Argumentive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Argumentive - Essay Example Similarly mass murders are carried out by boys more often. Results show that all these teens seemed to have harbored a deep feeling of hopelessness or rage. Other factors that compel boys to respond more to peer pressure includes the violence and music they face while playing video and television games (Decter, pars. 11-13). In the process of trying to prove themselves, boys tend to get attracted to power. With power comes responsibility. Misuse of it leads to delinquent behaviors. To be a part of a specific group, adolescents acquire specific traits. This helps them in socializing and the peer pressure compels them to remain rooted to those traits. A social ecological influence leads a person to adopt specific behaviors and hinders them from doing certain things. Certain studies are carried out that report the affect of peers on tendency towards delinquent behaviors. One such study is carried out that uses data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. They conclude fro m this data that adolescents who hang around with delinquent peers tend to be more delinquent. Also, if the choice of their friends is not structured, they develop a tendency to be delinquent. They also conclude that to some extent age, gender, institution, or family structure does not intervene from the influence adolescents accept from their peers. This study has also divided their results based on socialization and opportunity models. A number of social and parental control variables are also considered in this study. This helps understand the impact of social circle of peers and their tendency to be delinquent (Haynie, pars 1-7). Delinquent behavior is not only the result of peer pressure but also societal issues that push people towards such extremes. Studies have shown that adolescents are forced towards delinquent actions to avoid being the outcast in a society. They get addicted to please people and do things to get in their good book that they won't do under normal circumst ances. Adolescents need to stay focused on principles in order to realize they are not crossing any lines when it comes to moral values. This can be achieved through values taught at their homes. It needs to be strongly embedded in the child's brain that they understand who they are and what they need and what ways are moral or immoral to attain their goals. The development of this understanding is only possible if the family is complete and not a broken home. Single parents may not be able to instill a sense of responsibility in their teens alone. They might require additional help as in the case of Hubert who was supervised by his mother alone. She had to look after other children as well and to make his space in society among people who do not mock him, he joined a gang. The importance of the role of father supervision in a boy's life is highlighted in this case. Adolescents who get carried away due to peer pressure need to be guided by a trusted but authoritative family member w ho can influence the adolescent and make the teen realize the implications of their actions (Greer, pars 2-4). The role of parents in controlling delinquent behaviors has been discussed a lot in the past. It has been noted that parents who spend more time with their children and keep in touch with their social circle seem to prevent them from delinquent company. This phenomenon can be categorized as exposure control as the parents control who their