“Tell me with who you walk with and I will tell you who you are.” There is no greater influence on a child than that of a parent. That parental guidance can be a negative one or a positive one. Just because the guidance is negative in nature does not always mean that it will lead to an equally negative outcome. In this article we will discuss some potential parental and family factors that have been believed to lead to juvenile delinquency. We will also discuss to what extent family factors help protect against juvenile delinquency. Lastly we will examine how family factors interact with environmental factors such as socioeconomic and neighborhoods influence delinquency. The first theory we will discuss surrounds the idea that children who
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Those two most important child-rearing dimensions to consider when predicting juvenile delinquency is; supervision, discipline, and parental involvement. Let’s take a look at the first child-rearing dimension of supervision. This dimension is pretty straightforward. If a child is not appropriately supervised that child will more than likely do either one of two things. Whenever they are unsure of something they will either take matters into their own hands or turn to peers or answers. Both of those scenarios can lead to delinquency based on a child’s surroundings. The second dimension is that of discipline. Now it’s very important to keep in mind that there is a huge difference between disciplining and abusing a child. The purpose behind disciplining a person is so that they can learn from what they did wrong. That discipline can come in the form of some type of physical action but it is important to understand when to draw the line between the two. Discipline is defined as; the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. Abuse on the other hand is defined as; the improper usage or treatment of an entity. The third and final dimension to take into consideration is parental involvement. This child-rearing dimension ties together with the previous two dimensions. A parent this is actively involved in a child’s life will be able to appropriately supervise …show more content…
These phrases are used all the time to describe the similarities between children and their parents. These often-used phrases also lead us into our final theory, which is based on the concept that crime runs in families. This concept is closely related to the debate of nature versus nurture. In other words, are we genetically wired with specific characteristics and behaviors or do we acquire them as a result of our surrounding environment? The debate of nature versus nurture can be traced back to as early as the 13th century. Psychologists have been able to link genetics to certain behaviors that results in violence and delinquency but the environment in which one is brought up in cannot be dismissed. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, there are approximately 7.3 million children that have at least one parent in prison or jail. Of those, 70 percent will follow their parent’s footsteps and commits a serious crime resulting in being placed in a prison or
Those two most important child-rearing dimensions to consider when predicting juvenile delinquency is; supervision, discipline, and parental involvement. Let’s take a look at the first child-rearing dimension of supervision. This dimension is pretty straightforward. If a child is not appropriately supervised that child will more than likely do either one of two things. Whenever they are unsure of something they will either take matters into their own hands or turn to peers or answers. Both of those scenarios can lead to delinquency based on a child’s surroundings. The second dimension is that of discipline. Now it’s very important to keep in mind that there is a huge difference between disciplining and abusing a child. The purpose behind disciplining a person is so that they can learn from what they did wrong. That discipline can come in the form of some type of physical action but it is important to understand when to draw the line between the two. Discipline is defined as; the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. Abuse on the other hand is defined as; the improper usage or treatment of an entity. The third and final dimension to take into consideration is parental involvement. This child-rearing dimension ties together with the previous two dimensions. A parent this is actively involved in a child’s life will be able to appropriately supervise …show more content…
These phrases are used all the time to describe the similarities between children and their parents. These often-used phrases also lead us into our final theory, which is based on the concept that crime runs in families. This concept is closely related to the debate of nature versus nurture. In other words, are we genetically wired with specific characteristics and behaviors or do we acquire them as a result of our surrounding environment? The debate of nature versus nurture can be traced back to as early as the 13th century. Psychologists have been able to link genetics to certain behaviors that results in violence and delinquency but the environment in which one is brought up in cannot be dismissed. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, there are approximately 7.3 million children that have at least one parent in prison or jail. Of those, 70 percent will follow their parent’s footsteps and commits a serious crime resulting in being placed in a prison or