Research Paper Example on Juvenile Delinquency among African Americans

Juvenile delinquency has become a serious social problem in todays society. All over the world, criminal justice systems are grappling with a high prevalence of juvenile delinquency never witnessed before. In the United States, violent behaviors for preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults stand at worrying levels and African Americans are the most affected by this problem (Ngwe, Liu, Flay, & Segawa, 2004). Reports from the Criminal Justice Department and scholarly studies indicate that there is overrepresentation of Blacks in the American juvenile system with African American youth accounting for 51 percent of arrests for violent crimes, 31 percent of property offenses, 59 percent of murder arrests, and 30 percent of arrests for drug use (Martin et al., 2010). The question that arises then is this: why is juvenile delinquency so prevalent among black youth? This paper seeks to answer the above question.

Many people in the American society believe that African Americans, in general, commit more crimes than Whites and other racial groups. As pointed out in the preceding paragraph, African Americans are significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This level of crime somewhat accentuates the widespread belief that delinquency among African Americans is the highest of all the ethnicities. Citing previous studies, Wright and Younts (2009) point out that there is little difference in criminal activities between Blacks and Whites. In spite of this, the high levels of arrests, prosecution, and incarceration of African Americans corroborates the notion that there are higher incidents of delinquency among Black youth than other racial groups.

Psychologists, criminologists, and other scholars have singled out the several factors that predispose African American to violent behaviors which, in turn, results in high levels of juvenile delinquency. A majority of these explanations follow the traditional theoretical explanations of juvenile delinquency. In his study, Joseph(1995) finds that traditional theories of delinquency(structural strain, social control and differential association) present quality explanations as to why there is higher levels of delinquency among African Americans compared to other ethnic minorities and Whites. However, some scholars have argued that the traditional theories of delinquency may not sufficiently explain the problem of overrepresentation of Blacks in cases of juvenile delinquency in the United States because of the complexity of the factors involved (Unnever, 2015). That notwithstanding, subsequent explanations on juvenile delinquency among African Americans will revolve around the traditional theories of delinquency.

The socioeconomic status of parents/ guardians/caregivers of African American preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults have been identified as is an important factor influencing delinquency among the youth. To investigate the influence of socioeconomic status on delinquency among African Americans, Janice Joseph conducted a study in Pleasantville and Atlantic City cities where he sampled 333 male and female African Americans and tested the validity of socioeconomic status as a factor for higher levels of delinquency among black youth. His findings suggested that socioeconomic status is an insignificant factor in the high juvenile delinquency levels witnessed among African Americans (Joseph, 1995; Binder, Geis, & Bruce, 2001).However, various studies have contradicted Janice Josephs conclusions. Indeed, Rekker et al. (2015) note that socioeconomic factors are the most documented causes of juvenile delinquency in many societies around the world.

A decent socioeconomic status positively affects the lives of African Americans whereas lower income status predisposes black communities to conditions that lead to juvenile delinquency. Preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults are more likely to engage in physical fights, threaten people, injure others or carry weapons if they live in a family of low socioeconomic status (Firebaugh & Acciai, 2016; Rekker et al., 2015). Negative socio-economic conditions such as joblessness and poverty create a lot of barriers for African American youth to engage in socioeconomic activities essential for the realization of upward social mobility(Martin et al.2010).This creates frustrations which are vented in terms of violent behavior and other unconventional behaviors. Considering the fact African American youth averagely grow in lower socioeconomic status compared to their white counterparts, the high levels of delinquency reported among black youth is no surprise. However, delinquent tendencies among the youth decrease as parents socioeconomic statuses improve (Rekker et al., 2015).

Marriage has also been identified as a contributing factor to juvenile delinquency among Black youth. According to Wright and Younts (2011), African Americans show lower rates of marriage due to the likelihood of men dying or getting imprisoned. Even in cases where marriage occurs, they are less likely to form sustainable unions compared to their white counterparts as most of these unions come about as a result of cohabitations and not marriages. These tendencies have disrupted the family structure, affecting an important of child upbringing known as social control.

Family structure is an important variable in determining the likelihood of the youth turning into delinquents. The structure of the family has undergone tremendous changes over the recent years. Today, adolescents and young adults are living diverse homes such as single-parent household and cohabiting parents households, among other nontraditional households (Parks, 2013).According to Parks(2013), the new family structure has created more disturbances in African American families who have over the years lived a communal lifestyle-a lifestyle where several related families maintained close connections. Evidence from scholarly sources suggests that children who grow up in non-traditional households are at a greater risk of becoming delinquent. Although children who grow with a single parent have the emotional attachment to the parent as other children of families with both parents, some studies have indicated that the children still need the other parent and absence one parent puts them at a higher risk of delinquency (Martin et al., 2010; Wright & Younts, 2011).

Attachment of children to parents helps to contain problems related to inadequate social control. When there is insufficient attachment of children to parents, there is a higher risk of developing delinquent behaviors due to inadequate monitoring and supervision (Binder, Geis, & Bruce, 2001) Since structural changes in family have cause great disruption to African American families, many parents are living in loose relationships with their adolescents hence the increased exposure to violent lifestyles and delinquency (Parks, 2013).

Inadequate social control as a factor for the high juvenile delinquency among African Americans has not been confined to the aspect of the parental presence only. Even the size of the family matters. Children in large African American families experience problems of attachment to parents. Citing a previous study, Binder et al.(2001) note that youths from large families are more likely to join street life because of difficulties and disruptions in parenting(p.189).Upon assuming street life, they find new peers and develop contacts with other youth who have already adopted a delinquent lifestyle(Binder et al., 2001; Martin et al., 2010). Coupled with other socioeconomic disadvantages that African Americans experience, such youth opt to live a delinquent lifestyle.

Perhaps a deeper understanding of the high prevalence of juvenile delinquency among African Americans can be gained by exploring the role racism plays in the various socioeconomic aspects of the lives of Black youth in America. Many criminologists attribute the high rates of juvenile delinquency among African American youth to structural racism. Structural racism has been described as a host of historical and contemporary conditions that contribute significantly to the creation of inner-city communities as well as hamper social upward mobility through racial segregation. These conditions expose black communities to poverty and residential instability, further increasing the exposures of Black children to delinquent behaviors (Martin et al., 2010).

Racial inequality and persistent structural discrimination against Blacks and other minorities in the United States exposes them to adverse neighborhood environments (Martin et al., 2010).In particular, African Americans are more likely to live in deprived neighborhoods-neighborhoods with poor schools and other social amenities (Firebaugh & Acciai, 2016).A good education opportunity creates a sense of commitment and involvement in conventional life-fulfilling activities(Wright & Younts, 2011).As such, involvement in education reduces the chances of adopting delinquent lifestyles as it promotes upward social mobility through employment as well as empowers individuals to pursue meaningful activities in their lives. Some scholars have even suggested that access to quality education is one of the most viable solutions to the problem of high cases of juvenile delinquency in African American youth (Unnever, 2015; Binder et al., 2001).However, due to diminished opportunities in deprived neighborhoods, Wright and Younts (2011) point out that most youths seek other alternatives to obtain culturally valued ends. And since African American adolescents and young adults are victims of these circumstances, they form the bulk of the juvenile delinquency cases reported.

Deprived neighborhoods experience high rates of juvenile crime and youth violence (Chung & Steinberg, 2006; Unnever, 2015).Through an interplay between loose social control and family hardships, adolescents and young adults often find themselves engaging in deviant and violent behaviors because that is the culture in which they have grown. Some even choose to engage in delinquent behaviors as a result their negative perception about the social the environment in which they live (Wright & Younts, 2011). As such, perception is a critical component of juvenile delinquency.

Perceived personal discrimination is the manner in which people feel about racial discrimination. It complements neighborhood concentrated disadvantage, racial isolation, and social disorganization in leading to juvenile delinquency (Martin et al., 2010). According to Martin et al.(2010), the effect of perceived discrimination far exceeds those associated with neighborhood conditions in predisposing African American adolescents and young adults to delinquent behaviors. This means that efforts to reduce juvenile delinquency need to focus not only on the environmental factors but also the psychological impact of racial discrimination on victims.

Conclusion

From the preceding discussion, it is evident that the rate of juvenile delinquency among African Americans is highest compared to other ethnic groups. It appears that socioeconomic and cultural factors play a vital role in exposing Black youth to delinquency. Also, structural racism denies African American youth opportunities essential for getting out of social environments that predispose them to delinquency. Perceived discrimination from fellow citizens and law enforcement agencies further compounds the problem of delinquency among Black youth. For these reasons, efforts to reduce cases of juvenile delinquency among African Americans must focus on the provision of opportunities to African Americans and also on building attitudes that confront structural racism.

References

Binder, A., Geis, G., &...