Juvenile Justice in America SOC 106 Part 7: The Family and Delinquency

Family and delinquency - primary in controlling - powerful influence: growth / development - learn values / attitudes / processes a. Teach common values - equality: same rights - honesty: telling truth - promise keeping: do what you say - respect: people / property - responsibility: for actions - self control: avoiding problems

- social justice: being fair b. Many families today - negative values - no values - disintegration of traditional family (1) Extended family - 1950s - 2 / 3 generations together - father worked / mother at home - close relationship

(2) Nuclear family - moved away - parents / children - start own life (a) Primary family structure - ceased to exist - “Norman Rockwell family” - disappearing (b) Working father / housewife mother - 2 children

(c) End of 20th century - 5% nuclear family (3) Today: disintegrated family - before age 18 - over 60% - time in single-parent family (a) Two-parent family - 30% high achievers (b) Single-parent family

- 17% high achievers (c) Single-parent family - 38% low achievers (d) Two-parent family - 23% low achievers (e) Two-parent family - 47% middle of road (f) Single-parent family

- 45% middle of road c. Changes seen - both parents work - high divorce rate (2010 estimate) - unwed mothers - children having children - new lifestyle / poor lifestyle (1) Work - mid 1980s: 70% parents - today: 76%

- leave before child / return after - “latch key” children / day care - increase in stress / domestic tension (2) Divorce - numerous reasons - traumatic effect (5 – 17 years) - verbal arguments / domestic situation - “no fault” divorce (3) Unwed mothers - long hours to support

- care of others - different men - grandparents primary figure - 44% African-American mothers (4) Children having children - low maturity - aggression on children - live with parents (5) Lifestyle - new vs. poor

(a) New lifestyle - money - party / travel / entertain - child is compromised (b) Poor lifestyle - cannot provide - 50% African-American children c. Family Conflict - stress / anger / abuse - between parents

- blame child (1) Learn from family - physically / psychologically abusive (a) Greater chance - child abusive as adult (b) Cycle of abuse - on going (2) Parents illiterate

- children illiterate - child literate / animosity (3) Influence on delinquency - broken homes / neglect / personal conflict / deviant parents (a) Broken home - main factor - gang involvement - love / acceptance - freedom / supervision / peers

(b) Neglect - fail to provide - emotional - harsh / lenient (c) Parental conflict - involving / witnessed by - 1 in 5: spouse in hospital - 85% abusers divorce - death: not premeditated - bedroom / kitchen - 2nd most likely: police death

- 92% abused - determines type of family hitting = you hit yelling = you yell drinking = you drink (e) Parental crime - they commit / you commit d. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - strong families = foundation of society

- moral values - responsibility - rights of others (1) General Assembly / United Nations 1989 - “Rights of the Child” (a) Fundamental group - family environment - happiness / love / understanding (b) Structure / interaction patterns

- influence learning - first teacher / model (a) Family role - self worth - communication - rules - link to society Child rearing practices a. Punishment

- physical = supported - spare rod / spoil child (1) Physical coercion appropriate? - degree - punishment vs. abuse (a) Slap hand - slap face (b) Spank with hand - belt on skin

(2) Michael Fay – 1994 - Singapore - vandalism (a) Jail time - 6 hits with cane (b) Poll: 60,000 Americans - 75%: flogged - 57%: US use flogging (3) Spanking

- seldom accomplish good results - more likely = aggressive with others - 2 to 5 times = more delinquent