This is a "potato" view of the studied factors that developmental psychologists and criminologists believe influence an individual's risk of juvenile delinquency. For this post, talk about which of the above you think are the most changeable/controllable: the factors that you think we should focus our attention, time and resources. Lastly, identify one or more factors that you think we should not focus on, not because they are unimportant, but because we may not be able to change or ameliorate them.
I think that there's a lot to consider when looking at each factor. I believe that genetically you are prone to different qualities that you're unable to change. In my own opinion, I believe that the factor that is most "changeable" is the environment. If you're hanging out with children or peers that are a bad influence, then it's best to get out. You can change the people you hangout with and that will surely help you develop yourself. Being able to step back and look at your environment and start weeding out the people who are having a negative influence, is life changing. It will help you figure out who you are and how you can better yourself. I grew up with very authoritative parents. They were supportive, warm, highly accepting, and involved. They were always there for me when I needed them the most, but sometimes I would be incredibly difficult to handle. They did everything in their power to give me the best chances in life, but children can have mental or juvenile delinquency issues even with supportive parents and surprisingly, more than you think. Genetics are unchangeable. It's like that saying " you get what you get". This also applies to the family you are born into as well. The environment that you create for yourself with either set you up for failure or it's set you up for success. It's all in the hands of the person and their journey. The hardest part is taking that step back and making the choice to change your environment.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I really like how you explained that the environment is the easiest to change.I never thought about looking at it that way. I agree with you that we are genetically prone to certain qualities. This was a great post!
DeleteI think that basically the entirety of the parent/family factors grouping and the peer factors group are the ones that are the easiest to actively change. The way I think it's best to approach changing these is mostly uniform, generally educating parents and other caregivers more, and trying to get some policy in place without being too invasive. The factor that I think we should focus on the least is probably having a low SES. All of the "fixes" for basically all of the other factors would also decrease the impact of having low SES, fixing group norms would easily lead to low SES not being viewed negatively as it generally is, helping a child with low sustained attention could lessen the impact of having a low SES with government funded medical care if the best solution for that particular child was medication. SES is something that is very difficult but not impossible for most people to change, but not as difficult as things like changing group norms, but still requires much more work on an individual level, which is why I think it's less effective to focus too much on that specifically.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you in some of your statements, especially peer factors being easier to influence. However, educating parents and caregivers would be quite challenging because it doesn't cater to families with a low SES. This is because parents who do fall into a low SES probably wouldn't be attending these kinds of classes or have the time to work through it.
DeleteI agree with you that the peer factors would be the easiest to change. however, i do no think it would be easy to change family factors. if a child is being abused or has a delinquent sibling is not something that is easy to determine or fix. a child cant just be taken away from a family because they have a delinquent sibling. and if parents are abusing a child its not always easy to confirm abuse. and if it is inconsistent discipline that is setting the child up for delinquency, it is almost impossible for someone other than the parent to change that.
DeleteFrom the potato view of factors that developmental psychologists and criminologists believe to be an influence on juvenile delinquency I think that the one that should be focused on the most is the parental/family factors. To me this is the most influential on an individual's likelihood to partake in delinquent activity because children are around their parents from the very beginning and as we have seen in this class parents and parenting styles have a huge influence on children. We have learned that if there is a lack of parental monitoring then the children are more likely to partake in delinquent activities such as substance abuse or alcohol abuse. We have also learned that the discipline that children grow up with also has a direct influence on how they act. For instance if at a young age parents reward whining and temper tantrums then that child will grow up to have a poor attitude and will expect to get what they want. I think that this factor may not be the most changeable but I do think that it is the most important. I think that it may be hard to change because parenting is a very sensitive topic for parents, and most parents don’t want to hear what they are doing wrong and how that will influence their child's future (good or bad). On the other hand the factor that I think has the least influence is the environmental factors. I believe this to be the one that we have to focus on the least because to me individual factors and peer pressures have a greater influence. For one, peer pressure is always very prevalent, no matter the age or the social stature that an individual is at. At the end of the day no one wants to have a rejected status, which we all fear will happen if we don’t give into the peer pressures to partake in activities that may not always be the most safe or correct. I also think that individual factors have a greater influence because for those who have low self-control or low self-esteem it is easier to turn to substance or alcohol abuses to avoid dealing with their personal problems.
ReplyDeleteA few aspects of the “potato” model in which we should especially focus on and put resources into are the peer facts and environmental factors. These are so important for many reasons. Peer factors, unlike personal or familial factors are something in which schools and administration have actual control over. Peer rejected status and deviant friend groups can in some ways be infiltrated by teachers or authorities. This can be done either by alerting the child's parents, getting them involved with extracurricular activities, or provide new opportunities that encourage different social environments etc. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to control living environments at home or control individual factors because it is not something authorities or administration has any legal jurisdiction over in most cases. Furthermore, environmental factors can in some ways be manipulated through resources to uplift kids out of their SES status or group norms. For example, scholarship opportunities and governmental aid or public facilities geared towards families with low incomes can in ways help lift newer generations out of such trends.
ReplyDeleteJuvenile delinquency can be cause by many things. Some are more important than others to look at and evaluate and try to change/control. Family dynamics should be something huge to look at in my opinion. This is a situation that can't necessarily be controlled, but can be changed by educating families and parents on how to have happy and healthy kids and make the best home environment for all members of the family. One factor that goes into juvenile delinquency that I don't thing can be controlled is societal norms. Although they might not be what would be ideal for avoiding bad kids, we cannot control what happens in society.
ReplyDeleteAli,
DeleteI agree with what you're saying about changing society. There is no easy way to change social norms. What family dynamics would you pick to discuss first if you were asked?
When it comes to juvenile delinquency, there can be a lot of factors that play into it. I think that the most changeable factors would be the physical abuse,hostile siblings, and delinquent siblings. I think these are the most changeable because if the child is in an unsafe environment, they can possibly be moved into a safer one. Although this could be challenging to detect sometimes. Some of the things that really can't change is the environmental things. We can't change group norms no matter how hard we try. Since we can't control it then we can't focus all of our time studying that reason. I believe that we need to focus on family issues before anything else because that seems to be a factor in most juvenile delinquent cases.
ReplyDeleteGreat post,
DeleteI must disagree with your thinking of the physical abuse, if that was going on inside the family for a child's whole life they will grow up believe that is normal. The family could go to great extents to prevent others finding out and that would make things almost impossible to change. The child's peer group could be the harder one to fix in my opinion. Once a child is accepted into a certain clique it may be impossible to change, there is no control who a child chooses as friends.Parents can raise a well behaved, get good grade, sport interests, and a good Christian child. That child can easily get caught in a peer group that may not be the most beneficial.
When exploring all of the factors it is important to decide which can be changed, which must stay the same, and how they can help will influence if a child becomes a juvenile delinquent or not. I think that the factor that if changed could have a major impact on steering the child away from becoming a juvenile delinquent is the environment factor as well as the peer factor. As they grow, children have the ability to change their friend groups and how their friends impact them as well as their likes and dislikes. In addition to this, children also begin to gain control over their environment. They are able to move themselves around to places that may stimulate things that interest them, make them happy, and keep them out of trouble. It is best for children to leave bad situations and surround themselves with better friends in a better environment.
ReplyDeleteWhile peers and the environment may be a changeable factor, the factor that would be hard to change would be the family factor. All families function and work differently and no one gets the chance to choose their family or how their family functions. A families specific parenting style may not work for their child, and in turn, this can make the living and family situation difficult. The way children and their families interact and the activities they do together can also influence how a child develops and grows and if they may become a juvenile delinquent. Families are also a big influence on children, if their older siblings or parents are not bad influences and bringing bad things into the home, the children may also grow to do this because they think it is acceptable. It is impossible for young children to control their living and family situations.
Juvenile delinquency cannot be blamed on one factor, there are many reasons why adolescents are looked at as delinquents. Parents and family can easily be the factor just as easily as peer groups, individual self, and environmental. In my opinion peer factor can be the most harmful to a child. Parents can raise a well behaved, get good grade, sport interests, and a good Christian child. That child can easily get caught in a peer group that may not be the most beneficial. Their peer's habits then may turn into their habits. Once a child is accepted into a certain clique it may be impossible to change, there is no control who a child chooses as friends.
ReplyDeleteWhile environmental and individual self-factors could be altered and adjusted through time, the parental factors may not. Some parents can be too demanding and must have a need to know everything basis. That may push a child to hide their true actions and desires.
The way I see things, it is going to be easier to change the way a child is raised and treated than it is going to be to change SES or group norms.
ReplyDeleteThings like physical abuse can be easily stopped if the parent or guardian would simply stop hitting their child. Another thing to change would be inconsistent discipline. If one parent is disciplining a child one way and the other parent is doing it another way, or if there is discipline for an action one time and not the next, the child is not going to learn. If they don't learn, then they will keep making those bad decisions.
While those may be the simpler things to change, things like group norms and low SES aren't as easy to fix. Families in a low SES don't live that way by choice. Most of the time it is because the caregiver cannot get a higher paying job because they lack the education. The lack of education is usually due to the low income. It is a tough circle to break. Group norms are just hard to break in general. Some norms just take time to change.
I completely agree with your opinion that you can't fix SES or group norms. They have always been there and I feel like they always will be. While it may also be complicated to fix the parent/family factor, I think starting from the beginning is much easier than jumping in the middle. Great post Maggie!
DeleteSome of the aspects of the "potato" model are very important to focus on, but there are some that aren't. It is most important to focus on parent/ family and individual factors. In my opinion, parent/family factors are typically the root of juvenile delinquency. Children pick up habits, attitudes, and behaviors from their families from the day they are born. It is difficult to fix this factor but if all the effort available was put in, a great change could happen. Individual factors are also vital because this is the juvenile delinquent themselves. If they were given attention and help they might not go down that path. Overall starting from the roots is the best way to irradiate the problem.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I feel like the environmental and peer factors are the least controllable. There is no way to completely change social norms and SES. You won't irradiate kids rejecting one another or deviant friend groups. If more attention is put into the factors that are potentially controllable, it can impact the other factors like environmental. Essentially they all impact juvenile delinquency, but nothing can be helped if there is focus on so many factors.
Katy, you brought up so many things that I never even thought about when it comes to family influences. You are completely correct about how it all starts from the root.
DeleteWhen analyzing the factors that lead to juvenile delinquency, it is clear they are all important. I think the factor that would be most changeable is the peer factors. If teachers notice the start of bad behavior or a troublesome group forming they could inform parents of these observations. If school counselors spent time taking to each student they could help guide students to make good choices and steer away from peers that are not a good influence. The factor that i think should not be focused on is the environmental. factors like SES will always be something that separates people by class and it is not easily changed.
ReplyDeleteI like that you choose to do peer factors because now I can see those factors through another's eyes. I thought all the points you brought up were very accurate and well thought out.
DeleteI believe that parent/family factors are the most changeable and controllable of any section on the diagram. We as parents need to be aware of what our kiddos are up to and who they hang out with. We need to be involved in their lives. We need to strive to be consistent disciplinarians and hand out appropriate punishments when necessary, which at times can be extremely difficult. It’s a delicate balance between setting boundaries and letting them explore who they are and experience life. Focus needs to be on raising confident individuals that know boundaries. Providing structured and caring homes not only helps your children, but might be positive influences on other children as well. Environmental factors such as group norms are more difficult to control, but with a good foundation, children will be better equipped to deal with situations as they come up.
ReplyDeleteAmy, great post! I hit on many mutual points. Primarily the parent family factors. Parents should be aware of their child's behaviors and enforce disciplinary acts when necessary but avoid discipline that is borderline physical abuse. I liked how you mentioned allowing children to explore their life experiences but also being mindful of setting boundaries. I think this is greatly influential on a child's overall development and behavior.
DeleteAmy, I liked the post, but I disagree with you that parent/family factors are the easiest to change. I believe a parent who is neglectful and abusive are arrogant and unlikely to change their parenting methods. Meaning these children are stuck with their parents unless protective services step in which doesn’t happen as often as it should.
DeleteI believe that parent/family is the most changeable and controllable of all the sections on the diagram. Parents need to monitor their children and keep an eye on them as they grow up. They make new friends, learn lots of new things, and they are starting to figure out who they are. Parents should be involved in all of it, all the growing up and the changing. Parents also need to realize with watching their child grow, they need to give them enough space to grow without being confined. They need to be able to explore and find out what they like and don't like on their own terms. One thing I truly believe parents need to do is punish their child when they are in the work. They will never learn if they are never punished appropriately. They should also let their child know when they are being good and doing the right things. If children experience these things as a child, more likely they will do the same with their children.
ReplyDeleteThe thing we don't need to focus on is the environmental factors because those can't be controlled as easily as the others. This things are the norms of today and it would take a lot to change those and still, many probably won't change because it's easier to do what has been done.
The factors that I believe would be the most controllable/changeable in regards to juvenile delinquency prevention would be parent/family factors. Adjustments and improvements to the home environment I feel would greatly reduce the numbers of juvenile delinquency. More specifically, we should focus our attention to parental monitoring. Parents should be more mindful to their child's behavior and intervene when necessary. This then involves providing appropriate and consistent discipline. However, parents should avoid discipline that is borderline physical abuse. Also, it has been discovered that adolescents that do not eat dinner with their family five or more days a week are statistically higher to experience juvenile delinquency behaviors such drinking and drug use. Therefore, providing a safe and secure home environment is the most influential on a child's development.
ReplyDeleteFinally, the factors I think we should spend less time focusing on because they are completely out of our control is peer factors. All of the factors from the model are crucial in a child's behavior, but unfortunately we can not manipulate them all.
The factors that I believe are most changeable and or controllable are the parental and family factors. In regards to juvenile delinquency this would be the most realistic factor to focus on. I believe this because parents can monitor the child and help guide behaviors. If the parent is supportive and there for the child in a way where the child feels safe I believe this helps immensely. Providing a safe and comforting home environment for the child will lessen the chance of juvenile delinquency. Lastly, the factors I believe we should spend less time on is peer factors. This is because we can not force someone into a peer group or others into accepting them. Although I strongly believe that just because some of the factors in this model are unrealistic to change, doesn't mean they should just be forgotten. All the factors are very important especially if in the end it helps a persons future.
ReplyDeleteBased off the “potato” view I believe that the factor that is the easiest to change would be that of individual factors. I choose this factor because you can’t always control your environment or family, but you do have some say yourself. With the right help someone with low self-control, low intelligence and lacking in attention span can be helped through these issues much easier than the other factors. Psychologists and criminologists should focus their resources on the factor by helping and educating these individuals that fit the build. I think the most uncontrollable factor would have to be the parent and family. These people don’t get to choose who their family and unless they come forward about their family life, they are stuck with them. poor family life can be hard for a psychologist to identify because a parent or sibling may only act abusive or neglectful in private making it much harder to change. I don’t think that parents/family factors are not important but, in my opinion, it seems like it would be the hardest to change.
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