Delinquent behavior: causes, prevention, and intervention

Delinquent Behavior

Children are the future of human civilization, and to that extent, it is vital that all communities, societies and governments pay attention to the growing problem of juvenile delinquency. Indeed, if society fails in its efforts to address the issue of juvenile delinquency, it will lead to a world of chaos and disorder, placing in jeopardy millions of years of effort to work towards a civilization where individual citizens can be assured of a sense of socio-economic, psychological and emotional well-being. Bearing the importance of the issue in mind, it is the objective of this research paper, through a review of selected literature, to examine: the nature and extent of the problem of juvenile delinquent behavior; the possible consequences to society if the problem is not redressed effectively; the range of underlying biological, psychological and social causative factors of juvenile delinquency; and suggested solutions and methods of reducing, correcting or eliminating the problem of juvenile delinquency.

It is also the aim of this paper to demonstrate that the problem of juvenile delinquency is primarily a social one that will require a great deal of society's concerted focus, collected efforts and coordinated resources given the complex nature of the issue, evidenced by the very range of juvenile offenses and behavior: murder, robbery, rape, vandalism, arson, substance abuse etc. While the wide range of deviant behavior is, in itself, an indication of the complex nature of the problem, the issue is further compounded by the fact that juvenile delinquency varies as a function of factors such as age, gender, race and SES strata: "The subject matter does not belong within a single or narrow field of enquiry, for any adequate consideration of the nature, causation, court handling, and social treatment of the delinquent must cut across the social and biological sciences." (Tappan, 1949, p. 1)

Possible Sources

Dinitz, S., Reckless, W.C. The Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency: An Experiment. Ohio State University Press, 1972.

Hough, R., Mccabe, K.M., Wood, P.A., & Yeh, M. Childhood and Adolescent Onset Conduct Disorder: A Test of the Developmental Taxonomy. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Vol. 29, 2001.

Gatzke-Kopp, L.M., Loeber, R., Raine, A., Steinhauer, S.R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. Serious delinquent behavior, sensation seeking and electrodermal arousal. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Vol. 30, 2002.