Brain Development and Adolescent Delinquency
From a psychological perspective, adolescence is a tumultuous period of human development. That is primarily that period represents a time when those parts of the brain responsible for rational decision making and appreciation of future consequences of present actions are comparatively underdeveloped. Compounding that issue is the fact that the adolescent brain is simultaneously flooded by the highest levels of the sex hormones that the human body ever produces. In males, adolescence can be a particularly troublesome period because testosterone, the primary sex hormone, is also responsible for aggression and the need to exhibit social status and dominance within the peer group.
In particular, there are three specific regions of the brain that are still underdeveloped in adolescence: the cerebellum, corpus callosum, and prefrontal cortex. Two of those brain regions are believed to contribute greatly to some of the behaviors associated with delinquency in adolescence. The cerebellum is not believed to be essential to any one type of activity or though process; rather it is believed to mediate and coordinate multiple types of brain functions, including the connection between and among logical reasoning, social learning, judgment, and decision making. However, the most important area in terms of the connection between brain development and adolescent delinquency seems to be the prefrontal cortex, located immediately behind the forehead. In many respects, the prefrontal cortex is the "control center" of the human brain because it is substantially responsible for planning, mood modulation, organization, and working memory.
The fact that the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed in adolescence becomes critically important when the adolescent brain is simultaneously flooded by sex hormones during puberty. Especially among males, the combination of an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex with highly elevated levels of testosterone typically results in moodiness, short-temperedness, aggression, the need to exhibit social status and dominance, and rage as response to frustration, conflict, and disappointment. Naturally, there are many other factors that contribute to adolescent behavior. Whereas all teenagers experience the same types of brain development patterns and hormonal surges, not all teenagers necessarily exhibit delinquent tendencies. Brain development and hormones are only two contributing factors.
Source Consulted
Gerrig, R.J. And Zimbardo, P.G. (2009) Psychology and Life. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
The transition from pre-conventional to conventional moral development is changing one's view from selfishness to responsibility for others. The transition from conventional to post conventional development is from goodness to truth that "they are people, too." Gilligan's theory supports that there is more than one dimension to moral reasoning, whereas Kohlberg's theory is focused on a male-centered view. 7. An individual employing problem-focused coping strategies will target the cause of their
The key years during which experimentation occurs - between 13 and 16. Kobus discusses influences that launch an adolescent's smoking habit from several perspectives. First, the "social learning theory": relationships that are "more intimate" and that are developed "earlier in the youth's experiences" and thought to be more important; and youths are more likely to "imitate the smoking habits" (or non-smoking habits) of those with whom they have the closes
Adolescent Substance Use Screening Instruments: 10-Year Critical Review of the Research Literature Over ten million teenagers in the United States admit in a national survey that they drink alcohol, although it is illegal under the age of 21 in all states. In some studies, nearly one-quarter of school-age children both smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Over four thousand adolescents every day try marijuana for the first time. The dangers of use,
Decision Making, Impulse Control, And Cognitive Development Cognitive development entails the development in children with respect to processing of information, conceptual resources, skills in perception, learning the language and development of the brain. Piaget and Vygotsky advance theories explain cognitive development in children. These theories are similar in some aspects, yet they still differ about issues (Nakagaki, 2011). Piaget gives four stages to explain cognitive development whereby he advances that each
Treating Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Justice Delinquency treatment program: Peer mentoring program for African-American male juveniles A brief description of your community African-American males are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated juvenile population, relative to their percentage of the general population. The reasons for this have been hotly debated amongst criminal justice professionals and laypersons. Possible reasons include racism within the police and justice systems, the ways laws are written, and also a lack of vocational opportunities.
Forty-eight percent of commercials that had violence in them were advertisements for movies; 38% were advertisements for television programs. The conclusion that Tamburro comes up with is that "parents should remain present during commercials" or alternatively should institute technology that allows commercials to be skipped (Tamburro, p. 1662). Moreover, the authors believe that "efforts should be made that promote television shows and movies on the basis of the hour at
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now