Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Solutions

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 6050

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Sociology, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA
Interests: youth violence; victimization; coping; mental health
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As investigators continue to study the causes of juvenile delinquency, issues pertaining to societal influences remain prominent in much of the academic scholarship. Researchers have also noted the importance of examining psychological and economic factors that often lead to marked increases in delinquent behavior. As such, studies of juvenile delinquency have addressed the need for greater exploration of the family, school, and peers as influences, as well as those aspects of mental health and emotional regulation that can negatively impact youth behavior. Recent examinations have continued to focus on the dynamics of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion and social class as well as on the impact of mental health concerns and treatment strategies among youth labeled as delinquent (see Mosier, 2022 and Whitley et al., 2022 for examples). Investigators have also noted that greater assessment is needed to address the direct and indirect causes of juvenile delinquency in an effort to provide greater recommendations for policy and program change regarding intervention and prevention strategies (see Vega et al., 2022 and Danner et al., 2022 for examples). While some youth have perpetrated various types of property- and violence-related delinquency, others have been victimized directly or indirectly as witnesses to delinquent events. As service professionals, educators and policymakers work to identify the most effective means to curb delinquency, examinations of the root causes and associated influences remain of great concern and interest. Therefore, we invite you to submit manuscripts to Societies (ISSN 2075-4698) as part of the Special Issue ‘Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Solutions’. Submissions that examine the role of individual, social, and ecological influences in the etiology and prevention of juvenile delinquency are welcomed. Special emphasis will be placed on the integration of theories, research, and/or practice in illustrating how and what can be done to reduce juvenile delinquency from a community and public health framework. Contributors from public health, criminology, criminal justice, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, public health, social work, and allied fields are encouraged to submit a full paper for publication. It is hoped that this issue will advance our understanding of youth delinquency and help in identifying effective strategies for prevention.

Danner, O. K., Sola, R., Butler, C., & Butty, K. (2022). Youth Violence Prevention: Violence Recovery Programs. In Difficult Decisions in Trauma Surgery (pp. 367-378). Springer, Cham.

Mosier, R. (2022). The Effect of Parenting Styles Adolescents Experience in Single-Mother Versus Single-Father Families on Juvenile Delinquency (Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology).

Vega, S. C., Cutiño-Raya, S., & Espasandin-Bustelo, F. (2022). Poverty and Crime in Young People From Children Protection Centers. In Multidimensional Approach to Local Development and Poverty: Causes, Consequences, and Challenges Post COVID-19 (pp. 242-262). IGI Global.

Whitley, K., Tastenhoye, C., Downey, A., & Rozel, J. S. (2022). Mental Health Care of Detained Youth Within Juvenile Detention Facilities. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 31(1), 31-44.

Dr. Zina T. McGee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • delinquency
  • violence
  • youth
  • victimization
  • theory
  • research

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 239 KiB  
Article
Developmental Outcomes among Children within the Context of Maternal Incarceration: Findings from a Study of Family Inequality
by Zina T. McGee
Societies 2023, 13(12), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13120250 - 4 Dec 2023
Viewed by 2100
Abstract
This research addresses behavior difficulties and maladaptive coping among African American children and adolescents, and the manner in which these outcomes differ among those with incarcerated mothers. The study also provides an in-depth analysis of the experiences of mothers during and after their [...] Read more.
This research addresses behavior difficulties and maladaptive coping among African American children and adolescents, and the manner in which these outcomes differ among those with incarcerated mothers. The study also provides an in-depth analysis of the experiences of mothers during and after their incarceration. Earlier investigations suggested that mothers’ victimization and offending, including drug use, are related to children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes. Hence, this research extends an ongoing project by investigating the nature of this relationship using aggregate data on adolescent health outcomes. Generally, most research addresses parental incarceration, typically followed by negative responses of male youth. Less research has evaluated the outcomes of parents’ incarceration on African American children and adolescents specifically. This is particularly true among those with incarcerated mothers. Additionally, examinations have highlighted the role of fathers’ incarceration on negative family functioning, yet we know less about the impact of mothers’ imprisonment and re-entry on children’s behavior. Many of these mothers are single and live in poverty, and their economic situations lead to higher risks of recidivism, deleteriously affecting their children. Moreover, several of them are raising children while experiencing traumatic mental health concerns amid drug usage with minimal support or treatment. For the current project, special attention is also placed on the mothers’ experiences with contact with children, prior history of substance abuse, mental illness, treatment for drug and alcohol problems, and coping with separation from children in an attempt to reveal the subsequent, harmful impact on children’s behavioral adjustment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Solutions)
13 pages, 257 KiB  
Article
Arab Youth Involvement in Delinquent Behaviors: Exploring Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory from a Qualitative Perspective
by Mona Khoury-Kassabri, Edith Blit-Cohen, Mimi Ajzenstadt and Lana J. Jeries-Loulou
Societies 2023, 13(5), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13050128 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2340
Abstract
The current study is based on Travis Hirschi’s social bond theory, arguing that the debut of delinquent behavior is a result of the weakening of the ties that bind people to society. According to Hirschi’s social bond theory, all youth have the potential [...] Read more.
The current study is based on Travis Hirschi’s social bond theory, arguing that the debut of delinquent behavior is a result of the weakening of the ties that bind people to society. According to Hirschi’s social bond theory, all youth have the potential to commit delinquent behaviors, but they are kept under control by their relationships with friends, parents, neighbors, teachers, and employers. These factors could serve as protective factors from involvement in crimes. Most studies of social bond theory have been conducted in Western countries among male adolescents using quantitative methods, including cross-cultural approaches. However, the ability of social bond theory to explain youth involvement in delinquency in non-Western cultures, especially conservative and authoritarian cultures such as the Arab one, has not been widely examined. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring youth involvement in delinquency using qualitative research on Palestinian-Arab youth in Israel. Addressing youth delinquency within the unique sociocultural, economic, and political situation of the Arab minority in Israel will help us examine the theory’s applicability to the explanation of deviant behavior in a variety of contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Solutions)
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