Final answer:
Many children with conduct disorder may continue to exhibit conduct problems through adolescence and into adulthood in a pattern known as secondary deviance. Secondary deviance occurs after society labels the individual's behavior as deviant, leading to an entrenched deviant identity. The debate on whether juveniles should be tried as adults is linked to this issue as it concerns how best to prevent chronic offending.
Step-by-step explanation:
While the conduct problems of some youth diminish with age, many children with conduct disorder continue to violate social norms in adolescence and adulthood in a pattern called secondary deviance. Secondary deviance is a concept where an individual's self-concept and behavior change after their actions are labeled as deviant by society, leading to a more entrenched identity as a deviant. This process starts with primary deviance, an initial act of rule-breaking that does not impact one's self-concept or social standing significantly. However, if society labels the individual as deviant, it can lead to secondary deviance, whereby the individual adopts this label and continues the behavior.
In the realm of criminal justice, particularly regarding youths, there is a debate over whether juveniles should be tried as adults. The argument stems from the observation that in some cases, juvenile detention facilities fail to rehabilitate offending youths, and a significant number continue with their life of crime into adolescence and beyond. Trying juveniles as adults is a controversial method to address this problem with the aim of providing a more stringent deterrent and potential for reform.
Sociological theories, such as social disorganization theory, suggest that growing up in impoverished or disorganized environments contributes to a higher likelihood of engaging in deviant or criminal behaviors. Conversely, weak social ties and lack of social control indicate that society has lost the ability to consistently enforce norms with certain groups, potentially exacerbating deviant behaviors.