The negative effects of juvenile delinquency

Characterized as an illegal behavior, juvenile delinquency affects not only children and young people, as well as their families and friends

Photo: Alexander Raths/Indiana Court Times

One of the most common and widespread antisocial acts, juvenile delinquency can be generally defined as a participation in illegal behavior by children and young individuals. In spite of the fact that this kind of criminal attitude basically affects people under 18 years old, it may also affect their families and friends.

Both children and young people often begin to commit any violent crime by bearing arms and being drug users, generally in big cities throughout the world. Besides, they are forced to leave school early; therefore, unfortunately, they do not have any real chance of a better future through a good education.

Juvenile delinquency does not only affect the lives of minors; it can create several negative impacts in their family structures. For example, when some teenagers, mostly boys, commit a felony or a misdemeanor, such as vandalism, their parents are worried about these situations that are against the laws and family rules.

Aside from impacting unsatisfactorily the families, juvenile delinquents have most friends who also feel many negative effects due to the illegal acts committed by individuals under 18 years old. Among different aspects that make them undergo perverse and unpleasant changes in their behavior is the fact that some of them become deeply aggressive.

Then, when some child or youth commits any type of attitude that is configured as a delinquency, we clearly perceive he or she violates or disobeys the laws that could protect not only each person, but also all social groups, including his or her parents and friends.