The correlation between juvenile mental illness and delinquent behavior

Juvenile Delinquency

The Correlation Between Juvenile Delinquency and Mental Illness

Mental Illness

Juvenile Delinquency

The Correlation Between Juvenile Delinquency and Mental Illness

Juvenile delinquency and juvenile crime are serious issues in the United States and other countries today. While it is important to stop crimes before they start, and to make sure that juveniles have other activities so they do not turn to crime, one of the overlooked areas has to do with the factors that relate to juvenile crime. Knowing what causes someone to commit delinquent acts, and what to do in order to stop those acts from occurring, are both very important tools in the fight against juvenile delinquency (Mulvey, Arthur, & Reppucci, 1997). Naturally, every juvenile is different. What causes one person to commit a delinquent act may not cause another person to do so. Still, there are common, contributing factors to juvenile delinquency - and mental illness is one of the largest factors that is most often seen (Peetz, 2008). In order to understand the correlation and what can be done about it, both mental illness and juvenile delinquency have to be discussed, along with how they affect one another.

Mental Illness

Mental illness is nothing new, but better diagnostic criteria and a lower social stigma mean that more people are being treated for their mental and emotional problems. Additionally, more juveniles are being diagnosed and treated. For every juvenile who gets proper treatment, though, there are others who are not so lucky. When juveniles are very young, they rely on their parents to help them. If those parents do not see the mental health issues or do not feel there is a problem, how can the juvenile get help? Some young people may seek help at school, through friends, or through other family members, but most will not do so (Righthand & Welch, 2004). That leaves them vulnerable to their mental health problems and to the suggestions of peers who may also be struggling with mental illness. Some mental disorders are very benign, but others have much more serious implications (Zigler, Taussig, & Black, 1992).

Anxiety and depression can make juveniles act out in ways that are very inappropriate, and they can also make these juveniles withdraw and become more dangerous to themselves than they are to others (Zigler, Taussig, & Black, 1992). Either way, there are concerns that have to be faced. Parents and others who see signs of mental illness in juveniles should work to have them evaluated and get them the help they need. All too often, juveniles fall through the cracks of a busy and overworked system, however, and that can lead them down a path to both mental and physical problems, along with educational and law enforcement issues. Not all mentally ill juveniles end up committing delinquent acts even if they do not get help, but many turn to crime and delinquency because they do not care about their lives or they feel as though they do not fit in (Mulvey, Arthur, & Reppucci, 1993). They are often seeking attention and help, but going about getting that attention and help in a way that will actually harm them.

Conclusion

Mental health is very important. That is even truer for juveniles, because they have an entire lifetime ahead of them in which they will need to be able to function as a part of society (Peetz, 2008). Each and every juvenile who is mentally ill and who gets the proper treatment for that illness is a juvenile that will be less likely to commit delinquent and criminal acts in the future. That is very important, of course, because the lower crime rate and the lack of damage done to the young person's life are both significant. Each juvenile needs help when he or she is struggling with mental illness. These kinds of problems must be recognized so that help can be offered before lives are ruined by mental illness and criminal activity.