This article highlights that youth delinquency depends on the nature of children’s socialization environment as they interact with teachers, parents, and peers. In essence, delinquency is only a reflection of the considerable impact of the three primary social institutions, that is, families, schools, and peer groups, on youth behaviors.
Among the three social institutions, the family is the most crucial institution that shapes a child’s behavior, attitude, and personality. The article asserts that normal behavioral development depends on effective parent-child relationships and that early childhood socialization inadequacies have considerable ramifications during adulthood and adolescence. In support of this claim, Davis (1947) citation mentions a feral child, “Anna”, that underwent abnormal development resulting in an inability to talk, walk, and have normal emotional expression. Davis (1947) further highlights that this deficiency resulted from prolonged isolation, which eventually led to her premature death at the tender age of ten years. Indeed, although this case is an extreme example of defective socialization, it shows the need for warm parent-child interactions for healthy child development.
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School factors such as achievement, bond with teachers, dropout rates, and tracking influence delinquency amongst the youth. The article claims that poor achievers in school display greater delinquency than better performers. Poor performance, in turn, triggers an adverse chain reaction in which the affected students fail to develop meaningful attachments to their school and teachers. As a result, these weak bonds cause the students to undervalue schools, drop out of school, and quickly fall into delinquent activities. In addition, the tracking technique, which separates students into different learning groups according to their intellectual abilities, has adverse effects. In defense of these arguments, Jensen (1976) reference states that academic achievement levels are closely tied with delinquency. Besides, Goldman (1961) citation reveals that schools stressing stronger bonds between students and teachers have lower vandalism, unlike other schools which display greater violence. Thornberry et al. (1985) assertion in the article stresses that dropping out of school leads to higher occurrences of criminality. Lastly, Polk and Schafer (1972) reference that tracking results in school dropouts and delinquency.
Peer groups represent an intricate and pivotal factor influencing delinquency. The article asserts that delinquency is typically a spontaneous occurrence in peer groups. Apart from spontaneity, the commission of delinquent acts by both male and female genders occurs in a company or social solidarity. However, males almost always perform more heinous offences than females. In supporting these claims, Erickson and Jensen (1977) argue that females are equally likely to commit crimes in a company as males. In addition, this article discusses that delinquent peer groups display structuralism tending towards “gang” features, being better than disorganized mobs but inferior to remarkably organized social groups. To validate this claim, Yablonsky (1959) christens such groups as “near groups” mainly characterized by little cohesion, impermanence, and diffused role definitions. In general, such gangs reflect camaraderie and prestige among the peer groups.
Implications
Accepting the claim that delinquency is a spontaneous occurrence among peer groups would appear to validate the otherwise illegal gang conflict in schools. Such a perspective would likely cause school administrations to cut some slack on these group members, thus aggravating criminal behavior inside and outside school. Indeed, tolerating such misbehavior by treating it as natural order would only serve to compound delinquency among the youth.
References
Davis, K. (1947). Final note on a case of extreme isolation. American Journal of Sociology , 52 (5), 432-437. https://doi.org/10.1086/220036
Erickson, M. L., & Jensen, G. F. (1977). Delinquency is still group behavior: Toward revitalizing the Group Premise in the socialogy of Deviance. J. Crim. L. & Criminology , 68 , 262.
Goldman, N. (1961). A Socio-Psychological Study of School Vandalism1. Crime & Delinquency , 7 (3), 221-230. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001112876100700303
Jensen, G. F. (1976). Race, achievement, and delinquency: A further look at delinquency in a birth cohort. American journal of sociology , 82 (2), 379-387. https://doi.org/10.1086/226316
Polk, K., & Schafer, W. (1972). Schools and delinquency . Prentice-Hall.
Thornberry, T. P., Moore, M., & Christenson, R. L. (1985). The effect of dropping out of high school on subsequent criminal behavior. Criminology , 23 (1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1985.tb00323.x
Yablonsky, L. (1959). The delinquent gang as a near-group. Social Problems , 7 (1), 08 -17.
