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Adolescents’ Beliefs About Why Young People Commit Crime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2013

Grace Skrzypiec
Grace Skrzypiec*
Affiliation:
School of Education, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Grace Skrzypiec, School of Education, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001 SA, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The aim of the study was to obtain adolescents’ perspectives about why young people offend. Twenty-four Australian male and female offenders and non-offenders offered insights about what, according to them, motivates young people to become involved in crime. Without the use of sophisticated language, participants offered explanations that were well-aligned with the ‘big three’ theories suggested by Cullen and Agnew (2003) as major criminological theories — namely, control, differential association, and strain theories. Participants also provided explanations that corroborated Carroll, Houghton, Durkin, and Hattie's (2009) reputation enhancing goals theory. Participants’ explanations were consistent with empirically supported criminological theories, suggesting that young people involved in crime, or associated with known offenders, have insights about the causes of crime. An extrapolation of this notion would suggest that they might also have some insight into what measures could be taken to reduce or prevent offending. Notwithstanding further research, it is proposed that young people should be given more voice in criminal justice matters.

Keywords

adolescent offenderscrime theorieschild perspectivechild voicecauses of crime
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 23 , Special Issue 2: Wellbeing and the prevention of violence in young people , December 2013 , pp. 185 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2013 

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