A study on family as the cause of juvenile delinquency and consequences

 

Formal Outline
Outline

 

  1. Introduction
  2. Body
  3. Causes of juvenile delinquency
  4. Family factors
    1. Experiences of violence
    2. Neglect
  • Poor bonding
  1. Poverty
  1. Consequences
  2. Criminal courts
  3. Financial consequences
  • Conclusion
  1. References

 

Formal Outline

Topic: A study on family as the cause of juvenile delinquency and consequences

Introduction

The establishment of juvenile justice arose because of the harsh treatment of children in the conventional system. The court system aimed at helping such children to become responsible as opposed to punishing them.  Juvenile delinquency is a crime committed by a child or a person under the age of eighteen. The crimes they commit hurt the society as well as themselves (Walklate, 2003). In the recent past, the number of cases of juvenile delinquency has increased, raising concerns on society’s capacity to instill good morals and help young people respect the law. This study therefore focuses on family as the cause of juvenile delinquency and consequences.

 Body

Causes of juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is a problem caused by different factors. Various researchers have carried out studies on these problems and come up with a host of reasons relating to family that lead young people to commit crimes.

Family factors

Family is an important unit in society and it plays an enormous role in shaping the behaviors of a child. The unit holds the key to the future of a child (The Youth Court of New Zealand, 2013).  This therefore means that it has an obligation to ensure that it instills morals in children to grow up holding positive virtues. Positive family environment provides a solid base for development of resilience among children as they adolescent while a negative environment cultivates the development of antisocial behaviors. Various issues concerning family contribute to juvenile delinquency.

            Experiences of violence

A family that is ever in squabbles and quarrels is at risk of influencing a child negatively. The child grows up holding onto such behaviors that makes such as child to develop aggressive behaviors that culminates to criminal activities.

Neglect

Parents have the responsibility of attending to their children. Children that are neglected lack mentorship and are easy to become criminals compared to those that are well taken care of.

Poor bonding

Parents must show love and closeness to their children. This love and attention makes a child to feel loved and appreciated and therefore, helps a child to grow up respecting and extending similar love to others.  Being close to children is also important as it enables parents to identify the problems the child is going through and therefore, be in a position to provide help.  For instance, a child that is free with his parents will always ask their parents for advice before doing anything and this helps to avoid engaging in criminal activities.

Poverty

Poverty is one of the major reasons as to why many children commit crimes.  The inability of parents to provide basic needs to children compels these children to commit various crimes such as stealing and robbery (Fergusson & Lynskey, 1997). Parents have a responsibility to ensure that they take good care of their children to curb the increasing number of cases involving juvenile delinquency

Consequences

The consequences of involvement in these practices are costly

Criminal courts

The children face the risk of being taken to the juvenile court and being jailed in the juvenile courts. This has negative implication to children’s psychology as well as parents.  These children may be subjected to emotional or psychological stress impacting on their future lives. Parents may also suffer from stress as a result of their children being jailed.

Financial consequences

In some case, parents are fined large sums of money because of the child’s offense. This therefore negatively affects the financial status of the parents.

Conclusion

Family plays a key role in nurturing and molding behavior of children. Many instances of juvenile delinquencies are a result of failure by the family to institute positive moral behaviors. The consequences of juvenile delinquency affect both the child and parents. Family members have a duty and obligation to ensure that their children are well nurtured.

References

Fergusson, D., & Lynskey, M. (1997).  Physical punishment/maltreatment during childhood          and adjustment in young adulthood, Child Abuse & Neglect, 21(7): 617-630.

The Youth Court of New Zealand. (2013). Information on youth court publication. Retrieved       from: http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/youth/publications-and-media/speeches/what-     causes-youth-crime-and-what-can-we-do-about-it

Walklate, S. (2003). Understanding Criminology-Current Theoretical Debates, 2nd edition,          Maidenhead: Open University Press.

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