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Based on prior research, Kratzer and Hodgins (1997) were aware of the association between conduct problems in childhood and adult criminal behavior. Children were divided into four groups. The first three groups were based on where conduct problems were displayed. The first group was made up of children who displayed conduct problems in school. The children's behavior was rated by their teachers in the sixth grade and again in the ninth grade on a three point scale. For the second group a child was considered to have a conduct problem in the community if they had been referred to the Child Welfare Committee as having conduct problems, (such as theft, larceny, vandalism, and substance abuse) before the age of 15 years old.
The third group were children who displayed conduct problems in both the community and in school. Finally, the fourth group was made up of children who did not display any conduct problems and therefore used as a control group. What exactly is conduct disorder? Well conduct disorder is a complicated group of behavioral and emotional problems in youngsters. Children and adolescents with this disorder have great difficulty following rules and behaving in a socially acceptable way.
They are often viewed by other children, adults and social agencies as bad or delinquent, rather than mentally ill. Some causes for conduct in adolescents are no discipline, unstructured discipline and a broken home. A broken home is one of the factors that can produce a delinquent child. A broken home reduces the opportunity for creating a strong attachment between child and parents and that reduces the parent's ability to condition the child.
Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories centering on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized for previous delinquent acts or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. In fact Sampson and Last (1997) say that isolating criminal behavior as being caused by conduct disorder does not allow for the array of influences and interactions that lead a child with problems to criminal activity in adulthood. They suggest that a child with conduct problems starts in on a life of cumulative disadvantage. The conduct disorder might indeed be the initial cause of problems, but may be replaced by the effects of disapproving, negative reactions from others. This interaction can follow a child throughout their development and eventually lead to criminal behavior.
Labeling theory may explain this by saying that because children were labeled aggressive others reacted differently to them. This negative reaction could maintain to child's aggressiveness into adulthood eventually leading them to an increased risk for criminal
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Research essay sample on Conduct Disorder Criminal Behavior
