Criminal Justice Issues and Positive Family Support in Addressing Addicted and Delinquent Adolescents

Family support is a crucial attribute in the growth and development of children, especially during adolescents. The quality of life in the family determines the overall well-being in aspects such as psychological, physical, mental, social, and economical. Thus, the contribution of family well-being to the prevention of substance abuse and behavioral challenges among adolescents has been proposed. This area needs significant research to determine how to reduce or eliminate behavioral challenges or substance use among these adolescents through family intervention strategies. Behavioral issues and substance use among these youths have resulted in myriad criminal justice issues because they engage in antisocial behaviors and other delinquent behaviors. In preventing re-off ending, family and surrounding environment are presumed to provide activities, support, and emotional, physical, and intellectual development opportunities. Thus, the research question for this study is: What are the criminal justice issues and positive family support role in reducing the risks of substance use and problematic behaviors among adolescents.

Criminal Justice Issues

This literature review focuses on the contribution of previous studies in understanding and addressing criminal justice issues associated with adolescents and the assistance of the positive family support program in lowering their probability of substance use and delinquent behaviors. Young people tend to engage in antisocial behavior, drug use, and other delinquent behaviors. This adolescent behavior has been attributed to the developing cognitive abilities, which are associated with inhibition of risk-taking measures, amendable to changes, and are more receptive to mechanisms that address environmental deficiencies. Sheeber et al. (1997) found that family relationships could trigger depressive symptoms in children and adolescents because parents are active agents in a parent-child interaction while children are receptive to their actions. Therefore, during marital conflicts and other adverse occurrences, children can sustain depressive symptoms, which worsen with time. In the parent-child relationship, criminal justice issues such as delinquency in adolescents can develop from depressive symptoms occurring from parent discipline, type of relationship with fathers, and amount of emotional expressiveness. These factors influence and predict the family's contribution to depression among children. With depression and unmatured cognitive function, adolescents are more likely to engage in indifference to their safety. With less worry about the consequences of their actions, they develop withdrawal symptoms, compromised self-esteem, peer challenges, antisocial behaviors, and consequently, delinquency. There are many adolescents in the criminal justice system, and most of them show academic skills of lower grades than their peers, besides being economically and socially vulnerable (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019). Therefore, these findings suggest a correlation between social environment, substance use, and delinquent behaviors because depressed persons are more likely to engage in these behaviors.

Positive Family Support

Sanders (1999) proposed a Positive Parenting Program (PPP) to address these shortcomings. The PPP strategy prevented children's critical behavioral, emotional, and developmental challenges by enhancing the parents' knowledge, skills, and confidence. However, other factors have impacted parents' ability to provide social. According to Kossek et al. (2009), work-family conflict is a stressing factor when parents try to give positive family support to their children. Most employees have found that conflict interferes with the balance of life and job efficiency because it has positive and negative consequences on work, family, and stress outcomes. Besides, illnesses such as cancer have interfered with the roles parents play in creating positive family support to guide aid their growing children. Families in which a parent suffers from these diseases have their children subjected to difficult choices in interpreting the illness, resulting in psychological challenges and emotional distress (Given et al., 2001).

Therefore, this made Holahan & Moos (1985) presume that social support during such periods of illness can buffer a person from experiencing life stress because the support gives emotional sustenance, guidance, and other essential assistance. Another study by Wayne et al. (2006) finds that people who receive sufficient emotional support are better at handling their workplace responsibilities and find few reasons against their quitting of the organization. Though this study focused on working parents, it showed that parents who have families are more likely to have pleasurable moods and thus able to handle their responsibility of emotionally supporting their adolescents. Triple P programs work collaboratively with media, primary care services, learning institutions, counseling departments, and workplaces to instill parents with knowledge, skills, and attitude to provide emotional support to their adolescents (Sanders et al., 2002).

Delinquency Among Adolescents

Discrepancies in decision-making autonomy (DDMA) are the primary course of parent­ adolescent conflicts due to the differences in expectation and perception of independence (Miller & DiMatteo, 2013). These differences affect not only social interactions but also adherence to medical interventions during cases of illness. Therefore, with heightened DDMA, reduced family support and commitment to medical interventions are reduced. The findings of Miller & DiMatteo (2013) indicate that while developing medical interventions, there is a need to address emotional relationships and cohesiveness with parents when adolescent care is handled. These results focus not only on the medical circumstance but also on the possibility of adolescents engaging in delinquent behaviors when there is compromised family support when going through illness. Lim & Lee (2011) noted that men and women have different thresholds in the perception of violation of norms of respect. Suggesting that people, including adolescents, have certain thresholds, especially with their sensitivity to autonomy; this could strain their relationship with their parents and contribute to their delinquency. Positive family support is associated with reducing suicide ideation and depression (Harris & Molock, 2000). Therefore, to avoid triggering emotional conflicts with adolescents, parents need to work on building strong family support and cohesiveness. With a high level of suicide ideation and depression, there are chances that adolescents could be delinquent. Family cohesion is the emotional connectedness, amount of commitment, assistance, and support that a family unit accords its members, thus explaining why children raised in cohesive family settings have lower suicide ideation and depression levels.

Harris & Molock (2000) explains that adolescents' level of happiness, joy, and well-being are connected to their interpretation of the cohesiveness of their family unit. Those in families with a low level of cohesiveness are prone to depression and thus a higher likelihood of delinquency behaviors. This view was supported by a study conducted by Edwards & Lopez (2006) in their empirical study on Mexican American adolescents concerning family support, acculturation, and satisfaction.

Comparing and Contrasting Studies

These studies have addressed how family support could be tailored towards achieving a robust social environment for parents, who would then foster positive emotional well-being in their children and adolescents so that they will not develop depressive symptoms. The studies address the social well-being of parents and workers to find the existing relationship and how best the family's support can aid in building strong families and better family-work balance. In focusing on ill-health, some of these studies explore how family support assists those affected and those suffering in family units and how they can be supported emotionally. Depression among youths has dire consequences, including delinquency and difficulties regaining wellness in case of a disease. Studies employed different methodologies to research their various topics and hypothesis. Some of the leading articles explored for this literature review used empirical research methods and meta-analyses to study family support approaches in enhancing the emotional well-being of its members. Longitudinal studies focused on adverse family relations and their effect on children and adolescents in developing depressive symptoms. Some studies agree that having good family emotional support is key to creating a good family-work balance and boosts job satisfaction. In methodologies used by researchers, some of the studies used empirical methods (Sanders (1999), Edwards & Lopez (2006) and Sanders et al. (2002), Kossek et al. (2011) used meta-analysis and Sheeber et al. (1997) used longitudinal research methods.

The difference between men and women in emotional threshold was significant in some studies, indicating that among adolescents, there could be a difference to be expected in how boys and girls react to different support approaches. Most authoritative studies employed meta-analysis, empirical studies, and longitudinal quantitative studies. Weaker studies include those unrelated to the central theme of study in the topic and those that lack sufficient evidence to support various claims made.

Conclusion

These studies did not address the direct connection between family support and criminal justice issues affecting adolescents nor the relation to their substance use and delinquent behaviors. However, some studies attributed adverse family support to depression symptoms and stated that depressed youths are likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. Regardless, the literature explored presented a missing link in how criminal justice challenges facing adolescents could be reduced through positive family support. There is enough evidence and studies on factors affecting positive family support, their relation to work-family work, and how workplaces influence family well-being. However, the connection between delinquency and substance abuse, criminal justice issues, and family support has not been studied explicitly.