Juvenile offending refers to the involvement of minors in unlawful conduct. Minors, in this case, include individuals whose age falls below the threshold of adulthood as determined by the law. Therefore, a juvenile offender refers to a minor that is found guilty of a particular offence in a juvenile court. Some of the crimes committed by minors include those that would be deemed criminal when perpetrated by adults and thus punished under criminal laws. Minors that portray recurring juvenile offending tendencies are referred to as juvenile delinquents ( Ryan et al., 2013). This paper will examine a juvenile offender and highlight the act that makes the individual a juvenile offender, the person’s past, and lastly, causes of the behavior. The person in question can be considered a juvenile offender due to his habit of skipping school. This behavior is also referred to as truancy. Truancy entails the unexcused absence from school without a guardian’s or parents’ knowledge ( Monahan et al., 2014). This is an offence since all school-aged minors are expected to attend school, with the recommended school-going age varying from one state to another. The offender's past can be described as challenging due to his parents’ death and subsequent adoption by a well-wisher. Before adoption, the offender was living in a homeless shelter. Given this past, the offender's reasons for skipping school could be numerous. The offender could be skipping school due to deep-rooted personal issues. One such reason is low self-esteem. This can be traced back to his parent’s death and the subsequent lack of affirmation ( Tafarodi et al., 2010). Thus, the offender may be lacking confidence and may also feel incompetent. Closely associated with these shortcomings is the likelihood of absence of life goals. The offender may also be experiencing challenges at home. Notable among these challenges include neglect by his guardian, financial difficulties, or his guardian's lack of interest in education. When compounded, these factors could be the root cause of the offender's behavior.
References
Monahan, K. C., VanDerhei, S., Bechtold, J., & Cauffman, E. (2014). From the schoolyard to the squad car: School discipline, truancy, and arrest. Journal of youth and adolescence , 43 (7), 1110-1122.
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Ryan, J. P., Williams, A. B., & Courtney, M. E. (2013). Adolescent neglect, juvenile delinquency and the risk of recidivism. Journal of youth and adolescence , 42 (3), 454-465.
Tafarodi, R. W., Wild, N., & Ho, C. (2010). Parental authority, nurturance, and two ‐ dimensional self ‐ esteem. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 51 (4), 294-303 .
