Disruptive and violent delinquent girls: Behavioral causes and treatment options

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/09/2009

Category :

Social studies

Sub category :

Psychology

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Summary :

Introduction.
1. Delinquency among females.
2. The first study regarding this topics was written by Margaret A. Zahn.
Female aggression, delinquent behavior, and treatment options.
1. Society's influence on female aggression.
2. The London study.
3. Psychological explanations for violent and aggressive behavior.
4. Focus of other studies on more concrete socio-economic and environmental risk factors.
5. The influence of peers on female youth.
6. The positive effects of academic success overshadowed by the level of neighborhood disadvantage.
7. Introduction of a young female and her treatment in the juvenile justice system.
Conclusion.

Abstract

Delinquency among females is on the rise, with cases among adolescent females increasing by eighty-three percent between 1988 and 1997 (Leve and Chamberlain, 2004). While it is often found that girls are brought into custody for more minor offenses than boys, the proportion of females committing violent crimes has also risen from ten percent to eighteen percent since the early 1990's (Zahn, 2006).Several explanations have been offered for this increase, many of which look for insight into risk factors which result in violent, disruptive, or antisocial behavior. Risk factors most often cited for female delinquent behavior included family influences, association with delinquent peers, academic performance, and neighborhood composition. History of behavior among girls was also found to be an influence on later acts of violence and delinquency, including being a victim of violence oneself, exposure to physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, and difficulty in school (McKnight and Loper, 2002). While many of these risk factors are unavoidable, studies conducted on the "resilience" of young girls offer treatment options which focus on enhancing their ability to cope with these risks. Despite traditional gender roles, an increase in research regarding violent and disruptive behavior among young females has also found that their aggression bares many similarities to that of young males (Moore, 2007).