Juvenile offenders: A field study of risk factors

The onset of the delinquent career takes place at early ages. Thus, adolescence is a key period for the implementation of preventive and re-educational programs for antisocial and delinquent behaviors. The literature has shown that biological, psychological, and social variables may serve as risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behavior. In this context, in a field study, 84 adolescents-42 juvenile offenders that were serving detention measures and 42 equivalent youngsters from the normal population-were compared in four main psychological risk factors: self-concept, socialization, coping, and emotional intelligence. The results reported that juvenile offenders had problems in socialization, deficits on emotional intelligence, and tended to employ non-productive coping strategies. The findings are discussed in terms of prevention and treatment planning for antisocial and delinquent behavior in juvenile offenders. (C) 2013 Colegio Oficial de Psicologos de Madrid. All rights reserved.