Criminology Theory Assignment: Background of the Theory (Essay Sample)

Criminology Theory
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Criminology scholars have put forward various theories that attempt to explain why people engage in criminal activities. Some of these theories include; biological, sociological and psychological theories. While some of these theories operate in isolation, most of them depend on one another to explain criminal tendencies in people. For example, biological theories explain that people are born with certain predispositions which once exposed to certain environmental factors (environmental factors are explained in sociological theories) may lead an individual to engage in criminal activity. To this extent, numerous criminology studies have found out that incarceration of one or both parent is most likely to lead to delinquency or criminal activity in the child. How then can this phenomenon be explained? This essay presents a discussion on a criminology theory that explains why incarceration of a parent(s) is most likely to lead to delinquency in a child.
Background of the Theory
In this essay, we will examine the labeling theory of crime. This theory belongs to the larger sociological theories of crime. As mentioned earlier, sociological theories of crime try to establish a link between criminal behavior and the environment in which the individual grew up in or his or her interactions with other members of the society (McLaughlin & Newburn, 2010). The basic tenet of sociological theories is that everyone has the potential of being a criminal depending on their interaction with groups and other social institutions (McLaughlin & Newburn, 2010). The actions of the society reinforces criminal behavior upon an individual either through; institutional interactions or how the society shapes the perspective of an individual. Consequently, the constant exposure to criminal thought and behavior leads a person to learn traits that are favorable to crime.
To this extent, the labeling theory has to do with the characteristics that the society prescribes to an individual. The society’s definition of a person plays a significant role in the formation of a person’s identity (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2010). If the society labels an individual to be deviant and consequently stigmatizes that individual, there is a high probability that they will end up being criminals. It is important to note that the society labels an individual with the aim to shun deviant behavior but ironically the person becomes what labeling was meant to deter. The theory is also not simplistic and one-way as many people believe it to be. It is multi-dimensional i.e. it examines how people control how others view them and how they react to labels. Therefore, labeling theory hypothesizes that a person’s criminal behavior is directly and substantially affected by the labeling experience (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2010).
Relationship between Parental Incarceration and Delinquency as explained by the Theory
Labeling theory assumes that children of incarcerated parents are labeled as criminals and stigmatized by the society due to the status of their parents. For example, young children are most likely to call names to their colleagues whose parents have been incarcerated and refuse to play with them. This isolation and stigmatization which these children are exposed to at a very young age has a severe effect in the identity formation and is most likely to lead in deviant behavior (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2010). This is not usually the doing of the small children but parents also play a critical role in this. Most parents will not want their children to play with children of convicted criminals. They lay-manly believe that these children have the criminal tendencies of the parents which their children might learn if they engage with these children.
Terms like ‘You are a criminal like your father or mother’ will force an individual to identify with the characteristics of the father or the mother. Most of these characteristics are related to deviant behavior leading the individual to engage in criminal activity. For example, the children of convicted murderers, ra...