Juvenile Delinquency

1. Juvenile Delinquency Professor Brown

2. Unit 4: Family, Peers, and Delinquency This unit explores the impact of the family on delinquency.  Research has documented the relationship between delinquency and the disruption of family structure. You will become familiar with the changing structure of the American family and the types of family dysfunction that appear to promote delinquent behavior. Unit 4 also examines the seriousness of gang behavior and methods for its control and prevention.

3. What should you learn in this unit? • How to recognize the link between family relationships and juvenile delinquency • The impact of inconsistent discipline and supervision on delinquency • About the correlation between child abuse/neglect and delinquent behavior • The complex system of state intervention in abuse and neglect cases • Describe the history of gangs and its relevance to contemporary research

4. Chapter 7:The Family and Delinquency Parents are the most influential educators of their children in cultural, personality, and moral development. Such teaching may include instilling undesirable, as well as desirable, attitudes and values. This chapter reviews the numerous changes in contemporary society that have affected family structures and practices.   The chapter begins with an overview of the changes in the America Family. 

5. Chapter 7:The Family and Delinquency Next, the four categories of family dysfunction, including breakup, conflict, neglect and deviance are examined.  Research linking child abuse to delinquency has prompted concern about the quality of family life and the consequences it can have on behavior throughout the life course.  The remainder of the chapter focuses on the issue of child abuse and neglect and its relationship with delinquent behavior.  First, an historic overview of child abuse and neglect is presented.  A discussion of the effects of abuse and the extent of this problem is presented, followed by a review of intervention strategies.  The chapter concludes with a presentation of the link between abuse and delinquency. Research has shown that a disproportionate number of court adjudicated youths have been abused or neglected.

6. Chapter 8: Peers and Delinquency: Juvenile Gangs and Groups Gangs are law-violating youth groups that use special vocabulary, clothing, signs, colors, graffiti, and names, and whose members are committed to antisocial behavior.  Chapter 8 provides an overview of the influence of peers on delinquency and how gangs develop and are sustained over time.  A detailed explanation of a gang is provided, followed by an historical account of gang development in the U.S.  Although variations exist, some common features of contemporary gangs in relation to extent, location, migration activity, types, cohesion, member age, gender and race, leadership style, symbols, and participation in violent behavior are reviewed. 

7. Chapter 8: Peers and Delinquency: Juvenile Gangs and Groups Next, explanations for why youths join gangs are offered.  This chapter concludes with an overview of law enforcement and community efforts to control gang activities and the difficulties encountered with these strategies.  Proactive approaches to gang prevention focus on developing community and school activities to meet the needs of youths who may fall prey to the appeal of gangs. Reactive control occurs when gangs are already present in the community and may involve collection of intelligence and attempts to destroy the gang, as well as isolation of the leaders through arrest and incarceration.

8. Key Terminology • Family Dysfunction

9. Family Dysfunction • “A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members of the family occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is normal.” • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysfunctional_family

10. Key Terminology • Child Abuse and Neglect

11. Child Abuse and Neglect • “Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or” • “An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” • http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/federal.cfm

12. Key Terminology • What is a “Gang Prevention Strategy”

13. Gang Prevention Strategy • A clearly effective way to have juveniles focuses away from entering or participating in gang activities.

14. 5 Minute Question • How can a strong family unit serve as a buffer against delinquency? • Is it appropriate for parents to use physical (corporal) punishment to discipline their children?

15. 5 Minute Question • What makes gangs so attractive to some juveniles?