Quote:
... a study from the University of Texas at Dallas [of more than 1,300 serious juvenile offenders in Arizona and Pennsylvania] found that teens who believe they will die young are more likely to commit crimes — and more serious ones at that....
... Lovings has toed the path toward a life of crime, as well. Last year, he said he stole a BB gun from Wal-Mart with the intention of selling it. He planned to use the money to buy much-needed shoes for his brother.
“For the short term, man, I was just like, ‘If I do this, I can get my brother some shoes, and I can probably get an outfit or something,’ ” said Lovings, who recently completed six months’ probation for theft. “But long term, I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
Lovings said he believes he’ll live to be about 50 or 60, but right now, he worries a lot about how to provide for his 6-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister. He recently began selling candy at school and around his apartment complex to contribute to the family’s income....
“It works in every case,” Houser said. “When you give them hope and encouragement and literally, as silly as it sounds, a pat on the back, a ‘good job,’ it changes their entire disposition.”
It may seem self-evident but it's good to see the research back up the intuition. I suppose the opposite would be true as well. A lack of opportunities to succeed would create an increase in crime.