Vijaidatt S.

Naipal

Exposition Piece

Topic: The causes and effects of Juvenile Delinquency amongst teenagers ages (15-18 years) in

Trinidad.

Pleasant good morning Miss Labban, today I will be discussing my topic which is ‘The

causes and effects of Juvenile Delinquency amongst teenagers ages (15-18 years) in Trinidad.’

This topic was chosen because it peeks my curiosity on the impact children have on society

because there are seen as the future of the nation.

First of all, let’s start off with the definition of delinquency, according to Dr. Bridges

“Delinquency itself is socially inadequate adjustment on the part of the individual to difficult

situations.” But juvenile delinquency is “the conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial

behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action,” as stated by

Merriam Webster. However, Juvenile Delinquency goes deeper than this generalized definition

and its effects are more arduous than the definition suggest. Juvenile Delinquency could be seen

as a pothole filled with water in a road, though it surfaces look shallow its true depth is

unknown.

Juvenile Delinquency is a social problem that threatens the very fabric of society. It is

one of the most serious problems within society, which is a byproduct of modern urbanization

and industrialization. Many youths find themselves in a state of delinquency through no fault of

their own, but on factors that is beyond their control. These factors can be relating to family like

broken homes, a lack of parental control or parental skills, economic instability in the home and
domestic violence. Besides family factors it also has social factors such as peer pressure,

bullying, drug and alcohol abuse and poor educational standard. The factors which go to make

up these difficult situations, together with mental and physical conditions which influence on

individual’s capacity to adjust, constitute the causes of delinquency.

Juvenile Delinquency have many effects on teens and their parents. Like a teen could be

sinking into a life of crime, ignoring a teen’s crime be it a minor one, only serves to encourage

them to repeat them into committing more crimes. A parent worst nightmare seeing their child

or children living that kind of life. Delinquent teens become selfish and insensitive towards their

parents and relatives. Sometimes one incident could change a teens life especially academically

wise affecting their school and furthermore their future to get a good job. A teens repetition and

character could also be harmed because of their foolish mistake.

Juvenile Delinquency is becoming a totally normal thing in society. It is renowned

through studies and research that the environment (family and peers) and the media (the

internet) do influence criminal behavior amongst children. In today’s world teens, all over can

access more information at this age than precedent generation. Even the music that is portrayed

by dancehall artists in the Caribbean. As a result, teenagers are now able to witness crimes of all

different levels and with the influence of peers they become desensitized to them.

The information collected to do this IA was collected from the primary and secondary

sources. The primary sources which were used was questionnaires and interviews. The

questionnaires were given out and filled out by my friends. The interviews was asked by five

students who could relate to Juvenile Delinquency. It was then analyzed and observed very

carefully as four of them seem to be of much use for the questionnaires and all the participants

was useful for the interview. These four participants for the questionnaires whose names can’t
be stated for obvious reasons because of the minor crimes they committed and the severe effects

which they been dealt with. Through the observations of the questionnaires three of the

participants did these minor crimes because of family factors and the other participant was

bullied to carry out the action. One of most severe punishments was a participant got expelled

from school and almost didn’t get accepted to another school. What would of happen if he

didn’t get into another school? He/she would of easily be sinking in a life of crime for the rest

of their life. For the interviews one student did it because of a family factor and the rest did it

because of social factors.

The secondary sources which were used was a Guardian newspaper article named “Invest

and in reducing Juvenile Delinquency” this was published on the March 1st 2016. The other

secondary source was a research paper named “Juvenile Delinquency in Schools in Trinidad and

Tobago” which was published in 2011 by Danielle Logan. These secondary pieces help me

gather the necessary information for my topic

During the collection of my data for my research there was certain challenges which was

experienced. Some of peers could have been dishonest and lied on the questionnaires, some

students didn’t want to confess or admit if they did anything relating to Juvenile Delinquency so

it was hard gathering information to be analyzed for the questionnaires. For the interviews a

barrier of communication could have been encountered because students could of also straight

up lied and some of the questions could have been misinterpreted leading to wrong answers

towards the questions.

My primary resources aren’t really reliable because it can’t be checked but it was valid

because of its relevance. For secondary sources, some articles weren’t chosen because of its

invalidity, yes it had information on Juvenile Delinquency but not the information needed for
this topic. So, the articles which was used was valid and reliable. The medium used to deliver

the message was the questionnaires and the channel used is the interviews for the primary

sources.

Miss as I conclude, Juvenile Delinquency have many causes and effects. It is clearly

taken as a minor problem in Trinidad, and it is not getting the full attention the matter deserves

since it can clearly affect the nation’s youth of the country. It is also a rapid growing

phenomenon in Trinidad when analyzing and examining the criminal elements.