Psychology 291
Prof. Geiling
14 May 14, 2018
Kids Are Not Adults
Having a better understanding of development and how adolescents behave when involved in criminal activity also for quality treatment and positive outcome with regards to rehabilitation. When dealing with this population it is important to be mindful that they have not matured, their thinking may not be as critical and understanding the consequences of committing a crime have not been fully grasped by those in the adolescent age group.
While the article states there have been a decline in violent crimes from 54 percent to 38 percent in the ages groups of 15 to 17 from 1994 to 2010, the underlying cause of the behavior had to be address for this change to come about.
States such as Georgia recognize that putting “interventions in place within communities for young people,” play a key role in keep potential offenders out of the system. We are talking about young impressionable kids here. Adolescents are dealing with peer pressure and trying to fit in. While others who might have mental health issues or are coming from broken homes are acting out in ways that might have a criminal penalty attached to it. While they are still growing and coming to understand who they are per Dr. David Fassler notes “It doesn’t mean adolescents can’t make rational decisions,” but run the risk of acting “impulsively, on instinct, without fully …show more content…
There is still hope! North Carolina Rep Avila, is looking forward to what will work in addressing “specific behaviors to improve positive results.” As I noted before, some of these teens come from broken or dysfunctional families, in providing care for the teen and their family unit, there is hope in nipping the issue(s) at the bud and putting the teen as well as their family on the path to