Delinquency & Victimization
Children and youth are victims of theft and violent crimes. Some juveniles are victims of abuse and neglect at the hands of their parents or other caregivers. The term “dependent and neglected children” describes those who are not provided with proper shelter, clothing, food, clean and safe living conditions, and medical needs. Child abuse ranges from verbal abuse to physical and sexual abuse.
The term “dependent and neglected children” describes those who are not provided with proper shelter, clothing, food, clean and safe living conditions, and medical needs. Child abuse ranges from verbal abuse to physical and sexual abuse.
Data Sources
The extent of child victimization is reported by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). Child victimization has been linked to problem behaviors, delinquency, and criminal behavior later in life. An understanding of victimization and juvenile delinquency is, therefore, important for a better understanding of the most appropriate juvenile justice system responses to these problems.
Highlights from the Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006) indicate the seriousness and extent of juvenile victimization in the United States:
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- On average, between 1980 and 2002 about 2,000 juveniles were murdered annually in the United States.
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- In 2002, on average, four juveniles were murdered daily in the United States.
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- Children under 6 years of age who were victims of murder were most often killed by a parent.
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- Nearly one million (906,000) children were victims of abuse or neglect in 2003, a rate of 12 victims per 1,000 children ages 0–17.
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- As juveniles age, they are less likely to be victims of a violent crime by a family member.
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- About two-thirds of violent crimes with juvenile victims occur in a residence.
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- Youth between ages 7 and 17 are about as likely to be victims of suicide as they are to be victims of homicide.
- About half of all violent crimes experienced by male and female students occurred in school or on the way to and from school.
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- Many youths are subjected to inappropriate and potentially dangerous experiences on the Internet.
The extensive national television and news media reporting of school shooting incidents presented the false impression that most schools are unsafe and violent places and that children and youth are more at risk of victimization in schools than elsewhere (Lawrence & Mueller, 2003). In fact, only a small percentage of violent victimization and homicides involving juvenile victims occur in schools. Children and youth are at greater risk of victimization in their own homes and in other parts of their communities. Understanding the true extent and source of juvenile crime and victimization is the first step to responding effectively to the problem.
Homicide tends to receive the most attention in government and news media reports of deaths of children and youth. Deaths by homicide, however, are not the most common causes of deaths of children and young people. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the leading cause of death for children and youth is accidents and unintentional injury; homicide ranks fourth for children ages 5–9, fifth for youth ages 10–14, and second for youth and young adults ages 15–19. More youth aged 10–14 were victims of suicide (244) than homicide (202) in the United States in 2003 (Heron & Smith, 2007).
The rank and frequency of leading causes of death for young people is often studied by researchers, who note, for example, that one reason homicide ranks higher as a cause of death among children and youth is because they are less likely to die of “natural” health-related deaths than older people.
Research reports confirm that suicide is also a leading cause of death of young people. Snyder and Sickmund (2006) reported that between 1990 and 2001, suicide was more prevalent than homicide among white juveniles (p. 25). The statistical reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008b) note that while homicide is one of the leading causes of death among children and youth, many deaths can be prevented through better education and supervision to prevent accidental deaths and through more comprehensive provisioning of mental health services for young people. Law enforcement and juvenile justice officials are focusing efforts on reducing the number of homicides and nonfatal victimization of juveniles.
Juvenile Crime Trends – Going Up or Down?
Juvenile offending is often perceived to be extensive and serious, despite the fact that most serious property and violent crimes are committed by offenders over 18 years of age.
Violent crimes committed by juveniles less than 18 years of age have been trending down, though they are increasing in some places in recent years. Not surprisingly, violent crimes are reported more often and they generate a disproportionate amount of news coverage, so the public often gets a distorted view of the true extent of juvenile crime.
What Does the Research Say?
In what some have termed to be “high-profile” crimes (Chancer, 2010) a growing number of juveniles are involved in school violence, gang-related violence, and assaults with weapons resulting in fatalities and serious injuries.
A 2013 Vera Institute study notes that of 10,400 cases, 36 percent of status offenses were for skipping school, 22 percent involved liquor violations, 11 percent were related to running away from home, and 10 percent involved curfew violations. These kinds of offenses are essentially “mistakes” that can be handled in ways that do not involve institutionalization with sentences in juvenile facilities.
Intervention programs like those implemented in Ohio and Texas are a more effective and less costly means to rehabilitate or reform juvenile offenders.
Sources
National Report, Juvenile Offenders and Victims, 2014.
Questions
What are the leading causes of death for children and young people (according to the National Report, Juvenile Offenders and Victims….also check the CDC)?
What kinds of changes to the different social policies (i.e. welfare, minimum wage, education, drug policy) do you think might help ease some of the family stress and suffering disadvantaged youth endure? (for in spite of their problems and sometimes poor decisions, they are likely to have endured more than their fair share of hardship growing up)
How might we use an “intersectional” framework to call attention to social problems associated with gun violence ( a framework that takes into account interpenetrating social factors like race, social class, and gender)?
What role might patriarchal social relations play in fostering the conditions for youth violence as well as victimization?
max whitson says
The leading cause of death for children and young people is accidents and unintentional injury as well as suicide. Different changes to social policies could help ease family stress and suffering from disadvantages such as community activity. The worst thing happening to these families is the idea of neglect and not having the same opportunities as others, but having more things such as: parks, YMCA’s and even after school activities then the communities can come together and even give the kids something to do rather than rely on crime for attention. This also takes the pressure off the families to have to try and provide entertainment and activities for the kids to do when they may not have the ability to do so. I have witnessed numerous crimes by youth committed on social media such as: vandalism, robbery, and simple ones like underage drug and alcohol abuse. Social media exacerbates these actions because others see people doing these actions and are getting likes and attention, so they will perform the same activity to try and get the feeling of attention from those online.
Jaylin Wescott says
According to the article, the leading causes of death among children and young people are homicides, gun violence for instance, suicide, and accidents and unintentional injury. In terms of social media, I believe that social media both exacerbates and helps with the problem of youth violence. Many institutions and programs use social media as a platform to promote safety and guidance among youth as a preventative method from causing trouble. However, this is not always the case, for there is a great deal of violence shown on social media every day. There are always videos on Snapchat or Instagram, for example, that has people destroying wildlife, hurting others, committing illegal acts, and youth who are growing up in this type of society are thinking that it’s okay to follow in the footsteps of the influencers that inspire them. There was an incident this past summer where an all-star basketball player was suspended twice from the NBA for promoting gun use/gun violence on his Instagram live story. Because there are so many children and adolescents who view professional athletes and streamers as inspirational, they often tend to follow in their footsteps even if it leads them down the wrong path. In terms of changes to different social policies, I believe that there should be a stronger push on education and a change to minimum wage. I understand that one of the ideas of minimum wage is to tell people to “go to school and continue to receive more education results in higher pay”, however, not everyone has the same opportunities. Because of this, this problem of the cause of death among children and youth people tends to play on a repeat.
Stephen Dickmann says
I am going to bring up the social media side of youth violence, this is serious because social media does cause a lot of kids to commit suicide lor even go and do bad things like at a school or some public place. Yes, I have seen crimes take place over social media before, whether it was fighting, graffiti, destroying property things like that. For some reason kids think it’s a good idea that when they do something stupid like commit a crime, they think it’s smart to post it on social media. I think the biggest problem we have on social media is bullying of kids and sadly some of those kids getting bullied end up committing suicide. And I think that if a kid is responsible for making another kid do that, I think they should be held accountable for that. I also think that parents need to do a better job of overseeing there kids on social media.
Anijah Gaines says
The leading causes of death for children and young people are suicide, homicide another leading cause of death are accidents or unintentional injury. I think that if there was more focus on education then maybe it could help but not what is taught now there needs to be more classes that teach what really happens in life and how diffrent it is to the fantized media that we see. I get learning about the past but I tend to think a lot of issues get left out there are a lot things i didnt know or understand until I came to collage. I’m not sure what we might use honestly maybe a whole new approach. The media helps with youth violence by only showing what they want we as humans learn from observing. No I have never witnessed a crime on social media when it happen live but I do remember the story of the girl who hit another girl with a shovel because they were supossed to be fighting all I remember were the memes that came out and how people kept picking sides which for two teens fighting it should of never got to that point . the media hyped it up more people doing stupid stuff is uaslly the quickest way to get famous which makes more people want to act out and do stuff to get noticed it just makes youth violence worse.
Lexus Santiago says
Social media I believe can not help with the problem of youth violence, it only influences it. Everyday I am on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok) I see children younger than me reacting to what they see. Their easily influenced and will do just about anything to look “cool” for their peers. It is so easy to get on social media and portray to be someone else or get involved in things they would not usually do. People are bullied for dressing a certain way, talking, or acting different than others. Youth violence starts on social media by exchanging words or going live and arguing which draws people in and at that point children feel like they have to do something or else they will look weak.
Brendan C says
Changes within certain social policies could result in a benefit for fighting youth delinquency. It educational systems had more capital in order to fund more after school activities and school events, kids would have less time to act in delinquency. Kids without direction and with boredom may result to delinquency in order to combat that boredom. Especially for single parents with multiple kids, they have a huge responsibility in raising their kids. They also have a huge responsibility for going to work to provide the money to raise the kids as well. Kids are expensive. From having to feed them, to constantly growing out of clothes, to extracurricular activities. A raise in welfare rates or minimum wage may help a single parent, or even a struggling family fund these types of things. When kids get older and are introduced to social media, they enter a whole new world. Social media can very heavily influence the actions of our youth. One situation might be where a kid from a lower income family, who cannot afford the things he or she views on social media all day, might decide to steal that item. Youth violence can also come in the form of bullying. Cyberbullying has been a gigantic problem within the United States.
Angie Nylander says
The leading cause of death for children and young people according to the Centers for Disease Control is accidents and unintentional injury. Changes to policies can help families who have stress and have disadvantaged youth. This can be done through some policies that implement better education for these children. More education and supervision of the child’s parents or guardians can help prevent accidental deaths from occurring. When children have access to education, they will understand how to think about what not to do so they will not have an accident that causes their death. Also, when children have a strong family life at home, that means that there is more supervision. Children are learning how to navigate life, so they do not always see how their actions could potentially cause them harm. That is why having supervision is so important to the safety and well-being of a child. Along with this, researchers have found that suicide is also a leading cause of death among this age group. Social media can exacerbate the problem of youth violence. I believe that there is a connection between social media and the suicide of the youth. This is because there are many youths that bully other students on social media. The bullying on social media can continue in the school by the same person and then by others after they saw on social media. After repeated bullying, some youths do not think that the situation will ever get resolved so they commit suicide. Social media does not help youth violence, it contributes to it.
Brandon Graham says
After this reading it is not surprised to me that leading cause of injury is suicide and self harm. I think a good way to prevent some of these incidents would be things like raising the minimum wage would give families more time taking care of family and not working long hours just to get pass and not getting able to see their children and things they do. A father or male play a major part father might take the discipline they are given to their child in a way that can physically harm them or even mentally harm them making them fall into victimization. Social media could help by being a outlet for them such as making YouTube videos and other things and could even make money off of things within social media. Instead of doing things such as selling drugs for money or doing things they shouldn’t for easy cash. I have witnessed crimes on social media I would say its common now a days rappers post them selling drugs pointing guns at people in public while in nice cars and going well over the speed limit. Also I know people that sell drugs through social media and post on it just to get it across to more people.
Sam Penascino says
I believe there is a big role patriarchal relations play in fostering the conditions for youth violence as well as victimization. Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power. In most cases, that type of family dynamic is when the father applies most of the discipline. A father might take the discipline they are given to their child in a way that can physically, emotionally, or sexually victimize their child. The child is more easily exposed to greater acts of violence against them. They could even see the father victimize the mother in this type of family. This teaches children that it is right for a father to dominate the mother. That males are entitled to this type of behavior and females should accept this behavior. Or, the child could act out in rage toward their father hurting their mother by killing their father. This patriachial relation can lead to sexual assault, domestic violence and this type of teaching to the next generation. The adolescent constantly sees violence and could believe violence is the answer to other problems they face in their lives. Having this type of “role model” can lead to the youth wanting to act on violence or even cause them to be a victim themselves.
Riley McCallister says
The leading causes of death for children and young people is accidents and unintentional injuries. Suicide is also another leading cause of death for young people. Between 1990-2001 suicide was more prevalent than homicide among white juveniles. The CDC notes that many deaths can be prevented through better education and supervision especially to prevent accidental deaths. Law enforcement and juvenile justice officials are focusing on efforts on reducing the number of homicides and non fatal victimization of juveniles. Other notable statistics include violent crime, neglect, and homicide when referring to young people being victimized.
Martaya Turner says
Children do not have the same educational opportunities. For example, Pittsburgh Public Schools, I went to University Prep and we did not have the same amount of “college ready” work as Pittsburgh Obama. Peers that came from Obama to Prep would agree with my statement, and unfortunately I believe our work was dumb downed so we could pass because of the “No child left behind” slogan. Minimum wage is something that needs to raised, but research shows that raising minimum wage will not change how many children turn into delinquents. Minimum wage is ridiculous for so many reasons: the jobs work you to death, waiting two weeks to get paid, not getting enough hours because of school and so much more. That is why I believe children become delinquents and become victimized, and many children believe they do not need school because they are making money. When I was in 10th grade this boy was talking to the principle and said “I don’t need this shit I get money”; five months later my friend was killed. Every juvenile that is involved with criminal behavior is not because they feel unwanted at home or is being abused, majority of these children who turn into delinquents are not doing it purposely. Yes they are aware the consequences of their actions but some have no choice. It is the only way they can survive by fending for themselves and/or siblings. I have seen so many of my old classmates go from juvenile delinquents to real criminals, serving real time, and I lost so many friends due to being a delinquent and being victimized. I disagree to the statement “Some juveniles cannot be helped because they are too hard headed and not willing to listen to anyone”, because growing up with a delinquent I know that is strictly an opinion and not facts.
Brian Koglin says
It does not surprise me one bit that children that children are both vulnerable to victimization and delinquency. To me these to things kind of run hand to hand with each other in some cases. This article says that children are some juveniles are victims of abuse and neglect by the hands of their own parents or guardians which to me is one of the bigger causes which leads these kids to become juveniles. The kids who are being constantly abused by the ones who are supposed to care for them are going to learn this behavior and so every time that they get angry then they are going to use violence as a way to express it. As for neglect, children who are victims of neglect at home are going to seek attention somewhere else which most of the times causes them to act out and misbehave. I do believe in some cases, that children are more safer at schools then at their own homes or communities, because at least when they are at school, they are in a organized and structured place rather than most of these homes these kids grow up are in is the polar opposite.
Caleb Shively says
This article sadly does not surprise me… Children are so vulnerable to both victimization and delinquency. The article says that children are most often victimized in the own homes or community. I believe these statistics 100 percent. I know so many kids who were beaten, exposed to drugs as kids, had alcoholic family members, and more than I’d like to know that were sexually abused by family members or neighbors. I feel many children are definitely safer at school than at home. As for delinquents, so many of them are victims themselves. As a 22 year old person looking back on my school days, it is sad to think of some of the kids I went to school with. The ones who became delinquents always had severe problems with their home life. My childhood best friend became a car thief, addicted to pills, committed credit card frauds and broke into cars. His mom was on heroin and always entertained multiple men. They had barely and money and his grandparents tried to take care of him. These situations are so sad and make me even more grateful to have had two parents who loved me and guided me correctly.
Taylor S says
Honestly its not all that surprising that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in juveniles, and I’d say its due to a multitude of things. While accidental deaths and injuries are the number one leading cause of death, its also the most encompsassing one as well, and oftentimes these accidents were just that, accidents. Suicide though, is much more sinister in that it has a direct, negative cause. And often times this cause is peer related, something that can be excaberated by social media as if someone becomes ostracized there on top of in real life, then suddenly they don’t have many places to retreat too. And then there’s actual crimes committed, which while lower than suicide and accidents are still very high, and also made worse by social media, which seems to often glorify these type of hardcore gangster mindset, and if its someone influential than all of a sudden all the people following them is going to want to start acting like them.
Gary F. says
In modern society, youth encounter significant more vulnerabilities than were seen in previous generations. Especially in such a technological age where social media platforms have created a “like” or “dislike” form of acceptance or rejection in society, it creates problems regarding socialization and adaption. With accidental injury and suicide being on the rise among youth today, it could be argued that the breakdown in communication and ethical standards in society has led to such a drastic change in social norms that are ultimately victimizing the youth who’ve grown up with it. Parenting can also be attributed to this change in social norms and break-downs of communication. I personally believe parents of the previous generation are having difficulty raising children in a technological boom because of it’s rapid advancement. This advancement is seemingly taking away an individual’s sense of independence and importance. Especially with youth who are at a vulnerable stage in their lives, they have become society’s Guinea pig in regards to technology and are suffering socially and mentally from it.
Billy C says
I find it very disturbing how often kids are so easily neglected for no good reason. A kid deserves to be loved and taken good care of. No kid should be neglected regardless of their skin color or any type of disease they may have. If you can’t take care of a kid and show it love and affection then that person should not be a parent. That leaves us where we are today with juvenile delinquency and how bad it has truly gotten. Some of these statistics are very bad in this web post. Youth between ages 7 and 17 are about as likely to be victims of suicide as they are to be victims of homicide. What that tells me is that kids are so terrified of their household and the situation they are in that they feel they only recourse is to kill themselves to escape from the situation. These kids are being neglected and not even loved. When it comes to crime, you see these kids also commit crimes as a recourse for their anger and the terrible life they live. What kind of life is it when a kid can’t wait to leave for school to get out of the house and the kid wants to stay as long as possible at school so they don’t have to go home. That is as bad as it gets. This is a very important reason why we see so much juvenile delinquency in todays world. If people started to care more about the future of this country we have to loom to the youth and raise them right and give them the best opportunity to succeed and not keep pushing them down.
Lilli J says
I believe social media influences youth delinquency and criminal activity. Now a days, a lot of kids want to be “gangsters,” and show everyone that they are tough. Some youth parade their drugs on social media, flashing guns, money, and other paraphernalia. They see rappers and famous people involved in risky behaviors as well as seeing how much money and fame they have, so youth mimic that behavior. They don’t realize that it is different for them, unlike the rappers, they do not have the resources to get themselves out of that mess or trouble. Those kids end up either dead or in jail trying to care for their kids’ family or “profile.” I have personally witnessed, with my own eyes, violence on social media—fights that involved multiple people I know—and the videos go viral locally. I have witnessed people trying to sell their drugs on social media as well as other illegal activities on Facebook. These kids see these people and want to be like them because they either have a good profile on the street, have money, or that that the person would be someone you do not want to mess with. So, they mimic the risky behavior or criminal activity and post it on social media to demonstrate their bravado or just so it will go viral. A pertinent example was the kid from Jeannette who shot his friend in the head on Snapchat. They were playing with guns and he shot him right in the head and the other kid POSTED it right on his story for everyone to see.
Michael Vogel says
I don’t find it very surprising at all that the leading causes of death for children are accidental injuries and suicide. Children deal with a lot of stress either at school, at their work place, or even at home. Victimization is a very common occurrence for teenagers. It is a tough stage in their life and they seem to get targeted a lot. The struggle for teens is how to deal with. One must stay positive and do everything they possibly can to block out the negativity that is dealt to them. Avoiding troublesome situations and staying safe is a very hard task but it will keep you out of trouble. In the past, I believe that being victimized was a somewhat easier to stay away from compared to today. With almost every teenager using social media daily, it serves as an easy gateway to bullying someone online instead of face to face. When someone is cyber bullied it is open to the public and everyone can see it. There really is no avoiding it. I think that schools should regulate the use of electronics to reduce victimization among students.
Codey Hamilton says
According the National Report the leading cause of death for children and youth people is accidental and or unintentional injury, but also suicide. I believe it was summer of 2018, when a young student in elementary school was shot and killed in an accidental shooting by their older brother in my hometown. It was breaking news for a few days. The mother was actually just arrested for a drug charge. the changes of social policies to help ease stress are making welfare available to those off actually need it for medical reasons and that can prove they need it. Minimum wage should stay where it so that no prices get jacked up to sky high rates and education should focus on the child more than the problem. Gun violence is an issue for youth. Some grow up in communities where someone is shot everyday and every night. There is really no way to fix that issue for the child due to many reasons. I hate social media. Though I do use it, I hate it. Media ruins almost everything and makes things worse. Bullying on social media is always on the rise due to the new updates that allow you to see and hear people when they do not know. I have witnessed many forms of crimes occur while online and have gone to funerals of a young man who committed suicide because of bullying.
ColemanTL says
Leading cause of death for children and young people are accidents and unintentional deaths. Another cause of death between children and young people is suicide. The changes to social policies that might help ease some of the family stress and suffering disadvantages are effective school programs. If we had programs in schools and out of school specifically designed to deter juveniles from committing a delinquent act before being exposed to the juvenile system. It may relieve a lot of stress and disadvantages. Another idea is to have mandatory and free counseling. Sometimes children feel comfortable talking to other people besides their parents about their problems. They also may go for days without speaking to anyone about that problem building up animosity Inside their self. Having that free mandatory counseling may relieve stress and suffering disadvantages from young people. Metaphorically speaking Social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are already uncontrollable fires that enhances with every like, post and share that young people put up. Social media from personal experience caused a lot of unnecessary violence situation when I was in high school. For example their was a girl in my class who gotten sexually assaulted On her way from basketball practice one night. Some students made jokes about it in school and on social media. 2 days later she ended up committing suicide.
Michael Kemple says
Youth delinquency and victimization are some things that people really don’t think about too much. Children and youth are victims of violent crimes, theft, abuse, and neglect. All of these have things have one thing in common which is to blame, parents and or caregivers. These minors lack the proper shelter, clothing, food, living conditions, and medical needs. Homicide receives most of the attention within news and media, but deaths by homicide are not the most common cause of deaths of children. Accidents and unintentional injury are actually the leading cause of death for children. Suicide is also a leading cause of death of young people. According to Snyder and Sickmund, they reported that between 1990 and 2001, suicide was more prevalent than homicide among white juveniles. The news channels are always mixing up the true view of juvenile crime, giving a very one-sided, inaccurate view to the public. I believe that social media also plays a big role on the situation too. Kids now a days are addicted to social media and can’t live without it. Not to mention, they believe anything they see on social media, and go so caught up into social networking, that they really don’t even really see any other side. People post what ever they want on social media, not thinking about the consequences or the fact that they don’t know who’s on the other end of their post, taking it the wrong way and being upset about it.
Nathan Bostedo says
Parents neglecting their children is one of the causes of why they are delinquents and becoming victimized. Children are being influenced both negatively and positively by their surroundings and who they interact with. Children and youth are at greater risk of victimization in their own homes and in other parts of their communities. It is cray to think that children cannot even be safe in their own homes and communities. Juveniles are getting involved in criminal behavior because they do not feel wanted at home or are getting abused at home so they are taking it out on something else. Violent crimes committed by juveniles less than eighteen years of age have been trending down, though they are increasing in some places in recent years. According to some research done by Chance, “a growing number of juveniles are involved in school violence, gang-related violence, and assaults with weapons resulting in fatalities and serious injuries.” Juveniles are becoming involved in school and gang-related violence because they simply just do not care and are negatively influenced about what is happening around them. There are programs out there that can help these delinquents with the problems they are facing. They are called intervention programs and are used as a less costly means of rehabilitation or reformation of juvenile offenders. In my experiences, I learned that juveniles who have parents who do not care are more likely to have school problems and therefore have less friends and begin to get involved in violent behavior. Some juveniles cannot be helped because they are too hard headed and not willing to listen to anyone. There is hope for some juvenile offenders but they need to be determined to change before they get into serious trouble when they become adults.
Sydney Fritchman says
The leading causes of death for children and young people according to the National Report, Juvenile Offenders and Victims, suicide is the leading cause of death. In-between the years of 1990 and 2001, suicide was more usual in white juveniles. To try and prevent this from happening, better education and more supervision from mental health services could help. I feel that yes more supervision and better education could help but at the same time if there is a youth who has a mental health issue and does not talk to anyone about the issue or how they are feeling, then there needs to be a way in trying to get the youth to admit their feelings and more open to talking about their problem. I also feel like parenting can be part of the solution. If the parents are there more for their children and always checking up on them and being there as parents more, then this can be part of the solution.
alyssa says
Abuse and neglect in the youth can be from the parent or the caregiver. To describe this abuse it can be said that a person who doesn’t provide food, shelter, water, safe living situations and medical needs. This is verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Child victimization can be connected to delinquency and criminal behavior. The leading cause in death in youths are accidents and unintentional injury while homicide ranks fourth. Suicide is also a cause in death for youths. These deaths however can be more prevented through education and supervision.
Maddison Lamont says
The leading death in juveniles is suicide, net is poisoning, the poison control board believes more education about poison could dilute the numbers of the poison, killing problem.
As for the social problems. I think poor education is a social problem. I’ve learned that in areas where poverty and welfare are more prominent the education system is failing. The less resources that these schools have the less education these kids have. I feel like if we can make a huge impact in these kids lives by educating them better, creating more resources for them. Some students their safe heaven is school, because their home life isn’t ok.
their are some families who are stuck in this loop of crime, welfare, and poor education and its stressful to see their kids going in that direction, better education can ease the stress of that. the better kids do in school the more likely they are to be exposed to the idea of college, and maybe get out if thie endless loop.
Xavier Espada says
The leading cause of death for children and also for youth is accidental and unintentional injury. this usually goes back to bad parenting and lack of attention to their child. Accidents do happen and thats understandable, but if it gets to a point that your child is constantly getting injured, then thats a problem. Many times what does happen is that parents raise their kids how they where raised and thats not always the correct way. Since no one corrects their parenting skills they continue to raise their kids in that manner. Usually what happens then is that it goes on for generations and nothing ever changes. This most commonly leads to delinquency because since their parents don’t pay attention to them they go find other influences elsewhere that will pay attention to them, that usually leads to drugs violence and so on because those are the people that usually pay attention to them (the streets). On the other hand they are situations where the kid takes from his bad experiences and makes it into a positive and prospers with his/her life and make something out of their selves instead of getting in trouble and later on incarcerated. Sadly this is seen less often. In my eyes this has nothing to do with social class or where you come from at the end of the day this is all about the support system from parents and how much the parent wants to get involved in their child’s life , because it plays a huge part in a child’s development.
Monica Pinel says
In my opinion, social media worsens and helps with the problem of youth violence. There are youths that if they see youth violence on social media they would feel bad for the person who is going through what they are going because they know that there is better. But at the same time there are youths that if they see youth violence on social media they would see it as cool and want to do it so they could get more attention through the media and then think that people would know who they are. These days, I think that it is much easier to see crime on social media especially through SnapChat, Twitter and Instagram because people post things without thinking twice. There are people who see the crime committed and will “retweet” it or “like” it and others would report it because it is or was not the right thing to do, and once reported it can come off social media so people cannot see it anymore.
Dante Felice says
Q: What kinds of changes to the different social policies (i.e. welfare, minimum wage, education, drug policy) do you think might help ease some of the family stress and suffering disadvantaged youth endure? (for in spite of their problems and sometimes poor decisions, they are likely to have endured more than their fair share of hardship growing up)
Welfare, minimum wage, education, and the current drug policy are all systems we use to help aid the community and the American people. However, many people believe that this system is flawed or helps disproportionately. From the reading, we can see that many forms of child victimization come from child abuse. Whether it is physical or mental abuse, child neglect ultimately contributes to juvenile delinquency and victimization of law.
With that being said, what if we took a new approach to the way we used our spending on things such as welfare, the minimum wage, and education? Would things be different? For example, in Friday’s class we went over the article from the school in Baltimore not providing their students with heat. In an environment like that who would even want to continue going to school? This is a fine example of youth victimization and can lead to future troubles. It isn’t a theory written in stone but you could see where it connects to delinquency. A child in need of financial help but receiving none will find other ways to obtain it. Enter: Drug Policy.
It is common for drug dealers (especially in gangs) to use younger kids to be the middle man in their drug operations. If one of these kids in Baltimore had the opportunity, do you think they’d take it? Could you really blame them? A juvenile with access to fast cash is very concerning to society. From the time they are kids looking for help until they are old enough to look out for themselves, a gang may be the best option for them. This is the correlation in which we need to be worried about. In order to reduce situations like this from arising, we need to rethink the way we go about our welfare, our education system, our wages, and our drug policy.