Write An Essay On The Causes Of Crime Among Teenagers

3813 Words16 Pages

Introduction: The brain is constantly changing due to new pathways being created as we learn new things or gain new experiences in our day to day lives. This is called brain plasticity. The brain never loses its plasticity . This means that during the adolescent years, the brain is still able to change structurally, which may cause changes in behaviour. This is also due to the fact that the frontal lobe does not fully develop until an individual reaches the mid-twenties. Brain development can be affected by many factors, including genes, environment and physical l health. This means that everyone’s brain takes a different path of development, due to the different stimuli we are exposed to. It is believed that teenagers exposed to stressful situations (I.E. Broken homes, financially unstable families, being outcasts, abusive caregivers, etc.) are …show more content…

The belief that teenagers who turn to criminal behaviour come from abusive backgrounds, is more often than not false. This behaviour, described as delinquency, can stem from any sort of background. It is better described as conduct disorder (behaviour of adolescents that violates the rights of others’ or society’s rules and are harmful to people around them in any way), as this term more aptly portrays that it is not always extreme behaviours described as teenage crime that are in question. It may be an issue as small as missing one’s curfew, but if the behaviour is uncommon for the child in question, then it may be for similar reasons as for teenagers who commit larger crimes, and for this reason, is just as important. Conduct disorder may often stem from the basic human tendency to be selfish. What causes the difference between those who become criminals and the rest of the population may be a result of genes, as many studies show that a teenager who turns to crime often has a relative in gaol, or even one who can be described as

Open Document