Juvenile delinquency can be referred to as the habitual act by a minor to engage in unlawful behavior. These acts of delinquency are criminal when committed by an adult and a liable to punishment under criminal justice. Some examples of these delinquent acts include vandalism, petty theft, underage drug abuse, and truancy. This paper aims to explain one theoretical perspective that elaborates on juvenile delinquency, to describe the relationship between juvenile delinquency and a social institution, and a theory that supports this relationship. One theory that tries to explain juvenile delinquency's cause is Moffitt's dual taxonomy theory developed by Terrie Moffitt. This theory's core premise is that crime and age are very much related where youth at risk of being delinquent are divided into two groups: the adolescent –limited group (AL) and the life-course-persistent group (LCP). Moffitt argued that these two distinct groups emerge from permanent and temporary antisocial behavior. Moffitt stated that the main characterization of LCPs was the continuity of their antisocial behavior that begins from quite an early stage and is carried on throughout their life. Moffitt believed that these persistent offending behaviors are caused by neuropsychological weakness during childhood as the minor interacts with a criminal environment (Ferreira, 2016). However, in the case of ALs Moffitt suggested that their main characteristic was the lack of a record of antisocial behavior. Consequently, this absence of a past history decreased the chances of the minor adopting the same type of behavior in the future, thereby limiting their criminal life to adolescence. Moreover, Moffitt argued that ALs only took part in delinquent acts that were beneficial; therefore, as they progress in life, they would find more attractive alternatives, thereby desisting from delinquency (Ferreira, 2016). Moffitt further argued that when a minor attains early biological maturity, but he is denied adulthood's attractive status, the minor may engage in delinquent behavior. There exists a very strong relationship between family and juvenile delinquency. The two major factors in a family that can influence juvenile delinquency is the family structure that a child finds himself in and the kind of relationship that an adolescent has with his guardians. A nuclear family is idealized as the best family structure as it has the lowest delinquency rates. According to Parks (2013), children from single-parent homes have a higher likelihood to engage in delinquency than those with two biological parents who are married. If a boy grows without his biological father, he lacks a father figure to learn adulthood. Therefore, he will compensate for this by stamping his masculinity through delinquent behaviors. Children whose parents intermittently cohabitate have a higher likelihood of engaging in delinquent acts than those from stable families with two biological parents. She further argues that a youth who lives with a single biological parent who cohabits with a non-biological partner will display high antisocial behavior levels, especially if the guardian parent is the biological father. Regarding relationships between adolescents and their parents, Parks (2013) argues that children in broken families where divorce has occurred have a higher likelihood to engage in delinquency than those in a stable family structure. She attributes this to the lack of closeness between parents and children, which may lead to weakened bonds, thereby increasing their chances to engage in delinquency. Parental involvement where parents spend more time with their children is critical in reducing delinquent acts among their children. Parks (2013) states that an adolescent who spends more time with his parents has minimal chances to deviate than a child who spends less time with his parents, who is more likely to hide things from them. She further suggests that good parenting practices where there is keen supervision of adolescents are vital in influencing them to desist from participating in delinquent acts. One theoretical perspective that brings out this relationship between family structure, family relationships, and juvenile delinquency is the social control theory developed by Travis Hirschi. This theory's core premise is that the increase in societal bonds greatly reduces the probability of adolescents engaging in juvenile delinquency and crime (Costello & Laub, 2020). Hirschi identifies four critical elements that form these social bonds. The first element is the attachment he describes as the degree to which a person has a close doting relationship. The second element is a commitment, which he describes as the fear of deviating into law-breaking behavior. Thirdly, he describes its involvement as engaging in convectional acts making an individual too busy to engage in crime. Lastly, he identified impressions that rely more on social reinforcement. Hirschi believes that individuals tend to conform due to having strong affective attachments with their parents. He suggests that adolescents who have weak attachments, less conformity, less engagement in convectional activities, and negative attitudes towards shared norms and values are more likely to engage in delinquent acts. He suggested that the type of attachment a parent has with his child is the primary factor in establishing delinquent behavior (Costello &Laub, 2020). Therefore, children who find themselves in a divorce situation among parents or in non-conventional family structures such as cohabiting parents are less likely to be close to their parents than those in stable families with two biological parents. He believed that insufficient families could not offer the necessary attachment to aid children in adopting socialized lifestyles. A child who grows up in a dysfunctional family will find it difficult to socialize, leading to the child engaging in antisocial behavior.
References
Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2020). Social control theory: The legacy of Travis Hirschi's// causes of delinquency. Annual review of criminology , 3 , 21-41. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011419-041527
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Ferreira, J. (2016). Life-course criminology: Comparing the dual taxonomy and age-graded theories of criminal behavior.
Parks, A. B. (2013). The effects of family structure on juvenile delinquency. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2279/
