Exploring Theories of Youth Offending in Criminology

CRIMINOLOGY 1
Criminology
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CRIMINOLOGY 2
Introduction
There are many philosophies and theories that explain the youth offending and they
include, differential association theory, the labeling theory, the rational choice theory, and many
others. These theories are discussed in the paper below by illustrating on how they tend to cause
youth offending and finally, the identified theories are compared to identify the best theory that
defends and explains the causes of youth crimes. These theories try to explain why and how
crime occurs (Cox, Allen, & Hanser, 2017). By considering various facts that are related to some
individual's behavior and the offenses they commit.
The distinct philosophies that dominate the youth justice theory and practice are the
transatlantic “positive youth justice” and the philosophy of childhood. The transatlantic “positive
youth justice” responds to the offending of children (Farrington, 2019). It clarifies the Atlantic
challenge to hegemonic punitive and neo-correctionalism of contemporary actuarial risk-based
approaches and conceptually-restricted right based movement of a justice that is child-friendly.
The aim of the paper is to investigate the guiding principles, the origin and the establishing
evidence based on the action of positive youth action of England/Wales and the US positive
youth justice model regarding their negative critiques of the friendly forms of the youth justice
(Gao, & Wong, 2018). In this ideal type, it contains the actual framework for elaborating
children offenses, for conceptualizing and rationalizing responses to the youth justice as broadly
been depicted in the ideal types of youth justice. Youth welfare which forms the socio-historical
construction of the youth justice, neo-liberalism and minimum intervention of how youths should
be handled so that they can develop a strict sense of the law and make right choices for their own
being.

CRIMINOLOGY 3
The psychology of any child can as well be seen as a science of the analogous inquiry,
the history and religion philosophies that cooperates with nurturing the child (Banks, Criminal
justice & Zimring, 2018). In determining the cognitive development of a child, childhood
changing conceptions over time and attitude towards children will change the whole overlook of
the youths to take on the right direction of life. Comparably, I would pick to support the
philosophy of childhood since it covers the justice and welfare approaches of youth justice in
concrete terms. It takes care of the development of a child right from birth to the end of his
youthhood. When children are taught the right way, the orientation will stick in the child’s mind
and this can help in rational building and cognitive development of the child (Shadmanfaat, et.al,
2019). In their youthhood, the individual will be able to relate fairly with the ecosystem and
contribute to the development of the economy. It has minimal critiques as compares to the
transatlantic positive youth justice.
Focusing on differential societal theory as the first theory by Edwin Southerland (1947).
In an attempt to explain why youths, participate in various acts of criminal behavior, Edwin
came up with the mentioned theory (Boman IV et.al, 2019). He describes criminal behavior as a
learned and observed behavior that is developed through social engagement with other people.
The theory illustrates how the youths get involved in criminal activities when they spend much
of their time with people whose attitudes, motives and drive to engage in the criminal behavior
of criminal act. Their criminal background and believes that breaking the law is moral.
Nevertheless, Edwin comes up with nine factors that can be used to explain why a person may
want to engage in criminal behavior though not explained into details in this work.
Criminal behavior is learned is the first factor as to why an individual may be involved in
a criminal behavior according to Hopkins Burke (2009) one’s actions are influenced by their