Juvenile Delinquency Essay

Juvenile Delinquency can be defined in three different ways; legal definition, role definition and the societal response definition. In the legal definition, it is the act that causes them to be juvenile delinquents. The role definition, it is the actor that who is perceived to be a delinquent. In the societal response, it is the audience reaction that defines the person as deviant or a delinquent.
With all those definition the main thing that has to be considered to judge if a person is a juvenile delinquent is their age. A juvenile in the state of Texas is between the ages of 7-17. Even though one cannot be brought in and tried upon in court until they reach the age of 10. A juvenile’s first social connection is with their family. Families are the first and primary socializing agents. If one is looking to find a way to rethink the causes of juvenile delinquency and why it happens; the basic starting point begins with the family system. A strong, supportive family is the basis of a child’s life. If a child does not have that, it is likely they will become a deviant. In our textbook Thompson and Bynum provided us with many plans for rethinking delinquency. The plan that caught my attention was the “Strengthening the Family” plan. The family is the primary source of socialization.
It’s a plan to help the youth main socialization agent. It makes the perfect sense to start where a youth socializing life begins. In chapter 8 of our book it states that one way to prevent delinquency is to “provide meaningful participation in family discussions, decisions, and interaction” (pg. 206). If the parents get the help they need from their workforce, then they will be in return to sit down more with the youth. That could also work in the negative, if the parent chooses to use that extra time for other activities; then the punishing and holding the parent accountable come into