Juvenile Delinquency: What Makes Teens Commit Crimes?

Juvenile delinquency is the act of committing a crime at a very young age. A juvenile delinquent is a young person, particularly a teenager under the age of eighteen, who breaks a state or federal law by committing a crime.

Teens are still immatures and do not think like adults, therefore they are prone to making mistakes or committing crimes that are not fully in their control. Teens can break laws for various reasons, and there are a number of factors that can lead them to juvenile delinquency.

In this article, we have listed down some of the reasons why teens become juvenile delinquents and what causes them to commit crimes. Let’s have a look at them:

Broken Family

A teen adopts moral and ethical values from his parents and other family members. It goes without saying that family plays a vital role in shaping a teen’s behavior and grooming his/her personality. However, teens become violent or show signs of juvenile delinquency only when they’re facing disturbance at home. Broken or disturbed families with bad relations can cause teens to go astray and become violent. Single parents are often busy working, therefore they’re not able to spend quality time with their children. This causes teens to seek attention from others, especially their peers.

Lack of Communication

Often lack of discourse in the family can lead children to find solace other than homes. When they are not having any communication with their parents or family members at home, they may lose unity, trust, and understanding, which can eventually lower their self-esteem or self-confidence. Once they feel they’re losing their individuality, they tend to do things they shouldn’t do to boost their self-confidence. They blindly follow their peers and adopt their unhealthy lifestyles. They shoplift and consume drugs to look cool in the eyes of their peers.

Lack of Finances

Young or adult, may lead to a wrong path to improve their financial conditions. Teens become juvenile delinquents due to lack of finances. When they experience poor economic conditions, they start engaging in the wrong activities. They may start selling drugs or steal things to improve their economic conditions.

Lack of Social and Moral Training

Teens who have not given any social or moral training often lead to juvenile delinquency. It is the parent’s duty to teach moral and ethical values to their children. They should teach them the difference between right and wrong behavior. Lack of social and moral values can lead children to poor interaction with others and make them less confident. They may become selfish and arrogant. They would not know how to respect the laws of the state. Parents often neglect their children and pay more focus on working hard to earn money for them. However, while doing so, they forget the importance of spending quality time with their children. In their absence, children tend to spend time with someone who pays attention to them. They may also fall into wrong hands or get involved in a bad company while seeking attention from someone other than their parents.