NCJ Number
20343
Date Published
1972
Length
254 pages
Annotation
WITH AN INTERACTIONIST APPROACH, THE AUTHORS OF THIS MONOGRAPH ANALYZE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DYNAMICS AND ANTI-SOCIAL OR DEVIANT BEHAVIOR OF JUVENILES.
Abstract
IN STUDYING THE ALTERATIONS IN THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE FAMILY WHICH MAY CONSTITUTE FACTORS OF JUVENILE MALADJUSTMENT AND DELINQUENCY, THE FAMILY IS NOT ONLY CONSIDERED AS A COMPLEX SOCIAL UNIT BUT ALSO AS THE PRINCIPLE MEDIATING AGENCY BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY. CHANGES IN THE FUNCTIONING OF THE FAMILY UNIT AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BEHAVIOR OF JUVENILES ARE THEREFORE SEEN IN RELATION TO THOSE SOCIAL PROBLEMS WHICH MAY EITHER DETERMINE SUCH ALTERATIONS OR EXACERBATE THEIR CONSEQUENCES. THE AUTHORS OFFER AN AMPLE REVIEW OF PREDOMINANT CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES ON THE ETIOLOGY OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND OF SPECIFIC STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FAMILY STRUCTURE, PATHOLOGY, AND DYNAMICS AND CRIMINALITY. THE INFLUENCE OF THE FAMILY ON THE DEVIANT BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENTS IS EXAMINED THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF TYPICAL CASE HISTORIES. A SEPARATE CHAPTER, INCLUDING CASE HISTORIES DEALS WITH PROBLEMS OF DRUG USE AMONG JUVENILES AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRUG CONSUMPTION AND DELINQUENCY. THE CONCLUDING CHAPTER ILLUSTRATES THE MECHANISMS OF EMARGINATION BY WHICH, THROUGH THE SELECTIVE AND COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS OF THE SCHOOL AND THE WORKING COMMUNITY AND THE DEPERSONALIZING EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION, PROBLEM JUVENILES ARE FORCED TO ACCEPT A NEGATIVE SELF-IDENTITY AND THE CONSEQUENT SOCIAL STIGMA. THE BOOK CONTAINS A BIBLIOGRAPHY....BDS --IN ITALIAN...BDS