Midterm Flashcards
Adolescent suicide is the third leading cause of death among 14- to 24-year-olds and the sixth leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year-olds in the United States
The suicide rate in 2007 for youths 10 to 14 years old was 0.89 per 100,000, down from the peak rate of 1.72 in 1995, and the suicide rate of 15- to 19-year-olds was 6.91 per 100,000, down from a peak rate of 11.14 in 1990.
Youths and suicide
Oftentimes, these children are “missing” by choice because of intolerable conditions in the home, including abuse and violence; occasional kidnappings (mostly by parents or family member)
Missing children reasons
Other risk factors that correlate to child abuse include low income, social isolation and parental expectations that exceed a child’s abilities. Temperamental characteristics of a child may also increase the risk for neglect and abuse.
Three of the primary risk factors for child abuse are domestic violence, poverty and individual temperamental factors and characteristics of a child.
Risk factors of child abuse
“Research has repeatedly found various negative consequences associated with youth employment, including detachment from parents, poor school performance and dropout, and an increased risk of delinquency and substance use.”
Studies by Wright and Cullen (2004) found that employment can build social capital that then bonds young people to social institutions: “The results demonstrate that prosocial coworkers disrupt previously established delinquent peer networks and are associated with reductions in adult criminal behavior” (183). They contend, “Stable employment appears to be a key transition in the life course that is associated with reductions in criminal behavior and drug use”
Early work experience risk or protective factor?
Lawrence Kohlberg sought to understand how children react to moral dilemmas and subsequently devised a six-stage theory of moral development.
▪ Level 1 (Pre-Conventional)
Stage 1—Obedience and punishment orientation (How can I avoid punishment?)
Stage 2—Self-interest orientation (What’s in it for me?)
▪ Level 2 (Conventional)
Stage 3—Interpersonal accord and conformity (The good boy/good girl attitude)
Stage 4—Authority and social-order maintaining orientation (Law and order morality)
▪ Level 3 (Post-Conventional)
Stage 5—Social contract orientation
Stage 6—Universal ethical principles (Principled conscience)
Kohlberg
In 2009, 15.5 million children under 18 years of age—21.0 percent of all children in this country—lived in households with incomes below the federal poverty threshold, up from the low of 16 percent in 2000 and 2001
Lead exposure has detrimental neurodevelopmental consequences and has been linked to lower IQ, diminished tolerance for frustration and attention deficit and hyperactivity, all of which are known individual risk factors for delinquent and criminal behaviors. Children who live in poverty are much more likely than others to be exposed to lead from old paint and old plumbing fixtures and from the lead in household dust.
Child poverty
Research has shown that children of incarcerated parents are five to six times more likely to become involved in criminal activity than the average child and usually possess most, if not all, of the known factors thwarting normal childhood development: “trauma from witnessing a parent’s arrest and distrust of law enforcement; the potential of multiple housing changes; dealing with parental abandonment and related guilt and anger; high probability of change in schools; living in poverty conditions of caregivers; witnessing or learning criminal behavior from a parent prior to arrest; and the experience of stigma, which may create a ‘conspiracy of silence’ or shunning by schoolmates”
Parent criminality and incarceration
“Research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, fear, depression, nightmares, and sleep disturbances.”
Similarly, results from a 15-year longitudinal study by psychologists at the University of Michigan found that children, both males and females, who are exposed to media violence, who identify with aggressive television characters and who perceive the violence to be realistic are most at risk for later aggression.
and to date, there is no empirical data to support the argument that exposure to violence, per se, does inalterably cause a child to become violent.
Myths regarding violence and video games
Early sexual involvement and teen parenthood have also been identified as risk factors for victimization and delinquency.
Yet, the U.S. teen birth rate remains higher than that of any other developed country, with approximately 410,000 teens between 15 and 19 years old giving birth in this country in 2009
Children of teen mothers are at increased risk of low birth weight and prematurity, mental retardation, poverty, poor school performance, inadequate health care, inadequate parenting and abuse and neglect.
Sexual activity
9.3 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years reported using illicit drugs during the month preceding the survey, with use increasing with age. Alcohol was the most commonly used drug, with 14.6 percent reporting past-month use. Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug (6.7 percent).
in 2008, the decade-long decline came to a halt, and by 2010, the overall rate of illicit drug use was again increasing for all grades, although only the increase among 8th graders was significant
In fact, although approximately 80 percent of juvenile offenders have substance abuse disorders, only 20 percent of drug users commit crimes
Substance abuse data
Period: 1980- present
Major developments: Shift from medical (treatment) model to justice model and “get tough” attitude; “best interests” of society gained ascendancy over those of youths; Supreme Court approves of preventive detention for youths—Schall decision (1984); emphasis on deterrence and just deserts
Precipitating Influences: A. Increase in violent juvenile crime
B. Proliferation of gangs
C. Spread of drug use
Child/state: Adversary system of legal process replaces sedate “family” court process; courts return to a focus on what is right according to the law
Parent/state: Parents in some states are held liable for their child’s criminal conduct
Parent/child: Unknown
Crime Control Period
Period: 1960-1980
Major Developments: Increased “legalization” of juvenile law—Gault decision (1967); Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (1974) calls for deinstitutionalization of status offenders
Precipitating Influences: A. Criticism of juvenile justice system on humane grounds
B. Civil rights movements by disadvantaged groups
Child/state: Movement to define and protect rights as well as provide services to children
Parent/state: Reassertion of responsibility of parents and community for welfare and behavior of children
Parent/child: Attention given to children’s claims against parents; earlier emancipation of children
Juvenile Rights Period
Period: 1899-1960
Major developments: Establishment of separate legal system for juveniles—Illinois Juvenile Court Act (1899)
Precipitating Influences: A. Reformism and rehabilitative ideology
B. Increased immigration, urbanization and large-scale industrialization
Child/state: Juvenile court institutionalizes legal irresponsibility of child
Parent/state: Parens patriae doctrine gives legal foundation for state intervention in family
Parent/child: Further abrogation of parents’ rights and responsibilities
Juvenile Court Period
A family abduction occurs when, in violation of a custody order, a decree or other legitimate custodial rights, a member of the child’s family, or someone acting on behalf of a family member, takes or fails to return a child, and the child is concealed or transported out of state with the intent to prevent contact or deprive the caretaker of custodial rights indefinitely or permanently.
Family abduction
Runaway: a child who “leaves home without permission and stays away overnight, or a child 14 years old or younger (or older and mentally incompetent) who is away from home and chooses not to return when supposed to and stays away overnight; or a child 15 years old or older who is away from home and chooses not to return and stays away two nights.”
Throwaway: a child who is asked or told to leave home by a parent or other household adult, and no adequate alternative care is arranged for the child by a household adult and the child is out of the household overnight; or a child who is away from home is prevented from returning home by a parent or other household adult, and no adequate alternative care is arranged for the child by a household adult and the child is out of the household overnight.
Runaway vs. throwaway
