Introduction
In criminal justice, the issue of juvenile recidivism is an acute one. According to estimates, 7.1 million adolescents in the United States were involved in child welfare programs in 2020 (LaBerge et al., 2022). Children who interact with the child welfare system are more likely to engage in youth crime and become engaged in the youth justice system (LaBerge et al., 2022). It was found that between 2% and 42% of youth who interact with the child welfare system become associated with the juvenile justice system (LaBerge et al., 2022). For this purpose, the concept of dual system youth was developed to characterize children who encounter both child protective services and youth judiciary system direct interaction. Although dual-system children receive assistance from both structures, they counterintuitively have a higher risk of recidivism than adolescents who have only interacted with the youth justice system (LaBerge et al., 2022). This is why the predominance of youth who are involved in the social system in the youth justice system is problematic. Thus, the rate of adolescent recidivism in antisocial conduct is closely correlated with environmental influences, including parental involvement.
Role of Caregivers in Juvenile Recidivism
Parental Monitoring
First, adolescent antisocial conduct has regularly been demonstrated to decline in correlation with increased parental monitoring practices. The association between parent involvement in teenage behavior and delinquent actions is the subject of the types of parental monitoring that have been the subject of most research. Both cross-sectional and continuous analyses show that less parental participation is linked to greater rates of involvement in criminal activities (LaBerge et al., 2022). Less parental awareness has been connected to a rise in other delinquent behavior, such as substance abuse, smoking, and unsafe sexual activity (LaBerge et al., 2022). Additionally, less parental understanding has been linked, both cross-sectionally and over time, to a greater probability of substance use and trafficking (LaBerge et al., 2022). Therefore, indeed, juvenile recidivism has a higher likelihood of incidence in families with poor parental monitoring.
Parenting Style
Moreover, juvenile recidivism is linked not only to the attention provided to adolescents but the parenting style of their carers. Research has demonstrated that youth exposed to adverse parenting styles and juvenile offenders with histories of maltreatment are more likely to engage in crimes again (Wolff & Baglivio, 2017). Aggressive tendencies and a hostile perception of other people’s actions and one’s environment worsen antisocial behavior (Wolff & Baglivio, 2017). The results of Wolf and Baglivio’s (2017) study demonstrate that adverse childhood experiences influence recidivism in both direct and indirect ways, with over half of that influence coming from emotional reactions. Consequently, when analyzing the antisocial behavior of adolescents, the role of caregivers and their attitudes is immense.
The Role of Environment in Juvenile Recidivism
Parental Mental Health
However, adolescents sensitive to antisocial behavior patterns are exposed not only to poor parenting but environmental factors. It is claimed that the endophenotype, or causal relationship, between poor executive function and criminality seems to be based on neuropsychological abnormalities (Baglivio et al., 2017). Certain cognitive deficiencies have been linked to a person’s tendency for crime through concepts like self-control (Baglivio et al., 2017). Deficits in aggressiveness, irritability, poor impulse control, emotional and cognitive adaptability, and behavioral control were all impacted by abnormalities in the cortex (Baglivio et al., 2017). The results show that parental mental health issues were associated with both a higher chance of acquiring a formalized ADHD diagnosis and a higher level of emotionality in adolescents (Baglivio et al., 2017). This is helpful in understanding the biological factors that influence the behaviors of adolescents and how they can lead to recidivism.
Attachment Deficit
It is worth mentioning that overall social interaction and attachment deficit can play a role in recidivism degree. Traditionally considered essential to healthy childhood development, attachment and interpersonal connections, or the way one mutually interacts with others, help people learn to trust, rely on, and depend on one another (Yoder et al., 2018). Partners, relatives, parents, and peers are all people that young people develop relationships with. It has been stressed that avoidant, indifferent, or disordered attachment styles are linked to apathetic, violent, or erratic response patterns (Yoder et al., 2018). More perpetrators were associated with lower levels of mother trust and increased rates of father alienation, whereas non-sexual crime was associated with lower degrees of mother confidence and higher levels of father distancing (Yoder et al., 2018). As a result, more violent transgressions were associated with lower levels of mother and peer trust and interaction.
Religiosity and Juvenile Recidivism
Spirituality and Delinquency
Finally, another factor, which is effective in determining recidivism, is spirituality. Programs with strong religious content or spirituality may lessen recidivism, according to researchers (Stewart et al., 2019). Yet, adolescent spirituality is highly linked to defense against a variety of other adverse adolescent outcomes, such as internalizing mental health issues and externalizing behavioral issues, which are also independent predictors of recidivism (Stewart et al., 2019). Moreover, it can be claimed that prosocial conduct and greater interpersonal bonds are associated with spirituality. According to the Bible, fighting juvenile delinquency is necessary because “for it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will” (Bible Hub, n.d-b). In this case, the aim of spirituality is to protect adolescents against wrongdoing, which is efficient due to social ties.
Religious Morals and Recidivism
Moreover, it is not only spirituality but religious morals that prescribe acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The question of whether there is a relationship between religion and aggression or delinquency in young people and teenage groups has always been present. There is evidence that suggests religion might be a beneficial weapon in the fight against delinquent conduct among high-risk urban children (Bhutta et al., 2019). Still, little study has been done on the connections between different aspects of religion and adult crime, even though the majority of studies have focused on young people. Nevertheless, when demographic considerations were taken into account, Relationship Status and education took the role of religious practices (Bhutta et al., 2019). The Bible holds that “whoever does not love abides in death,” and that wickedness is the absence of love (Bible Hub, n.d.-a). Therefore, educating adolescents and incorporating religious morals into their lives can minimize the incidence of antisocial behavior.
Conclusion
Hence, environmental factors, especially parental participation, are highly connected with the probability of teenage recidivism in antisocial behavior. First, it has been repeatedly shown that higher parental monitoring methods are correlated with a decrease in teenage antisocial behavior. A surge in delinquent behaviors, such as drug misuse, smoking, and unsafe sexual conduct, has been linked to decreased parental awareness. Moreover, parental style and attention is given to adolescents by their caregivers are both related to juvenile recidivism. Yet, adolescents who are prone to antisocial behavior patterns are also exposed to environmental influences and bad parenting. Both a higher likelihood of receiving a formal ADHD diagnosis and a higher degree of emotionality in adolescents is linked to parental mental health problems. It is important to note that the level of recidivism may depend on general social interaction and attachment deficiency. Spirituality is another element that may be used to predict recidivism. According to studies, programs with a lot of spirituality or religious content may reduce recidivism. Moreover, religious principles, as well as spirituality, define what is and is not acceptable behavior.
References
Baglivio, M. T., Wolff, K. T., Piquero, A. R., DeLisi, M., & Vaughn, M. G. (2017). Multiple pathways to juvenile recidivism: Examining parental drug and mental health problems, and markers of neuropsychological deficits among serious juvenile offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(8), 1009-1029. Web.
Bhutta, M. H., Wormith, J. S., & Zidenberg, A. M. (2019). Assessing the relationship between religiosity and recidivism among adult probationers in Pakistan. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(5), 752-780. Web.
Bible Hub. (n.d.-a). John 3:14. Web.
Bible Hub. (n.d.-b). Philippians 2:13. Web.
LaBerge, A., Cavanagh, C., & Cauffman, E. (2022). Juvenile justice-and dual system-involved youth: The role of primary caregiver monitoring habits on juvenile recidivism. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 00224278221132546. Web.
Stewart, C., Rapp-McCall, L., & Drum, L. (2019). The relationship of spirituality and mental health to recidivism. Social Work & Christianity, 46(4), e2019. Web.
Wolff, K. T., & Baglivio, M. T. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences, negative emotionality, and pathways to juvenile recidivism. Crime & Delinquency, 63(12), 1495-1521. Web.
Yoder, J. R., Leibowitz, G. S., & Peterson, L. (2018). Parental and peer attachment characteristics: Differentiating between youth sexual and non-sexual offenders and associations with sexual offense profiles. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(17), 2643-2663. Web.