The
world that a child grows up in shapes his or her outlook on life, their
actions, and their obedience towards authority. Research has showed that
adolescence who grow up in low income houses have an increased tendency toward
acting out against the law. Poverty has many effects on the juvenile
population. Children may come from homes that have a low income, families that
ignore the law and a community that acts in violent ways.
Burgess
found that juvenile delinquency, which includes far more serious actions than
delinquent acts (which do not result in court action), is largely concentrated
in low income areas. Juvenile delinquency is correlated with low income houses
and various other social problems in their home lives. An adequate and stable
family income is probably a significant factor in the prevention of serious
cases of delinquency. Birckhead stated in “The New Jim Crow”, that millions of children are caught up in
the U.S. juvenile justice system. It begins with failing schools, a crumbling
child welfare system, and low income houses.
Poverty
does not directly cause violence or acting against the law. Poverty, on the
other hand, can increase things like stress and vulnerability. These feelings
can lead to theft, robbery and violence. Theft and robbery make things like
food and resources attainable which they would not be otherwise. Poverty leads
to a feeling of inferiority which can lead to them acting out. A study conducted on the correlation between
poverty and crime found that a 1%
increase in poverty leads to a 2.16% increase in total crime.
Currently billions of people around the globe are born,
live and die in poverty. As these children are growing up they have a
completely different mentality than those lucky to be born in a developed
country. The psychological impact of poverty on juveniles plays a major role in
their difficult future. As part of a Capstone project for Salve Regina
University we have decided to also look at the psychological aspect of poverty
on young adults around the globe.
By 2010 15% of the population fell below the poverty line
(under $20,000 per year). This may seem extreme, but 80% of the global
population lives under $10 a day ($3, 6500 a year). The widening gap between the rich and the
poor has led greater mental health issue and fewer resources. The mental health
problems are affected by the lack of nutrition, chronic conditions, exposure to
violence and lack of education. Living in the environment increases their
chances of witnessing or being a part of a traumatic event. This can lead to
devastating and impactful mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress
disorder. Those same children have a 60% of children of developing a substance
abuse problem. As the cycle continues into adolescence they tend to develop a ““Live for today and not tomorrow”
attitude because of their hardships, which inhibits them from a developing a
positive future.
Adolescene growing up in improvised
neighborhoods also have high percentage of the population developing emotional
problems. A study performed by Kessler and Duncan (2014) researched the trends
of mental health disorders and the impacts a neighborhood has on them. When
youth in low-income neighborhoods were compared to the control group had higher
rates of major depression, PTSD and conduct disorders.
Although
there are many obstacles formed by living in poverty there are strategies to
help develop resilience for moments of devastation.
1. Encourage self-expression. Allow
the adolescence to express their anger or frustration through a positive medium
such as art, music or writing.
2. Create a Safe Zone. Have
a designated area where there are other activities they can do during their
free time for entertainment. This can be a club, recreational center or sports
team.
3. Help someone. Volunteering
or giving any time to help others in need often brings your own satisfaction.
Encourage the adolescent to not focus on what they do not have, but how they
can help their community.
4. Stay together.
The youth may feel like they do not belong therefore look to gangs as a form of
acceptance. Instead encourage a strong familial relationship and friends should
be doing positive activities together.
5. Be Responsible. Role
models in the adolescents life should have a strong and supportive presence in
their life. The adolescent should also be held responsible for their own
actions at an early age, to know that there are major consequences for their
actions.
The juvenile
justice system as a whole is focused on rehabilitation as opposed to punishment,
as found in the adult system. There are
a wide variety of resources available that specifically tailor to the needs of
children and young adults, in order to prepare them for reintroduction into
society when they are ready. It should
be noted, however, that many of the children who need the most help often don’t
receive it. This is due to the
constraints on governmental facilities and a general lack of respect and trust
by people in impoverished situations.
More often than not, children in impoverished families fall through the
cracks and are forgotten by the system as a whole.
Poverty
and crime are intertwined in ways that most people do not realize. Oftentimes, due to the lack of educational
opportunities, the families of delinquent youth are forced into low-paying
jobs. This, in turn, forces them to live
in communities riddled with crime and a lack of positive opportunities. Gang activity and drug dealing is commonplace,
and the children who grow up in these kinds of environments learn from the
behaviors of their family members and from the community as a whole. They are forced to get by with little money,
which means limited health resources, a lowered amount educational
opportunities, and essentially have to do whatever it takes to survive, even if
it is against the law.
The
children who often end up in the DCYF (Department of Children, Youth, and
Families) system have experienced abuse, neglect, and the other constant effects
of poverty. Only those with serious
crimes or repeat offenses tend to go into long-term lock-up facilities, such as
the Rhode Island Training School (RITS).
While there, they receive the help they need, whether that be through
counseling, school, or just a friend to talk to who is going through the same
thing. Almost all are victims of poverty
and its effects; we, as an educated society, fail to realize just how profound
this issue is on kids in our own country.
On
the other hand, there is a cultural aspect at play, as well. Society constantly oppresses these people by
refusing to do what they can to help them.
Many people say “They deserve to be where they are, they’re nothing but
a bunch of bums” and the like. But is
this really true? In third world
countries, there are thousands, if not millions of people, who need our
help. Why, then, do we focus our
attention on areas outside of our own country, and refuse to acknowledge the
problems we already have. Social trends
and studies seem to suggest that this is because we either fail to acknowledge
that it is a problem in first world countries, such as the United States, and
people who have an abundant amount of resources and income have “earned”
it. While that may be true, we still
need to do what is necessary to help all people, regardless of their station in
life. So what can we do? Well, for starters, we as a nation must acknowledge that there is a problem. We must stop condemning youth in this country for mistakes that they have made; there is a difference between judging them for their actions and leaving them to suffer because of it. And that is the key difference that many people fail to understand. It is the duty of us, the educated majority of this country, to do what we can and to change our nation in positive ways.
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