According to many statistics there is a strong correlation between juvenile delinquents and the characterics of a deviant with regards to the social control theory. For example, in social control theory the idea of strong family relationships during the growth of an adolcescent has a very important effect on a child's behavior. During a study in Rochester, Pittsburgh and Denver, the correlation between family transitions and delinquency and drug use was studied. In Rochester, the percentage of delinquency rose with the number of major family transitions with an increase of 30% from a juvenile with no family transistions and a juvenile with five major transitions. Likewise, the drug use rose 30% in people with five major transitions.The minors in Denver showed similar results with an increase of 25% in delinquency and drug use as the number in family transitions changed from 0 to 5. The results in Pittsburgh are less staggering but still show an overall increase in youths with no transitions and those with one or more.
chart of study for Denver, Pittsburgh and Rochester 1.1
Another indicator of juvenile delinquency is poor school performence. Studies show a large number of school dropouts engage in criminal activity. It can be said that many high school dropouts have problems with forming bonds and ties to the ideals of society. Studies show that high school dropouts are
1. less likely to attend colleges and universities
2. less likely to obtain vocational training
3. less likely to live independently in the community
This lack of education and perhaps job performence if very significant since these are things which have a tendency to tie one to society and thus decrease their liklihood of engaging an deviant behavior. High School dropouts make up an incredible number of incarcerated offenders. In fact, according to the office of Juvinile Justice and Delinquency Prevention they make up
1. 75% of youth involved tn the juvinile court system
2. 66% of adult inmates
3. 80% of all federal prisoners
Research has for a long time studied the relationship between general school problems (poor academic performance, truancy, dropping out) and delinquency rates. The studies seem to show some correlation between the two.
3.2 Co-occurrence of Persistant Serious Delinquency and Persistant School Problems
There is also a pretty strong correlation between delinquency and drug use. A study in Denver, Pittsburgh and Rochester show that overall 38% percent of serious male delinquents were also drug users. In Denver and Rochester, more than 50% of drug users were delinquents. In Pittsburgh 70% of drug users were serious delinquents. Femal delinquents show an even higher rate of drug use among delinquets. The Denver study showed that 45.6% of femle delinquents were drug users. Rochester showed that 48.1% of female delinquents were drug users.
One way to study how statistics back the ideas of the social control theory is to study the statistics of the juvinil population. However, another way would be to study the effectiveness of a program intended to help modify a minor's bad behavior into a child that exhibits characteristics of a more normal child. The FAST program is set up to help children that exhibit serious conduct, andxiety and attention span problems in a group setting. The study show that with effective role models and proper instruction programs can have long lasting effects towards the improvement of deviant behavior. Programs like this might help a young child develop in a way in which family, friends, and goals become so important to them that bad behavior becomes a thing of the past.
Hirschi's social control theory calls for policy implications that would strengthen a person's bond to society and thus give them strong reasons not to break the law. They would decide not to break the law because they either have to much to lose, little time to break the law because of legitimate involvement in non-criminal activity, because they feel bonded with other members of society and are too attached to victimize those people. or perhaps because they believe in and respect the laws which prohibit them from breaking the laws. All of these ideas are the elements of social bonding which Hirschi believes to prevent people from engaging in criminal behavior.
One of Hirschi's bonding elements is attachment or the idea of how strong one is tied to the needs and interests of others. Most criminologists make the association that attachment relies on the role of the family including the family factors that may or may not leave a person with the sense of attachment. Programs that would encourage a person's sense of attachment would have to help families become closer and form environments healthy to a growing child. Perhaps family counseling services would assist in addressing the problems that sometimes exist within certain family environments. For example some programs might address problems such as child abuse or drug use that occurs within a dysfunctional family. Perhaps free parenting classes as well as drug rehabilitation programs are the answer to this problem. Society should also find ways to encourage parents to stay together thereby eliminating the problems that may arise in single family homes where a mother or father figure are not present. Programs that would encourage a more normal functioning family might help with delinquency among our youth.
The next variable Hirschi identifies as important to the formation of bonding between a person and society is commitment. The large majority of criminologist tend to associate commitment with peer relationships. It is thought that children that have trouble developing a significant amount of normal peer relationships tend to have trouble identifying with others and will often develop significant disciplinary problems. Programs to help these youths would have to find away to help the child learn how to develop normal relationships with their peers. Perhaps at a young age children should be involved in things like summer camps that would allow them to have enjoyable experiences in a large peer group setting.
Another important factor outlined in Kirsch's theory is involvement. Involvement pertains to the amount of time spent with regards to school and recreational activities. According to Hirsute, someone who is deeply involved with school or recreational activities develop a mind set were their goals become so important to them they are afraid to become involved in criminal activity out of fear that their goals would be hindered. Parents and teachers should make strong attempts to stress the importance a strong education on a young child. Helping a struggling student develop academic strengths and to work on their academic weaknesses could help a children feel like they have the ability to meet the high standards that have been set for them. After school tutoring as well as fun activities that might make school more fun for children might be the answer. Parents and schools should also set up reward systems for students who meet certain academic goals they are more than capable of realizing. Perhaps if children are given incentives, they will be more likely to become academically involved in school. Recreationally parents and teachers should encourage kids to become involved in after school sports activities. Even if a child is not particularly athletically gifted coaches should be able to find a place on the team for any child. Sports can help a child develop admirable qualities like teamwork and sportsmanship and may also give them an outlet to display their frustrations.
The final element important to the development of a strong social bond is Belief. A strong belief in society can be developed by making a child understand the importance of morals and values to the structure of a good society. This can be achieved from good parenting as well as good teaching. Children need to understand that there are certain rules and values they need to live by in order to become a healthy adult. Parents must teach children what these rules are and deliver the consequences if the rules are broken. Children must be disciplined to the point were they come to the realization that the long term consequences outweigh the short term benefits of breaking the rules. this means stricter parenting and strong consequences from educators to students who decide not to follow the rules.
Hirschi's social control theory has been a widely studied and widely accepted theory in the field of criminology. In fact, it is the official theory accepted by the Department of Justice. While Hirschi does have many critics is must be said that his theory may be one of the most important theories in the field of criminology.