In a country like America, law abiding citizens can count on a number of justices when wrong doing is taking place. We like to believe that when laws are broken and crimes are committed, whether we are the victims or the offender that we can have faith that the justice system will treat us fairly and in accordance with the constitution. But circumstances are not always so cut and dry, especially when it comes to culprits that are children or teenagers. It is easy to commit an adult to life in prison, and even plausible to sentence an adult to death when the crime calls for such a harsh punishment, but what are we to do when heinous crimes are committed by teenagers, particularly those teenagers that are aware that their behaviors will be met with a simple slap on the wrist?
Adolescence is a rough time of life for most teens and understandably so. Their bodies are changing and often at different rates than their peers; hormones are off kilter which cause changes in the way they behave and how they react to others; they become more self-aware, more self-conscious, and convinced that they are the only ones experiencing this inner turmoil; and cognitively their brains are changing right along with everything else (Arnett, 2012). Due to all of these changes it is no wonder why adolescents seek out their peers to establish a sense of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic world. They seek out their friends to confide in, to rely on, and to get advice about sex and relationships, but they are also likely to engage in risk-taking behavior with these same friends (Arnett, 2012).
For most teens, this risk-taking behavior is fleeting and is considered to be a normal part of development (Arnett, 2012). It is often short-lived and not very serious. These teens just want to test the waters of authority and that is normal. Teens process information using their amygdala as opposed to the frontal cortex that adults use and that can explain why teenagers always seem so emotionally charged (Arnett, 2012). The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls instinctive reactions and emotions like fear, anger, and aggression (Arnett, 2012). Since the amygdala is running the show, the frontal cortex is unable to temper these reactions as it does in adults, therefore you often have a teen that isn’t thinking about the ramifications of his actions and often makes decisions based on the present circumstances. Combine a brain being controlled by the emotions with a peer group that participates in risk-taking or outright deviant behavior and you have a recipe for disaster. Add in the fact that many of these teens are aware that since they are considered minors by law they often only get a small punishment from the courts and you have a potential epidemic.
Very simply stated, teens are controlled by their instincts and when they have a peer group that engages in deviant behavior, it is easy to follow suit. With the added pressure of wanting to belong, some teens find it easy to commit crimes at this stage in life that they may avoid just a few years later. The latest crave amongst teens where I live is a game they call “knockout.” Knockout is occurring in groups of males, females, and also a mix of sexes. In this game a group of teens walk through the streets and randomly select strangers which they will hit one time with a goal of knocking them out. According to my parents, whom are both police officers, this has been a problem for the past decade or so in the cities they work, but within the past year it is getting out of control. The typical age range for this behavior is 13 to 18 years old and is most commonly committed by males, but the incidences of female groups participating in the game is increasing; every week my mother tells me about another innocent person that has been attacked on the street simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And this game is occurring in different parts of the city, not just in the poverty stricken neighborhoods or high crime areas; teens of all races from all walks of life are engaging in these senseless acts of violence.
The problem is that the jails in the cities where my parents work are over capacity and nearly all of adolescent wrongdoers are given a small fine, a day’s worth of community service, and are sent back out into their neighborhoods to repeat the same game over and over again. The problem here is that these teens are being treated like criminals without considering the multitude of changes they are experiencing. There is no attempt at counseling and there aren’t any meetings with the parents or schools to try and combat the behavior, the courts simply slap them on the wrist, send them on their way, and expect to never see them again; they are so inundated with adult criminals that they don’t have to time (or the desire) to deal with the teenager lawbreakers. The teens know that they won’t get a harsh punishment because they are minors, and thus continue to engage in the same behaviors repeatedly. According to Andrews and Bonta’s model of antisocial behavior, teens that engage in criminal behavior during the teenage years are referred to as adolescence-limited individuals (Schneider, 2012). Their model states that the antisocial behavior practiced by these teens only tend to last through the teenage years and are typically nonviolent in nature (Schneider, 2012). But I feel as though many of the teens I have mentioned could be categorized under this distinction. The reason I categorize these teens in this way is because according to my mother, many of these “knockout” teens do not commit other crimes and often they only participate in these crimes while in high school. Most of them turn out to be law abiding and productive members of society once they become adults (or even emerging adults). My mother has had countless run ins with some of these teens that have told her the ways in which they have turned their life around and how they regret being involved in such brutal crimes as teenagers. A girl last month told my mother that she did it because her friends did and she didn’t want them to turn on her, so she participated. She then went on say that she was just living in the moment and didn’t really think about the person she was attacking or the ramifications of her actions. This is a prime example (though possibly an extreme example) of the way in which an adolescent thinks. This particular girl is now a senior in college who is going to school to be a domestic violence counselor.
Adolescents seem to be a race of their own. Adolescence is a time of transition and because of the constant changes this period of life has been coined with the phrase “youth culture: (Arnett, 2012). And adolescents seem to be just that – a culture all their own. It is because of that reason that we should approach teenage crime in a different way than we approach crimes committed by adults. Aside from mental health concerns and reasonable lapses in judgment due to extreme situations of stress spurred on by abuse, adults should be held accountable for their behaviors to the fullest extent of the law, but should we extend these same punishments to teenagers? I don’t think so. While I don’t condone violent behavior in teens, I do feel that we need to approach their punishment from a viewpoint of correcting their behavior and teaching them tools to better themselves, neither of which will not be accomplished by long prison sentences. This is not just a problem for the parents of the teens involved in these crimes (though some are to blame), but rather it is a community problem. We need to be addressing these issues from all sides. Teachers should be informed in the ways an adolescent develops and be taught ways to help these teens deal with their changes in a productive way; they need to be supportive to students that are performing below average. Parents need to take responsibility for their children and take an active role in their lives. Parents and teachers need to be aware of the warning signs that begin to surface in early childhood that could be indicators of future deviant behavior. Courts need to look at alternatives to jail for adolescent offenders like counseling or productive activities.
The criminal justice system is used to hold members of society accountable for their actions, and that’s one of the things that makes our country great, but the bottom line is that we can’t hold adolescents to the same standards as we do adults. We do not hold adults with mental health problems to the same standards as we do mentally healthy adults, so why should it be any different for adolescents; it shouldn’t be. If we want to prevent the behavior from occurring again in the future, and teach teenagers that their behavior is wrong, we must include all aspects of the adolescent’s life in the prevention; families, schools, communities, religious organizations (if they belong to any), and the courts. We must learn to identify the warning signs early on and inform ourselves on ways to combat these behaviors before they get out of hand. Interventions like the one mentioned in our textbook – Multisystem Therapy is a great place to start. This program involves all of the domains I mentioned previously and give promise to recognizing deviant behavior and counter that behavior utilizing all of the social systems that adolescents are involved in (Schneider, 2012). And even though this program was created for “seriously violent youth,” there is no reason why we can’t apply it to all adolescents and their social systems. The old adage by Benjamin Franklin – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure seems fitting here.
I couldn’t locate any news stories about the “knockout” game here in Arkansas, but I have included a link to CNN that describes this game as it occurs elsewhere in the nation (it is graphic and does contain a video of this “knockout game”): http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults/
References:
Arnett, J. J. (2012). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach (5th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
sony a7 ii
Adolescents and the Criminal Justice System: Should We Treat Them as Adults? | Applied Social Psychology (ASP)
As I read your post, I thought about my other psychology class. We recently talked about this subject as well. The problem with adolescents and the criminal justice system is that there is a concern on how to treat them. Although there are different points of view, I would say that they should not be treated as an adult. While looking at adolescents, there are differences between them and adults. One difference would be peer pressure. Adolescents will be easier to peer pressure than adults. For example, if an adolescent is being pressured to steal, they could do it so that they will fit in. An adult would be more likely to think about what is going to happen and decide against stealing. This also goes along with the social learning theory. This is because when being peer pressured, they are being influenced by those around them. While being influenced, they may not be as aware of the consequences. An adolescent may be trying to gain friendship from peers and not realize that they are capable of hurting other or themselves. With that being said, an adult is more aware of what could happen from their actions.
Another article to look into is one we read form my other psychology class. I found it interesting because it brings up good points of adolescents behavior and the criminal justice system. This article can be found at https://reserve-libraries-psu-edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/pqpa/35526.pdf
References:
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence
Developmental Immaturity, Diminished Responsibility,
and the Juvenile Death Penalty. Retrieved from https://reserve-libraries-psu-edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/pqpa/35526.pdf
I have also heard of the “knockout game” and have seen clips on the news which is horrifying. It is important to understand the developmental minds and bodies of adolescents and realize that they are not quite adults and can easily fall into this type of anti-social behavior that can have devastating results. Anti-social behavior can have many influences from biological to cultural as well as influences from peer and family. With prisons overcrowding I would agree that interventions for adolescents would be most helpful.
Another intervention that I had come across that had some positive results was called the “Fast Track Intervention” with research conducted by Slough & McMahon as well as the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (2008). The objectives of the program were to target high risk schools and first graders with conduct problems. The program would promote academics, coping and problem solving skills, relationships with peers, family, and assistance in socialization. The goal was to reduce rates in antisocial activity, psychological problems, school drop out and substance abuse. Parents also received training and meetings would continue through the adolescents 9th grade year. Some interesting things to point out are that at a follow up towards the end of third grade 37% of the children who received the intervention were free of serious conduct problems versus the 27% that did not receive the intervention. (Slough, McMahon, & Conduct Problems Prevention Group, 2008) Perhaps if we start targeting high risk children early and provide resources for them and their families we would not not see as many later in life engaging in the knockout game.
Slough, N.M., McMahon, R. J., & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2008). Preventing serious conduct problems in school-age youth: The Fast Track Program. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 15, 3-17
I thought a lot about this question and I definitely think we shouldn’t treat them as adults. Adolescence is a difficult time for most adolescents because this is a time when they are growing up physically, but may not be mentally. I agree that the teenage hormones are everywhere in that it changes or alters their actions and what is right or wrong. Do I think that it’s fair that adolescents may make a mistake which follows them well into adulthood, no? I remember when I was about 14, my parents and I got into more than one fight where we were screaming and saying things to each other which I definitely wouldn’t do now such as “I hate you, you just don’t understand!”. I remember that “lost” feeling and trying to fit in with everyone. It’s tough! There was one instance where I actually drank underage with my classmates (something I normally didn’t do back then). What if the cops would have come and I got into trouble with underage drinking. My life could have spiraled down from there, but I was very lucky. Not every adolescent is. I definitely have empathy for them. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to put many adults into the prison system that we have today, not alone, young adolescents whose brains are still growing. Do I think that they need to be held accountable? Absolutely!!! I do think that a slap on the wrist doesn’t teach children not to do it again. We seem to have organizations to assist in interventions in so many different areas, but it seems like we lack those for adolescents unless the fit into the drinking or drugs category. I think that problems which teach work ethic, hard work, and volunteering to help others will help adolescents learn about hard work. I know this sounds a bit cliché, but when I was growing up, life was so different because we didn’t have the technology which gets adolescents into trouble nowadays. Some children think that they are “owed” things and that’s why sometimes they feel the need to do things which are illegal.
Wow, the game you are talking about “knockout” seems so senseless and extreme. I hadn’t heard of it, but it does seem like every generation has something that they do, maybe not to that extreme though. I do remember a few years back when the big craze was to swallow cinnamon and when teenagers thought it was “fun” to lie down in the street and get up before someone hit time. I also agree that there are so many issues and not enough manpower or resources. I really believe in counseling and interventions which should begin with schools, teachers and parents coming together to work out issues and make things “better” whether it’s finding something for the adolescents to consume their time such as volunteering at a nursing home or talking to someone about issues that they are having such as a friend, mentor, teacher, or counselor. Teenagers sometimes keep all of their problems to themselves and sweep the issues “under the rug” until they actually do something extreme or the “grow out of it.” Perhaps, starting a mentoring program for adolescents could be a solution. I was a member of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters and I loved it, and I feel it benefited her as well as me. She felt like there was no one to talk to and she argued with her mom constantly. She was definitely headed towards a dangerous path. But Big Brothers, Big Sisters tend to cater to younger children. What about having college students mentor teenagers? They have most likely already been through many of the things and a lot of times they just need someone to trust in. Maybe college credit could be applied to students who participated and the participants would include those teenagers who had gotten into trouble. Many people, including myself, lead by example. Not everyone had good role models, but even having one hopefully will help their future.
I definitely feel like we lack services for those adolescents with mental problems. I’ve had several friends who still suffer in their 20’s and 30’s and had they gotten the right help early on, the behaviors that occurred may not have happened. People seem to be cruel to the mentally ill because they just don’t understand the disease. I agree that this Multisystematic Therapy sounds promising because it doesn’t just look at one aspect of antisocial behavior (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012). Every aspect of an adolescent’s life should be touched upon, from their family, friends, and their socioeconomic status which links to where they live. This is a team effort in that parent training and disruptive components in the family are examined. Just like an intervention for drugs or alcohol, not being around the peers who engage in the negative behavior is as important as well. This was a well written and informative blog!
References
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
It seems your example of criminal teen behavior is strongly motivated by social learning theory. Social learning theory accounts for the influence of the people around us on our own behaviors, that we learn new behaviors by observing and imitating others, as well as perception of the consequences of behaviors (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2005, p. 76). In the case of the girl you mentioned at the end of your post, she self-reportedly only went along with knocking random people out because her friends were doing it. Therefore, in her own words, the people that the girl was spending her time with were a key influence in prompting the girl to participate in criminal activity. Furthermore, the influence of the girl’s friends become a cyclical behavioral influence, as the girls friends encourage her to participate in punching people, the girl punches people, the girl’s punching people results in positive feedback from her friends (peer acceptance), which then motivates the girl to hurt someone again.
Social learning theory could also help explain why the criminal offenders you mentioned tended to discontinue their criminal activities as they grew older. Social learning theory would explain through the typicality of individuals obtaining new social circles as individuals enter adulthood. Change in; schooling, job, geographical location (moving out of parents home), maturity level (some friends mature quicker than others), and common interests are all examples of reasons why individual’s friends and acquaintances adjust as individuals reach adulthood. The shift in social circles, through social learning theory, then exposes those previously troublesome individuals to new perspectives, models of behavior and new found perspectives of consequences of behavior. As you mentioned, the penalties of criminal behavior increase to all new levels once teens enter adulthood; what was once a slap on the wrist can now end in serious jail time. Therefore, through an influx of new behavioral models (new friends/environments) and change in perspective outcomes of behaviors, social learning theory can at least partially account for the shift from delinquency to productive member of society.
Overall, the environmental and social influence of teens grouping up and knocking people out in one punch, and then reforming their behavior as they get older denotes a profound influence of social learning theory.
References
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2005). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.