Criminal Behavior Research Paper
In today’s time, deviance and crime plaque American society. There are vast degrees of deviance, from a simple shoplifter, to a car thief, to a killing machine with no conscience, otherwise known as a serial killer. How is this killing machine created? Where and how does this type of criminal behavior begin? The answers to these questions must be addressed in order to stop the formation of deviance. While searching for these answers, the nature vs. nurture is brought up. Scientist and psychologists have debated over whether a child’s upbringing forms their behavior or whether they are born with a personality disorder, or could it be their body type and brain set up? (Jones 1) Society may never truly know all the causes of this behavior but
…show more content…
Parents are a young child’s role model, but as we grow older we start to have other influences in our lives. People such as our friends, teachers, and other family members are considered to be part of our outside environment. In today’s time we are seeing less nuclear families and more single parent households. (Waggoner 30) Kimberly J. Waggoner did a study called, “The Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods” which followed 80 young kids, till the age of 30, to see what kind of an impact their childhood had on them as an adult. She found that without two reliable role models, it can make a difference in that child’s behavior. (Waggoner 30) She makes a great point that, “Grandmothers often play an important role in preventing children from developing antisocial behavior, especially those children born to teen mothers. In essence, children with access to extended family and other role models can thrive in a single- parent home.” She also goes on to say, “Yet, some studies have found that boys raised by their birth mother and a stepfather are no better off than boys raised by mom alone.” (Waggoner 30) The cause of this could be that the boys look at their stepfather as competitors, rather than role models, who normally help children develop their self-esteem. Boys need to have that male role model in their lives. Without a solid home environment, it could lead a child towards the first step to criminal behavior, which is delinquent behavior. It starts as young as preschool. The child shows aggressive behavior toward their peers, and is than deemed as an outcast. Most times, this creates poor peer relations and causes those children to b e with others who share similar behaviors; usually these relationships continue into adolescents and maybe even adulthood. (Waggoner 28) A child’s environment and upbringing has a tremendous effect on who they
Parents are a young child’s role model, but as we grow older we start to have other influences in our lives. People such as our friends, teachers, and other family members are considered to be part of our outside environment. In today’s time we are seeing less nuclear families and more single parent households. (Waggoner 30) Kimberly J. Waggoner did a study called, “The Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods” which followed 80 young kids, till the age of 30, to see what kind of an impact their childhood had on them as an adult. She found that without two reliable role models, it can make a difference in that child’s behavior. (Waggoner 30) She makes a great point that, “Grandmothers often play an important role in preventing children from developing antisocial behavior, especially those children born to teen mothers. In essence, children with access to extended family and other role models can thrive in a single- parent home.” She also goes on to say, “Yet, some studies have found that boys raised by their birth mother and a stepfather are no better off than boys raised by mom alone.” (Waggoner 30) The cause of this could be that the boys look at their stepfather as competitors, rather than role models, who normally help children develop their self-esteem. Boys need to have that male role model in their lives. Without a solid home environment, it could lead a child towards the first step to criminal behavior, which is delinquent behavior. It starts as young as preschool. The child shows aggressive behavior toward their peers, and is than deemed as an outcast. Most times, this creates poor peer relations and causes those children to b e with others who share similar behaviors; usually these relationships continue into adolescents and maybe even adulthood. (Waggoner 28) A child’s environment and upbringing has a tremendous effect on who they