Verified Document

Juvenile Delinquency The Link Between Abusive Or Term Paper

Juvenile Delinquency The link between abusive or neglectful behavior perpetrated on a child, and that child's delinquent or troubled behavior later in life, is justifiably of great concern to society. This paper references the literature on this topic and offers suggested interventions for the delinquent adolescent that was abused as a very young person.

"Neglect should be defined as an interaction between aversive parental behaviors and developmental stage…neglect can also be defined as an omission, which is either 'harmful to the child' or 'improper,' or can refer to the commission of behavior…" (Maughan, et al., 2010).

In the Journal of Research on Adolescence the authors review the history of society's awareness of child abuse, as a way of establishing the need for understanding the effects of childhood maltreatment. Albeit society has been aware of child neglect since the early 1900s, it wasn't until 1974 that federal legislation (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act) was enacted to "…assure the development by the states of programs and services for abused children and their families" (Trickett, et al., 2011, p. 3). Along with the 1974 legislation, the federal government established the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The authors put forward the statutes that states used to provide definitions of abuse, including: a) physical abuse (hitting, kicking, burning a child by a parent or caregiver); b) sexual abuse (forcibly engaging a child in sexual activity "…to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit to the perpetrator) that includes statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, incest, pornography and "other exploitative activities"); c) psychological or emotional maltreatment (including verbal abuse, making "excessive demands" on the child, telling the child he is "no good"); and d) neglect (failing to provide for a child's financial needs, food needs, clothing and medical care neglect as well) (Trickett, 4).

In the study that Trickett and colleagues present, they discovered that in a sample of 303 "ethnically diverse" young people ages 9 through 12 years of age -- who had been maltreated as young children -- some 54%...

In half of the group of 303 individuals they had been neglected and physically abused as well. And in 61% of that sample the children had been neglected, emotionally abused and physically abused. Hence the point of the article is that most adolescents that get into trouble have had more than one kind of abuse perpetrated upon them; moreover, the authors' research shows that the average number of reports to child welfare agencies was 5 (while in some cases there were as many as 17 reports for one abused child) (Trickett, 5).
When a child is maltreated, Trickett continues on page 11, that mistreatment often leads to "poor peer relationships"; and the trend continues into poor romantic relationships later in the teens. When a child is sexually abused, that often leads to "risky sexual activity and maladaptive attitudes about sex" (Trickett, 11). What are the remedies that the authors suggest? Because maltreatment during childhood leads to poor relationships with peers -- and given that peer relationships for adolescents are very important in their social maturation -- the authors suggest "…early interventions targeting the improvement of such peer relationships…may be especially beneficial" (Trickett, 15).

Meanwhile, an article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Child and Family Studies sets the stage for its research by stating that there is the possibility that childhood factors can "…predict the age of the first arrest in adolescent girls," girls that were placed in juvenile justice facilities due to "serious delinquency problems" (Leve, et al., 2004, p. 439). The article states that there is a "…strong predictive utility of & #8230;biological parent criminality" when the justice system is forced to incarcerate a juvenile-aged female. The piece reflects the fact that females under the age of 18 "…comprise one of the fastest growing segments of the juvenile-justice population" (Leve, 439). The article notes that 27% of the total arrests of juveniles in 1999 were females; moreover, cases that law enforcement officers dealt with that involved females "…increased by 83%" between the years 1988 and 1997.

The outcomes for girls that are demonstrating severe antisocial behaviors --…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Chen, Wan-Yi, Propp, Jennifer, deLara, Ellen, and Corvo, Kenneth. (2011). Child Neglect and Its Association with Subsequent Juvenile Drug and Alcohol Offense. Child and Adolescent

Social Work Journal, Vol. 28, 273-290.

Leve, Leslie D., and Chamberlain, Patricia. (2004). Female Juvenile Offenders: Defining an Early-Onset Pathway for Delinquency. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13(4), 439-452.

Maughan, Daniel, and Moore, Simon C. (2010). Dimensions of Child Neglect: an Exploration of Parental Neglect and Its Relationship with Delinquency. Child Welfare, 89(4), 47-60.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Juvenile Delinquency Is a Term
Words: 2664 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

This is particularly important when making decisions about court processes and sentencing practices in the juvenile court. The ability of youth to recognize that sanctions will drastically increase in the adult system is ample reason to justify the use of punishment in the juvenile system. Under a model that focuses on punishment, sentencing will need to be harsh enough to deter the youth from continued behavior but not so harsh

Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas
Words: 2898 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Juvenile Delincency in Urban Areas Juvenile delinquency is a contemporary term for an old problem. One of the oldest relevant studies of the phenomenon was 'social disorganization' theory, which was developed by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920's. This theory posits that there exist areas in a city in which traditional institutions have little or no control. This was studied in Chicago using a system of 'Concentric Zones' which

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
Words: 2750 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency Criminal Justice The problem of juvenile delinquency is becoming more complicated and universal, and crime prevention programs are either unequipped to deal with the present realities or do not exist. Many developing countries have done little or nothing to deal with these problems, and international programs are obviously insufficient. Developed countries are engaged in activities aimed at juvenile crime prevention, but the overall effect of these programs is

Criminal Justice - Juvenile Delinquency
Words: 866 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

While the subject's rationale for blaming his most recent victim for dressing provocatively may reflect "normal" (Macionis 2002) social conditioning (particularly among adolescent males), his complete lack of empathy (as distinct from responsibility or fault) is more consistent with pathological indifference and lack of empathy often observed in serial rapists and other sociopaths who display a clinical indifference to their victims (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005). Subsequent analysis will distinguish whether

Juveniles and Crime the Interaction
Words: 5161 Length: 15 Document Type: Research Paper

As theories claim certain risk factors and ignore others, it is critical to evaluate the most common risk factors despite their discipline fields. There are five broad domains for risk factors: Individual, family, school, peer group, and community. Another key component to understanding risk factors is the age of onset, in which early onset is considered age 6-11, and late onset is considered age 12-14 (Shader, 2002). Each of

Juvenile Offenders and Juvenile
Words: 12874 Length: 10 Document Type: Capstone Project

Dugan: Should be on its own page. Juvenile recidivism is a prevalent problem in the criminal justice system. Tackling reoffending remains a complex task requiring several strategies and aims. It involves research, acknowledgement of causes, factors, exploration, and evaluation of subgroups to generate long-term, positive changes in the lives of juvenile offenders. From gang violence to Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive (ICAP), researchers discover some of the reasons why juveniles

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