The Consequence Of Parenting Style And Juvenile Deliquesces

I. Introduction

Juvenile delinquency refers to behavior by youths under 18 years of the age which is not acceptable to society and is generally regarded as calling for some kind of admonishment, punishment, or corrective action. Delinquency has become a cause for national concern not only on our own society but in most modern countries throughout the world. Due to industrialization the growing number of children is involving with the criminal activities which really matter of great concern for every nation (Siddique. Md. K. B, 2015).

Juvenile delinquency is one of the major problem all over the world especially in developing country like Myanmar. The impact of juvenile delinquency on society is an issue of great concern. The impact of delinquent behaviors goes beyond the victim to include the offender, the offender’s family and society as a whole (Donges. W. E, 2015).

A study done by Michael Birzer (2011) in Kansas revealed that there were six common themes among participants that presented challenges for their desistance from criminality as juveniles. These themes are: (1) lack of parental control, (2) living in a high crime community, (3) experiencing school failure, (4) displaying early signs of delinquency through aggression, (5) substance abuse, (6) and having a desire to obtain money.

Juvenile delinquency is not only a national issue but also a global phenomenon. Juvenile delinquency refers to a large variety of disapproved behavior of teenage and adolescents whom the society does not approved of, and for which some kind of punishment or corrective measure is justified in the public interest. At present, juvenile delinquency is one of the important social problems in the world that varies country to country. Dysfunctional family relationship has been seen as a major reason to involve in delinquency. The second most reason is poverty which inter-related with the dysfunctional family. In addition to that, availability of drug is seen one of the important cause of linking with deflecting path. Furthermore, influences of peer group are another driver of involving with juvenile delinquency (Siddique. Md. K. B, 2015).

The purpose of the current study is to examine the juvenile delinquents in order to understand what factors are common threads in their lives and may have lead them down the path towards delinquency. Juvenile delinquency is a growing problem in Myanmar, however, to address this problem there is a little attention in both government and NGO sector. In Myanmar, there is hardly little study about juvenile delinquency. This is a small step to discover the problem. We will use qualitative case study method to identify the causes of the juvenile delinquency and its extent.

Although quantitative research methods can study for large sample size, it cannot be used to identify the causes in detail about juvenile delinquency. The purpose of qualitative research is to provide a deeper understanding of a social phenomenon or problem. A qualitative approach provides clear insight into the lived experiences of the individuals being studied and in turn offers us the possibility of understanding these experiences are and how they possibly impact the delinquents by in-depth interview. Through in-depth interviews, participant’s juvenile offending and delinquency practices and the factors that may have lead them into this lifestyle will be closely examined .Thus, the current study will provide rich descriptions of themes that seem to underpin the participant’s general life stories as they pertain to their juvenile criminality. Operational Definition

Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to behavior by youths under 18 years of the age which is not acceptable to society and is generally regarded as calling for some kind of admonishment, punishment, or corrective action.

Juvenile Delinquents

Juvenile delinquents are minor, usually considered as being the ages of 7 to 16, who have committed some act that violates the law.

Objective

To examine the causes behind the juvenile delinquency by understanding what are the major factors for the lives of the juvenile delinquents.

Research Questions

This study will explore the following research questions:

1. What are some of the leading causes of juvenile delinquency?
2. What are the family factors associated with the juvenile delinquency?
3. What are the school factors associated with the juvenile delinquency?
4. What are the factors related with peers in the juvenile delinquency?

II. Literature Review

As a society, it is often assumed that juveniles are not capable of engaging in serious criminal activity. From this perception we neither expect children to be criminals nor anticipate crimes to be committed by young offenders (Sternberg, 2005). Juvenile violence is a key issue in the corridors of justice on a global scale. However, juvenile violence focuses on the punishment rather than development of mechanisms that may be instrumental in prevention and intervention at early stage in life (Winterdyk, 2014). During a single year, an estimated 2.1 million youth under the age of 18 are arrested in the United States. Though overall rates have been declining over the past years, approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases are disposed in juvenile courts annually.

Risk Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency

Delinquency is defined as an act or behavior done by a juvenile that is socially undesirable. A juvenile is a minor below the legal age depending on the country who cannot be held accountable for their criminal behavior. Juvenile delinquency is thus an antisocial act that is illegal or criminalistics in nature done persistently by a minor and cannot be handled by the parent or guardian but requires the help of law enforcement agencies as the act threatens the well-being of the society. Despite the diversity of underlying factors leading up to delinquency, they all have similar underlying themes. These factors are classifiable under six categories namely; physical factors, mental factors, home conditions, school environment, neighborhood, and occupation environment (Louis. H. J, 2015).

Early Childhood Experiences and Juvenile Delinquency

Family structure may lay play a significant role in the development of juvenile delinquency. One aspect of family structure, namely the lack of active communication between parents and children, may be a “significant causal factor” (Yablonski, 2000). Individuals placed in foster care were, according to Alltucker et al., (2006) were four times more likely to engage in early onset delinquency. In addition, having a member of the family who were convicted of a felony increased the likelihood of early onset delinquent behaviors by a factor of two.

The Relationship between Delinquency and Parenting Style

Research suggests parenting style may have a direct impact on the development of juvenile delinquent behaviors. Degarmo and Forgatch (2005) argue studies have shown parenting style during development has a direct impact on the child’s subsequent engagement in delinquent behaviors. Families with dysfunctional parenting styles tend to result in problems relating to the social adjustment of the children within that family (Kimonis et al, 2004). Poor parenting styles, suggests Booth-LaForce and Oxford (2008), results in children who exhibit attachment problems.

Peer Associations and Delinquency

Negative peer relationships may make the individual more prone to engage in anti-social or delinquent behaviors (Siegel & Welsh, 2008) accompanied by an increased risk of drug use in these individuals. Juvenile delinquency is not always a solo event. Research evidence suggests juveniles are more likely to commit delinquent acts when with friends (Erickson & Jensen, 1977).

The Impact of Educational Experiences

Specific experiences related to the educational setting and delinquency has been identified by research. Evidence suggests, for example, a disproportionate number of delinquent individuals manifest with an absence of essential skills in the areas of reading and writing (Katsiyannis et al, 2008). These same researchers also identified evidence which indicated these individuals were frequently identified as learning disabled.

The types of crimes that juveniles commit most frequently

1. Theft. The most common crime committed by a child is theft or larceny.
2. Vandalism.
3. Alcohol Offenses.
4. Disorderly Conduct.
5. Assault.
6. Marijuana Possession.
7. Tobacco Offenses.
8. Curfew Violations.

The most effective programs for juvenile delinquency prevention share the following key components:

1. Education. …
2. Recreation. …
3. Community Involvement. …
4. Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitation by Nurses. …
5. Parent-Child Interaction Training Program. ..
6. Bullying Prevention Program. …
7. Prevention Programs within the Juvenile Justice System.

(https://baysingerlaw.com/2018/03/factors-contributing-juvenile-delinquency/)

III. Method of the Study

Population

All delinquent juveniles of Thanlyin Boys Training School who were involved in various criminal activities, have been considered as population.

Sampling

Purposive convenient sampling will be used in this study for collecting crucial data. Under the purposive sampling 3 delinquents will be selected as the representative respondents who are able to provide with appropriate data about their previous activities. Participants in this research will be chosen after getting informed consent from them and this study will be conducted voluntarily. Firstly, we would join the Principal of the Thanlyin Boys Training School. Then the three commonest types of offense will be identified. We would like to conduct one active participant from each offense with his voluntary participation. Potential participants will be chosen by discussing with the Principal. And then the participants will be advised they are not obligated to take part in the study.

Data Collection A qualitative case study method will be used to collect data from the selected

Respondent. Under qualitative case study method, important data will be collected from 3 respondents through in-depth interview and semi-structured way through the schedule questionnaires. In the schedule questionnaire, open-ended and close-ended questions are used for collecting data properly. Besides, contingency questions will also be used in the questionnaire to collect more precise and vital data. Parents and service providers of juvenile delinquents have been taken as key informants. We will use multiple methods of data collection such as case study, face to face interviews with interview checklist. In addition, we have also collected data from secondary sources by reviewing literature such an official report, rules and regulations, working paper, study report.

IV.Data Analysis

We will use the qualitative method for analyzing data. In our study, case study has been presented in respondent perspective and other observation will be displayed in descriptive and explorative way. We will organize and prepare the data for analyzing by means of transcribing interviews, typing field notes or storing and arranging on the basis of source of information.

References

1. Alltucker, K., Bullis, M., Close, D., & Yovanoff, P. (2006). Different pathways to juvenile delinquency: Characteristics of early and late starters in a sample of previously incarcerated youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(4), 479-492.
2. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Yablonski, L. (2000). Juvenile delinquency into the 21st century.
3. Booth-LaForce, C., & Oxford, M. L. (2008). Trajectories of social withdrawal from grades 1 to 6: Prediction from early parenting, attachment, and temperament. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1298-1313. Retrieved from PsycARTICLES.
4. DeGarmo, D. S., & Forgatch, M. S. (2005). Early development of delinquency within divorced families: Evaluating a randomized preventive intervention trial. Developmental Science, 8(3), 229-239. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00412.x
5. Donges, W. E. (2015). A qualitative case study: The lived educational experiences of former juvenile delinquents. The Qualitative Report, 20(7), 1009-1028.
6. Erickson, M., & Jensen, G. F. (1977). ‘Delinquency is still group behavior!’: Toward revitalizing the group premise in the sociology of deviance. Journal of Criminal Law& Criminology, 66(2), 262-273.
7. Katsiyannis, A., Ryan, J., Zhang, D., & Spann, A. (2008). Juvenile delinquency and recidivism: The impact of academic achievement. Reading and Writing Quaterly, 177-196.
8. Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., & Barry, C. T. (2004). Callous-unemotional traits and delinquent peer affiliation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(6), 956-966.
9. Louis. H. J. (2015). Causes of Juvenile Delinquency: A Literature Review.
10. Michael Birzer (2011). A qualitative study of selected juvenile offenders in Sedgwick County Kansas
11. Siddique. Md. K. B, (2015). Juvenile Delinquency: A Study on the Juvenile Development Centre, Tongi, Gazipur, Bangladesh ;
12. Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. C. (2008). Juvenile delinquency: The core.
13. Steinberg, L. (2005) Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5: 459-485
14. Winterdyk. J. A (2014). Juvenile Justice: International Perspective, Models and Trends. (https://baysingerlaw.com/2018/03/factors-contributing-juvenile-delinquency/) consent, please fill in this information prior to interview)