83 Issue 4 p367. Labeling theorists believe that the act of labeling itself has the effect of pigeonholing an individual and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. The age of juvenile delinquent is not uniform all over the world. Social Forces, 75(1), 145. The juvenile will feel like this is the only place where all of his criminal activities get approval. However, what of delinquents whose primary problem is a disrespect or distrust of authority; why would an adolescent who does not listen to what his or her elders say all of a sudden believe them when they label him or her as a delinquent, a criminal, a bad person, etc. Over the period of a year, the results indicated that there was virtually no difference in the subsequent behavior between the control groups and the experimental groups (4). Labeling theory would likely be much more widely accepted as a strong theory if it focused more on degree of stigmatizing. The theory argues that there is a self-fulfilling prophecy in which a juvenile becomes negatively labeled and subsequently lives up to that negative label. The next analysis that must be conducted resides in scope and parsimony: this deals with the complexity of the theory. Academic Search Premier. A youth who succumbs to a label may then proceed to act as a “criminal” or act as a “delinquent,” abandoning social norms because he or she believes that he or she is a bad person and that this is what bad people are supposed to do. The primary question that needs to be addressed is whether labeling theory makes sense: does it have logical consistency? Labeling theory states that people come to identify and behave in ways that reflect how others label them. Evaluating Labeling Theory of Juvenile Delinquency. 2
A court of law, some other agency, a youth’s family and supervisors, and/or the youth’s peers give a name – or a “label” – to the youth, often in “degradation ceremonies” (1). In India the age for boys is 16 years and 18 for the boys. Describing someone as a criminal, for example, can cause others to treat the person more negatively, and, in turn, the individual acts out. (4) Bench, Lawrence L. and Allen, Terry D. “Investigating the Stigma of Prison Classification: An Experimental Design.” Prison Journal. 1
“Self-rejecting attitudes result in both a weakened commitment to conventional values and the acquisition of motives to deviate from social norms” (1). The question structural-functional theories tr… But, in spite of such general usage, there has been little systematic explication of the applicability of the theory to the juvenile justice system, and little examination of its empirical support. Succinctly, labeling theory looks at differing labeling sources and specific relationships over time and makes an attempt to predict the onset of deviant behavior in juveniles (Downs, Robertson & Harrison, 1997). Juvenile delinquency can be defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment. (2) Clarke, Walter V. “The Problem of Labeling: The Semantics of Behavior.” A Review of General Semantics. (3) Fernald, Charles D. and Gettys, Linda. Social Science. Academic Search Premier. After a series of influential critiques, however, the validity of the theory had fallen into question by 1980 and was pronounced dead by 1985. It concluded that a juvenile’s teachers are possibly the most “important sources of negative labeling.” The study also pointed to peer-labeling as a significant predictor of serious delinquency. 1025. This is because they hesitate, feel embarrassed, scared, uneasy, or confused of how others will react towards them. Doctoral Dissertations. Juvenile Delinquency and Labeling Theory Kallie Maglione St. John’s University CRM 119 Juvenile Delinquency Dr. Marquis R. White October 23, 2014 Bartusch, D. J., & Matsueda, R. L. (1996). In this paper we examine the application of the labeling perspective to one particular area, juvenile delinquency. The labeling theory of deviance was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s. These results do not account for other factors, however. This embarrassment also makes it difficult to become friend with conventional teens. The negative impression of labeling will make the juvenile represented as irresponsible and not a trustworthy member of the society. Finally, the usefulness and policy implications of labeling theory need to be explored. The basic assumption of the theory is that perceived negative societal reactions lead to the development of negative self-conceptions and greater delinquent involvement (Lemert, 1951; Becker, 1963). Gender, reflected appraisals, and labeling: A cross-group test of an interactionist theory of delinquency. This detention time means not only social training but moral and spiritual training. Some juveniles are stigmatized by their teachers, or stigmatized by law enforcement (formal labels), but are positively reinforced by their parents and family. =
(2019). The term "labeling theory" is used frequently among practitioners in the juvenile justice system to justify any effort to minimize court intervention into the lives of children. The conventional peers will fear that the labeled juvenile might have ties with deviant groups. Vol 38 Issue 149 p171. It does not really look into specific behaviors or reactions, focusing on the overall populationthis may be its greatest flaw. In this way, the juvenile participates in further criminal activities, he considers it his career. But in some cases there is an unfair labeling of delinquency even before the trial. Wide agreement or consensus is assumed about which behaviors are valued and disvalued in society. Overall, labeling theory appears to be a shaky and marginally supported theory at best. Basically, social labeling theory holds that juveniles begin believing they are people who do bad things and are transformed into believing they are bad people. Leave a comment As of now, social labeling theory is an unstable and unsound theory, with little credibility. Your email address will not be published. Labeling theory has been an extremely important and influential development in criminology, but its recent advances have been largely neglected. Juvenile Delinquency. juvenile delinquency and crime have long been viewed as social problems. Free Online Library: Labeling and delinquency. There is always a feeling of fear and lack of trust towards deviant person. For example, one could track juveniles who commit delinquent crimes by those who become labeled by the system and those who are not labeled. There are some stereotypes that our society most cruelly assign them. Juvenile Delinquency. Labeling often makes a person more serious and stable criminal. It showed that family-labeling did not hold much significance. This shows only that the theory must still be alive and well as it continues to stir interest in not only sociologists but also all social scientists and theorists alike. The impact of labeling on juvenile delinquency are direct as well as indirect. Robert McNamara. Social labeling theory is a pretty straight-forward concepta juvenile is stigmatized and they have a self-fulfilling prophecy of this label. Juvenile Delinquency . These theories focus on institutions, such as the family and school, that socialize individuals to conform their behavior to values of the surrounding society and on the ways in which these institutions can fail in this task. Mazuru Grace: an informative document. The labeling theory of juvenile delinquency deals with the effects of labels, or stigmas, on juvenile behavior. The juvenile may achieve higher level of delinquency because of his involvement in the gangs and cliques. The socially deviant group will act as a protection against all the crimes. TEE LABELING PERSPECTIVE AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY toy RICHARD L. DAVIS The purpose of this study was to examine the process ing of juveniles identified as having committed a delinquent offense by the police in the city of Manchester, New Hampshire. These ceremonies may be a suspension hearing with the principal or dean of a school, a court trial, or a home punishment, among others. Can the theory be tested ; does it involve tautology or circular?!... labeling once a juvenile is stigmatized and they have a self-fulfilling prophecy in which a “ ”. The delinquency will navigate to adulthood interactionist theory of juvenile delinquent is not suitable to learn behavior. Labeling: a cross-group test of an interactionist theory of deviance was extremely popular during 1960s! Like-Minded, delinquent, peers, and labeling: a Longitudinal test of an interactionist theory of juvenile are! 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