Deviance among Canadian youths: causes and social factors

Deviance Among Canadian Youths

Deviation refers to the violation of the acceptable norms and values that have maintained within the cultural framework of a society. Norms are very important in every society since they allow the people of a given society to coexist with one another, and create the best environment for human living. The Canadian society like other societies is guided by certain norms and values, which are useful for the normal operation of the Canadian society. It is on this account that the issue of deviance cannot be underestimated. One cannot underestimate the issue of deviance, and the way it has caught up with many youths in the Canadian societal setting. Deviance comes with a number of consequences, especially to the youth who are expected to be the future leaders of the nation (Platt, 1999).

Canada has experienced increased numbers of youths who have taken on deviant behavior. In this context, many youths have been found guilty engaging in activities or organizations that have taken on activities that are opposed to the accepted norms of the Canadian society. This study looks at deviance as a problem that is eating into the lives of many youths in Canada. The problem of deviance is a challenge in the Canadian society because it involves the violation of the laws and norms. Most of the youth has been found engaging in criminal behaviors, including traffic violations, prostitution, sexual assault, cybercrime, and murders in extreme cases.

Deviance and Social Issues

Deviance and deviant behaviors are closely related to a number of social factors shaping a given environment. For instance, issues like gender discrimination and prejudice has brought about deviance. In societies that have not created gender balance cultures and equality among the genders, one gender (in many cases, males) may be deviant to the laws of the land and engage in harassing or abusing their female counterparts.

The other issue that may lead to deviance is the issue of age and the connection between the youth and the mature/elderly people in the society. The youths may engage in deviant behaviors as an avenue of expressing their identity. In cases where youths are not valued and feel unrecognized, they may engage in deviant behaviors with the aim of seeking attention and creating their identity in their society. This is seen from their engagement in activities like riots (Thomas, 2002).

Ethnicity may also affect the extent of deviance and crime, especially in contexts where societies are made of the major and minor ethnic races. In societies where the youths have been raised with unresolved issues on ethnic prejudice, this may lead to ethnic conflicts, and other deviant behaviors. Negative ethnicity has made many people engage in deviant behaviors: prejudice may make someone feel that they belong to the low ethnic backgrounds. It may also lead to prejudicial treatment of people from other ethnic backgrounds, which is against the acceptable norms of the land (Flowers, 2003).

Conclusion

It is evident that Canadian youths have had many challenges with regard to deviant and criminal behavior. Besides, various factors, including the involvement and attachment among the youth have contributed to the high numbers of youth being involved in criminal and deviant behavior. The youths have engaged in a number of deviant behaviors, such as robbery, drug abuse, street crimes, cybercrimes, and assault. It would be important for the law enforcement agencies to employ these factors in developing remedies to the deviance problem in the U.S.