Most of the juvenile cases reported are committed by youngsters who fall between the age group of 11 to 17. Many reasons cause the increase in the number of juvenile delinquents this may include; cross-cultural marriages, illiteracy among parents, and peer influence. The most notable cause that has seen the rise in the number of juvenile delinquents is the increase in the number of divorce rates witnessed throughout the world. The research below will look at a case study of juvenile delinquents and how their increase in number is directly related to the increase of divorce rates.
Correlation of child delinquency with Divorce
The family plays a huge role in shaping a Child’s character. The family surroundings that is; Father, Mother, and other siblings will greatly have an impact on the creation of a juvenile delinquent. Recent research carried out in 2006 by Robin Gayle’s, shows that children whose parents applied good parenting strategies reduced the chances of their kids being juvenile delinquents while parents who were never keen on the development of their kids usually in their adolescent stage had a high tendency of turning into juvenile delinquents.
The main cause of the increase in the number of Juvenile delinquencies can be attributed to the increase in the number of divorces being witnessed in the whole world. For a child to grow up with upright morals he has to be fully guarded by both of his parents. Both the Mother and Father of a given Kid have particular roles that they have to play to ensure that they bring up morally upright kids (Richard, 1992, p 220).
The mother plays the largest role in the upbringing of a kid, she can develop the kid in which way she may want. “This is the reason why a kid has to have proper guidance because as he grows up into an adult he has to have with the right aspects in mind”(Sheldon, 2007, p 304). The mother is responsible for instilling values such as kindness and humility into the kid by being kind and supportive to the child; if she is harsh to the kid the kid tends to pick the harsh behavior from her. Harsh behavior is known to be a catalyst to delinquency.
“The mother will influence the child’s behavior, such as habits, worries, the way the child move, act and feel”(Sheldon, 2007, p 304). If a mother has attitude problems she will instill them to the kid and in turn, the kid will be vulnerable to exhibit delinquent behavior. Many mothers are raising their children as single parents due to divorce. This leads to many problems which may arise with time. Kids raised in such families lack fatherly instincts and this makes them become personality-wise as they rely on one direction. This would damage their character as they are growing up (Beattie, 1996, p 500).
Another problem that may affect children affected by divorce which may lead them to adopt delinquent behavior is the numerous abuses and criticism they are subjected by their fellow students in schools. The children face these insults mainly in elementary and middle school where students develop the behavior of criticizing others.
The criticizing students tend to bully and even make fun of the single-parent kids. Such attacks damage kids and they tend to develop the habit of being harsh or even develop the habit of developing anger towards their mother. Women who are divorced tend to work hard to support their families and spend less time with their children; this makes it very hard for them to detect any behavioral changes in the kids. Such kids tend to develop delinquent behavior since they lack proper guidance from their parents (Bowker, 2008, p 83).
The father also plays an important role in the child’s development stage. In all a kid’s life, he needs a father figure in his/her life. If such a figure does not exist in their lives then they will lack certain values in life that a father is supposed to provide. One of the values a father provides in Kids is security; Kids feel secure when their father is around that is they feel they have someone to turn to in case of any problem.
The kid’s mother also needs assistance in raising the kids and sharing the responsibility with the kids’ Father makes life easier for the entire family. The comfortable atmosphere in the Family impacts the Child’s behavior in the right direction and prevents him from developing delinquent behavior (Burt, 2008, p 1675). Kids whose parents have divorced are immensely affected by the lack of proper Mother care and Fatherly security and they tend to develop delinquent behavior. This is why the rising divorce rate witnessed in the whole world is considered to be the main contributor to the immense increase in the number of delinquent juveniles in most parts of the world today (Thomas, 2008, p 5).
A case study carried out in September 2008 which had an aim of crimes committed by United Arab Emirates youths who are in the age bracket of between 11 to 17 revealed that there is a significant increase in the number of crimes committed by them. The study revealed that in 2008 thirty-five juvenile delinquents from twelve different nationalities were sent to various juvenile departments in the country.
This according to the United Arab Emirates physiologists is alarming since the number has been increasing rapidly over the years. The number of delinquents in the country is little as compared to other countries like the United States who have a very large number of Juvenile delinquents but according to the country standards, the current number of kids is quite alarming (Katja, 2005, p 76).
“The causes of the increase in the number of child delinquents in UAE include; cross-culture marriages, illiteracy of both parents, and influence from peers” (Thomas, 2008, p 5). However, the most notable factor is the rapid increase in the number of broken families that have been caused by divorce.
Conclusion
Parental guidance is considered to be the most essential aspect of a child’s development process. For a child to follow the right path in life and even develop good character he has to be taught how to do so by both of his parents. Each parent has his role to play to ensure that a child develops good behavior. If a child is raised by a single parent in most cases by a single Mother there are some values he will lack while growing up which are supposed to be taught by the other parent. The lack of such values may lead him to develop delinquent behavior; that is why it is true to say that the rate of increase in the rate of divorces is directly proportional to the increase in the number of delinquent juveniles.
References
Beattie, Valerie. “Causes of Child delinquency.” Studies in the Novel Journal of Marriage and the Family, 28.4 (1996): 493-505.
Bowker, R. (2008). Young persons in conflict with the law. Solicitor publishers. Page 83.
Burt, S. (2008). Parental divorce and adolescent delinquency.: Journal of Research on Adolescence Vol 44, 1668-1677.
Katja, F. (2005). Dealing with Juvenile delinquents. Clifford publishers. Page 76. (Case study).
Richard, E. (1992). Practical value of scientific study on delinquent juveniles. Published by U.S. G.P.O. Page 220.
Sheldon, G. (2007). Juvenile delinquents treatment. McGraw publishers. Page 304.
Thomas, E. (2008). Social determinants in juvenile delinquency. University of Michigan. Page 5.