Delinquency is a widely spread problem among adolescents in every part of the world—a lot of effort is being put to identify major reasons and decrease the level of delinquency. One of the hot topics related to delinquency, especially among adolescents, is its relation to family issues. Adolescents are not fully formed personalities. Their psychology is in the process of formation and is highly influenced by various factors. One of the important factors in a relationship with family and its members. Family issues, including family indifference, marital discord, and the economic status of the family, are some of the key factors influencing delinquency.
There are many research works conducted to identify and elucidate the connection between family and delinquency. Various researchers study the problem of youth delinquency and focus on specific family types and problems. For example, one research work examined only crime among Native American youth and family indifference (Baek, Roberts & Higgins, 2018). The study hypothesized that negative emotions acquired from family conditions are the connecting point of family and youth delinquency among Native Americans. The article uses the General Strain Theory-based analysis of the structural equation model as a method to support the hypothesis. Another research work is focused on the influence of religious factors in the family on delinquency among adolescents of 10-14 years (Guo, 2018). The thesis of the study is that religious parents might increase the self-control of the child, thus decreasing future potential delinquency. Furthermore, another study investigated three different theories regarding the family’s impact on delinquency (Sogar, 2017). The first theory involves a psychological aspect of the child and parent relationship. The second theory is focused on the structure of the family, while the third one is related to the economic factors of the family.
The findings of the research work are surprising with their unexpected results and diversity. The study using the structural equation model as a methodology concluded that family indifference, which results in the anger of the child, is the cause of delinquency among Native American adolescents. In addition, depression was also identified as the mediator between delinquency and family indifference (Baek, Roberts & Higgins, 2018). Another research article, which focuses on how marital discord among Chinese families affects juvenile delinquency, showed that mental health, attachment to a parent, and delinquency-associated peers are the main factors influencing delinquency. Delinquency is increased due to mental health problems and delinquent peers associated caused by marital discord. However, parental attachment, which decreases delinquency, is inversely proportional to marital discord (Liu, De Li, Zhang & Xia, 2019). Moreover, the absence of one of the parents is not a direct cause of adolescent delinquency, but the lack of attachment associated with single-parent families is the reason for the delinquency. In addition, economic factors, including poverty experience, results in increased delinquency (Sogar, 2017). Thus, family relationships are directly related to delinquency among adolescents.
To conclude, family is an important part of every child’s development. The relationship between the child and parents is the key factor in the future behavior of the child. In my opinion, parents’ attention and care in early childhood is the most important part of a child’s psychological development. I think that a child, who got enough love and care from parents, is less likely to be involved in delinquency, which comes along with the abovementioned research findings. Finally, I am convinced that delinquency can be associated with living conditions and relationships within the family.
References
Baek, H., Roberts, A., & Higgins, G. (2018). The impact of family indifference on delinquency among American Indian youth: A test of general strain theory. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 16(1), 57-75. Web.
Guo, S. (2018). A model of religious involvement, family processes, self-control, and juvenile delinquency in two-parent families. Journal of Adolescence, 63, 175-190. Web.
Liu, T., De Li, S., Zhang, X., & Xia, Y. (2019). The Spillover Mechanisms Linking Family Conflicts and Juvenile Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 64(2-3), 167-186. Web.
Sogar, C. (2017). The influence of family process and structure on delinquency in adolescence—An examination of theory and research. Journal of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 27(3), 206-214. Web.