Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 165

Special Editions
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As we move on to the early years of the child’s life, it can be said
that the more a child is exposed to adverse circumstances at an early age,
the more disadvantaged that child will be. There is substantial research
evidence that reveal that the way a baby is treated in the first two years of
his or her life will de termine whether or not the resulting adult has a fully
functioning brain. The damage caused by neglect and other forms of abuse
comes by degrees: the more severe the neglect, the greater the damage.
How would such evidence affect the way we design and implement our
policies and programmes?
It would involve early intervention and showing mothers who neglect their
children how to interact with their babies in a way that would help their
brains to develop. 3
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Childhood experiences has links to delinquent behaviour in young
people too. It has been suggested that the strongest predictors of whether
a child will eventually turn to crime are likely to be in things such as poor
parental supervision, parental conflict, disrupted families, and most notably,
having parents with a criminal or anti-social background. Studies have shown
that the lack of quality parenting (plus the competitive school environment
and bad peer influence) predispose young people towards delinquency and
not necessarily the structure of the family per se. While poverty contributes
to delinquency, the income of the family alone is not a reliable predictor of
delinquency. It is true however that a lower income means smaller housing,
which can lead to young people spending more time outside the house,
thus making them more susceptible to undesirable peer influence.
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Juvenile delinquency is a complex subject, and it is difficult to
identify any single cause or solution. The family, school and peers are three
major sources of influence on adolescents or adolescence. Inadequate family
and school support structures result in a loosening of social controls over
young people. In turning to peers for support and acceptance, socialised
delinquency then seeps in.
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So what do effective programmes for juvenile delinquents contain?
They are generally more likely to be community based than conducted in
institutions. They show high intervention integrity or are rigorous in their
implementation ie the curriculum of the programmes are carefully planned
and delivered. In addition, there is what Palmer (1992) 4 refers to as a
“breadth principle” to address the fact that most delinquents are faced with
3

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Palmer, A. (2012, October 28). What’s the difference between these two brains? The
Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/9637682/
Whats-the-difference-between-these-two-brains.html
Palmer, T. (1992) The Re-Emergence of Correctional Intervention (Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications).
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