SOC-428 Midterm

1.Family relations play a significant part in determining whether a certain member of a household is prone to engaging in delinquent behavior; accordingly, a "dysfunctional" family puts this to effect. Then again, the term "dysfunctional family" is very vague since there is quite a number of contexts from which it could be viewed; however, for the sake of simplifying, a family is considered "dysfunctional" when it comes to oppose the essence of being a "proper" one, which is, apparently, a family that is intact, impervious to any form of violence and receptively interactive among one another CITATION Ani11 \l 1033 (Doggett, 2005). However, because there developed a sense of indifference - if not wholly acceptance - in society for the emerging aberration of circumstances, the depiction of a "proper" family no longer applies precisely as with its initial account, especially at the point where it`s stressed that a family needs be intact. For this case in particular, I refer to the increasing number of "modern families". These so-called "modern families" are those households that have been deemed unconventional or of inappropriate structure and system - i.e. single parents, stepparenting, homosexual parents, and so on. In effect to its irregularity, this disposition often takes blame for the misbehavior of a certain member of the family, which usually is the child or adolescent. Elrod and Ryder (2011) clarify this common misconception:
"Research that has not discovered a relationship between single-parent homes and delinquency suggests that what is most important is not whether youths come from a single-parent family or a two-parent family, but the quality of the relationship that exists between those parents that are present and their children"
In point of fact, there is no hard evidence so far which supports the relation of the structure of a family to the delinquency of a person. Furthermore, there are those significant factors to consider which are actually involved in shaping the family`s wholesomeness; and that is by the larger social context by which they are compelled to adapt, like, say, the economic and sociocultural aspects that affect them CITATION Elr11 \l 1033 (Elrod & Ryder, 2011). Correspondingly, it is the bond shared between both parties - parents and children - which especially challenge the character of a person; for example, if parents frequently ignore - intentionally or otherwise - their child, the tendency is that the child will be left unmonitored and unguided and thus, his resolving to delinquency. Additionally, individuals who grew up in a home fostered by a lack of mutual understanding, lack of warmth and affection, hostility, family conflict, etc. are also inclined to demonstrate delinquency CITATION Ani11 \l 1033 (Doggett, 2005).
Meanwhile, outside factors, i.e. employment, does not necessarily mean that parents can no longer spend time with their child; as a matter of fact, the point is not how long they s...