Gender and delinquency
----Karla response
There's many factors that can produce resiliency in girls to avoid a life of crime. For instance, if a girl was sexually abused as a child, it's been proven that school success and religiosity has reduced the probability that the girl would ever commit a aggravated or simple assault in the future. Another example would be, if a girl was physically assaulted as a child, it also has been proven that a strong bond with a supportive and caring adult, school success and religiosity can also reduce the probability that she would ever commit a property crime, simple or aggravated assault.
If I was able to develop a program for girls, there's many elements that I would include in order to prevent deliquency. First of all, I would love to start a group where girls can feel comfortable in sharing what they went through or are recently going through. Where they can help each other and be a judgment-free zone. Second of all, I would start jobs and volunteer services where they can help out and get paid for those who are struggling with disadvantaged, that way they don't have to resort to crime. Third of all, I would create a bullying prevention program, where I would personally teach the importance of being kind and encourage them to share that with everyone else.
I believe that the interventions that might benefit girls that are at risk of deliquency it's to show them how much they are capable of and how much they have to lose if they do get involved in that. Look into their family, community, schools and friends and find something that they are passionate about. Every person deserves the chance to be heard and the best intervention is to hear them out and let them hear you out.
There are many factors that help guide girls away from crime, for instance the book lists four, “the presence of a caring adult, school connectedness, school success, and religiosity.” However, while I do think an education and school keeps you away from delinquency, two factors that I feel produce the most resiliency in girls are 1) The presence of a caring adult, and 2) school connectedness. Females are almost raised to act completely different from males while growing up, as “Males learn to value independence, whereas females are taught their self-worth depends on their ability to sustain relationships” (Siegel & Welsh, 2017). It is well-known that “girls are socialized to be less aggressive than boys and supervised more closely.” As girls mature, however, we develop different feelings and respond to situations differently than men, women tend to develop anxious feelings when provoked, while boys are taught to retaliate or fight back. Females do actually get angry as often as men do, we just do not act with aggression, this is because many women learn to blame themselves for their distress, which is why “Females are “much more likely than males to respond to anger with feelings of depression, anxiety, and shame, a condition that is linked to delinquency and substance abuse” (Siegel & Welsh, 2017). Females also tend to rely more on parental support during the early ages, we also tend to seek approval of our behavior, which causes strains in families as parents and teens do not always agree on something. Since Girls are less influenced by peers, many girls will try to keep a bond going with significant others, (Boyfriend, girlfriend, marital partner, etc.) or parents. Therefore, having a caring adult present in a girl’s life is so important to the future of this child. It is important that a female has a strong, positive family relationship, because i.e. when a girl goes through puberty, her attitude changes, causing strains in the family, but if handled correctly, proper parenting can guide that child in the right direction, since “girls are less likely than boys to have close-knit peer associations, they are likely to need close parental relationships to retain emotional stability” (Siegel & Welsh, 2017).
Another factor that Is proven to produce resiliency for at-risk girls is being connected to school and education. Though, there is a difference as to how school involvement as a teen affects boys or girls, both genders tend to move away from crimes involving drugs. Students who care about their academic performance care more about their positive future, therefore, “Students who spend a considerable amount of time and effort in school are more likely to be concerned about losing their investment if they engage in deviant behavior, whereas students who have little invested and less to lose are more likely to engage in deviant behavior” (Zahn et al., 2010). I think if I were to develop a program to prevent girls from becoming delinquents, I would include drug rehabilitation with reports being sent out to parents, maybe sexual abuse classes where girls can learn to speak out about what they have been through. Mental health screenings daily would help professionals see what girls are feeling with and will know what goes on in their household, and whether they are abused. Studies have shown that aggression in females comes from anxiety and behaviors associated with having been abused, which leads to delinquency and substance abuse. Victimization is a factor that we have to notice in girls, especially if there are signs a girl has been sexually abused, there should be strict interventions that are not seen as punishment, but more supportive towards the child victim. Treatment measured and programs that help with PTSD may help the most, as well as classes to cope with depression and anxiety, going into adulthood. These efforts to rehabilitate at-risk girls must be a community effort, so that the girls know they are not alone and do not have to resort to a life of crime. If what girls at-risk lack the most is love and proper supervision, they need to know someone cares for them and their health.