Assignment Scenario
You work in the intake/assessment unit of a juvenile detention center for violent juvenile offenders. A juvenile, age 15, is brought into the institution who has been adjudicated delinquent for robbery, burglaries, auto theft and assaults. During the intake process, you observe/obtain the following information:
The juvenile is a muscular youth who has an aggressive personality.
The juvenile reports that his mother is currently in prison for using and dealing drugs and has been a substance abuser for over the past 15 years.
The juvenile states that prior to his commitment to the detention center and within the past 6 months, he has been involved in several fights with strangers and acquaintances and has set 2 cats on fire by pouring gasoline on them.
The juvenile says that his friends also commit delinquent acts and approve of his behavior and actions.
The juvenile reports not attending school on a regular basis since the age of 12 and that his diet primarily consists of “junk food” and foods that are high in sugar.
During the assessment, the juvenile is inattentive and has a documented prior history of impulsivity. He also is not anxious or concerned about being in detention.
The juvenile does not feel remorse for his actions and argues that he committed these acts because it satisfied his needs for money, so that he could get his license, then buy a car, drop out of school, and get a job. In addition, he states that committing juvenile acts are not really wrong unless you get caught.
Assignment Questions
Apply the theories of causation used to explain delinquency to answer the following questions.
Identify the biological & biosocial factors that could be used to explain this juvenile’s delinquent acts.
Consider evidence in support of the biological school of delinquency causation.
Discuss some of the attempts to demonstrate a relationship between biology and delinquent behavior.
Identify the components of the classical and choice theories that serve to explain delinquency in this case.
Discuss some of the reasons why the classical approach to the control of delinquency has been, and continues to be ineffective.
What contemporary theories are extensions of the classical approach?
What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the psychological approach to understanding and controlling delinquency?
How does it apply to this scenario?
What is your overall assessment of the sociological approach to understanding and controlling delinquency?
Identify the facts noted in this scenario and relate them to context of the social theories.
