This is a study that is aimed at increasing knowledge on the link between the disability status of adolescents and their chances of participating in a number of delinquent conducts through the age of sixteen. The research builds on the previous studies by using data that is nationally representative. The present research provides that youths who have disabilities are more likely to participate in delinquent behaviors than the young people who are not disabled. This is highly evident within the correctional institutions as well as the juvenile detention facilities where the youths with disabilities are the more in numbers than those who are not disabled. In categorical terms, this study keeps focus on the link that exists between the limiting aspects of learning or the conditions of feelings, chronic health like asthma and the physical disabilities among others and the acts of delinquent violence, material crimes, drug abuse as well as arrests. In its contribution to the existing research information, this study touches on the issues of graduation to adulthood and youth delinquency through evaluation of the difference in the two types of disability and acts of delinquency.
The Study Hypothesis
The hypothesis used in this article is that among the adolescents, those with disability are more likely to participate in delinquent behaviors than the young people who are not disabled. Many studies have also been able to deal with this issue in various ways (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). It has to be noted that a lot of the existing studies utilize body disability as a physical feature that is quite unattractive. Disability is regarded as a physical condition that attracts stigma for the victims. This perception is applied by the existing research work to find that such disabled adolescent people are no less probable than the ones with no disability to abstain from delinquent acts like robbery and drug abuse. In this particular research, disability is taken as a control for the social or personal burden (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). It does not consider a set of conditions that can affect the probability of a youth’s participation in delinquent behaviors as it is done in many other studies.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Methodology and Data
The study in this article is basically a qualitative type of research. It uses less numerical data and analysis of the information in the study is mainly descriptive in nature. This article is the very first to utilize data that is nationally representative and population-based in analyzing the link between a young person’s possibility of reporting a number of ten delinquent conducts and four classes of disabling circumstances. These conditions include the existence of learning, chronic, physical, sensory or a combination of the circumstances (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). The study also controls for the impact of the other young people as well as the household features. Moreover, there is more bi-variate examination aimed at analyzing the variations that exist in the delinquency among ten more categorical condition classifications (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). The data and resultant information in this study also makes improvements on the existing nationally representative research work through taking the temporal ordering of age at the start of the disability against that of the initial delinquent conduct into consideration.
The sources of data that this study uses include the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). NLSY97 is a nationally representative and household-based sample of the population of youths in the United States of America (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). This particular population is non-institutional. The institution normally performs a longitudinal survey, which gathers data on a given age group of young people of ages 12 to 16 years old. It has to be noted that the information on this analysis from the initial waves of data, when all the adolescent young people have attained the age of sixteen. In this study, the data file is developed in a way that ensures every respondent has a single set of observations that match to their level of engagement in delinquent behaviors through the age sixteen years (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). It is vital to note the fact that the original NLSY97 sample is comprised of a sum of 8,984 adolescent youths. Among these youths, 7,942 qualified for the health limitation questions since they had the parental interviews.
The binary logistic regression equations are applied in this study in order to examine all the dichotomous delinquency results. Moreover, this examination is with the odds ratios that are presented within the outcomes. One unit rise in the predictor may be taken as the anticipated change in the odds of taking note of the resulting variable, with all the other variables held constant. In this article, the regression diagnostics were analyzed for all the equations. Variance inflation factors were all below 2.5. This implies that multi-collinearity is not part of the limitations for the study reported in this article (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). It is also quite vital to note the fact that the tests for the influential cases all came below a value of 1 hence they are were all maintained.
The Study Variables
Firstly, there are the disability measures that form a very significant variable in this study. The measures of disability are derived from the four domains, from which parents made reports about the activity limitations of the young people in the 1997 NLSY97. Another variable is the delinquency behavior of youths. In this case, all young people were required to do self-reporting regarding their engagement in the ten activities of delinquency (Morris & Morris, 2006). These activities included theft, violence, drug sales, arrests and destruction of property. The main focus in this case was the engagement in delinquent activities in the course of early as well as middle-teenage years of age. It has to be noted that at this stage of life, a lot of the young people are not yet independent in terms of shelter hence cannot even be charged in the same way as adults for commission of delinquent behaviors.
The other vital variable used in this study is the youth traits. In addition to the disability status of the young person, body features that define an individual’s race, ethnicity and gender were also taken into consideration. Another close variable was the household characteristics. Some of the household features taken into consideration include the poverty level and the duty rosters for the young people in the course of their early life. It has to be understood that the dependent variable in this article is the frequency of engaging in delinquent behavior while the independent one is the disability measures.
Conclusion of the Study
The study presented in this article found out that the adolescent who have disabilities when it comes to learning or those with abnormal emotional conditions are specifically at the high risk of engaging in the delinquent behaviors (Needham, Crosnoe & Muller, 2004). The study, therefore, makes a resounding conclusion that it is vital to make considerations when analyzing adolescent delinquency. However, it has to born in mind that not all the disabled young people have the same experiences.
According to the present literature on this topic, many researchers propose that disabled adolescents are more likely to participate in delinquent conducts and juvenile offenses than the adolescent youths who are not disabled (Oshima, Huang, Jonson-Reid & Drake, 2010). In the study, it is acknowledged that there is a clear pattern, which emerges various forms of circumstances. The study pays high attention to the youths who have learning disabilities as well as the emotional condition instabilities. These two types of disabled youths in their adolescent stage of life are found out to be the ones at the highest risk of engaging in delinquent actions (Piquero, Brezina & Turner, 2005). This is the conclusion arrived at based on the multi-variate models that indicate a very positive and significant link between these types of circumstances and the six results analyzed.
There is the same observation for the young people with learning or emotional conditions, but having limitations in other domains. It has to be understood the only exception in this study was between the physically handicapped and acts of petty theft. Furthermore, there was no strong link between the disabled young people who have multiple physical challenges and delinquent actions such as gang membership. Moreover, another significant exception in this case is the case of those adolescent young people with chronic or sensory situations of disability; they less likely take part in delinquent actions of property destruction.
From the study, the outcomes indicate the importance of fostering positive growth and development processes of the youth who have disabilities into adulthood. This has to be treated with specialized and enhanced care, particularly when it comes to the adolescent young people, who the learning or emotional conditions (Shandra & Hogan, 2012). It can be concluded that disability has a significant impact when it comes to influencing the engagement in delinquent behaviors. Adolescent youths with specific types of disabilities are normally at a higher risk of participating in delinquent behaviors than those adolescent young people who lack disability. Therefore, the hypothesis of the study presented in this article is vindicated and proven right.
References
Morris, K.A. & Morris, R.J. (2006). Disability and juvenile delinquency: issues and trends. Disability & Society , 21:613–627.
Needham, B.L., Crosnoe, R. & Muller, C. (2004). Academic failure in secondary school: the inter-related role of health problems and educational context. Social Problems , 51:569–586.
Oshima, K.M.M., Huang. J, Jonson-Reid M. & Drake, B. (2010). Children with disabilities in poor households: association with juvenile and adult offending. Social Work Research , 34:102–113.
Piquero, A.R., Brezina, T. & Turner, M.G. (2005). Testing Moffitt’s account of delinquency abstention. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 42:27–54.
Shandra, C. & Hogan, D. (2012). Delinquency among adolescents with disabilities. Child Indic Res. , 5(4).
