Juvenile Delinquency Chap 1.

Role Diffusion

A state of confusion about one’s social role that typically occurs during adolescence

Ego Identity

full sense of self that develops during adolescence, allowing individuals to understand their personal values, beliefs, and goals.

Time of Transition

tumultuous teenage years, time of trials and uncertainty for youth marked by biological and personality changes

____ proceeds at a faster pace than at any other time in their lives except infancy

Biological development

Ego identity questions

Who am I?, What do I stand for? What kind of person do I want to be?

Ego Identity gives youth a sense of

who they are / role in society

ego Identity is having a strong

sense of self, manifested by a confident awareness of one’s own characteristics

If a young person can’t balance their own values of conformity and striving for individual identity, they can suffer from

identity crisis

Role diffusion occurs when

youth experience personal uncertainty, spread too thin

Late adolescence is dominated by the desire for

independence from parental domination

The mix of what two factors causes the teenage years to be a time of constant conflict with authority

biological change and desire for autonomy/independence

Role diffusion pushes many youth towards

delinquency, drug use, anti-social behavior

Factors that contribute to the adolescent dilemma

time of transition, puberty, role diffusion, ego identity

Adolescent problems

Poverty, Health problems, family problems, substandard living conditions, inadequate educational opportunity, dealing with modern world

children are divided into two economic groups

affluent two-earner married-couple households, and poor single-parent households

three housing problems for youth

physically inadequate housing, crowded housing, expensive housing

Education shapes the ____ and ____ of children

personal growth and life chances

at home, poor children receive less ____ _____ from their parents

academic support

What is the most effective preventive strategy against adult poverty

College graduation

The modern world has things such as the _____ and other _____ that have created new problems in society

Internet, technological advances (Pornography, cyber stalking/bullying, sexting)

Health problems for adolescents

Lack of good health insurance

Young people who are extremely vulnerable to the negative consequences of school failure, substance Abuse, and early sexuality also experience what

Inadequate education, family problems, urban decay, poverty

At risk youth troubles

Home, School, neighborhood, Health hazards

At-Risk youth Dangerous conduct

Their dangerous conduct can be Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, precocious sexuality, school dropout

Has anything improved?

teen birthrates/abortions decreased in last decade, less children born with health risks, more kids going to college

Social development in the U.S. has increased the risks of growing up

social life, politics, consumerism, inequalities, childcare, access to social institutions, cult of individualism

Social life

more time spent in from of the tv or computer than classroom

Why is it important to study juvenile delinquency?

Gangs, Chronic delinquent offenders

What do we need to study in Juvenile Delinquency?

aging-out process, persistence, juvenile justice system

Aging-out process

The tendency for youths to reduce the frequency of their offending behavior as they age

Chronic Juvenile offenders

youths involved in multiple serious criminal acts (They usually don’t age out of crime, criminal careers begin early and persist into adulthood)

Major areas of scientific study of juvenile delinquency

Nature, Extent, Cause

Childhood in Middle ages

Paternalistic family, soil and feudal obligations, dowry and childrearing systems

Poor Laws

Appointment of overseers to place destitute or neglected children as servants in the homes of the rich

Apprenticeship movement

Master-Apprentice relationship similar to parent-child relationship

Chancery Court

court proceedings created in 15th century England to oversee the lives of highborn minors who were orphaned or otherwise could not care for themselves

Parens Patriae

Power of the state to act on behalf of the child and provide care and protection equivalent to that of a parent (best interest of the child)

Childhood in America

Involuntary apprenticeship, indentured labor, agricultural workers

stubborn child laws

required children to obey their parents

Controlling children in early america

Moral discipline rigidly informed, parents had right to severely punish children

Child Savers

19th century reform groups that sought to assist children in need, lobbied for separate legal status for children

Best interests of the child

A philosophical view to provide care, custody, and treatment to remedy delinquent behavior

Delinquent

A juvenile who has been adjudicated by a judicial officer of a juvenile court as having committed a delinquent act

Minor child who has violated the penalty code

younger than 17 or 18 years old by most states

Minors apprehended for a criminal act are usually charged with being a

juvenile delinquent, regardless of crime

Juvenile delinquents viewed as victims of

improper care, custody, and treatment at home

Young people are incapable of making

mature judgments and responsibility for their acts should be limited

Delinquent behavior is often sanctioned less severely because young people are believed to

have stronger preference for risk and novelty, be more impulsive/short term consequences, appreciate time and self control differently, peer pressure

Legal responsibility of youth is

somewhere between criminal and civil law

Status offense are illegal only because what

illegal only because the child is underage

status offenses

smoke/drinking, skipping school, running away, sex, pornography