A child's social, community, and environmental relations are thought to exert a powerful influence on their involvement in delinquent activities. Kids who fail at home, at school, and in the neighborhood are considered prone to sustaining delinquent careers over the life course. Research indicates that chronic, persistent offenders are the ones most likely to experience educational failure, poor home life, substance abuse, and unsatisfactory peer relations.

Social, community, and environmental relations can also have a positive influence and shield or insulate at-risk children from involvement in a delinquent lifestyle. Consequently, many delinquency prevention efforts focus on improving family relations, supporting educational achievement, and utilizing community resources. If the family is believed to be the cause of delinquency, family counseling and therapy may be used to prevent it. Similarly, gang control efforts have been made to counteract the influence of peer group pressure toward delinquency.

1) Since there are so many factors that can influence a juvenile's behavior, what can you do to prevent delinquency?

2) Consider all of the factors in this unit that influence delinquency: gender, family, peers, and schools. If you were responsible for juvenile prevention in your hometown, where would you start?

3) Come up with a proposal to present to the mayor of your town on how to prevent juvenile delinquency. Be sure to support your ideas with references from the book and other sources.