Problemes of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention (From Loisirs - une des mesures de prevention de la delinquance juvenile, P 93-101, 1976, Alice Parizeau, ed. - See NCJ-70512)

• NCJ Number: 70516
• Author(s): M Kalitowski
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: French
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This study investigates how Polish juvenile delinquents and nondelinquent juveniles spend their free time, and suggests that the use of free time may contribute to juvenile delinquency.

Abstract

The study focused on juveniles from large cities (Katowice, Chorzow) and from worker environments. Both juvenile delinquents and nondelinquent juveniles were from 15 to 19 years of age and were similar in socioeconomic characteristics. A 23-item questionnaire was administered to these 2 groups asking them how they spend their free time with regard to reading books and newspapers, watching television, listening to the radio, going to the movies, participating in group activities and cultural or educational pursuits and kinds of friendships they formed. While 95.5 percent of the nondelinquents systematically read at least one newspaper daily, only 70.1 percent of the delinquents did likewise. Nondelinquents read a greater number of periodicals, books, and constructive materials; delinquents tended to read adventure or police novels. The average juvenile delinquent watched television 40 minutes longer per day than the average nondelinquent, and chose shows that were less thought-provoking. Delinquents also attended the cinema almost twice as often as the nondelinquents, preferred police films or westerns, and showed little interest in films dealing with psychological or social problems. Although both groups participated little in organized artistic or athletic group activities, nondelinquents took part 30 percent more often than delinquents. Overall, delinquents preferred sports, the circus, or the theater to cultural, educational, or instructional activities. Delinquents also congregated in much larger groups than nondelinquents, spent more time in such groups, and seemed to be more prone to peer influence. Thus, free time is spent differently by these two groups, with that free time representing different systems of values and reinforcing value systems that can be correlated with committing infractions of the law. --in French.