Examining the Causes of Juvenile Delinquency in Pakistan

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency refers to the behavior of the young people that violates the legal and social norms ranging from minor to serious types of actions which are against the society and family values (Champion, 1992). Young people involved in deliberate criminal acts take illegal advantage of the opportunities and continue with their criminal acts to become adult criminal. It has been considered that young people are at risk of delinquency who has suffered difficult life experiences like poverty, family dysfunction, substance abuse, childhood abuse and broken family. Further, unstable social environment, poorly developed skills and negative influence of peers predispose the young to delinquency. This paper investigates the socio-cultural factors and their influence on young people in adapting delinquent behavior in Pakistan. The paper also presents a historical background about the deviant behavior and presents statistics on the on trends in juvenile delinquency in Pakistan.