MODULE: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

CHAPTER VII

Other Contributory Factors to Juvenile Delinquency Problem

At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to:

• Explain how socialization contributes to the

development of juvenile delinquency
• Cite different social groups that shape the behavior
and personality of juveniles

The delinquency problem is also linked to other factors as

follows:
Government
Some departments or agencies
of the government also create
factors that influence the youth to
become delinquent, such as:

• Political interference of the

higher positions.
• Unfair decisions of the court.
• Police carelessness and unfair
treatment, and even the police
policy itself.

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MODULE: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Religion
Religion is another contributing factor as
such shapes the child’s spiritual beliefs.
It serves as a guide in his or her moral
preferences as he grows up. The molding
up of a child’s character starts from his
spirituality which is brought about by
the teachings of his or her church. The
moment children fear no God, the
probability of acknowledging the
existence of their parents as the source
of their being, does not exist in their
minds, leading them to think that they
owe nobody anything. Deviant behavior
flourishes among this type of children.

Exclusion

The growing gap between rich and

poor has led to the emergence of
“unwanted others.” The exclusion
of some people is gradually
increasing with the accuracy of
obstacles, ruptured social ties,
unemployment and identity crises.

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MODULE: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Gender and Delinquency

Available data show that delinquency
and crime have strong gender
associations.
Police records indicate that the
crime rates of male juvenile and male
young adults’ offenders are more than
double those of young females, and
conviction rates are six or seven
times higher. There are a number of
reasons why more young men than young
women are involved in violent or
criminal behavior. Various restrictive
and stimulative factors encourage women to conform to social norms
that do not apply to men, one example being the fear of sexual
assault. Girls are subject to stronger family control than are boys.
Cultural concepts are such that society at large is less tolerant of
deviant behavior among young women than among young men.
In recent years, arrests of female delinquents have been
increasing faster than those for males. Self-report data also seem to
show that the incidence of female delinquency is much higher than
believed earlier, and that the most common crimes committed by males
are also the ones most female offenders commit.

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MODULE: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Social Class and Delinquency

Defining the relationship between economic
status and delinquent behavior is a key
element in the study of delinquency. If
youth crime is purely a lower-class
phenomenon; its cause must be rooted in
the social forces that are found solely
in lower-class areas:
✓ Poverty
✓ Unemployment
✓ Social disorganization
✓ Culture conflict
✓ Alienation
However, if delinquent behavior is spread throughout the social
structure, its cause must be related to some noneconomic factor:
✓ Intelligence
✓ Personality
✓ Socialization
✓ Family dysfunction
✓ Educational failure
✓ Peer influence
According to this line of reasoning, providing jobs or economic
incentives would have little effect on the crime rate.

Age and Delinquency

Why does crime decline with age?
Why do people commit less crime as
they age? One view is that the
relationship is constant:
regardless of race, sex, social
class, intelligence, or any other
social variable, people commit
less crime as they age; this is
referred to as the aging-output
process. According to this view,
even the most chronic juvenile
offenders will commit less crime as they age.

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MODULE: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Delinquency experts have developed a number of reasons for the

aging-output process:
▪ Growing older means having to face the future.
▪ With maturity comes the ability to resist the “quick fix” to
problems.
▪ Maturation coincides with increased levels of responsibility.
▪ Personalities can change with age.
▪ Young adults become more aware of the risks that accompany crime.

Age of Onset
Age may influence delinquent
behavior in other ways. For
example, evidence exists that
people who demonstrate
antisocial tendencies at a very
early age are more likely to
commit more crime for a longer
duration; this is referred to
as the age of onset. According
to this view, there are two
classes of offenders, the first begin committing crime in late
adolescence, typically with their peers, and then cease offending as
they enter young adulthood.
The second group of delinquents is composed of those who begin
their offending careers early in life and maintain a high rate of
offending throughout their lifespan. Early onset of crime is a marker
for their chronic offending patterns.

References:

▪ Juvenile Delinquency
Wiseman’s Books Trading Inc.
Armando A. Alviola, Ph.D. – Author
Jannel C. Canaman – Editor

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