External controls are people

and institutions--such as police, family, friends, teachers, the government, and other

authority figures --that will respond if you behave outside of the norm.

f. Neutralization Theory

The original statement of the theory can be found in Sykes and Matza 1957. It is

here that Sykes and Matza discuss why juveniles experience guilt and negative self

concepts from engaging in delinquency, why they need to neutralize this guilt, and the

five neutralization techniques that allow them to do so. Matza 1964 further develops

neutralization theory by incorporating it into the concept of drift, which is the idea that

adolescents become delinquent because the weakening of controls allows them to drift

between delinquent and conventional behaviors. Since this original writing, two articles

have summarized the state of the theory. This review places the theory in the context of
other theories in sociology as well as psychology, reviews empirical evaluations of the

theory, and details what is still known and unknown about the theory. Fritsche

2005 articulates clearly many of the misunderstandings and empirical finding of the

theory.

3. Etiology of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency has long been identified as an enduring phenomenon in the

United States. In 2010 alone, approximately 1,642,646 arrests were made of individuals

under the age of 18 (Snyder, Cooper, & Mulako-Wangota, 2012). This number has

gradually decreased in recent years, but it still makes up about 9% of all arrests in the

United States (Puzzanchera & Kang, 2017). Another manifestation of the problem is the

arrest rate. In 2014, 3,084 out of 100,000 persons age 10 to 17 were arrested, compared to

4,151 out of 100,000 persons age 18 and over (Puzzanchera & Kang, 2017).

There has been considerable evidence supporting the association between

maternal physical health while pregnant and a child’s antisocial behavior and other

outcomes. Prenatal alcohol exposure, for example, has been found to result in childhood

intellectual disability, deficits in learning, attention and motor development, and

hyperactivity (see Thompson, Levitt, & Stanwood, 2009). Studies also have found a link

between a mother’s heavy cigarette smoking during pregnancy and her child’s disruptive

behaviors (Hutchinson, Pickett, Green, & Wakschlag, 2010). In addition, children born

with perinatal complications are more likely to develop violent behaviors (Kandel &

Mednick, 1991). This body of evidence strongly supports that physical health of mother

and child matters in predicting the various future outcomes, including problematic

behaviors.

The family environment during one’s formative years plays a key role in shaping

the person’s various future outcomes. Children who grow up in a nurturing and caring

family, forming secure relationships with adults, are equipped with healthy emotional

management and other prosocial skills, benefiting them for the rest of their life (National

Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004). On the other hand, youths raised in

unstable, abusive family environments tend to have poor problem-solving skills and

behavioral problems (Derzon, 2010). In addition, offenders with histories of adverse

childhood experience (ACEs) – for example, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and

emotional, physical neglect – are found to be more difficult to rehabilitate and are more

likely to recidivate than those without such experiences (Baglivio, et al., 2014).
 Parents, and in many cases mothers, are usually the first and only person a child

can rely on. Given the degree of intimate dependence of the child on his or her parents, it

would be equally detrimental if such an intimate relationship is hampered. A common

syndrome, maternal depression, has been linked to negative child outcomes (Brennan,

Hammen, Katz, & Brocque, 2002). The negative impacts of harsh parenting and

neglectful parenting practices also have been extensively acknowledged (Berthelot et al.,

2015; Wolford, Cooper, & McWey, 2019).

Poor school attendance is one of the top factors contributing to delinquency.

School is not only a place to learn and grow; it is also a structured routine that provides

children with a goal to accomplish each day.

The routine of getting up, getting prepared, attending school, completing the work, and

returning home each day establishes a routine that is a basis for good choices in the

future.

Children who are not encouraged to learn this type of routine are losing out on

establishing good habits. They are also experiencing a lot of free time that can be used to

“learn” about other things that will not enhance their lives or their futures.

Failure to accept the routine of attending school actually instills in children that they do

not have to comply with societal norms and that the

Socioeconomic Factors

Juvenile delinquency is more common in poorer neighborhoods. While all

neighborhoods are not exempt from delinquent activities, it is believed they happen more

in areas where children feel they must commit crimes to prosper.

Theft and similar crimes may actually be a result of necessity and not that of just a petty

crime. The only true help for this situation is to make sure that children in these areas

have access to what they need and understand that they do not have to commit a crime to

get ahead in life.

Substance Abuse

Substance abuse in a home or by the child is a very common cause for

delinquency. Children who are exposed to substance abuse often do not have the

necessities they need to thrive and are forced to find these necessities in other ways.

Others, who become dependent on a substance may also need to commit crimes to sustain

their habit.

Counseling and treatment for this type of situation is the only real remedy to help

these children. This type of situation can cause their self-worth to deteriorate and allow

them to commit acts that they would not otherwise have considered.
Lack Of Moral Guidance

Parental or adult influence is the most important factor in deterring delinquency.

When a parent or other adult interacts with the child and shows them what is acceptable

behavior and what is considered wrong, the child is more likely to act in a way that is not

delinquent.

It is very important for a child to have a bond with a good adult who will

influence their actions and show them the difference between what is right and what is

wrong.

Even if your child has committed an act of delinquency, their lives are not over. You, as

their caregiver have the chance to turn around their lives and show them how to change

their ways.

It starts with hiring a quality Tulsa juvenile criminal defense attorney so that they

can receive a fair trial. Once they have gone through this process, as a caregiver, you can

begin to change the influences in the child’s life so that they can start fresh and go into

adulthood with a clean slate.

Summary

Social norms are certain behavioral techniques that are formed according to social

values of society and it is by their observance that the society becomes systematic.
Family environment is the first environment in which the individual grows and learns the

norms. Although many factors are involved in the incidence of delinquency in children

and adolescents, but in the first step, it is the families that have a decisive role in the fate

of their children, in a way that they can lead the child to the right path with proper

training or prepare a condition and environment for realization of delinquency by

children.

Early onset of delinquent behavior is a predictor of chronic offending. To

maximize the cost-effective benefits in fighting crime, policies need to take a proactive,

multifaceted approach starting as early as the prenatal stage, with three concerns in mind

– improving physical health of mother and child, improving family

environment/parenting skills, and improving pre-school education. Adequate funding

should be set aside for family-based programs that start as early as the prenatal stage and

continue across early childhood (5 years old). For cost effectiveness, programs should

adopt a narrow targeting strategy and enroll populations at the highest risk: low-income,

teenage mothers with no previous births.

Conclusion

Children, in terms of physical and mental capacities have not been completely

matured and they have mild and flexible tempers and they get affected by social,
economic and environmental factors and… faster than adults and commit offenses and

experience has proved that by punishment, children delinquency and recidivism cannot

be prevented, but instead, after the identification of child’s character, motivations and

reasons for committing the crime, with the implementation of corrective, educational and

therapeutic methods we should prevent recidivism.

Owing to the centrality of families in children’s lives, they play a crucial role in

developing children’s values, skills and sense of self. The development of children thus

greatly influences their future character and the likelihood of them engaging in delinquent

acts. Last and not least, it is very important to encourage the formation of parents and to

promote public policies that support the family as a qualitative space for communication

and affective relationships, with all that, there is urgent need of relevant strategies on

child protection with specific focus on preventing child abuse, negligence among others

which in some cases has extended to gang recruitment and access to small arms, hence

juvenile delinquency.

Recommendations

Family environment is the first environment in which the individual grows

and learns the norms. Although many factors are involved in the incidence of

delinquency in children and adolescents, but in the first step, it is the families that have a
decisive role in the fate of their children, in a way that they can lead the child to the right

path with proper training or prepare a condition and environment for realization of

delinquency by children. Families play a vital role in the development of children and

youth. Studies of juvenile delinquency have shown that the family environment can

present as either a risk or protective factor.

Being able to identify and understand the effects of these family-based risk and

protective factors is important in preventing children and youth from becoming involved

in illegal, harmful, and/or inappropriate conduct.

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