Psychological Theories Of Juvenile Delinquency

A theory that explains juvenile delinquency is the Psychological theory. This theory focuses on the personality of the offenders rather than biological or social situations. This theory easily explains juvenile delinquency when looking at the three interrelated parts of the personality- id, ego, and superego. The id is the part of the personality that is supposed to destroy aggression which usually controlled as a person grows and learns social norms and rules; however, an over aggressive person may have an under regulated id which could cause them to be violent. The superego gives you feelings of guilt and knowing right from wrong yet some might not have that. The psychological theory shows that when looking at different aspects of the personality, everyone is wired differently and that could be the cause of the delinquent behavior.

Learning theory contends that delinquent behavior is learned from peers, family members, etc. Learning theory happens all the time from something as simple as a parent not wanting their child to hang out with a friend because they are a bad influence, to hanging out with that friend and doing something wrong because you saw them do it so you did too. This is seen quite commonly in gang neighborhoods where kids grow up and join the gang because they learned from their older sibling or parent that violent behavior with a specific group is okay or learned. Learning theory is quite common for delinquents, between peers, social media, television, movies, etc. juveniles can learn delinquent behavior from anything therefore influencing their