Adolescent delinquency, or the commission of unlawful act(s) by a teen, is not a new phenomenon. Throughout history, there have been teens who perpetrated illegal actions against property and/or other individuals. Some of these have been quite serious, even deadly.
Historically, society punished delinquent teens and children in much the same way that it dealt with adults. Thus, if a society felt comfortable hanging an adult for a crime, there would be no hesitation to hang a younger person who committed a similar act.
Today, just about everyone involved in the juvenile justice system believes that teens may not fully grasp the short- and long-term significance of criminal acts. As a result, they agree that adolescents who are delinquent should generally be treated apart from the adult justice system.
Every year, large numbers of adolescents are involved in some form of delinquency. In fact, of all segments of society, adolescents are the most likely to break the law. It has been estimated that between sixty and eighty percent of teens have participated in a delinquent act. And it is a mistake to believe that delinquency is merely a problem among older male teens, urban teens, teens of color, teens with limited opportunities or teens who are poor. In fact, quite frequently the delinquent teen is a male or female who is under the age of sixteen who comes from a financially comfortable home. Sometimes, the parents have a sizeable income. Teen delinquency no longer adheres to any race, sex, age or economic barriers.
So what are the crimes that teens commonly commit? The following are some of the most frequent: breaking curfew, running away, arson, motor vehicle theft, vandalism, burglary, larceny—theft, stolen property, robbery, underage drinking, illegal drug possession and sales, and the selling of prescription medications. Although less widespread, adolescents may also take part in more odious crimes such as assault, rape and murder. Often, these are not random acts. Teens have attacked their school bus drivers, vandalized the school buses and raped classmates. They have murdered teachers and other students. One out of every six arrests for murder, rape, robbery or assault involves a suspect who is under the age of eighteen.
There are a number of different personal, family and social dynamics that appear to increase the chances that a teen will become involved in delinquency. Early antisocial behavior, family drug use and severe conflicts within the family, insecure attachments between the teen and parents, poor school performance and motivation, conflict with teachers, high absenteeism, negative peer groups, and a history of aggressive and violent behavior, all place teens at higher risk for delinquent behaviors. But other factors also play a role. Teens who suffer from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or who have a history of poor peer relations are more likely to end up in trouble. Interestingly, teen fathers have higher rates of delinquency. Unfortunately, this makes life even more difficult for their partners and children. And, at least one researcher has determined that children exposed to lead are more likely to develop delinquent behaviors.
It is impossible to underestimate the role that the family may play in either facilitating or preventing delinquency. Those parents who are more engaged with their teens tend to have teens who do not participate delinquent acts. Even when other factors place teens at high risk, those who have healthy functioning families are given a degree of protection. Something as seemingly simple as eating dinner as a family on some sort of regular basis may deter a teen from delinquency. Teens who believe that they are low on their parents’ list of priorities may more readily drift into delinquency. Such teens may believe that their parents do not care what they do, and they may think that they have a more in common with other teens who are involved in illegal activity. In addition, large numbers of teens live in homes where both parents work full-time. Or, there may be only one parent who is working long hours to support the family. As a result, most of these teens have no supervision between the time school ends and the parents’ arrival home. Obviously, most teens fill this time in a productive manner. They hold part-time jobs or become involved with sports or other after school activities. Some use the time to complete their homework or to practice an instrument. But, some are drawn to delinquency, and, until confronted by the police and made accountable by the legal system, the actions may go unnoticed.
Other family members also help determine whether a teen engages in delinquency. Not surprisingly, teens are influenced by their siblings. Younger siblings often want to follow the path charted by older siblings. That works well if the older sibling is pursuing productive activities. But older siblings who are involved in delinquency may easily draw their siblings into similar acts.
Parents should teach their children some basic rules of behavior for dealing with family members as well as people outside the family. All too often, parents want to become “friends” with their teens. Such parents often were raised with a seemingly unending number of rules. They considered their parents to be overbearing; they cringed when their parents imposed yet another requirement; and they may well have been physically punished when they deviated from the rules. To avoid treating their children in such a way, they gravitate to leniency. But that may be problematic. Teens who have been raised with little structure may more readily turn to delinquency.
Parents should encourage their teens to join community groups. Teens who participate in positive community programs such as those sponsored by a neighborhood boy’s club or a local YMCA are less likely to be drawn to delinquency. Similar results are generally noted for those teens who are involved with their religious community and attend services on a regular basis. It is also know that teens who are matched with older role models such as volunteers with the Big Brother or Big Sister organizations or who sign on to survival programs such as Outward Bound are more likely to select positive endeavors.
Adolescents who are more resilient are less inclined to become involved with delinquent acts. Connectiveness is key to teens acquiring resiliency. Those teens who are connected to the family, school and community are more likely to be resilient. Environments that build resiliency include those where there are opportunities for active teen involvement, skills for participation and recognition and reward for skillful performance.
Related topics:
Crime prevention, independence and rebellion, risk-taking, runaways
