RISK FACTORS

Risk Factors of Youth Offending



Risk Factors of Youth Offending

Introduction

The question as to why some children get involved in various criminal activities and some respect the law and try and stay out of trouble is ages old (Utting et al, 1993), and apart from what has been derived from popular opinion, has not been simple to understand. The only source of reliable and consistent information has been extracted from potential longitudinal reports and studies where a follow up is conducted of same age children from the time of their birth to their early years, then further to adolescence and then adulthood (John Muncie, 2004).

Empirical data is derived from various stages of the individual's development, making it easier to look into their life and understand what affected recent outcomes and how early the different aspects of their life had started to relate to present day. This removes the chances of biased answers during surveys where children, teenagers or their parents are asked questions and to recall their earlier lives. It also enables one to pick up on different factors of a child's life that influence habits for example if the parents supervised their children poorly they may grow up to be anti social.

RISK FACTORS

When evaluating the risk factors for those who are young offenders, the main goal is to reduce criminal activity. Factors when it has to do with children and youngsters, to an extent are influenced by prevention programs that are based within the community. These factors are also referred to gender based, genetic influences and mediators who are biological. Unchanging factors during the child's growing age, can still contribute to the identities of those at risk. Preventive measures include addressing the risk factors and this prevents negative results, results that are closely interrelated such as alcohol consumption leading to anti social behaviour, this wide spread approach offers possibilities of reducing criminality in the long term.

Risk factors for crime by the young have been categorized, and the results are four factors that influence a child's delinquency; Family; School; Community; and Individual as well as Peer group related factors.

Family Risk Factors

Factors included in this domain are poor parental supervision, dysfunctional family life, parents are divorced, teenager has a child, Psychopathology of parents, history of child abuse or family violence, family history of crime, parents who disregard anti social and crime related behaviour, maltreatment, housing is poor due to low income or when the individual is from a large family. These risk factors are noticed at the prenatal stages, and then go on influencing the child through childhood and then adolescence.

Risk factors in the school

Children, who are low achievers from the beginning of their school life generally have a lack of interest and commitment to school leading to absences, they also have a tendency for aggressive behaviour such as bullying, and face school incompetence which tends to lead a child in being exposed to crime related behaviour and end up getting ...