Assignment:
Juveniles as Victims and Offenders
According to NoBullying dot com, nearly one in three students report that they have been bullied between the grades of six through 10. Bullying is any behavior that involves the use of force, threats, or coercion to aggressively dominate, abuse, or intimidate another person. Since the rise of social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat, incidents of cyberbullying have increased. Cyberbullying does not involve in-person contact, can be conducted over long distances, and can involve several people (chat rooms, etc.). Victims of any type of bullying often keep the victimization to themselves and internalize the negative emotions associated with it. Internalizing these feelings can lead to depression, mood disorders, anxiety, and in some extreme circumstances, suicide.
Typically, bullying is handled at the school level, with most cases never prosecuted in court. This leaves little to no mandated treatment for the victims and, oftentimes, no court-ordered therapy for the offender. This is where forensic psychology plays a role. Forensic psychologists can impact social change by working with schools and the courts to develop prevention and intervention programs at the academic and legal levels.
A current issue in juvenile crime is school shootings. Since 2013, according to everytownresearch dot org, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in America. In the first 2 months of 2018 alone, there were 18 instances of guns being discharged on a school campus.
Can these offenders be identified before violence occurs? What are the characteristics of these offenders? Should a juvenile accused of a violent crime, such as a school shooting, be transferred to adult court and tried as an adult? And what is psychology's role in identifying, assessing and treating juvenile offenders?
This week, you examine prevalence rates of cyberbullying, as well as the motivations for the behavior, characteristics of victims, and the psychological effects for everyone involved. You will also evaluate whether or not a juvenile accused of a violent crime should be tried as an adult. Need Assignment Help?
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
- Analyze circumstances under which bullying might occur (D1)
- Examine the psychological effects of crime for both juvenile victims and offenders (D2)
- Evaluate scenarios to determine whether juveniles should be tried as adults in court (D2)
- Demonstrate understanding of concepts related to forensic psychology and the course system, and juvenile criminal behavior and victimization (Q)