In crude terms, deviance is any behavior that is against social norms, and is generally of adequate severity to attract disapproval from the society. Such behavior can be either criminal or non-criminal. From a sociological perspective, deviant criminal behavior is a separate area of study called criminology.
Examples of criminal deviance would include sexual abuse, organized crime, terrorism, etc. Examples of non-criminal deviance may include mental disorder, homosexuality (though this being non-criminal depends on the group considered), etc. The aim of this paper is to consider the deviant behavior of young offenders and analyze the same from a sociological perspective.
Introduction
In recent times, especially in the Western world, activities such as excessive gambling, playing with fire, alcohol addiction, refusing to bathe or clean hands before eating, being nude in public places, etc. are considered deviant behavior. And people who engage in deviant behavior are deviants.
It is important to keep in mind that deviance is never absolute. It is always with respect to a particular group or society. For instance, people who opt for a live-in relationship in the Indian sub-continent are considered deviants there, while such a concept is absurdly common and acceptable in many other parts of the world. Another example is that of female circumcision: this is common practice among Muslims, and in some parts of Africa. In the USA however, it is considered a serious offence, and certainly a form of deviant behavior.
As far as young offenders are concerned, they constitute a distinct deviant group in almost every part of the world. These are young people (within the age of 25), who do not find it hard to indulge in criminal activities. Examples of such activities include drug dealing, theft, etc. Though this may not be difficult to imagine coming from youngsters, these people are certainly a minority in every group. And the activities they indulge in are considered “bad” and unacceptable by the society (Becker, 1978).
Young offenders have been on the rise recently, owing to many reasons which are dealt with in the subsequent sections. Sadly, these are a fraction of the people who are expected to take change of the world tomorrow. Thus, increasing deviants may cause a huge problem in the future, if not curbed immediately.
Young offenders, growing in number, may in fact alter the nature of the group; what is considered unacceptable may become common down the line. However, the majority in a group always tries its best to avoid such a situation of giving up its power. Therefore, studying the behavior of young offenders is important to the society as whole, to take possible corrective measure (Erikson, 1962).
Deviant or Not
At this point, it is useful to first establish the fact that young offenders do in fact constitute a deviant group. This will be done by comparing them with another group based on age – “teenagers”.
The concept of categorizing a specific set of people based on their age is a relatively recent idea. It is believed that the initial motive was to use it as a marketing strategy. For instance, commercial products started being advertised for specific target groups in order to create a sense of belonging for the consumers. This gradually evolved at various levels resulting in a universally accepted psychological understanding of terms such as “teenagers” and “young-offenders”.
Though teenagers were initially a separate group just in terms of age, they seem to have developed unique qualities over a period of time. Today, a typical American teenager is expected to be rebellious, to listen to funky music, wear unconventional outfits, hang out with friend for most of the day, and essentially to do exactly the opposite of what is asked. Biology attributes their actions to hormonal changes. Parents can predict their kids’ behavior; after all they have been there too.
The fact that every person alive gets to live the life of a teenager, a life which hasn’t changed much for many decades now (except maybe in terms of access to technology) proves that teenagers do not constitute a subculture. In fact they fit perfectly in the main culture constituted by the majority. Though their views and ideas seem to stem from a disagreement with the society, teenagers are actually just going through a phase of physical and psychological transformation.
A deviant group needs a distinct identity. It is an outcome of some individuals having a sense of taste/morals different from what is considered usual. It cannot be a temporary phase influenced by others, which is pretty much the case with teenagers. Considering that everyone has been there, teenage is certainly not a selective phase.
However, in the case of young offenders, factors influencing them are more social and personal. Though most people have offensive tendencies, they are able to keep it in check, except a few. These few are therefore, a minority indeed, who transform gradually to form a set of norms and values within their own group. These young offenders indulge in deviant behavior and will most likely continue doing so for the rest of their lives, unless caught or specifically repressed. This is why they form a subculture, and unlike teenagers, constitute a distinct deviant group (Tanner, 1996).
Differential-association theory
According to this theory, deviance is a learning process. Much like how people learn a skill, deviance also requires observation, application and effort. In fact, this theory claims that the society decides which norms people have learnt to violate. In specific, the society decides conformity and deviance within a group and thus heavily influences how people judge. In other words, people’s perspective about ethics and normal behavior are controlled by the society.
Thus, a group that preaches deviant behavior lets people learn through association, the characteristics of this deviance and to pursue it without any doubts. For example, in the case of young offenders, young gangster groups and juvenile gangs constitute environments that promote deviant behavior. For instance, they may glorify violence, use provocative means, teach how to be “cool” while actually preaching ways to indulge in criminal activities and get away with it.
The differential-association theory has been very useful as far as criminology is concerned, since it addresses the developmental characteristics of criminal behavior. However, there have been some negative reports on this theory by critics who claim that it does not have a rational or scientific base.
Analysis based on differential-association theory
Why are young offenders in the rise? How can this question be answered, based on the pointers in this theory?
At this point, it is important to go to the core of the problem. Young offenders are generally associated with bad parenting, childhood trauma, etc. Also, these deviants are usually associated with being emotionless and incapable of love. Is that so? How does an individual learn to be like that, which is against natural human instinct?
Since time immemorial, the concept of love has been portrayed in different forms. However, when one tries to define the term, there is always some ambiguity. Love is accepted to be a feeling beyond the limits of verbal expression; it is considered to be relative and dependent on an individual’s perception. Today, saying ‘I love my phone’ or ‘I love reading books’ are very common statements. The term love seems to have lost all sense of boundaries and is applied to objects, to qualities, and even to abstract theories. Now keeping aside such complications, the basic notion of love is a feeling of affection towards another being. Are young offenders capable of this emotion?
It is evident that most young offenders have in fact quoted “love” or the lack of it being shown to them, as the main cause for them indulging in criminal activities. This again goes back to the point that childhood, parenting, and social success are important factors in understanding young offenders. For instance, an orphan who falls in love with someone, and is rejected, perhaps has the potential to be attracted to the young offenders – subculture.
In crude terms, a subculture refers to a small group of people that wants to stand apart from, if not go against, the majority. Initially, it was understood to be characterized by a unique set of standards in terms of clothing, music, ideas, and so on. However, there were disagreements on this definition of a subculture.
While some claimed that a subculture was merely a community of like-minded people, others portrayed it as a platform created by people ignored by the society, to vent their frustration and anger. Today a subculture is understood to be a group within a culture that often, but not necessarily, goes against the majority. A subculture is seen as the bonding of a small number of people whose likes and views are considered not in sync with that of the society, which can be used to describe young offenders.
Coming back to the question of love, young offenders are often quoted as operating alone, not having a family, but having a few partners, possibly in crime. It is interesting to note that apart from the criminal deviance associated with young offenders, a lack of the feeling of love is definitely a deviant behavior too, though not criminal in nature. Thus these people exhibit a non-criminal deviant which may in fact be related to, if not causing their criminal deviance.
In general, what is causing this non-criminal deviant behavior in them? Well today, love has been taken to a different level. It has become a mixture of all perceptions, beliefs, and traditions in different parts of the world. Some would say it has become more open, while others feel it has become complicated. Here is a look at what has changed and what remains:
A century back, women were considered more as objects with romantic potential capable of fulfilling physical needs of men. Women considered men to be superiors and believed that keeping them happy was their purpose in life. Today, women are no longer bound by the walls of the kitchen, or the words of men. They are independent, and make rational choices that suit them.
The concept of marriage has been evolving. From a ritual to sanctify sex and ensure reproduction, it became a source of social security. Today, it is not given as much importance as it used to get; at least not the ceremonial marriage. Many people prefer live-ins which was frowned upon earlier.
Earlier, love was always portrayed as love at first sight. Though even today it is predominant, people are more rational in their approach. Compatibility at the physical, mental and emotional levels is checked before making a commitment. This is why dating has grown to take an important place in finding love.
All these changes have affected the perception of love. Given that individuality and independence, especially for a woman, have been gaining importance, there is no longer room for sacrifice or even a compromise. This is why the number of divorce cases has been rising exponentially. Further, the conventional notion of finding one perfect mate and sticking with that person for life, no longer exists. Now it is all about how long the compatibility lasts. It is no longer considered ethically wrong to move on from a relationship that has reached a saturation point.
These are some changes in the society that is perhaps a kindling factor in promoting the number of young offenders. The society has evolved to incorporate the changes in norms concerned with relationships, as discussed above. It is possible that this has somehow adversely affected the group of young offenders, causing them to grow larger in number (Akers, 1968).
Control Theory
According to this theory, every individual has both internal and external controls that always work against deviant behavior. Most people have the urge, at least at times, to indulge in deviant behavior, but do not. This is because of their inner controls and external control. The former may constitute morals, conscience, integrity, faith in religious principles, etc. The latter may constitute the law, friends, family, religious communities, etc.
Travis Hirschi claimed that it is these internal and external controls that make for a person’s “self-control” that acts against urges to go outside societal norms. According to this theory, proper socialization during childhood is a key factor that influences deviant behavior. Children who have low self-control may grow up to indulge in deviant behavior and criminal activities.
Analysis based on Control Theory
As in the previous theory, this also points to childhood being a key reason for deviant behavior, which is especially true in the case of young offenders. The theory however, also claims that labeling of people as criminals may in fact be just another norm of the society, while such people may be considered normal as part of smaller, different groups that they may be categorized into. However, critics argue against this point stating it is too simplified (Braithwaite and Mugford, 1994).
Man is a social being. A person’s behaviour has an impact on the society which in turn influences him. The behaviour of a person should hence coherent with the accepted norms of the environment. Every individual behaves in a specific way based on his or her mental capabiltities and perception of the society in which he lives. Correspondingly, the cognitive development of every person is unique. This influences the person’s various skills that control his interaction with the people around him. Psychology plays a central role in understanding how a person thinks, behaves and why he or she does so.
Many theories have been published by several psychologists that talk about various factors governing the behaviour of an individual. Example factors are biological, mental and/or environmental, physiological. In this regard, cognitive theory is widely accepted as a guidance to understanding the impact of a person’s thought processes on the behaviour of the individual in relation with his/her interaction with the society.
Jean Piaget was the first to come up with a theory that tries to explain the development of thought processes intelligence in an individual, and the effect of this cognitive development in seen in the person’s behaviour. According to him, cognitive development has been a gradual yet continuous formation and organization of mental processes, depending on societal influence and biological development of the child.
Thus, children create in their minds, an understanding of the external based on what they have observed. Then their experience variation and the distinction between their knowledge and what they see around them help them develop further. Accordingly, Piaget’s theory states that there are stages associated with cognitive development.
There are three stages that are processed continuously to determine the thoughts and development in a child. These are assimilation, accommodation and equilibration, which work together resulting in the child behaving in a specific manner in a given scenario.
People who indulge in deviant behaviour (especially young offenders) have psychological “abnormalities” and their brain functioning also deviates from what is considered normal. Changes in the cognitive processes are responsible for various psychotic disorders in both children and adolescents. These range from emotional problems to compulsive orders. Such challenges can have a negative impact with respect to their social, behavioural and problem solving skills.
The control theory, from a psychological perspective, suggests that counselling children before they deviant behaviour becomes part of their core, can be extremely effective. It offers an external control, which in turn will aid the child develop better self-control. In this context, a psychological analysis of counselling is explained next.
One of the most useful and highly successful methods utilized for counselling in children and adolescents is by means of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which is based on concepts in cognitive theory. It is widely accepted for treating depression and anxiety. CBT is used for specific problems and particular tactics and therapeutic solutions are given to handle the problem.
CBT is problem specific and goal oriented. It involves methods that require children to observe and comprehend the thoughts governing their behaviour. Consequently, it focuses on the fact that a child may not be able in control of the happenings around him but can still change the way in which these happenings in the society can be perceived. Therefore, CBT makes sure that the state of equilibration is achieved by modifying accommodation, using assimilation (Kendall, 2011).
Conclusion
The nature and possible causes for deviant behaviour in young offenders has been analyzed from the perspective of two deviance-theories. Further, possible corrective measures (especially psychological) have been discussed, which infer (from the theories) that an unhappy childhood is the key factor that promotes young offenders.
References
Erikson, K. T. (1962). Notes on the sociology of deviance. Social problems, 9(4), 307-314.
Becker, G. (1978). The mad genius controversy: A study in the sociology of deviance. Sage.
Akers, R. L. (1968). Problems in the sociology of deviance: Social definitions and behavior. Social Forces, 46(4), 455-465.
Tanner, J. (1996). Teenage troubles: Youth and deviance in Canada. Toronto: Nelson Canada.
Braithwaite, J., & Mugford, S. (1994). Conditions of successful reintegration ceremonies: Dealing with juvenile offenders. British Journal of Criminology, 34(2), 139-171.
Kendall, P. 2011. Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioural procedures. Guilford Press.
