Juvenile delinquency is considered law breaking by a minor usually between the ages of ten and eighteen. They would not be considered crimes as they would be for adults, but would be considered delinquent acts for younger people that are minors. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed by that minor it is possible for he or she to be charged and tried as adults. There are many reasons for Minors to commit the acts they do to put them in a position as a juvenile delinquent; one of the main reasons that can play as a role of juvenile delinquency is different parenting style. Other reasons that can cause bad acts and law breaking for minors are school, community, peer groups, and also just depends on the own individual him or herself. There are different theorists that have different beliefs on the causes of juvenile delinquency; one of the main psychological theorists that believed the causes delinquency was based on social learning theory was Albert Bandura. .
Albert Bandura a psychology professor at the Stanford university published social learning theory, in which he considered that human learning is a continuous interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors (Sandon,Andrew). Sometimes called observational learning, social learning theory focuses on behavior modeling, in which the child observes and then imitates the behavior of adults or other children around him or her (Sandon,Andrew). Bandura went on the emphasize that moral cognition is linked to moral action through self- regulatory mechanisms that involve monitoring and evaluating our own actions, disapproving of ourselves when we contemplate doing wrong, and approve applying of ourselves when we behave responsibly or humanely (Carol.K Sigelman,Elizabeth A.Rider). Albert Bandura studied social learning theory through children watching aggressive and violent television shows, he then observed that some of these children observe and imitate what they have seen referring this as observed behavior (Sandon,Andrew).
