Sociology

Abstract
This research paper aims to look at a person depicting juvenile delinquency after he has been left alone with his father and due to the pressures that have been burdened upon his soldiers from an early age and his isolation from a normal life by dropping out of high school and committing petty crimes as well as alcoholism has led him to live a delinquent life. This paper also connects his life with the conflict theory where the elite get away with such crimes no matter how big or small whereas the poor suffer for these leading to rejection from the society and a rebellion to serve justice themselves. It also looks at the lack of self esteem in such delinquent people and how they can be helped to improve their behavior and standing in the society to curb increasing juvenile crimes in our society.

Delinquent Behavior
James is 17 years old and lives with his father who is a drug addict. His mother passed away when he was 14 and being the only living relative he was left with the task of looking after his addict father. His father hardly brought anything home and they live in a small apartment. James dropped out of high school when he was 15. Tired of shouldering such a big responsibility and unable to meet the demands of his addict father he started drinking alcohol one day to relieve his mind one particularly stressful day. After that, there was no turning back. At 17, he has become an alcoholic. Being a high school dropout whatever little he gets doing odd-jobs and sometimes even petty robberies is wasted on drugs for his father and alcohol abuse. He is a classic example of juvenile delinquency that has become so rampant in our generation.

Delinquent behavior is defined as antisocial behavior exhibited by a person especially teenagers. The term juvenile delinquency has become common in our society and according to a 1995 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice noted that the murder rate for adult offenders had risen 9 percent between 1983 and 1992, while the same rate among juvenile offenders had jumped 128 percent. During this time, jovial arrests for aggravated assault had gone up 100 percent. According to a 1991 survey juveniles between the ages of 12 and 18 were held responsible for approximately 28 percent of all personal crimes. These included rape, robbery, aggravated assault and theft from a person. These high numbers definitely signify a problem that needs to be resolved (cited in Coleman, n.d)

Society definitely distinguishes the difference between the rich and poor even today. The truth about delinquency is children from all walks of life can and do take part in it. It should not be tied to a specific class, area or social status, and instead, the real problem should be addressed. Why have these children become delinquent No matter the time period, delinquency is often tied to poverty, but as history has shown us, this is not always the case. In earlier times, most delinquent situations were a result of children who had nothing better to do than be out on the streets. Since nothing was expected of them, they did what they pleased. There is, however, an important aspect of delinquency that was somehow missed along the way. Privileged children began taking part in bad behavior simply because they could. Since they were not expected to conduct such acts, they were not even viewed as possible suspects in various crimes. They were also not watched as closely because they were expected to take part in main positive activities. Unlike their impoverished counterparts, they were seen as the good children, the ones who would never do such things. Sometimes even the impoverished children were blamed for actions taken by those who were privileged and were forced to suffer the punishment instead (cited in Coleman, n.d)

 HYPERLINK httpwizard.ucr.edubkaplansoclibcollconf.html Conflict theoryis based upon the view that the fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society. The criminal justice system andcriminal law are thought to be operating on behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing standards of morality and good behavior created by the powerful on the whole of society. Focus is on separating the powerful from have nots who would steal from others and protecting themselves from physical attacks. In the process the legal rights of poor folks might be ignored. The middle class are also co-opted they side with the elites rather the poor, thinking they might themselves rise to the top by supporting the status quo. Thus, street crimes, even minor monetary ones are routinely punished quite severely, while large scale financial and business crimes are treated much more leniently. Theft of a television might receive a longer sentence than stealing millions through illegal business practices. HYPERLINK httpwww.gwu.edusocw_chambliss.html William Chambliss, in a classic essay The Saints and the Roughnecks, compared the outcomes for two groups of adolescent misbehavers. The first, a lower class group of boys, was hounded by the local police and labeled by teachers as delinquents and future criminals, while the upper-middle class boys were equally deviant, but their actions were written off as youthful indiscretions and learning experiences (Florida State University, 2005)

In the case of James, the conflict theory holds true because even though alcohol abuse is rampant among all ages and specially adolescents, James has been thrown into jail drunken on many occasions. His friends from school however, always manage to escape or bailed out by their parents because they can afford it. This has driven James to even more despair because he has lost his mother and while he sits in the dim and crowded walls of the prison at night his father is getting high on illegal drugs and has no idea where his son is or how he is. This drives James further to abuse alcohol more so that he doesnt have to think about where his life is going. He has even thought of suicide because he has nothing better to turn to. No home, at times no food in the house and on constant chase with the police for the petty crimes and excessive alcohol consumption. He feels useless. His friends have often committed the same crimes because they had nothing better to do than harass people and poke fun at them.

They found it amusing to bully other students out of their money and treating themselves free. One of them was even caught shoplifting but the problem was solved because that childs father was able to afford that piece of item and that case had been closed after the settlement of the amount due.

Had that been James, he was sure he would once again have to endure the police torture and the cramped walls. The prison had become his second home where at least he could get away from his indifferent father who could care less about him.

Another theory that could be used to explain delinquent behavior is the motivational theory. The motivational theory consists of two parts cognitive and behavioral. A first cognitive approach is HYPERLINK httpeducation.calumet.purdue.eduvockellEdPsyBookEdpsy5Edpsy5_attribution.htm attribution theory(Heider, 1958 Weiner, 1974). This theory proposes that every individual tries to explain success or failure of self and others by offering certain attributions. These attributions are either internal or external and are either under control or not under control. The following chart shows the four attributions that result from a combination of internal or external locus of control and whether or not control is possible EXHIBIT A

It is evident from James example that this delinquent behavior has been caused by grief of losing his mother and the inept parenting of his father who has not played in his development and through this most important and developing stage of his life when kids become adults and need their parents support and guidance every step of the way. Also James has exhibited low coping skills. He had no motivation to continue with his life and he could not see any control of his own. He felt that the circumstances around him had made him unable to control his own decisions and choices. He started alcohol abuse because he got tired of his circumstances. Instead of trying to face the challenges he gave into them and started alcohol abuse.

Travis Hirschi formulated a control theory that he called social bonding theory and he took his theory to a different approach. He didnt attempt to explain why individuals engage in criminal acts, but rather why individuals choose to conform to conventional norms. It is, in a strict sense, not a theory of crime causation, but rather a theory of pro-social behavior used often by sociologists and criminologists to better explain deviance and criminality. The theory proposes that delinquent acts result when a persons bond to society is weakened or broken. Strong social bonds with conventional people and institutions prevent delinquent behavior. Delinquents never develop such bonds, and according to Hirschi, they are unable to develop strong attachments to their peers (Hirschi, 1969)

The question of whether or not society can deal with delinquent behavior should not be a difficult one to answer. It just means that certain measures need to be put in place. Parents need to know where their children are as much as possible, and school officials need to talk to parents about their children skipping class and bad behavior instead of just making a phone call or sending home a note to be signed by the parents. Its time to get back to the basics of family dynamics. If parents gave their children more responsibility at home, and put in place a system that would require them to own up to it, these children would be spending more time there instead of out looking for something to do. For society, the question of whether delinquent behavior can be dealt with begins in the home with the family (Coleman, n.d)

It is impossible to underestimate the role that the family may play in either facilitating or preventing delinquency. Those parents who are more engaged with their teens tend to have teens who do not participate in delinquent acts. Even when other factors place teens at high risk, those who have healthy functioning families are given a degree of protection. Something as seemingly simple as eating dinner as a family on some sort of regular basis may deter a teen from delinquency. Teens who believe that they are low on their parents list of priorities may more readily drift into delinquency. Such teens may believe that their parents do not care what they do, and they may think that they have a more in common with other teens who are involved in illegal activity (Mass General Hospital for Children, n.d)
In attempts to summarize findings from previous studies on the prevalence of mental disorders in thejuvenilejustice population, it is apparent that the problems of suicide and self-injurious behavior are significant among youth in thejuvenilejustice system (Davis et al. 1991)

When people exhibit delinquent behavior it means that they need help. They might not say it or accept it but their actions speak louder than words. Since James was never given any attention or priority by his father therefore he never had a chance to enroll in a rehab centre, his self-esteem which is in tatters because he has not been able to become a productive citizen and the criminal label on his forehead has made him ashamed of himself. He doesnt even have any friends to take care of him or to take him to a therapist or psychologist where he could hope to recover. At this stage of life where delinquency becomes an important and everyday part of his life it may be difficult to get help but not impossible. These people lack self esteem severely in their actions and thoughts.

In many societies, another way to attack the problem of juveniledelinquencyis by creating programs that help prevent children from committing crimes. These programs may focus on avoiding drug use or gang involvement, or may focus on early education, therapeutic help for families, help to the impoverished or a variety of other things. With unclear answers on a single cause for juveniledelinquency, these programs may have some success, but probably wont reach all children who might commit a crime. Society is sometimes horrified by the seemingly random acts of relatively normal children that are so heinous they do not bear repeating. (WiseGeek, n.d)

Research into self-esteem has branded the concept a social vaccine, a dimension of personality that empowers people and inoculates them against a wide spectrum of self-defeating and socially undesirable behavior.  These traits are characteristic of people with high self-esteem, of those who are confident of their abilities and gain pleasure from acting on them.

Practicing problem-solving with clarity, resolving conflicts, and clearly communicating your thoughts and desires isnt only good for you - its good for those around you (Turner, 2000). Though the most prevalent dangers to teens are death by gunfire, gangs, drugs, sexual assault, teenage suicide has become more and more prominent through the recent years. (Sweatt, Harding, Knight-Lynn, 2002) and teenage suicide has in most cases resulted from low self esteem. People generally show delinquent behavior when they are angry at the society for not giving anything to them and ignoring their basic rights whereas the private sector or the families that have considerable wealth are getting richer and exploiting the masses. That is when a person feels either so frustrated that he gives up on any hope for reform or becomes so rebellious that he resorts to committing crime and other delinquent behavior as a way for providing self justice.

Thus, both the theories in my perspective define equally James delinquent behavior as he lacks motivation to control his own action as well as the poverty that he has been forced to live in. This problem in the young generation has been rising at an alarming rate and it can be controlled or put a stop to by society when the family pattern is kept together, when parents care about their childrens activities, when schools teach tolerance and themselves are fair and just and most importantly, peer pressure should be monitored. The government should intervene and provide welfare to those who face situations like James where had they received help in time would not have wasted their life over alcohol abuse and breaking law.