engleski

Behavioural and family characterictic of violent and non/violent adolescent offenders

A number of studies has shown that violent adolescent have serious behaviour and personality disorders, and that they live in families overloaded with problems and disturbances. The aim of this study was to compare two representative samples of adolescent offenders, 605 adolescents who committed violent offences, and 592 who committed non-violent offences, in respect of their behavioural and family characterisric. Data was collected from the court archives using questionnaire. The results show that behavioural variables are more important in explaning differebce between violent and non-violent offenders that family variables. Violent offenders commit more crimes, manifest more diffocult behavioural disorders, and live in less favourable family setting than non-violent offenders. They are more aggressive and relationships between members of their families are disrupted in a greater extent, consisting in more verbal and physical aggression. In the domain of family variables, differences between samples, were significant in the variables of negative family processce (sociopathology) and not significant in the variables of family context (structure and socio-economic status). The results provide support to the intergenerational transmission of violent hypothesis.

voilent offenders; juvenile delinquency; behavioural disorders; family disorders

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