Juvenile Delinquency Risk Factors — Breakaway Outreach

Juvenile Delinquency Risk Factors

What Factors Increase or Decrease Boys’ Risk of Juvenile Delinquency?

Individual risk factors for juvenile delinquency include:

Early aggressive behavior
Restlessness and concentration problems
Substance abuse
Association with antisocial peers
Participation in unstructured leisure activities

Ways families, schools, and communities can aggravate the risk of juvenile delinquency:

Childhood maltreatment
Ineffective or dysfunctional parenting
Parental criminality
Truancy and dropping out of school
Exposure to community violence
Poverty

Factors that help protect young people from the risk of juvenile delinquency include:

Attachments to family or family support
Parental monitoring
Strong feelings of accountability or perceived risk of punishment for misbehavior
Positive social and community activities
High academic achievement or school connectedness
Mentoring relationships and positive role models
Low neighborhood crime rate

“Before the first year at camp, it was the lowest part of my life. I had lost my mother and sister in a tragic car wreck. I was being bullied at school and was planning to commit suicide when I received an invitation with a scholarship to attend Breakaway camp. I decided to put off the suicide plan and attend camp. It was the best decision I ever made. I gave my life to Jesus at camp and then Breakaway helped me get involved with a local church. My life still has ups and downs but I know now that God has me no matter what.”

Ryan

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Breakaway Outreach. My biological father was always incarcerated and I was sent into foster care. I started camp as a tiny little camper and now I get to serve as camp nurse! I graduated from Lee University with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and I am currently working as a Nursery and Postpartum Nurse. Breakaway Outreach is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an outreach of family and community that all come together because we truly care about God’s children.”

Lacey