Muhammad Owais Khadija Muzaffar SS-100 28 November 2023 This article delves into the perspectives of young people on why they engage in criminal activities. The author contends that the participants' explanations align well with three major criminology theories—control, differential association, and strain theories, also known as the "big three." This article was published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools which adds weight to the credibility of the article. Viewpoints of Australian Aboriginal people, who face overrepresentation in the juvenile system, are provided in this article. These opinions serve as compelling evidence for my research essay to investigate the matter from the angle of those who are facing it. Moreover, the insights presented are authentic as 12 out of 24 interviewed teenagers have a known history of offending. These young offenders articulate the causes behind their criminal behaviour, offering strong empirical evidence to support arguments in a research essay. These insights contribute to the logical underpinning of the argument that juveniles are influenced to commit crimes due to psychological, social, and material factors that are beyond their control. Article 2: This article discusses recidivism among juveniles and the best practices to reduce the recidivism rate. The author argues that restorative justice and rehabilitation are more productive to reduce juvenile recidivism. This article is a valuable resource for a research essay because it provides research-based evidence and expert opinions that rehabilitation programs as compared to severe punishments have more positive impacts on reducing recidivism. This article is helpful for a research essay in certain ways. It provides effective strategies such as “Cognitive behavioral therapy”, “Functional Family therapy”, and “Multisystemic Therapy” for reducing recidivism. These therapies are an important example to support the claim that rehabilitation can be helpful in reducing recidivism among juveniles. Moreover, it also proves helpful in providing counterarguments that the punishment strategies fail to reduce recidivism. This article through providing psychologists' opinions proves that punitive strategies such as “Scared Straight” and “intensive supervision” increase recidivism. Article 3: In this article the author contends that, beyond being psychologically less mature than adults, juveniles are more prone to psychiatric disorders. These mental challenges, coupled with ongoing cognitive development, contribute to making of short-sighted decisions by adults. This article was published in American Psychological association, a leading scientific research organisation in USA which strengthens the article’s credibility. This article is a crucial resource for a research essay, providing psychological research, evidences, and statistics to support the argument that juvenile offenders often grapple with severe mental issues. The article thoroughly explores biological, social, and cognitive factors, offering substantial proof for discussing the developmental stage of juveniles in a research essay. The author's rationale asserts that adolescents with mental disorders struggle to perceive the risks of negative outcomes. This claim logically supports the research essay's argument that prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment is essential to reduce recidivism and ensure their well-being. Article 4: In this article the author establishes a positive link between juvenile participation in education programs and a reduction in recidivism rate. The conclusion drawn is that these programs offer emotional support and instil confidence, enabling juveniles to attain personal goals. The article was published in the Journal of Correctional Education. This article provides the information that is both logically sound and supported by empirical data. This information strengthens the research essay's argument that education significantly aids in juveniles' smooth transition to personal life while diminishing antisocial behaviour. This article explains the study which was conducted at Oak Hill Youth Centre. This study reveals that participants, after just three weeks of educational sessions, expressed a keen interest in returning to school and seeking employment. These findings strongly affirm the argument that correctional education helps break the cycle of criminal activity among juveniles. Article 5: In this article the author explains the different rehabilitation programs in Kenya such as counselling, vocational training, agriculture, fashion, and design. The author argues that these programs contribute to decreasing the anti-social behavior of juvenile offenders. This article was published by the department of sociology and social work of University of Nairobi which reinforces the reliability of the article. This article is helpful in research essay to support the arguments about the rehabilitation being they key factor to make the life of juveniles more social and livelier. The response of the juvenile offenders that such training programs have helped them to acquire discipline and meaning of the life further the makes the claim more trustworthy for readers. Moreover, the different training programs based on the juvenile’s behavior are discussed in this article. These programs serve as the proof for the argument that if the rehabilitation programs are designed effectively according to the personality of juveniles, they would be not only making the life on juveniles more social but also reduces the reoffending rate. Article 6: This article explains the significance of Family-centric approach in enhancing the prospects of successful social integration of juveniles. The author explains that this approach helps in improving the family interactions, decreasing parenting stress and reduce problem behavior among adolescents. The authors of this article are academic researchers in the field of psychology which enhances the academic standing of the article. This article is an important tool for research essay in supporting the argument that families play the significant role in rehabilitating the juveniles. The author mentioned that satisfaction scale was used to measure the satisfaction of parents and adolescents after the family therapy session. The results on satisfaction scale were reliable from both sides. This further adds to the logos of argument in research essay. Moreover, to support the argument in research essay that family interactions provide the positive environment to juveniles the mention of good score on family environmental scale serves as an important proof. This scale provides the information about the Cohesion, Expressiveness, Conflict, Organization, Control, Moral Standards, and Social Orientation of both adolescents and parents after the session. This article was published in JMIR journal. Article 7: In this article Bazemore and Umbreit explain the limitations of “retributive” approach for juvenile offenders. The authors then present an alternative approach known as “restorative justice” and after considering its implications consider it a suitable model for treating juvenile offenders. This article was published in Sage, the American academic publishing company. This adds to the credibility of the article. This article is helpful in providing the answer to the counterarguments of research essay “Should juveniles be rehabilitated or punished”. The article provides logical evidence to back the argument in research essay that punishment approach is inappropriate for juveniles. This article explain that punishment have many counters deterrent effects on offenders such as stigmatization, humiliation and isolation. The reasoning given in the article that punishment minimizes the offender responsibility of crime makes the argument more persuasive. Additionally, the article also backs the argument in a research essay that “rehabilitation is the best model for juveniles”. The arguments presented in article that primary aim of juvenile courts should be to reaffirm the obligation and to strengthen the sense of duty in juvenile are the strong evidence. Article 8: This article asserts that juvenile delinquency poses a threat to social order in any country. The author contends that, despite their age, juveniles should not be exempt from punishment to ensure accountability for their actions. This article was published in Journal of International Law Management and Humanities which contributes to the article’s legitimacy. The article is a crucial reference for my essay, presenting the counterarguments in support of the punishment of juveniles. The author claims that punishing juveniles would bring justice for their crimes. She also cited the evidence that 50% of juvenile crimes in Delhi were committed by those who believed they would escape consequences. This claim along with evidence present the counterargument for my research essay that punishment holds juveniles accountable. Furthermore, the article suggests that implementing tougher punishments would decrease the percentage of serious juvenile crimes. This assertion provides another counterargument for my research essay — that punishment reduces recidivism."
