Juvenile Delinquency: Evils of distress on childhood!
Juvenile Delinquency is a branch of youth psychology dealing with various degrees of social consequences that are punishable by the law committed by minors. Delinquent behaviour includes stealing, assaulting, indulging in sex offences and developing symptoms like pathological lying and truancy. In psychological terms, delinquency is defined as an alloplastic infringement of social values. Put simply, delinquent acts are directed against society rather than at the offender himself. Healey and Bronner found what delinquency may mean to the offender, it is usually an attempt to escape or fight a tense situation, to provide excitement and thrill, to obtain social recognition or to seek revenge against their parents. Earlier, psychiatrists thought delinquency in juveniles was caused by “moral imbecility”. A condition where intellect remains unaffected but moral sentiment is lost. However, this theory was widely unaccepted because no verifiable cases were found. Sociologists strongly believe that society and its conditions play a crucial role in increasing delinquency rates. Factors like broken homes, poverty, and slum neighbourhoods are considered to contribute to delinquent behaviours in adolescents, just as Gladson commented “Delinquency is a disease of deprivation and not of exogenous origin”.
From a psychoanalytical perspective, heredity is an indirect factor in causing delinquent behaviours in adolescents. The parent-child dynamic during the first five years of life impacts a child’s delinquent behaviour in their youth. Psychoanalysts believe, a satisfactory and healthy relationship with the mother figure modifies antisocial instinctive urges into socially acceptable attitudes and characteristics. In the case of an unfulfilling relationship dynamic as the child grows into an adolescent, the development of craving for immediate gratification eventually grows into antisociality. Besides psychoanalysts, psychologists in general, believe that the lack of warmth and love in childhood could be a major factor propelling delinquent behaviour in youth. The child grows up with a feeling of insecurity and unacceptability and the world becomes a hostile place for such children, who end up indulging in deviant behaviours. For them, delinquency becomes an outlet for the tensions within. This is why many psychologists also define delinquency as a reaction to frustration of conflict that results from an imbalance of gratification and renunciations.
Another factor that promotes such behaviours is a lack of discipline and guidance in a teenager’s life. However, overstrict parenthood, where parents are always controlling their children and constantly authorizing also causes delinquent behaviour as adolescents might indulge in certain behaviours to escape from these parents, the lack of autonomy makes them rebellious which may take the form of delinquency in certain cases.
Juvenile Delinquency is also characterised by the presence of a mental disorder. Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct disorders and Antisocial personality disorder are major contributors to the list. Oppositional Defiant disorder is also usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, marked by continuous recurrent disobedience and negative and hostile behaviours towards authority figures. Conduct disorders are typically diagnosed before an individual approaches adulthood. Adolescents with this disorder carry a callous and unemotional interpersonal style across relationships. They have limited empathy and almost no concern for the feelings and well-being of others. On the extreme end, Antisocial personality disorders often stem from conduct disorders, very prevalent in juvenile delinquents. Antisocial Personality, better known as sociopathy is a condition where an individual functions on a no-guilt, no-remorse mechanism. They have no regard for right and wrong, they violate law and order, compulsively lie and engage in violent activities.
India has a juvenile justice board that undertakes all legal frameworks in case any crime is committed by an individual who is below 18 years of age. India tackles the issue of juvenile delinquency with three fundamentals. First, young offenders should not be tried they should be corrected. Second, they should not be punished, but reformed. Third, the Exclusion of delinquents from the ambit of the Court and stress on their non-penal treatment through community-based social control agencies such a Juvenile Justice Board, Observation Homes, Special Homes etc. The rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents is shining hope in the darkness of increasing juvenile crimes. Juvenile delinquents are often kept in juvenile homes or help centres or recreational facilities for public safety, the primary aim of such facilities is to rehabilitate them. In rehab, they undergo psychological assessments, therapeutic guidance, vocational training, social skills development and other alternative therapies like yoga and meditation for stability and mind development.
Anaika Desai
Sub-head
Psycreative Column
Psych Committee, Department of Psychology
Sunandan Divitia School of Science, NMIMS
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