Theories of Juvenile Delinquency

Sociologists suggest numerous theories to explain the behavior identified as juvenile delinquency. Some of the theories explain one type of delinquent behavior better than other theories. As Siegel and Senna (1997) note, the various theories identify the source of the forces shaping delinquent behavior, whether the individual is the source, the social structure, a social process, or a social reaction. Shoplifting and illegal drug use occur with high frequency among young people today. The theory of differential association best explains both behaviors, while strain theory offers the least valuable assessment for both.

The crime of shoplifting sometimes exhibits compulsive behavior brought about by some psychological cause, but this can only explain certain instances of this behavior. Theories based on social distinctions and class differences also explain only some of this behavior, for perpetrators need not be poor to steal. Shoplifting as a crime transcends social boundaries and other evidence of social stratification. Some do steal because they are poor, of course, but much shoplifting occurs among juveniles who are not poor and not deprived. The most likely force operating in these instances is peer pressure, and peer pressure serve as a key component in differential association theory.

Edwin Sutherland developed differential association theory in 1939 in his text Principles of Criminology. He offered an interpersonal explanation of behavior based on three ma

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ceed definitions favorable to obeying the law. These differential associations which shape behavior vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity, but they contribute to the way the young offender learns the behavior. A final element cited by Sutherland holds that while criminal behavior can be seen as an explanation of general needs and values, it is not explained in the same way that noncriminal behavior is explained by the same needs and values: By this principle, Sutherland suggested that the motives for delinquent behavior cannot logically be the same as those for conventional behavior . . . It is only the learning of deviant norms through contact with an excess of definitions toward criminality that produces delinquent behavior (Siegel & Senna, 1997, 180). The young person has motives for shoplifting that differ from the motives offered to him or her by society for conventional behavior. Researchers have detailed other dimensions of the learning process, but the essential concept remains that young people learn deviant behavior from peer groups and other close associations. Several research efforts have tried tom test the validity of this theory. James Short conducted a classic study by selecting a sample of 126

Category: Psychology - T