Juvenile delinquency consists of criminal behavior by individuals under the age of eighteen. A risk factor is any influence or characteristic that increases the probability of criminal behavior. Risk factors can be used to forecast future behavior. Several risk factors increase the risk of children to engage in delinquency and possessing certain factors may increase chance of becoming delinquent. Risk factors may increase the probability that a juvenile will engage in delinquent behavior but it does not make delinquency a certainty. The greater number of risk factors existing in a juvenile’s life, the greater the amount of crime the juvenile will commit.. Risk factors include prenatal and perinatal complications, physical and mental health conditions, quality of home environment, poverty, poor parenting, neglect and abuse, peers, and school and education.
Prenatal and perinatal complications
Prenatal and perinatal complications have been shown to cause development and health problems in children. Cognitive deficits, temperament as well as conduct disorders and behavioral issues have been found by researchers to arise as a result of prenatal and perinatal complications. Some studies on prenatal and perinatal complications as risk factors for juvenile delinquency have been conflicting and inconsistent. However, studies have found some association to juvenile delinquency.
Physical conditions
Physical factors of a child may also increase the risk of participating in delinquent behavior. Physical factors may place a handicap on the child and in an attempt to compensate for the disability, the child will engage in delinquent behavior. Malnutrition and lack of food in the home place the child at a greater risk for delinquency. Additionally, drug or alcohol abuse are significant risks for delinquent behavior.
Mental conditions
Hyperactivity, attention deficit, and impulsivity have been identified as risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Risk factors arise as delinquent behavior could become a response or manifestation of a mental condition. Children with overwhelming emotions are at risk of turning to juvenile delinquency for a release. Juvenile delinquency could also be the result of the child trying to adjust to or compensate for a mental condition. Other mental risk factors may include emotional instability, mental incapacities, inferior or superior complex, defective mental development, suggestibility, psychoses or psychoneuroses.
Quality of Home Environment
The home environment has a significant influence on children and is another risk for juvenile delinquency. This influence may be positive or negative. The quality and safety of the home environment will determine this influence. Home environment conveys values, creates bonds and establishes legitimacy for children. Physical conditions present in the home as well as relations between family members and the financial condition of the family are factors. Mental health and stress may be enhanced in homes that are unclean or unsanitary. Children may also have negative effects on self-confidence and self-respect due to unclean or unsanitary home conditions. Lack of personal property, including clothes or even toys may impress on the child a desire to possess property of others and result in theft.
Poverty
Children from low income family and neighborhoods are exposed to more family disruption, and family separations and more violence and aggression, which are all significant risk factors to juvenile delinquency . Many incarcerated youths come from lower class families . Youth are more inclined to commit crime due to poverty as it leads to criminal behavior as an act of survival.
Neglect and Abuse
Parents are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, face domestic violence, single parenting, lack of education and mental disorders. Children who grow up in abusive homes are more likely to have over reactive fight or flight reflex and inability to manage stress. Children from homes with inadequate parenting also face the risk of engaging in juvenile delinquency. The lack of proper parental care, lack of affection and improper discipline, as well as poor parental supervision are additional risk factors .
Lack of Education
Children with academic difficulties at a young age have even more difficulty in later years of high school and this results in high truancy and dropout rates, both of which are risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Low educational achievement and low intelligence are also risk factors. Poor achievement in school, limits on vocabulary and limited or low reasoning and communication skills are strong predictors of juvenile delinquency . Truancy is also a risk factor for some children, as does hanging with the wrong friends.
Peers
Peers with antisocial behavior, peers that engage in and approve delinquent behavior, attachment to peers, the amount of time a child spends with peers. Peer pressure may result in juvenile delinquency and involvement with drugs and gangs. Gangs are attractive to youth as gangs provide friendships, status and protection against others for the youth.
CONCLUSION
It is important to understand juvenile delinquency risk factors in order to attempt to reduce or prevent juvenile crime. Juvenile delinquency consists of criminal behavior committed by individuals under the age of eighteen. Risk factors are factors that increase the likelihood of committing a delinquent act. Risk factors may allow the criminal justice system, the law enforcements community, the schools, the communities and parents to evaluate and determine the tendency of a child to engage in juvenile delinquency. There are many risk factors that increase the risk of children to engage in delinquency. Having certain factors or several factors at one time may increase the chance of an individual becoming delinquent. Risk factors may increase the probability that a juvenile will engage in delinquent behavior but it does not make delinquency a certainty. Some of the risk factors that are typically present in juvenile delinquents include prenatal and perinatal complications, physical and mental health conditions, quality of home environment, poverty, poor parenting, neglect and abuse, peers, and school and education. The importance of understanding risk factors for juveniles should not be underestimated. With an understanding of risk factors, delinquency may be prevented. The study of risk factors can also enhance prevention of juvenile delinquency.
References
Ardoin, Lauren and Carl Bartling. "Biological, Psychological, and Sociological Effects on Juvenile Delinquency." Psychological Research 6.1 (2010). <https://www.mcneese.edu/f/c/22152a3a/AJPR%2010-11%20Ardoin%204-06.pdf>.
Cardoso, Lauren. "Juvenile Delinquency: An Investigation of Risk Factors and Solutions." Salve Regina University Digital Commons (2012).
Omboto, John Onyango, et al. "Factors Influencing Youth Crime And Juvenile Delinquency." International Journal of Research in Social Sciences 1.2 (2013). <http://ijsk.org/uploads/3/1/1/7/3117743/sociology_2.pdf>.
Reilly, James. "Risk and Protective Factors of Delinquency: Perspectives from Professionals Working with Youth." St. Catherine University School of Social Work (2012). <http://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=msw_papers>.
