Verified Document

High Risk Lifestyles Among Youths In Los Angeles Capstone Project

High Risk Youths in Los Angeles Los Angeles is one of the cities that have had numerous challenges, particularly violence that has been a major issue for more than two decades. While the city is relatively safe and tranquil, unprecedented violence in some of its high crime zones continues to be a problem. The situation of gang violence and crime has reached unprecedented levels and requires significant response. One of the major factors that have characterized increased crime levels in Los Angeles is high risk youths. Actually, many youths in this city are engaged in criminal behaviors and activities that continue to raise numerous questions and concerns on how to effectively deal with crime and violence problem in Los Angeles. The most suitable approach for dealing with this problem involves examining the challenges faced by youths in this city that lead to high risk lifestyles and how education can be a helpful tool in addressing the problem.

Challenges Faced by Youths in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a city with one of the extremely high rates of crime and incarceration, especially among young people. While law enforcement agencies and personnel have made several efforts to deal with this problem, the city is still characterized by high risk youths. Gang prevention programs and comprehensive intervention measures and strategies that have been adopted by the agencies have been relatively ineffective in dealing with high risk youths ("Citywide Gang Activity Reduction Strategy," n.d.). The major reason for high risk youths and high rates of crime in Los Angeles is because of challenges experienced by young people that are specific to its demographic.

One of the major challenges faced by youths leading high risk lifestyles in the Los Angeles demographic is distorted family foundations. Family problems have been at the center of criminal activity and include various factors such as history of criminal activity within the family. Distorted...

In a study that profiled youths in Los Angeles in 2013, distorted family foundations were found to be one of the major causes of juvenile delinquency in the city (Bogie, Ereth & Healy, 2013). Based on the study's findings, over two thirds of families in the city were characterized by destructive or insufficient parenting skills. Moreover, approximately 50% of caregivers of families were experiencing mental health problems. Some of the major problems facing caregivers include household relationship issues, minimal social support or drug or alcohol problems. As a result, youths in Los Angeles continue to experience family problems like neglect, abuse, poor relationships, and lack of social support, which in turn leads to high risk lifestyles.
Secondly, youths in Los Angeles face risks and temptations posed by the streets such as gangs and criminal lifestyles, sex, and drugs. As previously mentioned, Los Angeles city is characterized by increased gang membership across the streets. These gangs engage in high risk lifestyles and violence, which has become a routine and part of their daily normal lives. Actually, nearly 75% of gang problems like homicide among youths in California have taken place in Los Angeles County ("Citywide Gang Activity Reduction Strategy, n.d.). While huge amounts of money have been spent on the war on gangs, Los Angeles has nearly six times as many gangs and twice the number of gang members across all cities in California. Therefore, gang lifestyle is a challenge facing youths in Los Angeles leading to high risk lifestyles.

Third, youths in Lost Angeles are highly vulnerable to drug and substance abuse, which is common in the streets. Drug and substance abuse is one of the major factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and high risk lifestyles in Los Angeles. Youths in this city are not only likely…

Sources used in this document:
References

Bogie, A., Ereth, J. & Healy, T. (2013, April). A Profile of Youth in the Los Angeles County Delinquency Prevention Pilot. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://casala.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/LA-County-Delinquency-Prevention-Pilot-04.2013.pdf

"Citywide Gang Activity Reduction Strategy: Phase III Report." (n.d.). The Advancement Project. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://councilcommittee.lacity.org/stellent/groups/boardcommissions/@councilcmte_contributor/documents/contributor_web_content/lacityp_019564.pdf

Maloney, S. (2014, September). Positive Youth Development in a School-Based Setting. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD300/RGSD346/RAND_RGSD346.pdf

McCroskey, J. (2006, April). Youth in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice System: Current Conditions and Possible Directions for Change. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.educationcoordinatingcouncil.org/ECC_DOCS/Links_Docs/JuvJustice%20Report%20-%20CPC.pdf
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Substance Abuse and Homeless Youth
Words: 6346 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

For some, there will be a denial and minimization of the substance habit as being inconsequential, purely recreational or extremely intermittent. This response is akin to the young adult asserting that there is no problem. For other homeless youths, their drug or alcohol habit maybe viewed as a form of survival: these drugs help these teenagers bear life on the street. In that sense the substance is attributed as

Gang Involvement Among Teenagers Is
Words: 4747 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

To summarize, research on gangs has shown the gang problem to be increasing dramatically. Gang members list many reasons for joining a gang, including protection, peer pressure, economic needs, social needs, power, because relatives are members, a lack of parental or community support, and social status. According to the research, gangs tend to exist in greater numbers in low-income populations, and in single-parent households. Additionally, research has shown that while

School-Based Intervention Trials for the
Words: 14493 Length: 40 Document Type: Research Proposal

, 1999). In many areas of the country this may be very accurate. Another problem that comes into the picture where obesity in children is concerned is that many parents must work very long hours today to pay bills and have money for what their family needs (Mokdad, et al., 1999). Because of this, many children are latchkey kids and are not watched as closely by their parents as they used

Prevention of Obesity
Words: 3241 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Obesity in Los Angeles County The United States, while being one of the most technologically developed countries in the world, is not a healthy nation. Typically, when we think of disease pandemics we think of things like Swine Flu, Ebola, Lyme disease, etc. However, in the 21st century, we have a new pandemic that affects our children, adults, and eventually the whole population. Because of a more sedentary lifestyle, a proclivity

Professional Student Athlete The Raw Numbers Eligibility
Words: 28382 Length: 75 Document Type: Thesis

Professional Student Athletes The Raw Numbers Eligibility Advantages of Sport Research Questions or Research Hypotheses Selection of Subjects Assumptions or Limitations Data Processing and Analysis SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Questions related to academic priority Questions related to role models Questions related to advantages Implications for Practice Questions related to support and pressure Implications for Practice Implications for Research and Resultant Recommendations High school sports are for some students a fond memory, for other students the golden ticket to the land of opportunity. For most students, it

Gang Growth and Membership, Characteritics
Words: 4946 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

However, some gang members specialize in multiple criminal activities such as street robbery, human trafficking and drug trafficking. Street Gangs Street gangs are the major concern to parents, school administrators and the communities because they recruit students and the youths across the United States to enhance the growth of gang memberships. Street gangs are the most prevalent type of gangs in the United States because they influence a strong control in

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

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