Juvenile delinquency

SIGNIFICANCE: Juvenile delinquency is a major social concern in the United States. Every year, millions of juveniles are arrested on charges ranging from minor status offenses, such as truancy, to such serious crimes as burglary, robbery, rape, auto theft, aggravated assault, larceny, and homicide. Moreover, juvenile delinquency often carries over into adult criminal behavior.

Widely publicized school shootings during the late 1990s and first two decades of the twenty-first century have raised public concerns about rising adolescent violence and created the perception that juvenile delinquency is increasing. However, statistical studies show that juvenile crime rates are actually declining. In 2012 there were 182 violent crime arrests for every 100,000 people between the ages of ten and seventeen, a rate 38 percent below the 1980 rate and 68 percent below that of the peak year, 1994. According to the Youth and the Juvenile Justice System 2022 National Report, the rate of violent crime committed by juveniles fell to 131.7 out of 100,000 people in 2019. Nevertheless, public pressures have been mounting for wholesale reforms in the juvenile justice system, including calls for abandoning the system and treating adolescent offenders as adults. In order to understand the role of juveniles in the American criminal justice system, it is necessary to examine the root causes of juvenile delinquency.

Patterns of Delinquency

A common assumption about adolescent crime is that juveniles from lower-class families are more apt to be delinquent than those from middle- and upper-class families. However, this view has been disputed by some researchers, who claim that no connections between social class and delinquency exist, and that to infer otherwise borders on racism. Furthermore, while some scholars see connections between race and delinquency (African American juveniles were arrested for violent crimes at more than four times the rate of their White peers in 2019), other researchers disagree, stating that while Black juveniles are arrested at a higher frequency, the reason is that crimes committed by African Americans are more likely to come to the attention of the police.

There are also connections between age arrests. For example, the ages of juvenile property crime offenders peak at sixteen and then decline sharply thereafter. Arrest rates for violent crimes peak at age eighteen, followed by a much slower decline. Likewise, there are also connections between gender and delinquency, with boys having higher rates of delinquency than girls. Gender differences are most evident in violent and property crimes, with boys committing most of the most serious offenses. Girls do commit similar types of crimes, but less frequently. Statistics show that boys are more likely than girls to be arrested for every category of crime except prostitution and running away.

Individual juvenile offenders tend to differ from adult offenders in the varieties of crimes that they commit. Only a small number of juvenile offenders specialize in specific crimes. A large majority of them commit a wide range of minor offenses, such as truancy, disorderly conduct, loitering, and curfew violations. However, only a small percentage commit mixtures of both minor and serious offenses.

The ages at which juveniles begin their delinquent behavior are strong indicators in predicting their future criminal behavior. The term “early onset” is applied to juveniles who begin behaving delinquently in their early childhood. Early onset delinquents usually continue their delinquent behavior into adulthood. Moreover, they commit delinquent acts at higher rates, and the crimes they commit are more often violent. The term “adolescent onset” applies to juveniles who do not begin their delinquent behavior until they reach adolescence. Adolescent onset delinquents are more common than early onset delinquents, and the crimes they commit are, on average, less serious. Adolescent onset delinquents are also more likely to stop their delinquent activities in late adolescence.

General Risk Factors

One point about juvenile delinquency that is almost undisputed is that there is a strong correlation between poverty and criminal behavior. Most scholars and juvenile justice professionals agree that adolescent violence and aggression is strongly linked to socioeconomic status, for several primary reasons. Poverty makes it difficult for parents and communities to provide the needed guidance and supervision juveniles need. Also, unemployed men in rough inner-city environments have a greater tendency than men living comfortably in middle- and upper-class communities to behave aggressively in order to assert their power and strength. Violence tends to beget violence. Juveniles growing up in dysfunctional environments in which aggressive behavior is praised are apt to engage in violence themselves.

A more controversial subject that has received major media coverage concerns biological factors: the question of how heredity, or genetics, influences antisocial behavior. Studies of genetically identical twins and biologically unrelated adopted siblings have shown that links do exist between genetics and delinquency. However, most researchers agree that criminal behavior is more likely when there are matches between juveniles’ genetic predispositions toward lawbreaking and living in environments conducive to such activity.

Individual traits have also been found to correlate with delinquency, especially for high-rate and serious offenders. Studies have shown that juveniles with low verbal intelligence quotas—those who have trouble with self-expression, remembering information, and thinking abstractly—have an increased probability for delinquency. Lack of verbal skills contribute to difficulties in attaining goals in a positive manner. Juveniles suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to exhibit symptoms of juvenile delinquency.

A primary concern about ADHD adolescents is the hyperactivity/impulsivity continuum of the disorder. Common ADHD behaviors include being overly active for one’s age, acting impulsively, focusing only on immediate events, and engaging in generally reckless behavior. ADHD also creates a greater need for stimulation that makes adolescents seek excitement, an impulse that easily bored juveniles may satisfy by turning to crime, which they may even regard as fun. Other manifestations of ADHD include reduced ability to learn from punishment, insensitivity to others, poor interpersonal problem-solving skills, and drug and alcohol use.

Family and School Factors

Family factors that play a role in breeding juvenile delinquency include having criminal parents, living in large families, growing up with little discipline, parental rejection, low socioeconomic status, and frequent changes of residence. Parents who exhibit hyper-aggressive behavior teach their children, by example, to be “strong” and “tough.”

A factor that inhibits delinquent tendencies is having parents who express their love openly and take active interests in their children’s daily lives. Other protective factors include attachment to parents, lack of serious family conflicts, church attendance, community support, and emphasis on academic achievement. Parental socialization is crucial, as parents teach their children not to engage in criminal behavior. When parents are indifferent to their children’s development, the likelihood of delinquency increases.

School experiences correlate with juvenile delinquency as well. Low academic performance, misbehavior in and out of classrooms, weak attachments to teachers and principals, and lack of involvement in school activities are all associated with delinquency. Some schools have proven themselves successful in dealing with juvenile delinquents. Small schools with high teacher-pupil ratios and adequate supplies of needed materials, such as computers and overhead projectors, can be protective factors against adolescent criminality. Other desirable qualities in schools include clear and concise rules, absence of corporal punishment, enjoyable working conditions for both faculty and students, and, most important, teachers who care about their students.

Youth Gangs

The old adage “Birds of a feather flock together” accurately sums up the impact of youth gangs on juvenile delinquency. Gangs are perceived as distinct groups of individuals within communities. Their members see themselves as unique and different and worthy of commanding respect. A central hallmark for gang involvement, however, is myriad criminal acts leading to negative responses from both the police and community residents. Youth gangs are common throughout the United States and can be found in virtually every city, including small towns and rural communities.

Many arrests for violent acts of juvenile delinquency are gang related, and most serious juvenile violence occurs in encounters between members of rival gangs. As a means of protection, gang members frequently carry guns, which range from small handguns and shotguns to automatic assault rifles and machine guns.

Most gang members are young African Americans between the ages sixteen and twenty. Some gangs are highly organized structures, while others have little structure. Individual gang members may be classified as instigators and followers; instigators are mostly boys, and girls are mostly followers. Delinquent peers tend to reinforce each other’s maladaptive behavior and allay one another’s concerns about police and societal sanctions.

Reasons for joining gangs include possessing poor social skills that prohibit the delinquent from affiliating with nondelinquent adolescents, which may result from negative experiences at school. Desire for money is also a strong motivator, as most gang members come from poor families and see few alternative prospects for making money. Stressful living conditions in homes also promote gang involvement.

Illegal drugs play an important role in youth gangs, many of whose members use drugs and traffic in them. The need for money to buy drugs tends to lead gang members into other types of crime. Addicted gang members who cannot find the money to support their drug habits may even be driven to more serious crimes, including murder, to find ways to obtain their drugs. Moreover, studies have shown that many juvenile offenders are under the influence of drugs when they commit crimes. It is possible that the majority of violent crimes committed by delinquents are drug related.

Theories About Delinquency

Many theories have been advanced over the years that attempt to explain why some juveniles become delinquent while others do not. During the 1950s, Albert Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford University, formulated what he called social learning theory as a means for understanding how people learn new behaviors. In essence, his theory posits that people are more likely to repeat behaviors for which they receive positive reinforcement, while avoiding those for which they receive nothing or negative reinforcement. For a given behavior to be learned, all that is needed is the requisite level of reinforcement applied at the appropriate time. By contrast, for a behavior to be unlearned, all reinforcement should be withheld.

Bandura’s theory posits that crime is a learned behavior and that what is learned can be unlearned by using sound psychological principles. According to social learning theory, the behavior of delinquent juveniles results from exposure to people with maladaptive values and attitudes toward crime. Over time, juveniles in such environments become socialized to accept antisocial behavior.

Rational choice theory is another method that attempts to understand what makes juveniles delinquent. It argues that juvenile delinquency should be viewed from the perspectives of the individuals who choose to engage in criminal activity. Before initiating illegal acts, individuals weigh the chances of succeeding versus failing and being caught by authorities. After they make up their minds, they decide on courses of action, thus making logical decisions. A hallmark of antisocial behavior is lack of empathy for victims. Rational theory holds that to ameliorate juvenile delinquency, adolescents must be taught how to empathize with others. According to rational choice theory, people capable of choosing bad behaviors are equally capable of choosing legal behaviors.

Social strain theory argues that when juveniles experience mental stress or conflict, they become upset and engage in delinquent behavior because they are being inundated by negative thoughts and feelings. The theory holds that there are two major “strain” categories: failing to achieve one’s goals and loss of positive stimuli or presentations of negative stimuli. The first type of strain generally centers on obtaining money, winning status and respect, and seeking personal autonomy. The second category deals with adolescents’ loss of things that they value, as well as the presentation of noxious stimuli. Examples of the former might include being insulted before one’s peers or becoming a victim of a crime. Examples of the latter include learning that one’s parents are divorcing, having a romantic relationship end, or being arrested by police. Treatment methods involve various behavioral techniques such as self-talk, self-management, anger management, and relaxation therapy.

Punishment and Prevention

Many “get-tough” advocates feel that juvenile delinquency can be reduced if delinquents have a greater fear of being incarcerated, especially if they realize how harsh incarceration can be. However, studies of the deterrent effect of harsher punishments do not support such views. Increasing the harshness of incarceration has not been reflected in reductions of delinquent behavior, even of juveniles released from incarceration.

Among the reasons advanced for why punitive measures do not reduce delinquency is that punishments do not address the underlying causes of delinquent behavior. Moreover, while punishment might cause offenders mental and physical distress, it may also contribute to their social learning by teaching them how not to get caught. Finally, it is pointed out that the notion of deterrence is based on assumptions of rational behavior, while most juvenile delinquents, as well as their adult counterparts, do not always think rationally.

The concept of incapacitation has been promoted heavily in the media as a strategy for controlling delinquency. The principle behind incapacitation is that the best method for combating criminal behavior is to lock up the perpetrators for long periods. Delinquents who are locked up cannot cause society any further trouble. However, studies of the effectiveness of incapacitation on reducing delinquency have shown that incapacitation achieves only nominal reductions.

Prevention programs attempt to prevent juveniles from becoming delinquents in the first place. Federal legislation funding juvenile justice programs has tended to favor proven prevention programs over more expensive deterrence and incapacitation programs. Well-designed programs that emphasize treating problems over punishing behavior have been found to reduce delinquency significantly. By intensively targeting the causes of delinquency, the programs often have effects that last for long periods. Their instructors rely heavily on cognitive behavioral techniques and stress changing the juveniles’ ways of thinking, since a major premise in cognitive behaviorism is that one’s thought processes are echoed in behavior. For example, juveniles who come into the programs thinking that the only way they can make decent livings is by engaging in criminal activity are taught how to eradicate negative cognition, replacing it with positive problem-solving skills. Research thus far indicates that the prevention programs are indeed helping juvenile delinquents.

Bibliography

Agnew, Robert, and Timothy Brezina. Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control, 6th ed New York: Oxford UP, 2017. Print.

Bernard, Thomas J., and Megan C. Kurlychek. The Cycle of Juvenile Justice, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Binder, Arnold, Gilbert Geis, and Dickson Bruce. Juvenile Delinquency: Historical, Cultural and Legal Perspectives. New York: Macmillan, 1988. Print.

Cox, Steven M., John J. Conrad, and Jennifer M. Allen. Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory and Practice. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.

Feld, Barry C. Cases and Materials on Juvenile Justice Administration. St. Paul: West, 2000. Print.

Jonson-Reid, M. “Child Welfare Services and Delinquency: The Need to Know More.” Child Welfare 83.2 (2004): 157–74. Print.

Malmgren, K. W., and S. M. Meisel. “Examining the Link Between Child Maltreatment and Delinquency for Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.” Child Welfare 83.2 (2004): 175-89. Print.

Merlo, Alida, Peter Benekos, and Dean Champion. The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law. 8th ed. Pearson, 2015. Print.

Paternoster, R., S. Bushway, R. Brame, and R. Apel. “The Effects of Teenage Employment on Delinquency and Problem Behaviors.” Social Force 82.1 (2003): 297–336. Print.

Puzzanchera, Charles, Sarah Hockenberry, and Melissa Sickmund. "Youth and the Juvenile Justice System: 2022 National Report." National Center for Juvenile Justice, December 2022, ojjdp.ojp.gov/publications/2022-national-report.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2024.

Rosenheim, Margaret K., et al., eds. A Century of Juvenile Justice. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2002. Print.

Shoemaker, D. J. Theories of Delinquency: An Examination of Explanations of Delinquent Behavior. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.

Winterdyk, John A., ed. Juvenile Justice: International Perspectives, Models, and Trends. Boca Raton: CRC, 2015. Print.