Research Paper on:
Juvenile Delinquency Influential Factors

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
In short, juveniles account for an amazing seventeen percent of the violent crimes in the United States (Scherer, Brondino, et. al., 1994). This is particularly concerning given that over  the next thirteen years the number of juveniles under seventeen is projected to grow to approximately seventy-four million and that the number of violent crimes committed by juveniles will more  than double by 2010 (Briscoe, 1997). While there is no one place to place the blame for the problems we are currently experiencing in society, there is a definite  correlation between family structure and individual development and behavior. Juvenile delinquency is, however, a very real problem in the United States and one for which a solution must be  found. If such factors as family structure and parental attachment or rejection play even a remote role in determining the degree of delinquency, this role must be further explored  so that the problem can be better addressed. Sokol-Katz, Dunham; and Zimmerman (1997) report that the relationship between family characteristics and deviant  behavior in juveniles is particularly strong. Factors such as divorce and the degree of parental involvement, positive or negative, can affect achievement and follow a child into his or  her adulthood (Ensign, Scherman, and Clark, 1998). Authors such as Wooten (1959), Vold (1998), and Murray (1996) all further substantiate these findings.  Indeed, a number of authors reveal that factors such as maternal separateness and parental rejection, in particular, have definite impact in determining juvenile delinquency. Gluek and Gluek  (1964) is one of the most classic accounts of this correlation. This correlation is far from perfect, however. While one might jump to the conclusion that juvenile delinquency