Chapter 8

Delinquency and the Family

Basic Facts

26% of all children live in a single parent household

25% of all children born today are to single teen parents

By 2020, it is estimated that 38% of all children will live in single parent homes

85% Female, 15% Male

While this number is down, the divorce rate is now over 50%

The percentage of single parent kids in 1960 – 4%, 1980 – 14%,

2000 – 20%

The family Concept

From 1880 to 1990, a family was identified by it’s “extended” nature. Even in 1980, nearly 96% of all single parent families involved child rearing responsibilities of a non-parental family figure

After 1990, the extended family gave way to the “nuclear family” concept. For the first time in American history, the majority of single parent families involved a single parent raising children without the assistance of non-parental family figure.

As of 2012, only 3% of single parent households utilize non-parental family figures in child rearing.

More Facts

As of 2012, 60% of all U.S. children are enrolled in pre-K licensed child care facilities.

20% of all U.S. children are enrolled in “underground” unlicensed child care facilities involving a non-parent

15% of all children live in households that earn below the U.S. poverty line

63% of all children, living with a single mother, are in poverty.

73% of all single mothers work, though 87% earn minimum wage

While children in single parent homes make up just over one quarter of the population, they commit over 75% of all juvenile crime.

Five Family Influences

Generally, social-psychologists have identified five area of family conflict that directly influence the mental health of children:

1) Economic Stress

As discussed on earlier sociology theories, there has long been a correlation between economic hardship and crime. Children that live in poverty, as shown to have a much greater chance of being delinquent. Considering the high level of poverty in single parent households, crime can be seen to correlate to the functioning family structure.

More influences

The breakup of the family

Divorce (or separation in the case of no marriage) has long been seen as a precursor of delinquent behavior. Studies have generally concluded that:

Secure marriages produce the lowest percentage of juvenile crime, followed by blended families, and finally single parent families.

Divorce causes feelings of anger insecurity in children. How children react to this depends on the financial health of the single parent, the age of the children at separation, and the security of the home after divorce.

More on Divorce

Most studies on divorce deal with the impact of a child not having a father present in their life.

Boys are shown to be most affected by the absence of a father in their lives, especially in the areas of discipline.

Girls are more negatively affected by negative parenting skills of a mother. Girls tend to be more accepting of the limitations of parenting skills of a father.

Cultural acceptance of divorce can affect a child in their attempts as re-socialization

Children are more affected by negative parenting and marital skills of a parent, than by their absence. The concept of “staying married for the benefit of the children” has largely been debunked.

More categories

Family Conflict

A child’s perception of the overall happiness and satisfaction of a parent has been found to be a major precursor of delinquency. Children who grow up in a household where there is perceived conflict and unhappiness in children, has been shown to directly lead to maladjustment.

Children who witness continual conflict between involving their parents, have the greatest rates of emotional and maturation problems.

Statistics on Conflict

The rate of delinquency of children who are victims of abuse, is IDENTICAL to those who witness abuse

Children in broken homes have delinquency rates IDENTICAL to those who are in married high conflict homes

Children growing up in single parent homes marked by the death of a parent, have no greater rates of delinquency than married households. Parental absence is NOT a predictor of delinquency.

More Statistics

Remarriage does not lessen the effects of divorce on children, who witness marital conflict

Continued contact on a non-custodial parent who was seen as a source of conflict, has little effect on a child’s well-being

Continued conflict between parents after a divorce, has the same negative effect on children as conflict in a married home.

Parental divorce raises the likelihood of teenage marriage. This is seen as a child’s response to the insecurity of the home.

Competence

Family Competence

Family Competence refers parenting skill. It is clear that some parents are more effective, engaged, and educated in their approach to raising children. The overall ability of a parent to competently raise their child is seen as the MOST important factor in a child’s development.

So what makes for good parenting? Obviously, there are many competing view here.

Good Parenting

Documented standards for effective parenting include the following:

Parental Efficacy – Studies have shown that delinquency rates are reduced in households that provide:

Structure

Close emotional relationships

Emotional support

Encouragement of self-regulation (versus fear)

Encouragement of Individualism

More Good Parenting

Inconsistent Discipline

Consistent studies have shown that the use of corporal punishment does not deter delinquency. The fear of physical punishment is not a deterrent to a child’s criminal behavior

The vast majority of juvenile delinquents come form homes with inconsistent discipline responses to behavioral delinquency

More Parenting Skills

Inconsistent and Ineffective Supervision

Supervision by non-familial and inconsistent environments

Resource dilution (parental distractions)

To emphasize the importance of the aspect of parenting skills, several studies have shown that strong parenting skills can reduce the rate of delinquency of blended family single family households, to the level of children in two parent homes.

Last One

Family Deviance

Criminal activities by parents are viewed as the most significant precursor of deviant activities by children. Children that witness criminal activity by a parent are likely to repeat this behavior themselves.

8% of boys with a non-criminal father will go on to commit a juvenile crime

37% of boys with a criminal father will go on to commit a juvenile crime

Repeating criminal behavior of a parent can be witnessed in nearly every type of criminal behavior, including domestic violence, substance abuse and theft.

Why is Crime Generational

Many theories exist as to why criminal delinquency is a generational issue. Some crime specific issues are:

Inherited Genetic Factors

Exposure to Violence begets more violence

Substance Abuse is a learned behavior and reaction

Criminal parents are lacking in parenting skills, due to their focus on their own vices

Children who are sexually abused learn have their own sexuality altered, making them deviants themselves.

Crime can also be passed on from Parent, to child, to sibling. Children learn behavior from siblings, as much as they do from parents.

Child Abuse

The lecture on child abuse is included in the online portion of the class.

This week the online portion will focus on sexual abuse, and next week on physical abuse

While there is NO question that child abuse severely damages the psychology of a child, it is not really a theory as to delinquency. Children in these circumstances are victims, and victims of any crime may have emotional issues dealing with victimization.

There are other classes in the CRJ program that specifically deal with victimization. I also believe that victimization can be included in the subcategories of Family Deviance and Family Competence

Class Project

Looking at the five factors influencing an effective family, rank them in the order in which you think delinquency rates are adversely affected

Focusing on your main familial delinquency influence, list three government sponsored initiatives that you believe could be used to combat this issue. Be specific.

Using a unified theory of crime discussed in the last chapter, which of the three approaches (General Theory (Social Bond and Influences), Psychotherapy, or Labeling Theory) do you believe would be most effective, when used in conjunction with your initiatives?

Chapter 9 Lecture.pptx
Deviant Social Associations

(GANGS)

Chapter 9

What is a Gang?

While oft romanticized by Hollywood, a gang is not:

– A car club

– A fraternity

– A social organization

– A group of people with similar interests

A gang, by definition, is a criminal organization

That means the primary purpose of the association

is the perpetration of criminal activity

Facts about American Youth Gangs

American youth gangs, like much organized crime in the world, are primarily based on ethnicity

There are approximately 40 million children in the US between the ages of 8 and 18

There are approximately 800,000 children in the US affiliated with an active gang set

That means that 5% (one in 20) children in the US have an active gang affiliation

Juvenile gangs commit more than 1,000 homicides a year. That is approximately 10% of all homicides in the US each

Why do we care?

While juvenile gang members make up only .6% of the US population, they commit:

10% of all homicides

22% of all assaults

18% of all property crimes

Have a high school matriculation rate of 4%

Make up 64% of the adult prison population, after they reach the age of 18.

Why gangs form

Regardless of a child’s ethnic or social-economic background, studies on youth of all ages have concluded the following:

– From the age of 0-8, the most important influence on a child is their parent or guardian

– Between the ages of 8-14, children seek a stable peer group, which temporarily becomes their primary influence

– Between the ages of 14 and 18, children revert are drawn to a combination of peer and parental influences.

Peer Status

How a child fits into their peer structure between 8 and 14 years of age, has a marked impact on potential criminal gang activity

Children with negative peer influences are likely to have delinquent tendencies

Controversial Status Youth is a term used to refer to children that are intensely liked or disliked by society and a group. They are far more likely to be a source of anti-social and deviant behavior.

Some ideas about gang activity

Is there a blueprint for a person who will join a gang? Unfortunately, no. However, we DO know some common traits of gang members:

– Gang members were exposed to negative peer influence at a young age

– Gang members traditionally are the product of single parent households

– Male gang members traditionally enter puberty at a much young age than non-gang members

– Gang members have very conflicted relationships with romantic interests

Basic Theories

Do kids that are anti-social gravitate towards gangs? OR, do anti-social peers create gang members? There are five competing theories:

Alienation – Anti-social children seek out like-minded individuals to affiliate with

Peer Influence – Delinquent negative influences cause law-abiding youth to join gangs

Deviant peers do not cause kids to go bad, but amplify children already with this disposition

Conspirators – Children from households with poor social bonds seek gangs for recognition

Outsiders – Children with emotional or behavioral problems at a young age, manifest into further negative labels.

Some common traits of a gang

So what makes a gang? Well, there are some basic traits that are common to gangs:

1) They have their own language

2) They have a hierarchy of leadership

3) They perpetuate a means of financial gain

through an underground economy

4) They have specific rites, symbols, and codes of

conduct

5) They are based on racial divisions

6) They are geographic in center, though many times

global in reach.

7) They primarily are based in urban areas, male, and center on

youth participation between the ages of 9 and 17

8) They are gender based, and frequently exploit women

Once in a gang…

Once a child joins a gang, there is a documented and marked increase in the violence of the child. There are three theories as to why violence goes up when membership takes place:

1) Selection Hypothesis – Violent children gravitate towards other violent children, who reinforce their behavior

2) Facilitation Hypothesis – Violence increases because there exists a structured support for violence by peers

3) Enhancement Hypothesis – Selection and facilitation work together, to develop criminal skills

The Theories

As expected, there are several competing social and psychological theories as to why juveniles join gangs. These are theories we have previously discussed.

Anthropology

This view holds that gang memberships is akin to a tribal process of learned rituals and behaviors. It is both a rite of passage, and a means of socialization.

Supporting this theory is the fact that nearly 70% of all gang members are the product of one or more parents who are gang members.

Also supporting this theory is the fact that gang activity does not just appear in new areas, but is brought in by existing members.

More theories

Social Disorganization

The sociological approach to gang membership is rooted in the premise that gangs traditionally form in areas of lower class economic neighborhoods.

Gang membership is seen as a means of achieving status, where traditional means of success are denied to some children due to their economic and educational limitations.

Gangs are seen as a natural factor in lower-class lifestyle. Studies point to the presence of gangs in nearly every ethnic class of society, where poverty has traditionally existed.

More…

Anomie Theory

This view holds that gang membership is both culturally and individually based.

On the cultural level, societies that are in a state of chaos or upheaval are more likely to produce gangs

On the individual level, gangs appeal to juveniles that are alienated from mainstream society, and embrace the upheaval as a means of social advancement.

Almost there

Psychological View

This theory is based on the viewpoint that children who develop personality defects and emotional limitations early in life (or are born with them) are predisposed to gang membership.

Studies have shown that children who embrace these labels of alienation early in life, are more likely to look for self-esteem in factors outside of themselves

Gang membership is a natural product of the by-product of dysfunctional families, emotional scarring, and other developmental issues that are temporarily “fixed” in a group setting.

Last one

Rational Choice View

This view holds that a gang is merely an organization with benefits and hindrances

Children join gangs rationally, because it suits a need for them in life. Gang membership is a means to an end, and not as complicated as the social psychological theories. Some of those needs may include:

1) Access to financial gain

2) Access to narcotics

3) An ability to commit justified violence

4) A calculated need for security

So we have a problem

While the problems of gangs are widespread, the approach to dealing with them is far from unified. There are several approaches:

The heavy-handed legal approach

This method utilizes law enforcement and laws as a means to dissuade gang membership. Some methods include:

– Prohibiting the use of gang graffiti or symbols

– Forbidding gang affiliation or association

– Severe fines and punishment for affiliation

More interventions

The Facilitation Approach

This method seeks to use law enforcement as a tool in dealing with gangs. Police are tasked with developing a street level intelligence gathering mechanism to understand gang involvement

Once intelligence is gathered, police use the data to solve crimes, dissuade membership, prevent inter-gang violence, and assist community resources

The premise of this approach is that gangs cannot be prevented, but managed.

Last one

Spergel Method

This method is the most widely used and adopted method in the US for dealing with gangs. It empl0ys a 5 pronged approach:

Strengthen community bonds through mobilization

Provide opportunity for gang members who wish to leave the organization

Use social workers to attempt to reach potential youth offenders and direct them elsewhere

Surpress gang membership through negative labeling and harsh criminal penalties

Identification and dismemberment of the organization structure of gangs. Very much akin to the way the global war on terror is being waged.

Evaluation

So which theory is correct? It is unclear. We do have some data from the application of these approaches:

When punishment is dramatically increased, there is evidence of an increase in gang cohesion

Hollywood and media endorsements of gang membership do increase membership (movies and music are the prime examples)

Police acting as the an intelligence gathering body does develop tremendously useful data on the statistics of gang membership

Police acting as a mediator between gangs and the community has not been shown to decrease criminal gang activity in any meaningful way.

Table of Contents.html

CRJ2353N1 Delinquent Behavior (Jason Devaux) SU21 – Module 3
1. Chapter 8

2. Chapter 9

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