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

2. 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

3. - 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

4. (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

5. (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

6. - 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

7. - 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%

8. - 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

9. - 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

10. (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

11. - 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

12. - 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

13. (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

14. - 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

15. - 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

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

17. - 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

18. (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

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