| Most people are aware that "bad" neighborhoods | | | | Along with the changes of puberty, most children are |
| tend to experience the most crime. What most | | | | trying to gain some level of independence from their |
| people don't know is that there is a very common | | | | parents around this time. This withdrawal almost |
| sense reason for this, and it is called the strain | | | | always creates conflict, often in more than one way. |
| theory. This theory says that people who are used | | | | One way is that a child must test their parents |
| to harsh conditions will take advantage of every | | | | values and teaching for themselves. This can lead to |
| opportunity they see. | | | | experimentation, which leads to punishment from the |
| For example, if you put an abandoned car in an | | | | parents. |
| affluent neighborhood, it will simply be towed away - | | | | Adolescents often then retaliate with violent |
| eventually. If you put it in a lower socio-economic | | | | behavior. Some adolescents experiment within the |
| neighborhood, however, it is likely that many of the | | | | home, talking back to their parents and challenging |
| car parts will be stolen. This has nothing to do with | | | | their beliefs for the first time. This can lead to |
| the people being "bad"; it simply means they were | | | | tension in the family, waiting to erupt into a violent |
| taking advantage of the opportunity. Everyone is on | | | | situation. |
| an equal plane. | | | | Along with puberty, adolescents often find their peer |
| In the same way, adolescents are all on an equal | | | | groups to be more important to them than their |
| plane when it comes to violent behavior. Regardless | | | | parents. With this shift come different expectations. |
| of background, almost all adolescents become | | | | This is why friends are such a key developmental |
| significantly more violent after puberty, and it drops | | | | factor in the teenage years. Many teens who get |
| off again somewhere in their mid-20's. | | | | caught up in gangs are simply trying to live out their |
| There are many theories as to why this dramatic | | | | new group's expectations rather than their parents. If |
| increase suddenly occurs. One is the puberty itself. | | | | a teen's friends don't encourage violence, they are |
| Dramatic changes emotionally and physically can | | | | less likely to act out. |
| affect how one interacts with others. If this | | | | There are a few other factors that contribute to a |
| transition is at all rocky, which it almost always is, the | | | | healthy lifestyle also, like eating well and getting |
| reaction of an adolescent can be to defend | | | | plenty of sleep. Both of these are often neglected in |
| themselves, which creates violent behavior. | | | | the teen years, which can have a lasting effect. |