Sociology

Everywhere in the globe, adults are concerned about the youngsters healthy development. They have been looking for solutions to behavior problems which are associated with teen pregnancy, school drop out, violence, delinquency, drug abuse and related behavior problems. Studies have given the indication that there are factors which can be attributed to increased chances of a juvenile becoming delinquent (Mandel, 2008).  It is therefore clear that, absence of these risk factors in the young peoples lives would reduce their chances of becoming delinquent. This paper will talk about the factors which increase the likelihood that a juvenile will become delinquent and why those factors are believed to contribute to juvenile delinquency.

Risk factors associated with delinquency
The risk factors which are associated with delinquency can be categorized into four individual, family, school and community risk factors. Among the individual risk factors, there is rebelliousness or alienation. The juveniles who fail to feel part of the society tend to believe that they do not have to abide by the rules of the society. They also do not try to be responsible or successful. These tend to lean towards delinquency. Rebelliousness and alienations mostly affects the people of color. The reason behind this is that such young people who are always discriminated against tend to react by staying away from the dominant culture. They also tend to rebel against it. As integration continues, there is diversification of the culture. These make people to have conflicting emotions about friends and family who marry, socialize and work outside the culture (Communities That Care, nd).

There are also juveniles who develop antisocial behavior which is persistent early in life. The children who are usually very aggressive during their childhood tend to become delinquents later in life. While aggression alone might not have a high risk, when it is combined with withdrawal, isolation, attention deficit behavior or hyperactivity, the risk of delinquency increases (Mandel, 2008).

Associating with delinquent peers increases delinquency Studies indicate that among the risk factors, peers seem to be the strongest. This is because friends tend to copy each other and do the same kind of things. The children who lack the other risk factors however are unlikely to associate with children who have problem behaviors. Juveniles attitude towards delinquency can as well be a contributing factor. Elementary school children in most cases express pro-social, anti-crime and anti-drug attitudes. They do not understand the reasons which make people to have delinquent behavior.

However, as the years go by, they start practicing the same kind of behaviors and their attitude changes. This kind of acceptance is the one that exposes them to the risk. Early initiation to delinquency can make a child to be one later in the future. Studies indicate that the children who start using drugs before they are 15 years old, have a higher drug problem than the ones who start later in life. Gang involvement is likely to lead to delinquency. This is because gangs use mob psychology.

Members of a gang can do things together which they would not dare as individuals. Joining gangs therefore increase the risk of delinquent behavior among juveniles (Communities That Care, nd).
Family factors could as well contribute to the same. Families which are known to have a history of delinquency are likely to produce delinquent juveniles. The younger family members tend to observe the older ones while accepting wrong things since they were done by their elder siblings. They end up copying such behavior and unless there is intervention, the behavior may be carried down to several generations. Problems of family management can lead to the same behavior problem. Poor family management is characterized by inconsistent punishment, excessively severe or total lack of punishment, parents failing to monitor the behavior of their children or parents failing to give clear expectations for their childrens behavior. Children end up not feeling the presence of their parents authority and they therefore do what they wish to. When delinquent behavior is ignored early in life, children grow up practicing it since they did not have anyone to correct them. Family conflict and especially between children and their care givers or between the care givers increases the chances of children becoming delinquent. Parental involvement and attitudes have influence on their childrens behavior. Parents who seem to condone delinquent behavior make their children to see nothing wrong in it. Parents who excuse their children when they break the law are likely to have delinquent children (Mandel, 2008). 

The school factors which can be attributed to delinquent behaviors among juveniles include academic failure. In most cases, the students who do not perform well look for areas outside the classroom where they can perform better. As they involve themselves with other activities where they seek heroism, they have high chances of engaging in delinquent behavior. Deficiency of commitment to school makes juveniles to stop seeing the viability of their role as students. This contributes to making them participate more in other activities rather than the ones related to education. This increases their chances of being delinquent (Communities That Care, nd).

The community can act as a risk factor as far as delinquency is concerned. A community where availability and accessibility to drugs is an easy task exposes the members to drug use. The communities which tend to accept some delinquent behavior as normal behavior encourages the juveniles to have such kind of behavior. Availability of firearms in communities exposes the members to violence and delinquency. Studies show that when a family keeps a gun, there is high chance of that gun being used. This is because of the ease in accessibility of such a weapon. The norms and laws which favor delinquency make it spread further and vice versa. For example, the communities with laws to regulate the sale of arms tend to decrease their use as well and hence violence and delinquency (Mandel, 2008).

Conclusion
Sociologists and psychologists have come up with many causes and reasons for delinquency among the juveniles. Many theories to explain the same have as well been explained. Since there are many people contributing to increased delinquency, among the juveniles, then it should be all peoples responsibility to fight it in all ways possible. Policies should be aligned to fighting the same. Parents, educators, communities and the general public should be responsible enough and should play their roles accordingly. On the other hand, juveniles have the responsibility to act right under all costs. They should be enlightened about the causes and impacts of delinquency in their lives so that they can make informed choices.