The Effects Of Music On Juvenile Criminal Behavior

6 Pages 1487 Words

Effects of Music 1



Running head: JUVENILE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR


The Effects of Music on Juvenile Criminal Behavior














Effects of Music 2
Abstract
The purpose of the experiment was to determine what relationship, if any, music had with the criminal behavior of juvenile offenders. A questionnaire was distributed to young males ages 12 to 17 who were convicted of a felony offense. This questionnaire focused on preferred genres of music, listening patterns and perceived influence on their criminal behavior. While hip-hop music was favored predominantly by the young offenders, heavy metal was shown to be the choice of a smaller number of participants. The study revealed that 72% of the juvenile males believed that music had partial influence on their feelings some of the time. However, only 4% exhibited the belief that music and listening patterns had direct correlation to their criminal activities.






















Effects of Music 3
The Effects of Music on Juvenile Criminal Behavior
Music has vastly become somewhat of a scapegoat for violence among today’s youth and even the overall demoralization of American society. The blame has been put less on family values, parental leadership and general family structure and more on music, movies and television. What is being shown at the local movie theatre or what is being played on a young person’s CD player has become the leading source of negativity as far as criminal activity associated with juvenile offenders. Music, more often than not, has been under scrutiny from everyone from parents to politicians and has been labeled by many as the reason for the steady decline of adolescent behavior. Jazz and rock n roll of the 1940’s and 1950’s were believed to have contributed to the moral disintegration of teenagers. This trend has grown through decades of musical expansion and expression.
Aside from rock n rol...