Introduction
It is no secret that delinquency, like any other category of crime, is one of the oldest scourges of human societies. According to Bates and Swan (2018), “young people certainly acted up or misbehaved prior to being labeled juvenile delinquents by society” (p. 88). Over the millennia of various ancient and modern human civilizations, many solutions and resolution initiatives to solve this fundamental and institutional problem have been proposed and implemented; some social actions succeeded while other legislative measures failed, as global history shows. The truth is that delinquency is still relevant in all self-aware communities across the globe, and sociologists continue to develop novel ideas and resolutions and analyze newly identified societal interlinks. One such idea that will be explored here is that parental imprisonment and subsequent foster care are leading social drivers of developing delinquent behavior in a child.
Parental Incarceration and Delinquency
For one to understand the combined impact of parental incarceration and foster children on juvenile delinquency, it is necessary to describe and analyze these socio-economic things separately. Bates and Swan (2018) say that “children of incarcerated parents experience more upheaval in their lives” (p. 397). Moreover, they were “more likely to live in poverty, in single-parent households, and with inadequately educated caregivers, and to witness more domestic violence” (Bates & Swan, 2018, p. 397). As one can see, there is a whole combination of negative social influences on the young and developing mind. The collection of conditions such as various forms of abuse, bad upbringing, frequent changes of residence, and changing caregivers, coupled with poverty due to a provider’s absence, contribute to mental disorders, antisocial behaviors, and even addictions in children.
Eventually, uneducated and incompetent caregivers become role models for some kids, and they consciously or subconsciously pick up the bad habits of their caregivers. Experts also confirm this, and they say, “these factors can involve them in criminal acts and substance abuse” (Saladino et al., 2021, p. 1). Parental incarceration is both a sign of bad parenting present in the family until one of the child’s providers’ imprisonment, which triggers a spiral of social downfall.
Foster Children and Delinquency
The foster care system is often the first thing that comes after one or both of a child’s biological parents go to prison. It is noteworthy that competent social scientists argue that those children who have passed through this institution have an increased risk of becoming juvenile delinquents (Hu, Van Ryzin, Schweer-Collins, & Leve, 2021). There, young individuals with traumatized mental health usually face a large and indifferent bureaucratic structure and the need to adapt to a new social setting quickly (Bates & Swan, 2018). The lack of a caring, positive figure with whom one can establish positive communication and the disciplinary nature of the foster care system contribute to further anti-socialization and deterioration of children learning abilities. Lack of education means fewer legal, social lifts for one’s future self-fulfillment and, therefore, the chance of them committing a crime increases.
Conclusion
This inquiry explores how the imprisonment of one or two of the child’s providers and the putting of young persons in the foster care system serve as societal triggers for their anti-socialization and the development of criminal behavior patterns. It was proved that the causal relationship between events such as parental incarceration and foster care and the social phenomenon of juvenile delinquency truly exists. The fact of incarceration shows that one of the parents already had a negative influence on the child, suggesting that delinquency sometimes has intergenerational origins.
References
Bates, K. A., & Swan, R. S. (2018). Juvenile delinquency in a diverse society (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hu, A., Van Ryzin, M. J., Schweer-Collins, M. L., & Leve, L. D. (2021). Peer relations and delinquency among girls in foster care following a skill-building preventive intervention. Child Maltreatment, 26(2), 205-215.
Saladino, V., Mosca, O., Petruccelli, F., Hoelzlhammer, L., Lauriola, M., Verrastro, V., & Cabras, C. (2021). The vicious cycle: Problematic family relations, substance abuse, and crime in adolescence: A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-14.