External Factors Influencing Juvenile Delinquency

Introduction 

Studies over the past few years on juvenile delinquency and child development have revealed that individual social interactions, as well as community conditions, influence children's behavior as they grow (Friedlander, 2013). While scholars have expressed different opinions on how to deal with children delinquency, there is an agreement that behavior including delinquent and anti-social behavior is as a result of an interplay of environmental, genetic and biological factors which begins at fetal stage of development and continues throughout life (Friedlander, 2013). This paper purposes of discussing the external factors which cause juvenile delinquency while discussing on development of delinquency behavior and normal development of a child. This paper also seeks to examine how education, environment, family, and community influence child delinquency. 

Development of Delinquency and Child Development 

Many children transit into adulthood without getting into severe violent behaviors even when they are exposed to any risk. Even though risk factors enable one to identify the children who are in need of interventions, it is not easy to identify the specific children who will turn out to be severe or chronic offenders. While it is common to find adult criminals who were involved in delinquent behaviors while they were still children, most delinquent adolescent or children do not grow to be severe or chronic offenders (Loeber & Farrington, 2012). Similarly, most delinquent children and adolescents go through many risk factors at several stages, but they later reform and do not become serious delinquents. Moreover, an individual element only contributes to a small part of the risk. What is generally agreed is that children who experience high risk factors during their childhood are at higher risk of developing delinquency at a later age. 

Risk Factors 

Many factors are attributed to the development of juvenile delinquency including gender, age, aggressiveness, impulsivity, pregnancy complications as well as drug use. Most of the factors occur before birth while others are identified during early childhood. Other factors, however, persists as the child grows until adulthood. To fully understand development of delinquency of a child at later age, one should follow the progress of individuals and their interactions with the environment. 

Age 

According to Sampson (2017), offending rates rise during the preadolescence period or early adolescence and falls during adulthood. Delinquency experience at some level during the stage of adolescence is almost universal to the children all over the world even though much of these behaviors are temporary and mild. While the age of onset, the age of resistance or peak varies by the type of offense, the overall pattern has proven to be consistent over time across different countries for both self-reported and official data (Sampson, 2017). For instance, Loeber & Farrington (2012) found that the number of convicted delinquent adolescents were ranging from 10 years to 17 years and dropped at the age of 24. 

The self-reported offenses under the same report were at peak between 15 years to 18 years and then fell by the age of 24 years. Many studies have focused on the onset of delinquency, looking into the risk factors for the beginning as well as the differences between those early offenders and the offenders after the period of adolescence. Many studies observe that early onset delinquents tend to more chronic and persistent offenders compared with the later onset delinquents. Even so, onset associated predictors do not necessarily predict accurately. For example, the persistent offenders who move into adulthood sometimes are different from the ones who are not delinquent in several ways such as school attended, and incarceration amongst many others. 

According to Loeber & Farrington (2012), there is no difference between those who resist and those who persist in delinquency in most of the family characteristics during young age or individual differences in young age. Shoemaker (2017) observes that the rates of crimes increase when males do not have enough resources, and it lasts longer for those who have few investments in the society. Arguably, crime is not a sufficient strategy of acquiring resources. There is evidence that dangerous offenders do not gain as many resources as the non-offenders. One review by Friedlander (2013) observes that men are more likely to be delinquents and they prolong criminal records than women. Notably, women who prolong delinquency into their adulthood may be more disturbed compared to men who persist in crime. 

Individual Characteristics 

Observable behaviors such as compliance with parents' instructions and duration of attention to playing toys which are relevant to the later behavior are observable during the first years of one's life. Even so, the ability to predict the behavior of a child at later stages can be difficult. Aggressiveness is one of the most notable characters whose stability is notable as a child transits into adulthood (Friedlander, 2013). Behaviors in kids can be categorized into two, social and antisocial. Social character is seen in cooperation, sharing and helping others. Antisocial character on the other hand is seen in rebellion and aggressiveness. Moral reasoning is one of the essential cognitive and emotional correlates of social development. 

Hyperactivity and impulsivity are both associated with a later antisocial character. The characteristics of social behavior that predict delinquent behaviors best are rebellion and aggression. Most of these characters are exhibited by children ranging from twelve to twenty four months. Physical aggression is optimally exhibited by children between two to three years at which the impact of aggressiveness is usually minor. As children get into kindergarten, they learn how to use other means of communication to find solutions to their problems other than using physical aggression. Those who do not learn other means of communication remain oppositional and exhibit few social behaviors towards their peers (Chen, Voisin, & Jacobson, 2016). These children face a high risk of being rejected by their peers, and they tend to fail in school and get involved in serious delinquency later in life. 

The differentiation of emotional regulation happens during the period of between one year to three years where the rate of physical aggression sharply increases and then decreases in almost a similar rate (Chen, Voisin & Jacobson, 2016). Many studies have proven that children who are inhibited behavioral tend to be less risky of juvenile delinquency while those who exhibit characters of fearlessness and impulsiveness exhibit delinquency in future. Studies have also found that there is a correlation between delay in language and aggressive behavior (Knecht, Snijders, Baerveldt, Steglich & Raub, 2010). Delay in language largely contributes to poor relations which in turn lead to aggression. The long-term effect of the cognitively based programs for preschool children is a reduction in antisocial behavior as the schools recognize that development of cognition in children plays an essential part in curbing delinquency in children. 

Social Factors 

Family interactions and relationships profoundly affect the development of violence in children. Effective communication in families is essential during early stages of child development as they significantly impact the behavior for a long time. During adolescence, peer relationships take on greater significance. 

Family Structures 

One of the significant factors considered to be a risk factor for delinquency is divorce or separation. While many studies have revealed an association between broken families and delinquency, many questions have been raised on the real meaning of association. For instance, studies have revealed that there is an increased rate of behavioral disturbance and conduct disorder in children of divorcees before the divorce took place. Many studies also show that the antisocial nature of some parents and parenting practices which are disruptive account for the general impact of divorce and remarriage (Knecht, Snijders, Baerveldt, Steglich & Raub, 2010). For that reason, children who grow in broken families may experience high rate of delinquency not because of the separation or divorce but because of the family conflicts prior the break up. Many studies also reveal that boy child who stay with their mothers because of the disruption are at higher risk of being delinquents compared to the children raised in intact families. 

Environment and Social Setting 

The situation in which a family is basedlargely affects the availability of opportunities as well as the level of exposure of the members of the family. For example, in some communities, there are job opportunities, public transport systems while in others there are street corner gatherings which provide opportunities for illegal behavior. Neighborhoods influence the behaviors of children by giving them values to hold on, and the examples, in turn, affect the perception of children on what behaviors are acceptable in the society (Shoemaker, 2017). Communities which register a high amount of crime tend to accept the criminal acts. The existence of illegal markets increases the opportunity for violence at the point of selling drugs. 

School 

Delinquency is largely associated with truancy, poor performance, and school dropout. There are several factors in schools which eventually lead to delinquency. This includes suspension, grade retention, expulsion, academic tracking or disciplinary techniques (Shoemaker, 2017). Children who get to be suspended or expelled from school are at higher risk for delinquency. Exclusion from school makes it difficult for a child to keep up the pace of the academic learning. Moreover, by being out of school, children spend time without any supervision, and this may also contribute to delinquency. 

Even though behavioral patterns learned during childhood can be rectified in the school environment, school environment may sometimes generate conflict, frustration or violence. It is evident that school dropouts, drug peddlers and people with a record of violence are likely to own a gun more than other young adults. Previous research also observes that children who grow up in the minority, needy families and disorganized neighborhoods may possess characteristic violent behaviors when they become adults. During the transition period into adulthood, often there are limited opportunities for employment and this subsequently reduces chances of marriage. Also, it is evident that growing up in the disorganized neighborhood and growing up in low-income family inhibits the normal development of adolescence. 

Conclusion 

The article determines that most of the violent behaviors in children are learned through observation of external factors. Exposure of children to violence may include witnessing physical abuse or violence between parents or even other family members. Forms of exposure of juveniles to violence may increase the risk of developing violent behaviors when the children become adults. Even in cases where violence does not breed in homes, research indicates that the lack of adequate controls and bonds, failure of children to internalize what their parents are teaching them or even failure of parents to teach their children on values and morals puts children at risk of children becoming violent when they turn into adults. Some of the neighborhoods present opportunities that breed violence. Illegal markets and presence of gangs provide exposure to violence as children get to see how drug barons are rewarded with good life. 

References 

Chen, P., Voisin, D. R., & Jacobson, K. C. (2016). Community violence exposure and adolescent delinquency: Examining a spectrum of promotive factors.  Youth & Society ,  48 (1), 33-57. 

Friedlander, K. (2013).  A Psycho-Analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Case Studies, Treatment  (Vol. 9). Routledge. 

Knecht, A., Snijders, T. A., Baerveldt, C., Steglich, C. E., &Raub, W. (2010). Friendship and delinquency: Selection and influence processes in early adolescence.  Social Development ,  19 (3), 494-514. 

Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.). (2012).  From juvenile delinquency to adult crime: Criminal careers, justice policy and prevention . Oxford University Press. 

Sampson, R. J. (2017). Family management and child development: Insights from social disorganization theory. In  Facts, frameworks, and forecasts  (pp. 63-94). Routledge. 

Shoemaker, D. J. (2017).  Juvenile delinquency . Rowman & Littlefield.