Causes of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency has become a serious concern for the world and persists in every country across the globe. To deal with this issue, it is very important to understand the fundamental causes and reasons of Juvenile Delinquency.

• Family Issues: Family is the first place where a child is most attached. Children generally learn from what they observe around them. If there are continuous fights in the family, it will affect a child’s growth and development mentally, physically, and emotionally, and that will eventually lead to juvenile delinquency.
• Changing Patterns in Lifestyle: This is another reason for criminal behaviour in children. They are confronted mostly with the issue of the generation gap due to which they usually detach themselves and are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Apparently, they are misguided and then end up choosing the evil path.
• Biological Factors: Factors, like lack of understanding, low intelligence, etc., also lead to delinquent behavior among children. Here, the role of parents, teachers and elders comes into the picture that they must educate their children regarding the biological differences between a male and a female and answer their questions regarding other biological processes and consequences of any illegal act.
• Poverty: When a child is not provided with basic necessities of life, there is a high probability that the child may indulge in delinquent acts to get those necessities. Failure to provide them with amenities like food, shelter, clothing, etc., can force them to earn money by any means in order to get what they desire.
• Substance Abuse: Being exposed to substances leads to dependence over time, and these individuals end up committing crimes that they wouldn’t have thought otherwise. In such cases, children need counselling to help them regain their sense of worth and self-esteem.
• Other Factors: Other factors, like child labour, traumatic experiences, illiteracy, unsoundness of mind etc., are also responsible for juvenile’s delinquent behaviour.

Juvenile Delinquency means the disapproved behaviour of children where they tend to show criminal behaviour. It simply means deviation from society’s approved norms and laws where children indulge in anti-social activities.

The issue of Juvenile Delinquency is present in every country, and the United Nations identified the idea of having a uniform definition of the term. The term was defined as, “Acts of minors due to which they violate criminal law and indulge in behaviour which is objected to and disapproved by society and law society’s approved norms”.