Societal Influences on Juvenile Delinquency
The social context in which adolescents develop influences their behavior. The environment shapes the behavior of a person, and people are products of their environment. Theories related to the social environment best explain decisions by the juvenile to participate in juvenile delinquency. The social environment, which constitutes permissive families, delinquent peer groups, and unstable neighborhoods, contributes to juvenile delinquency. Exposure to violence in the family at an early age increases the youth’s delinquency at their adolescent. Some settings with illegal markets like drug trafficking and gangs provide opportunities for children to learn and engage in delinquent behavior (Agnew et al., 2001).
Social learning theory, which attributes delinquency to the social environment, best explains juvenile delinquency. It claims that individuals learn delinquency primarily through their association with others. They can learn it from their environment like family, school, neighborhoods, and delinquent peer groups (Akers et al., 2006). learning occurs through reinforcement and imitation of models who teach the favorable definition of crime.
Data indicates that the people one associates with have a significant impact on whether they will engage in crime or not. This impact can be explained by the reinforcements they receive, their beliefs on crime, and the models they are exposed to (Akers et al., 2006). Social learning theory has received validation within criminology has been empirically tested as a foundational and central theory (Cullen et al., 2010). unlike other theories that show how delinquency is acquired, it explains maintaining and changing behavior.
References
Agnew, R., & Brezina, T. (2001). Juvenile delinquency: Causes and control (p. 624). Los Angeles, CA, USA:: Roxbury Publishing Company.
Akers, R. L., & Jensen, G. F. (2006). The Empirical Status of Social Learning Theory of Crime and Deviance: The Past, Present, and Future.
Cullen, F. T., Sellers, C. S., Thomas Winfree Jr, L., Madensen, T. D., Daigle, L. E., … & Gau, J. M. (2010). The empirical status of social learning theory: A meta‐analysis. Justice Quarterly, 27(6), 765-802.