SOC 224 - Chapter 6 - Youth PDF

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Marta-Marika Urbanik...

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Chapter 6 – The Troubling and Troubled World of Youth Introduction  More than any other age group, youth are perceived as having lifestyles built around deviance  Troubling Youth: Youth who are considered to be primarily a threat to others or to society, such as through criminal activity o Include young offenders, gang members, and street youth  Troubled Youth: Primarily seen as threats to themselves (i.e. through drug use), but have the potential to become threats to society if their problems are not solved  Youth: A transitional time in life between childhood and maturity o Can mean very different things – can be based on age, socioeconomic status, independence, etc. Deviant Youth: “Troubling” Youth Youth Crime  Since 1992, there has been a steady downward trend in both adult and youth crime rates o In 2013, the overall crime rate was at its lowest since 1969  The crimes most frequently committed by youth are theft under $5000, mischief, and common assault  Youth are overrepresented in the criminal justice system o Those aged 12-17 are twice are likely to be accused of crimes compared to people ages 25 and over, and the rates of property crime in particular are highest among youth o HOWEVER, the severity of their crimes has been on a steady decline for several decades  Moral Panics: Refers to exaggerated and sensationalized concerns of a social phenomenon o Popularized by Cohen based on his analysis of a minor altercation between two groups of youth – “mods” and “rockers” o The media exaggerated and distorted the magnitude of the events – the public fear grew, and law enforcement and politicians faced pressure to crack down on the youth-inspired terror that was gripping the nation  Moral panics can be characterised into 5 elements: o (1) Heightened concern o (2) Hostility toward the offending group o (3) A certain level of consensus that there is a real threat o (4) Disproportionality (the attention given to the phenomenon is far greater than the level of objective threat that the phenomenon presents) o (5) Volatility (it erupts suddenly and then may just as suddenly disappear)  Moral panics are constructed within the media, wherein youth crime is overrepresented, portrayed as a new problem for society, and linked to certain ethnic groups and classes o Happens in North America, Austria, Germany, and other European societies  Youth crime can be explained through: o Learning deviant techniques and motives from peers (differential association theory) o Bonds with others that restrain most of us from crime (social bonds theory) o The level of self-control developed early in life (self-control theory) o Structural inequalities in access to legitimate opportunities (differential opportunity theory) o Negative emotions that arise because of strain (Agnew’s strain theory) o The system of rewards, punishments, and role models we have been exposed to in life (social learning theory)  Historically, research has looked into intelligence, family structure and processes, school performance, and peer influences o Found that the most effective predictor of criminal activity is criminal activity among friends o The parent-child relationship is especially important, having a greater influence than school experiences, and controlling for variables such as family structure, family income, characteristics of the neighbourhood, and even criminally active peers  Strong parent-child relationships are associated with children who select higher quality peers as friends; have closer, more emotionally intimate and trusting relationships with those freedoms and are less susceptible to negative peer influences o Even true in Columbia, where there are high societal levels of drug use and violence o Factors Influencing Youth Crime Property Crime Violent Crime  Male  Single-parent or blended family  Absence of university aspirations  Absence of university applications  Truancy  Truancy  Personal experience of discrimination on the basis of  Perception of school environment as unsafe race, language, or religion  Personal experience as victim of theft  Personal experience as victim of theft  Out at night without adult supervision  Personal experience as victim of threats  Time spent alone rather than with family  Perception of school as unsafe  Peer acceptance of illegal acts  Negative relationship with father or mother  Out at night without adult supervision  Time spent with friends rather than with family  Peer acceptance of illegal acts Gang-Involved Youth  Gang-involved youth are a popular topic for newspaper articles, politicians’ speeches, movies, and both fictional and non-functional television  Young people are more likely to be involved with street gangs than gangs associated with organized crime, and they are likely to have been criminally active even before joining a gang  The American-centric nature of gang research is problematic when one considers Canadian American differences in gun control legislation, drug laws, government policies, ethnic and cultural composition, and social supports  There are two broad streams of research on youth gangs: (1) why gangs form, why youth join gangs, and why gangs engage in certain behaviors; (2) focuses on various aspects of the social construction of the “gang problem” (i.e. how and why moral panics about gangs emerge; the problems involved in the very definition of “gang” itself)

The “How” and “Why” of Gangs  The pursuit of status and economic success is not central to the activities of all youth gangs, but should not be underestimated  Status frustration theory suggests that lower class boys, if unable to live up to middle-class measuring rod that pervades the education system, would join with other similar boys in forming gangs that engage in expressive, destructive, non-utilitarian behaviors rather than economically driven activities  Differential opportunity theory proposes that the nature of the illegitimate opportunities present in the community determines the nature of gang behavior o Certain types of illegitimate opportunities result in the formation of gangs that may be economically enterprising, violent, or drug using and retreatism  Positivist theories dominate youth gang research, but some research comes from more subjective theoretical orientations  Ethnographic Research: Involves researchers embedding themselves in gangs for extended periods of time, interviewing gang members, and observing their daily activities o Emerging from the interactionist perspective  Reasons for joining a gang are based on a rational calculation of what is in the best interests o (1) Material Incentives: A motivation for gang membership involving the desire to make more, or more consistent, money o (2) Recreation: A motivation for gang membership involving opportunities for entertainment and socializing  Gangs provide entertainment and a social life, and in some communities may serve as the primary social institution in the neighbourhood o (3) Place of Refuge and Camouflage: A motivation for gang membership involving a level of anonymity, removing a sense of personal responsibility for illegal activities  Being just “one of the gang” provides a level of anonymity, removing a sense of personal responsibility for illegal activities o (4) Physical Protection: A motivation for gang membership involving increased safety from the known dangers of the neighbourhood o (5) Time to Resist: A motivation for gang membership that involves a statement of rejection to society, a rejection of the types of lives being offered  Becoming a gang member is a statement of rejection to society, a rejection of the type of lives being offered o (6) Commitment to the Community: A motivation for gang membership that involves continuing a family or neighbourhood tradition  Analyzing Indigenous gangs in Canada uses positivist (social bonds), critical (conflict), and interactionist (labelling) theories o Interviews with former gang members, police officers, and corrections workers reveal that weak bonds of attachment, commitment to conventional society, involvement in conventional society, and beliefs that support conventional society play a significant role in gang membership o The legacy of colonization and residential schooling has left lasting effect on Indigenous families, contributing to family instability and violence  In the Edmonton area, Indigenous children are 6 times more likely to be involved with child protection services, and these children are prime targets for gang recruitment efforts in that region o Dropout rates are much higher among Indigenous youth, leading to higher unemployment rates as a consequence

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Factors Influencing Gang Involvement Family Indicators Community Indicators Excessive parental controls  Community disorganization Lax parental controls  High crime rate Low parental nurturance  High population turnover Abuse/neglect  Lack of cultural resources Low parental educational level  Lack of recreational resources Criminality among other family members  Gang presence Personal Indicators School Indicators Low self-control  Negative school environment Low motivation  Violence in the school Truancy  Low expectations for students Failing grades  Inadequate funding for school resources (i.e. Low aspirations or goals in life library books, extracurricular activities) Substance abuse  Lax control over students

The Construction of the “Gang Problem”  Gang: A debated term that frequently refer to “any denotable group of adolescents to young adults who are: o (a) Generally perceived as a distinct aggregation by others in the neighbourhood; o (b) Recognize themselves as a denotable group (almost invariably with a group name); and o (c) Have been involved in a sufficient number of illegal incidents  Gang Problem: The socially constructed representations of gangs that are communicated through the media  Racialize: The process by which representations of social phenomena become associated with specific racial or ethnic groups  Canadian media racializes “the gang problem” – stories about gangs frequently include references to specific racial or ethnic groups o This is problematic for two reasons:  (1) A distorted picture of Canadian gangs is represented to the public, when the reality is that gangs are ethnically diverse  (2) Race and ethnicity are only overtly linked in the media to gang activity when it is non-whites that are involved  Certain groups may benefit from the creation of a moral panic about street gangs o By presenting sensationalistic and fear-provoking stories, the media draws an audience and thereby increases profit o By contributing to moral panic and then promising to reduce the social problem, they can obtain more votes  Interest groups and community agencies who want legislation strengthened or who provide social problems may receive more funding by exaggerating the nature of the problem  Law enforcement agencies may also benefit in some communities by receiving more funding to hire more officers or create specialized gang units if they are able to convince municipal, provincial, and federal politicians that the “gang problem” is out of control

Controlling Youth Gangs and Youth Crimes  It’s not easy or quick to control gangs  Formal level of regulation includes integrated gang awareness programs in schools  Informal level of regulation includes everyday social interaction (parenting efforts and community involvement)  The Comprehensive Gang Model outlines key strategies for prevention, intervention, and suppression: mobilize community residents to take pre-emptive and retroactive actions; take social interventions directly to gang members where they are located; develop programs that provide economic, educational, and social opportunities; suppress gang activity by holding members accountable with the justice system; and facilitate organizational changes by coordinating the social control efforts of different community organization  Public concerns about youth crime gained force during the late 19th century o Because of the long hours that working-class parents had to spend at work simply to ensure the survival of their family, children were left unsupervised more than the children of middle-class parents  Various small pieces of legislation encompassed the control of youth crime, neglected children, and abandoned children o Children under the age of 7 were presumed not to know the different between right and wrong, so could not by charged with criminal offenses o If it was proved that a child between the ages of 7 and 14 knew the difference between right and wrong, the child could be subject to the same sentence as an adult o Youth over the age of 14 were considered equal to adults in criminal law  In 1908, the Canadian juvenile justice system was created with the implementation of the Juvenile Delinquents Act o Its foundation was the principle of parens patriae (“parent of the country”)  Parens Patriae: Parent of the country, or the child welfare approach to youth crime that was embodied in the Juvenile Delinquents Act  The state would act in the best interests of children under the age of 16 if it became clear that their own parents were unwilling or unable to – and both neglected and delinquent children were presumed to need such legislative attention  This act has been amended several times over the decades, and in 1984 it was replaced by the Young Offenders Act o This new piece of legislation was based on justice principles rather than child welfare principles o Extends the legal rights of adult offenders (i.e. due process, right to an attorney) to youth as well, who were not guaranteed such protections under the Juvenile Delinquents Act o Youth who committed crimes were no longer perceived as juvenile delinquents but as young offenders  Young Offenders: Individuals under the age of 18 who commit criminal acts o Chronic or violent young offenders are treated more stringently, while first-time and non-violent offenders are more likely to be treated via community and alternative measures  The Youth Criminal Justice Act is one component of the federal government’s Youth Justice Renewal Initiative, a multifaceted initiative involving the criminal justice system, schools, community agencies, and more o Its underlying principles are prevention, meaningful consequences for youth crime, and intensified rehabilitation and reintegration  Oudshoorn (2015) points out that the youth justice system continues to fall short of meaningful change because it fails to sufficiently address youth trauma, which Oudshoorn argues plays a key role in youth crime o Trauma can be either individual or collective in nature  At the individual level, young people may experience poverty, abuse or neglect, discrimination, victimization by crime, or cyberbullying  At the collective level, certain social groups may have been subjected to ongoing intergenerational trauma at a more macro-level Deviant Youth: “Troubled” Youth  “Troubled” youth are a danger to themselves; their behavior threatens their own well-being, physical/mental health, and future o Potentially “troubling” if they are uncontrolled or if their problems are not effectively dealt with, they may become not only a danger to themselves but a danger to society as well  Youth who abuse drugs or alcohol, engage in premature sexual activity, become teenager parents, or engage in self-harm are just some of those youth who are considered “troubled” o When considering “troubled” youth, one of the areas of greatest public concern today are youth who are victimized by bullying, and who may, as a result, be pushed toward other troublesome behaviors Substance Use Among Youth  Substance use is very evident in our culture  Substance use among youth peaked in the 1970s and then steadily declined until the early 1990s Tobacco  The health risks associated with smoking and second-hand smoke exposure have been well established by medical research  When these risks were first publicized during the 1970s, smoking rates among youth began a steady decline that lasted until 1990 o But beginning in 1990s, youth smoking increased once again and continued to grow throughout the decade o Another shift has occurred since that time, such that smoking among youth has shown a significant downward trend  Youth say that the primary motivation for smoking comes from friends or peer pressure o Research shows that youth are less likely to smoke if their parents are non-smokers, and if they live in households with higher incomes and higher levels of parental education  Youth smoking is socially controlled in a variety of ways o The federal Tobacco Act prohibits the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18 o This kind of legislation has existed for many years, but enforcement has been lax for much of that time  In the 1970s, it was not uncommon for children as young as 6 or 7 to be sent to the corner store to buy cigarettes for a parent or older sibling o More recently, enforcement has become more stringent and penalties for selling cigarettes to minors has become more severe  i.e. In Alberta, retailers can be fined up to $3,000 for a first offense and up to $100,000 for a second offense  Health Canada conducts regular investigations of more than 5000 retail outlets in 30 cities across Canada o Send in a youth who lies about their age, but does not carry any identification o Research found that around 85% of retailers complied with legislation, refusing to sell cigarettes to the youth  Today, cigarette commercials are prohibited on television, and cigarette advertising is widely restricted  In many communities, recent laws have banned smoking in many workplaces, shopping malls, hospitals, and restaurants o Other communities have taken this legislation a step further, prohibiting smoking in all public buildings, including bars

Instead of prescribing smoking as a weight-loss tool, contemporary doctors try to convince patients to stop smoking and provide resources to help them quit The tobacco industry itself has faced retroactive measures of social control arising, in part, from its past efforts to recruit youth smokers o Because most adult smokers began smoking while still in their teens, historically tobacco manufacturers focused much of their marketing efforts on youth Research done in more than a dozen countries around the world has clearly demonstrated that images of smoking in movies have as large of an impact on youth smoking o There is a strong dose-response effect, in that (controlling for other variables associated with smoking initiation) the more images of smoking in movies that youth are exposed to, the more positive their attitudes are toward smoking and the greater the likelihood they will initiate smoking Although tobacco images are prevalent in adult-rated than youth-rated films, smoking in youth-rated films is quite common, and is typically carried out by the movie’s main characters o Disney had the worst track record, with an average of 31 tobacco incidents per film Because of the influences of tobacco images in movies on youth smoking initiative, the World Health Organization recommends several control measures – these include, but are not limited to: o (1) R-rating for all movies that include images of smoking (except by real historical figures who smoked) o (2) Anti-tobacco messages prior to any film that includes tobacco images o (3) Movie producer certifications that they did not enter into any agreements with tobacco companies in exchange for including tobacco images o (4) No public (i.e. government) subsidies for films that include smoking The health dangers of smoking are well known and have led to comprehensive anti-smoking efforts for people of all ages o However, smoking among youth is a public concern not only because of the health dangers, but also because of its association with other forms of substance use o Youth who smoking are more likely to use other drugs, particularly marijuana o

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Drug Use  Cannabis is the most widely used drug among Canadian youth  Other illicit drugs have considerably lower rates of usage than cannabis o The most common drugs used ...