Question

Read pages 2-12 of the following report on female deliquency from the U.S. Department of Justice and answer the questions below. 226358.pdf or, to view the report, copy and paste the following into your browser window: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/226358.pdf Discussion: According to the report, how much influence does biological and individual factors play in the manifestation of female deliquency? How important are family influences and what conclusions can be drawn from the research into the effects of family influences on female deliquency? What role, if any, do you believe that peer factors, neighborhood factors, religious activity factors, and school factors play in causing female juvenile deliquency? Which of these factors, as characterized by the report, do you believe to be most influential? Explain why. Do you agree with the conclusions in the research? Why or why not?

Answer 1

There are gender related responses which lead to the biological and psychological changes in the perception of a person leading to female delinquent behavior. There are differences in the delinquent behavior of boys or girls related to their mental perception and profiling. There are a larger number of negative effects and traumatic situations faced by a girl as compared to a boy. There are stressors which elicit a response which is negative attitude towards life. It contradicts the emotional and social well being of a person in the society leading to a disturbed mental state. There are more cases of risky behavior in adolescents as compared to the youngsters. Many more cases of historical abuse has been reported in the case of delinquent girls as compared to boys. Many cases of sexual assault and rape has been reported in girls as compared to similar age groups in boys.Cases of physical abuse are reported to an equal extent in both boys and girls. Boys tend to suffer more from mental abnormalities like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as compared to other mental diseases which may be prevalent in females or girls. There are greater incidences of anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress syndrome in girls as compared to boys due to the chances of facing stressful traumatic situations in life. Moffit explained that there is a maturity gap between the adolescent stage and the adult stage which is important part of development.

There are family relationships on the onset of puberty in a female child which can influence the starting of a new phase of life. There are chances of getting indulged in female delinquency if a girl has a boyfriend but develops a bitter stressful relationship with him other than a good relationship with love. There can be increasing tendency towards delinquency. There can important guidance from peers or family members which can shape the relationship of a girl with the family members. There can be increased conflict between the family members and the girl child over various issues and can become increasingly difficult to resolve. Gee et all has said that children can face delinquent problems in childhood after exposure to harmful situations and stressful situations in life which can be difficult to interpret. If there is lack of supervision of youngsters during puberty or during the adolescent stage then it can lead to the occurrence of juvenile crimes on females. It can lead to instability, mental trauma,depression and anxiety in life. There is parental attachment which is more prominent in girls as compared to boys leading to family moral values with affection and emotions leading to a happy emotional life. There are instances of delinquent girls getting engaged in negative activities like prostitution and sex rackets which is considered hazardous and dangerous to the life of human beings. There are cases of maltreatment by peers living in families leading to mental and physical abuse among young delinquent girls leading to crime in the society. Neighbor factors which can cause problems in society include poverty, low-socioeconomic conditions, poorly structured financial situation of families, poor social organization and efficacy and lack of infrastructure for maintaining the basic needs of the family. These can lead to indulgence of young adolescents in crime in the society. There are instances when school children carry guns and weapons leading to massive killing in schools which can be considered as an act of hatred in the society. There are situations of violent behavior by Black and White girls in schools after exposure to hostile conditions and severe troubled situations. There are chances of relocation due to property offences. The influential factors include the family factors, relative and residential factors, relocation and migration, school offences, adolescent offences like rape and murder which are considered major forms of crime in the society.