JUVENILE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.   Term Paper ID:29391 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the role of gender.... More...

12 Pages / 2700 Words 10 sources, 34 Citations, APA Format $48.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Discusses the role of gender. Problem of juvenile crime in general. Theories and research on the topic. Increase of anti-social behavior on the part of youth and youth sub-groups. Causal factors such as the cultural structure of American society. Loss of moral authority of family and community. Gender differences in aggressive behaviors. Paper Introduction: THEORETICAL REVIEW OF GENDER AS A CORRELATED OF JUVENILE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR Introduction This research develops a theoretical review of gender as a correlated of juvenile criminal behavior. The review establishes to problem of juvenile criminal behavior, examines theories and research involving juvenile criminal behavior and the role of gender, and suggests an alternative theoretical model for addressing the role of gender in juvenile criminal behavior. The Problem of Juvenile Criminal Behavior Criminal anti-social behavior on the part of youth is shockingly high. Further, the frequency of such behavior is increasing among some sub-groups, of which one consists of juven Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Practice of Social Research. By 2 5, the population aged 15-to-17 years old will have increased by23 percent from 1995 levels. 245). Many of these youngpeople have come to believe that they will not live to be 25 years old.Older relatives and friends frequently persuade these youth that only thestrong and the ruthless survive. Many observers of society contend that the solution to the problem ofjuvenile crime and violence lies in the development of greaterresponsibility and control among parents. In the Holarchical Paradigm,each stage of human development is viewed as a holon. A better approach for theorizing the effect of gender on a propensityfor criminal behavior may be the peacemaking concept. Doherty, R. 1994. Theories and Research on Juvenile Criminal Behavior and the Role of Gender Some theorists cite the cultural structure of American society as acausal factor in the increasing frequency of criminal behavior byjuveniles. These stagesare personal, ego, total organism, and unity consciousness. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber(1998) concluded "onset refers to a single behavior, namely, the transitionfrom not showing it to showing it, and therefore is based on littleinformation" (246). According to this line ofreasoning, many teenagers in the United States appear to perceiveadolescence as a "separate society that is not governed by the normsapplicable to the broader society. Government Printing Office.Bureau of Justice Statistics. L. in Race matters by Cornell West. 9-11. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber(1998) cited evidence "that desistance from physical fighting andaggression continues from childhood to adulthood" and that aggressivebehavior is susceptible to "change in systematic interventions" (244). 7th ed. 2 1. Persons under the ageof 18 years old are responsible for approximately 32 percent of seriousproperty crimes cleared by arrest and for approximately 17 percent ofviolent crimes cleared by arrest. Crime, especially violent criminal behavior, by teenagers is a majorsocial and criminal justice problem. 1993. 1998. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) concludedthat "it cannot be assumed that aggressive youth are a homogenous group;instead, it is likely that subgroups can be distinguished that may differfrom other antisocial youths in terms of presenting problems and possiblecauses of their behavior" (253). Symbolic interactionists hold that one cannot understand human actionapart from the subjective interpretations assigned to situations by theindividuals involved in those situations. Historical Criminal Justice Statistics for the United States. 1993. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Jarjoura, G. It is, according to socialinteractionists, through social interaction that "individuals apply broadshared symbols and actively create the special meanings of self, others,and situations" (LaRossa and Reitzes 1998: 149). The clearest increase of criminaloffenses involved expelled students. Thus, the inner needs of the person are satisfied through theIntentional Quadrant (upper left), while the exterior needs of the personare satisfied through the Behavioral Quadrant (upper right), the innerneeds of society are satisfied through the Cultural Quadrant (lower left),and the exterior needs of society are satisfied through the Social Quadrant(lower right). Gender was among theindependent variables included in the research. Thus,whether or not this solution is theoretically valid is immaterial, as it isnot likely to come to fruition in time to matter. From 1965 to1985, the national homicide rate changed almost exactly in proportion tothe change in the size of the 18-to-24 year old population segment.Beginning in 1985, however, the two phenomena diverged sharply from oneanother. More and more people are coming to the view thatbehavior termed criminally deviant is not necessarily socially-unacceptable behavior. These subjective interpretationsderive from the definition of the situation from the perspective of anindividual who is a part of the situation. The 18-to-24 year old population segmentwill increase in both absolute numbers and as a proportion of the totalpopulation over the next decade (Bureau of the Census 2 1). Criminologists have long associated the commission of crime with theopportunity for the commission of such acts. In a high proportion of cases,however, criminal behavior while in school was the cause of expulsion fromschool. Thus, in theabsence of behavioral changes, one may expect marked increases in thelevels of youth violence. The review establishes to problem ofjuvenile criminal behavior, examines theories and research involvingjuvenile criminal behavior and the role of gender, and suggests analternative theoretical model for addressing the role of gender in juvenilecriminal behavior. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber(1998) fault the derivation of the theory that the discontinuity ofaggression from childhood to early-adulthood is negligible because"correlation coefficients are poor indicators of the actual degree ofstability and change" (243). This integration ofindividual and societal responsibility for antisocial behavior is fullyconsistent with the concepts of Wilber's (1998) Holarchical Paradigm. The sad fact is, however, that today'sparents are not likely to suddenly become more responsible, nor are theylikely to begin to exercise greater control over their children. The success ofeach of these transformations will, within the context of the HolarchicalParadigm, lead to the reduction of antisocial behavior and the satisfactionof the inner and exterior needs of society. In absolute numbers the teenage and young adult population aged 15 to24 years old actually declined from 1986 through 1995. Steinmetz. A major reason that a growing proportion ofthe population appears to be finding criminal behavior an acceptablealternative to non-criminal behavior is the continuing socialization ofcriminal deviancy. Boss, W. "Does Dropping Out of School Enhance Delinquent Involvement? For more than two decades, youth in the inner cities of the UnitedStates have witnessed violent death as an almost routine occurrence. Within thecontext of Wilber's Holarchical Paradigm, the perpetrator must transformthrough successfully experiencing the four stages of human development,while society must transform to establish the conditions that will enablethe individuals to satisfy their inner and exterior needs. Results from a Large-Scale National Probability Sample." Criminology 31:149-172.LaRossa, R., and D. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) cited evidence three differenttypes of aggression development - (1) life-course type, (2) limited-duration type, and (3) late-onset type. R. R. The research noted asignificant increase in criminal behavior among those who dropped out ascompared to those who stayed in school. Schumm, and S. Roles are shared norms appliedby occupants of social positions. For these adolescents, culturalstructures and strictures associated with family and community appear tohave little meaning" (West 1993:1 ). Jarjoura (1993) adopted an inductive approach to determine therelationship between dropouts and delinquency. The interactionist paradigm views "social life as a process ofinteractions among individuals" (Babbie 1998:62). Such youth have learned to live with constant fear. Meaning, thus, "arises in the process ofinteraction between people" (LaRossa and Reitzes 1998: 143). "Flatland" is the term used by Wilber (1998:114-115) to explain theoutcomes associated with failures to address the needs of each of the FourQuadrants. Criminal behavior, viewed from this perspective, is (1) afailure of individuals to successfully experience each of the four stagesof development and (2) a failure of society to enable individuals tosatisfy both their inner and exterior needs, which together lead to (3) afailure to satisfy both the inner and exterior needs of society. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) noted that, because of the generalacceptance of the notion that all serious forms of criminal behavioremanate from early-childhood, "early onset and persisting forms ofaggression are conceptualized as a personality trait, which lacksmalleability and is difficult to change" (244). theoretical review of gender as a correlated of juvenile criminal behavior Introduction This research develops a theoretical review of gender as a correlatedof juvenile criminal behavior. Social relationships aswell as social perceptions affect the propensity of an individual to engagein violent criminal behavior. Peacemaking is anapproach to criminal justice that emphasizes social justice, conflictresolution, rehabilitation, and a belief that people must cooperate in thedevelopment of community (Fuller, 1998). Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) point outthat "it is more useful to know what the probabilities are that highlyaggressive boys persist and desist and what the probabilities are that lessaggressive boys persist or escalate" (243). One reason for this development among juveniles inthe United States appears to be the juvenile justice system in thiscountry. This argument is appealing andlikely is theoretically valid. Symbolic interactionismemphasizes connections between shared meanings, or symbols, and actions andcommunications, or interactions. The wide variety of explanationsoffered for this phenomenon, however, have been ineffective in providing aninclusive understanding of the issue over the long-term (Wilson 1994). Reference ListBabbie, E. "Symbolic Interactionism and Family Studies." Pp. The interpretiveprocess relies on the use of symbols. Prisons hold no fear for such youth.Rather, some of them view prison as a rite of passage that a majority oftheir peers may have experienced. Further, the frequency of such behavior is increasing among some sub-groups, of which one consists of juvenile females. Washington: U.S. Such experiences desensitize youth, anddesensitization causes violent behavior to become more acceptable. Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) addressed the controversysurrounding the causal factors involved in criminal behavior by juveniles.They postulated that causal factors that differentiate between criminal andnon-criminal behavior related to behavior patterns, emotions, cognitions,and development courses. To refute this line ofreasoning, Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) cite evidence that (1) allindividuals who exhibit criminal behavior in adulthood do not have "ahistory of early aggression," and (2) early "antecedents of serious formsof antisocial behavior" apply only to "a subset of the eventually seriousantisocial individuals" (p. Not surprisingly, the study found a much higher percentage of maledropouts (37 percent) engaged in criminal behavior than female dropouts (13percent). 1998. Thus, a personwho has successfully experienced the ego stage cannot progress to the unityconsciousness stage without experiencing the total organism stage. Meanings are"modified through an interpretive process used by the person with things heor she encounters" (LaRossa and Reitzes 1998: 145). The failure of an individual to develop through each stage leads to abiased and possibly antisocial individual, while the failure of society toenable individuals to develop through the four stages assures that chaoslikely will ensue (Wilber, 1998). Among those aged 15-to-17 years old, thehomicide rate more than doubled (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2 1). The peacemaking approach tocriminal justice does not discount individual culpability for antisocialbehavior; however, the peacemaking approach to criminal justice does demandconsideration of the actions of society in creating the conditions thatfoster the manifestations of antisocial behavior. Based on theevidence, Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998) concluded that, although "therelative risk for women can be higher than that for men" for thedevelopment of aggressive and criminal behavior "the explanations ofvariations in outcome within each gender remains and important puzzle"(255). 2 Census Summary. Juveniles know with some degree of certainty that many acts ofanti-social behavior are not going to draw severe penalties even whenprosecuted. Reitzes. One must experience the four stages of development in relation to eachof the Four Quadrants. 1998. The number of young adults as a proportion of the populationdeclined after 1985; however, the overall homicide rate increased, becauseamong this smaller group of juveniles the homicide rate increased by 65percent between 1985 and 1993. Social relationships often determine whether or not an individual willhave an opportunity to participate in criminal activity, and whether or notan individual will be encouraged in such behavior. 2 1. In the face of numerous initiativesfrom all levels of government, however, criminal and violent behavior hascontinued to increase in frequency. C. Cornel West (1993) attributes theloss of moral authority of family and community to a nihilism stemming from"the murky waters of despair and dread that now flood the streets of blackAmerica" (12). Research has related a propensity to engagein criminal misconduct with a number of different factors. Boston: Beacon Press.Wilber, K. Identity refers to "self-meaningsin a role" (LaRossa and Reitzes 1998: 145). Washington: U.S. It is suggested that classifications based on moreinformation about age and gender of onset, frequency of current problembehavior, persistence of the problem behavior, and the history ofbehavioral development are likely to be of greater use to professionalsworking with children (246-247). Prominent amongthese factors are low measured IQ, parental criminality, disruptive familysituation, lower social class, low income, high unemployment, substanceabuse, and gender. New York: Plenum Press.Loeber, R., and Stouthamer-Loeber, M. Youngpersons have seen death and other outcomes of violence on the streets, inthe schools, in homes, and in television motion picture depictions of life. Wilber has used a variety of problems toindicate how the functioning of the Holarchical Paradigm leads to societalproblems. Predictions are that, because of thisincrease, the number of homicides may rise dramatically, with other violentoffenses rising proportionally. The Holarchical Paradigm derives from the concept of the holon, whichis a model of elements of the universe that, while it is both complete andconsistent within itself, both needs to be and is necessary to theintegrity of a larger system (Wilber, 1998). G. LaRossa, W. According to Wilber (1998), a successful society isone wherein it is possible for all people to successfully experience eachof the four states of development in relation to each of the FourQuadrants. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.Bureau of the Census. As the peacemaking perspective of criminal justice demands theassurance of social justice for all persons in a society, the implicationis that the basis for effective responses to criminal behavior must be thetransformation of both perpetrator and society (Fuller, 1998). "What to Do About Crime." Commentary 98: 25-34. Without denying the validity of West's conclusion, carenevertheless must be exercised when identifying the roots of familydysfunctionality and teenage violence, because neither of these socialphenomena are restricted to the African American component of thepopulation of the United States, nor is the Anglo majority in thepopulation free of these social phenomena. Gender differences in aggressive and criminal behaviors do existbetween males and females with respect to the frequency of such behavior.Some research, however, indicates that this difference is more in the waysin which aggression manifests itself - verbally (females) or physically(males), than in the ways in which such behaviors develop. R. Approximately seven-percent of alljuvenile delinquency referrals to juvenile courts involved violent crime.Approximately eight-percent of the juvenile population are responsible formore than one-half of all serious offenses committed by juveniles (Bureauof Justice Statistics 2 1). Criminal Justice: A Peacemaking Perspective. Criminal behavior involving teenagers typically involves ateenage perpetrator and a teenage victim. Within a social group, individualsdevelop both their own self-concept and individual identity through socialinteractions within the group structure. In the early years of thetwenty-first century, however, there is a stronger tendency on the part ofan ever greater proportion of the population to engage in any activity,criminal or not, that provides them with some degree of pleasure - when theopportunity presents itself. 135-163 in Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods: A Contextual Approach edited by P. "Development of Juvenile Aggression and Violence." American Psychologist 53: 242-259.West, Cornell. The Problem of Juvenile Criminal Behavior Criminal anti-social behavior on the part of youth is shockingly high. The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion. Wilber's modelpostulates that each of the four basic stages must be experienced in aprogressive hierarchical order without skipping any stage. 1998. Overall, those who dropped out because of marriage or pregnancyhad the lowest probability of resorting to crime, but the ones who didresort to crime turned to violent acts (Jarjoura 1993). 1998. Violent criminalbehavior in absolute terms attributable to persons in this age bracketcontinued to increase, however, because the per capita frequency of violentbehavior for this population group increased dramatically. New York: Random House.Wilson, James Q. Government Printing Office.Fuller, J. A failure to address the needs of one of the Four Quadrants,according to Wilber (1998) precludes progress toward a higher level ofdevelopment; thus, stranding a person or even a society on the flatland.Flatland, again according to Wilber (1998) can be created either by (1) anindividual who chooses to ignore one of the Four Quadrants in her or hispersonal development or by (2) a society that denies or impedes thesatisfaction by individuals of their inner and exterior needs. K. "Nihilism in Black America." Pp. The notion that the discontinuity of aggression from childhood toearly-adulthood is negligible derives from the findings of many studiesbeginning in 1979 that high correlation coefficients between early andlater aggression were stable over time. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.