Delinquent behavior is a deviation from norms

In the 1980s, a new term appeared in the US law-making system - "delinquent behavior." This means a deviation from the accepted behavioral norms in society (from Latin "delinquo" - "deviation"). However, such a mean definition does not reflect all the nuances of this complex concept. In criminology, it is customary to interpret it, rather, as a "tendency towards an offense" than an accomplished action.

What is most often meant by the term "delinquent behavior"? This is the designation of unlawful acts of people of adolescence, who do not yet fall into the category of criminal and criminally punishable offenses. But this is not deviant behavior, which is often considered an insignificant deviation from the social and moral norms adopted in this or that society. However, the boundary between these two concepts is more than shaky, which often allows analysts to take one after another.

What offenses can characterize the delinquent behavior of minors? Within the concept itself, deviations from norms can be subdivided into several layers, depending on the seriousness of the misconduct.
So, delinquent behavior is truancy at school, disrespect for peers and teachers, and communication with antisocial groups of the same adolescents who deviate from the norms of public morals.
May belong to this category and more tangible and dangerous misdemeanors: extortion, petty thefts, fights, escapes from the house, the use of alcohol and drugs. All these acts, committed by adults, are criminal and involve criminal responsibility. The goal of separating delinquent behavior from criminogenic is the sole concern for minors, an attempt to protect them from the underworld and not record them ahead of time as a real criminals. That is why the punishment for acts committed by adolescents - except for serious ones - qualify as administrative offenses.

What factors provoke young people to delinquent behavior? This is a fundamental question, the answer to which may lie in the psychological atmosphere in the teenager's family. So, parents' inattention to his problems and desires, or, on the contrary, excessive guardianship, cruelty and misunderstanding, or permissiveness and indulgence to all his desires, constant quarrels between father and mother and, of course, the addiction of one parent to alcohol or drugs . These circumstances are superimposed on a difficult period of adulthood, causing a kind of protest, which determines most of the manifestations of delinquency. By the way, many psychologists tend to regard the deviant behavior of adolescents as a normal phenomenon, a reaction to social changes in society.

What should be the prevention of delinquent behavior of adolescents, and is it possible in general? A very difficult question, the answer to which will be purely rhetorical: pay more attention to the education of minors, in every possible way create a healthy psychological environment around them. Yes, these are sentences, but there is no other way. Deviant behavior is often the moment when a young person creates his "I". And there is only one way out: do not interfere, but try to help him find himself and his path.