Female juvenile delinquents - Research Paper Example

The juvenile justice domain is trying to comprehend what is the best system to react to the needs of these girls that are inflowing the system are. (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) One of the most consistent findings in criminology is that for almost every offense that females engage in, there is far less crime and delinquency than there is for males. Although, females constitute a lesser overall segment of juvenile arrests than males, yet it has also been observed that the two genders’ arrest examples have swerved somewhat over the past decade.

Females comprise almost one-third (29%) of all juvenile arrests, about one-third (34%) of arrests for property crimes, and less than one-fifth (18%) of the arrests for violent crimes. (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) However, even though it is the serious and violent crimes that capture the attention of the media and the public, the majority of juvenile arrests are for far less serious offenses, like status offenses, which accounted for three-quarters (76%) off all juvenile arrests. Despite the mounting concern for female offending there is very little known about female delinquency.

Social scientists have excluded females from their past studies of juvenile delinquency, apparently suspecting that delinquency among females is a subset or minor variation of delinquency among males. (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) There are major differences as well as similarities between the two gender groups of delinquents. Girls express their inner conflicts and anger in a direct manner where males seem to make their conflicts known through group misbehavior which is calculated to gain status through various devices.

It appears that the problems of the females warrant different solutions and approaches towards treatment and rehabilitation than those of the male delinquents. However, it is essential to instill in both genders of delinquent offenders more positive goals and self images as well. It is also apparent that different methods of group therapy should be employed to reflect the differences in the genders and their self concepts. Girls appear to have a more depressing self perception than males and they experience more discarded and are inclined to recognize less with each other as well.

Girls time and again are likely to observe themselves as more secluded class than do the male delinquents. Males have been consistently rated as more aggressive during childhood and more boys are diagnosed with conduct disorders than females as well. Girls are less likely to get involved in all types and ranges of delinquent behaviors than are males. Due to the fact that girls are more invested in the interpersonal relationships than males are then girls are more likely to either get involved in or be affected by parental conflict and may in fact be pulled into delinquent behaviors through involvement with delinquent males (Gorman & Loeber, 2005).

By understanding the circumstances of antisocial behavior in adolescents we can then more easily identify the critical developmental periods that delinquents go through during which intervention could modify the developmental trajectory of the females’ antisocial behavior. In other words female offending is established through many channels with many factors involved but