Juvenile Crime Rates :: essays research papers

Juvenile depravity is a complex social problem that significantlyimpacts all members and processes of a social construction. Delinquency refers to a bent grass of behaviors that are not in line with the collective practices and/or ethics of the dominant social group. Essentially, these behaviors deviate from societal norms and more specifically they violate found criminal codes and laws. Juvenile delinquencyincorporates not only general criminal activity but conduct that is only unlawful for youths such as trail away from home and skipping school. Current research into this difficult and pressing issue reflects a vast range of theories about, and predictors of delinquency as well as a multitude of strategies to control and reduce overall delinquency. The consensus among practitioners and researchers however maintains thatjuvenile delinquency is a dynamic, multifaceted problem with numerous potentially causal factors. Subsequently, investigators and professionals suggest that discussion procedures must focus on not only the immediate issue of the offenders deviant behavior but on every agent indoors the context of that behavior as well, including forexample, family relations and social support services/networks.Conventional practice has long associated early preventive measures with positive delinquency reduction results. In particular, timely recognition of at-risk youth and correction of ineffective or minimally effective parenting techniques are critical to the prevention of future delinquency (Lundman, 1993). Numerous risk factors have been identified as indicators or predictors of juvenile delinquency and those factors represent dysfunction at several levels, specifically within the structure of the offenders family. Some of these factors include conflict within the family, a lack of adequate supervision and/or rules, a distinct lack of parent-child attachment, instability, inadequate home life quality, parental expectations, out-of-home placemen ts and inconsistent discipline (Shumaker, 1997). Social service professionals who frequently come into contact with children must be especially vigilant in order to detect the presence of any of the possibly contributory conditions mentioned above and to refer families to appropriate sources of assistance as early as possible. Generally speaking, the birth between family conflict and delinquency is significant. There are many types of family conflict but the absence of communication and the inability to solve problems are two of the most(prenominal) fundamental forms relative to future delinquency. The nature of these conflicts is cyclical in that communication and problem-solving breakdowns increase the incidences of delinquency which in turn increase the stress and conflict levels within the family leading to more instances of deviant behavior (Smith & Stern, 1997).