Children, Crime, and Poverty: Socioeconomic Influences on Behavior

This essay explores the psychological impact of socioeconomic status on children and its correlation with criminal behavior. It examines how poverty can lead to mental health problems and increased involvement in crime, particularly among children. The essay highlights that children from low-income families are at a higher risk of committing crimes due to environmental factors such as living in high-crime areas and a lack of access to education. It references studies showing that children from wealthier families have a lower likelihood of committing crimes compared to those from impoverished backgrounds. The essay also discusses the role of parental arguments about money and the lack of educational opportunities in contributing to criminal behavior. It concludes that while socioeconomic status doesn't solely define crime, it significantly influences a child's mindset, emphasizing the importance of creating a supportive environment and teaching children about the value of hard work.

Running head: CHILDREN, CRIME AND POVERTY
CHILDREN, CRIME AND POVERTY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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CHILDREN, CRIME AND POVERTY
The psychological well-being of any person depends on the surrounding social,
economic, and physical environment. In the case of children, therapists claim that those living
with lower socioeconomic status are often felt hopeless about their future due to the non-
fulfillment of their desires by the families in childhood. Children of those families possess a
substantial risk of developing mental health problems like drugs, violence, and crime other
than those belongs to a wealthy family (Bartol and Bartol, 2014). This study aims to analyze
the role of socioeconomic status in influencing a child’s mind in committing a crime.
The connection between poverty and crime in criminology is difficult to find.
However, as per many research reports, poverty generates criminal behavior in people,
especially among children. The reason behind this is due to low-income people has to stay in
areas or place where crime is an easygoing thing for survival. People living in slums and
shabby areas believe that money is everything as their living depends upon that. Similarly,
they do not possess any social status to maintain. Thereby they often publicly fight over
money with each other. This also impacts a child's mind. These neighboring factors force
them to commit small or big crimes with the purpose of earning easy money. As per one of
the research reports, children who belong from the topmost 20 percent of the rich and decent
families in the initial 15 years of their life, have minimum chances to commit a crime
between their 15 to 33 years of age. Similarly, children belong from the families staying
under the minimum economic standard, have the probability of causing a crime fifth time
more than a wealthy kid (Short, 2018). Professor Webb, in this regard, stated that
experiencing poverty at a tender age might have an undesirable impact on the early
development of a child (Crocker et al., 2017). A child, when seeing that his or her parents are
continuously arguing every day for money, it automatically increases the urge in them to earn

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more money so that they can also live a peaceful life. This urge eventually grows when they
see rich kids are getting more commodities for regular living than their usual needs, which
these poor children are lacking.
Another factor for the increased crime rate among the lower class children is the
unavailability of proper education. Children from wealthy families often get good exposure to
education by their parents, so they can differentiate between good and bad acts by their
education and knowledge. On the other hand, children living under the poverty rate does not
get the chance to go to school. Their parents usually engage them in child labor so that they
can also earn and support their families. Due to this factor, they do not possess the required
knowledge about good and bad actions. It has been seen in most of the cases that a child
while doing a crime, did not know about the degree and consequence of the act (Bywaters et
al., 2016).
It can be concluded from the above-mentioned study that, though economic status
cannot define crime, it has a deep influence on a child's mind, especially in cases of money. It
is for the parents to create a healthy environment for the mental development of a child and
make them understand that hardship is necessary for earning money.

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Reference:
Bartol, A. M., & Bartol, C. R. (2014). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach. Boston: Pearson,
c2014. xxiii, 644 pages: illustrations; 24 cm..
Bywaters, P., Bunting, L., Davidson, G., Hanratty, J., Mason, W., McCartan, C., & Steils, N.
(2016). The relationship between poverty, child abuse, and neglect: An evidence
review. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Crocker, R., Webb, S., Garner, S., Skidmore, M., Gill, M., & Graham, J. (2017). The impact
of organized crime in local communities. Police Foundation.
Short Jr, J. F. (2018). Poverty, ethnicity, and violent crime. Routledge.