he concept of juvenile delinquency refers to the fact that a child or a young person has become guilty of some criminal offence or an antisocial behavior with the conduct being beyond parental control and may be brought before a court. Juvenile crimes have become rampant in society and this has become a significant topic of research in social research. One of the aspects of research is the investigation of whether family has an impact on juvenile delinquency. Family is a critical element of the development of a child and can determine the outcomes the involvement of the child in crime. There are various family factors that affect juvenile delinquency including the composition of the family, the harsh parenting, socioeconomic status, and nature of communication.
Composition of the Family
Being raised in a single-parent home can lead to juvenile delinquency. This can happen regardless of whether the reason for single-parenting is divorce, separation, death, or even incarceration. A child that grows up with only one parent will receive half of the guidance that is provided by two parents. Having two parents in the household is likely to provide adequate surveillance and supervision. The result is that the child can make wrong decisions from an early age and become involved in risky behavior such as dropping out of school, problems with school, and even crime. Families that have two parents is critical in ensuring that the child is law-abiding.
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The single-parenting style has been examined and has been found to be a significant predictor of juvenile delinquency. Andal et al. (2016) examined the parenting style and single-parenting to determine whether it had a direct effect on juvenile delinquency. The study established that the parenting style was not a predictor of for juvenile delinquency but single parenting could be a predictor for the tendency of a child to exhibit juvenile delinquency. The researchers further observed that single-parenting rarely used authoritative parenting and this could also be a predictor of juvenile delinquency.
Harsh Parenting
Harsh parenting can include parental conflict, aggressiveness, and harsh discipline could also be used to predict juvenile delinquency. The social learning theory observes that behavior is learned. Parents that have aggressive behavior will be observed by their children who will understand that this is an acceptable approach of realizing their goals. Children that come from families that exhibit any form of violence within their relationships may also exhibit the same form of violence.
The impact of harsh parenting has been proven to be a better predictor of juvenile delinquency compared to single-parenting. Simmons et al. (2018) examined the influence of both harsh and absent fathers on juvenile delinquency. The study established that there were differential effects on harsh and absent fathers on delinquency. Children that came from harsh fathers were found to engage in more offending and violence behaviors and also used more substances compared to children that came from families with an absent father. The study also emphasized that family relationships, especially the father-child relationship, can have a significant impact on juvenile delinquency.
Family Socioeconomic Status
The socioeconomic status of the family can also have an effect of juvenile delinquency. Juveniles that come from poverty-stricken backgrounds are likely to first drop out of school. They may then engage in antisocial behaviors such as heavy drinking, drug abuse, and criminal activities. Children can choose to engage in these activities because they have not received adequate financial support from their parents. The strain theory follows that crime is usually caused by difficulties and that those that are in poverty may use crime to realize their goals. Nisar, Ullah, Ali, & Alam, (2015) examined the influence of economic factors on juvenile delinquency. The study established that most of the juveniles that engaged in crime were in the low income profile and they amounted to approximately 42.2%. Most of the children that came from low income families also experienced low levels of literacy and had minimal financial assistance from their parents. The study showed that the socioeconomic status of the family can impact juvenile delinquency by determining whether the child would receive financial assistance and may opt for crime to realize a better financial wellbeing.
Family Communication
Communication plays a significant role to ensure that one functions well in both the society and in the family setting. Children learn communication primarily from their family and poor and negative communication can have delinquent behavior. Communication between parents and adolescents that is done in an open manner can help children avoid delinquent behavior. Thoyibah, Nurjannah, and Sumarni, (2017) examined family communication patterns and juvenile delinquency and found that poor solving of family conflicts can have a significant impact on juvenile delinquency.
Family Structure
The structure of the family can also have an impact on juvenile delinquency. Delinquents have been mostly observed to come from families that are less intact also known as broken homes. Broken homes could include families that have a single-parent or where the parents are absent in ensuring proper upbringing of the child. When nuclear and joint families were compared, children that came from nuclear family systems were found to be more delinquent compared to children that came from a joint family setup (Nisar et al., 2015).
In conclusion, the family environment of a child can have a significant impact on juvenile delinquency. Single-parenting could mean that the child receives inadequate supervision and guidance and could easily engage in antisocial behavior. Harsh parenting may cause the child to observe that violence is an approach that can be used to solve crime and they may resort such activities. The family socioeconomic status can also lead to juvenile delinquency when the child comes from poor backgrounds and is thus poorly educated. The family structure can also impact juvenile delinquency where children that come from broken homes and nuclear families have been found to be more delinquent.
References
Andal, F. A., Amante, A. L., Miyagawa, A. H., Mojica, J. R., & Morgia, K. (2016). Single parenting style as a predictor of juvenile delinquency on selected cities of Cavite. International Journal of Psychology and Counseling , 6 , 15-31.
Nisar, M., Ullah, S., Ali, M., & Alam, S. (2015). Juvenile delinquency: The Influence of family, peer and economic factors on juvenile delinquents. Applied Science Reports , 9 (1), 37-48.
Simmons, C., Steinberg, L., Frick, P. J., & Cauffman, E. (2018). The differential influence of absent and harsh fathers on juvenile delinquency. Journal of adolescence , 62 , 9-17.
Thoyibah, Z., Nurjannah, I., & Sumarni, D. (2017). Correlation between family communication patterns and juvenile delinquency in junior high school. Belitung Nursing Journal , 3 (4), 297-306.
