Factors Influencing Juvenile Delinquencies Among Juvenile
[A CASE STUDY OF BORSTAL TRAINING INSTITUTE GANMO, KWARA STATE.]

   A number of recent research efforts have found that LD child may not be any more susceptible to delinquent behaviour than the non- LD child. Studies by Robert Pasternack and Reid Lyon, as well as by Joel Zimmerman and his associates indicate that the proposed between learning disabilities and delinquency may be an artifact of bias in the way the juvenile justice system treats LD youths. For example, when Zimmerman and his colleagues evaluated the self-reported delinquent behaviour of LD and non-LD youth, they found that it was actually quite similar. Similarly, Lyon Meltzer and her associates found that while a small number of delinquents had learning disabilities, the majority could not be classified as learning disabled.
Mental Disorder and Juvenile Delinquency
    Conduct disorder usually develop during childhood and manifests itself during an adolescence life (Holmes et al. 2001). Some juvenile behaviour is attributed to the diagnosable disorder known as conduct disorder. In accordance to the DSM – IV – TR Codes 312, XX varies upon the specific subtype exhibited. Adolescent who exhibits conduct disorder also shows a lack of empathy and disregard for societal norms. The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association and most often referred to by psychiatrists for diagnosing mental disorders. Juvenile delinquents who have recurring encounters with the criminal justice system are sometimes diagnosed with conduct disorders because they show a continuous disregard for their own and others safety and property. Once the juvenile continues to exhibit the same behavioural patterns and when turn eighteen, he is then at risk of being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, and much more prone to become a serious criminal offender (Delisi; 2005 p.39).
    Quantitative research was completed on 9,945 juvenile male offenders between the ages of 10 and 18 in the 1970s. The longitudinal cohort was used to examine a trend among a small percentage of career criminals who accounted for the largest percentage of criminal activity, the trend exhibited a new phenomenon among habitual offenders. For this study, habitual offenders were youth who experienced more than five police encounters (Wolfgang et.al 1972). The phenomenon indicated that only 6% of the youth qualified under their definition of a habitual offender and yet were responsible for 52% of the delinquency within the entire study (Wolfgang et.al, 1972). This phenomenon was later researched among an adult population in 1977 and resulted in similar findings. Mednick did a birth cohort of 30,000 males and found that 1% of the males were responsible for more than half of the criminal activity. The habitual crime behaviour found among juveniles is similar to that of adults. Habitual offenders will make a career of bad choices and bad behaviour and probably end ups, sooner, or later, dead or in prison (Delis, 2005). These juvenile offenders are in need of treatment because they have a negative disposition and high propensity to continue committing crime (Delis, 2005).
Male phenomenon and juvenile delinquency
    Youth crime is disproportionately committed by young men. Feminist theorists and others have examined why this is the case (Eadia and Morley 2003 p.SS 3). One suggestion is that ideas of masculinity may make young men more likely to offend. Being tough, powerful, aggressive, daring and competitive may be a way young men attempt to express their masculinity (Brown 1998 p.109). Acting out these ideals may make young men more likely to engage in antisocial and criminal behaviour (Walklate 2003 p.83). Alternatively, rather than young men acting as they do because of societal pressure to conform to masculine ideals; young men may actually be naturally more aggressive daring e.t.c. as well as biological or psychological factors. The way young men are treated by their parents may make them more susceptible to offending (Walklate, 2003 p.35). According to a study led by Florida State University, criminologist Kevin M. Beaver, adolescent males who possess a certain type of variation in a specific gene are more likely to flock to delinquent peers. The study, which appears in the September 2008 issue of the journal of genetic psychology, is the first to establish a statistically significant association between an affinity for anti-social peer groups and a particular variation (called the 10 – repeat allele) of the Dopamine Transporter Gene (DATI).