Psychological Theories For Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency has had many different theories to explain why juveniles commit crimes. The main focuses of these theories are social, which focus on the external factors such as environment and society that could lead juveniles to delinquent behavior. Psychological theories have been put to the side when trying to determine reasons for criminal behavior. Psychological theories focus on internal factors such as, personality and emotions. This research proposal will focus on the psychological theories that help explain criminal behavior. Researching psychological theories is important because it could help deter future juvenile delinquent behavior. It could also help explain how different theories have been used (or could be used) with …show more content…
In the academic journal, “Youth Offending and Delinquency: The Comorbid Impact of Maltreatment, Mental Health Problems, and Learning Disabilities”, written by Christopher A. Mallet. In his journal, Mallet (2013) explains the problems dealing with the juvenile courts, “The most difficult challenge to juvenile courts and youth-caring systems is working with adolescents and families with comorbid difficulties, for this group is most at risk for incarceration and involvement with the adult criminal justice system”( p.369). He goes on to explain that without changing the juvenile justice system and the way they handle juveniles with mental health problems, “leave little hope for many of these adolescents, disproportionately minority, to successfully navigate into young adulthood”( Mallet, 2013, p.385). This source will be useful in explaining different mental health problems that cause delinquent behavior and how the juvenile court system should address those …show more content…
The study was conducted to test juveniles, “psychosocial and psychopathological risk factors as predictors of adult criminal outcomes” (Aebi et al., 2013, p.283). The study also examines coping skills in juveniles and how differently they deal with stress and problem solving. There have not been many studies conducted in coping stresses that could possibly lead to juvenile delinquency. This study found that, “avoidant coping exerted long-term effects on criminal behavior independent of externalizing problems and substance use” (2013, p.289). Avoiding or not being able to deal with different stresses or behavior problems can lead to delinquency, this study will help with research on how to detect coping problems in juveniles and how to possibly help them deal with