Social and Environmental Factors on why a 16-year Old Commits a Crime

Social and Environmental Factors on why a 16-year Old Commits a Crime

From the case presented, the two social factors that could have contributed to Jeff indulging in juvenile delinquency are the family structure and peer influence (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). Jeff’s family is founded on poor parenting, where Jeff is occasionally scolded and according to him, it appears his sister is being favored. It is also noted that peer influence could have contributed to Jeff developing the urge of engaging in crime from the motivation gotten from his alleged friends, who called him and got him to throw a brick and thus committing a crime. Due to having felt socially not accepted within the family, he succumbed to the lures from what he now perceived as his friends, although they also constituted a risk factor in a different perceptive (Shader, 2016). Meanwhile, the environmental factors that led to Jeff’s act of felony were the looming financial pressure that was affecting how his parents were relating. Because the environment was influencing the social aspect, the risk factor for committing a crime was further amplified as the overall effect was a poor living environment (Shader, 2016). Another possible cause as an environmental stimulus to the occurrence of a crime was the fact that school polices could be against him due to failing grades (Shader, 2016). After Jeff’s mother was called to the school to be informed about his declining performance, it is likely that her mother later scolded him because of the risk of suspension of expulsion as per the school policies. Amid the pressures due to other stressors, Jeff developed distress, which led him into opting to engage in other activities that would excite him, namely, committing crimes.