By Austin Pais

Mangaluru, Oct 2: As we all know that the teenage behaviour is extremely problematic and unpredictable too. There are many who are caught red-handed with petty crimes like arms conflicts, illicit affairs, substance abuse and various others. The status of urbanised women is also challenged and we come across various cases of MMS blackmails, rapes, murders and theft.

The causes of juvenile delinquency are:

(1) Bad company, (2) adolescent instability and impulses, (3) early sex experience, (4) mental conflicts, (5) extreme social suggestibility, (6) love of adventure, (7) motion picture, (8) school dissatisfaction, (9) poor recreation, (10) street life, (11) vocational dissatisfaction, (12) sudden impulse; and (13) physical conditions of all sorts.

The causes of juvenile delinquency may be classified under two major factors:

(A) Social factors

(B) Personality factors.

1. Broken Homes

Investigations reveal that nearly 50% of the delin¬quents come from broken homes. In one of the studies conducted in India only 13.3% of the 140 delinquents that he studied came from broken homes.

The home may be broken up by death of one or both of the parents, or by prolonged illness or insanity, desertion or divorce. Interaction in home is a very important means for socialising the child. The mother plays vital role in this regard. If she divorces her husband or deserts him or dies, the growth of the child will be affected. Such a child loses not only mother’s love but also parental control and becomes an easy victim to the outside anti-societal influence. It cannot, however, be said that broken home invariably leads to delinquent behaviour on the part of the children.

2. Poverty

A very large proportion of delinquent children come from poor homes. It is gener¬ally, although not unanimously, accepted by professional students of juvenile delinquency that the vast majority of delinquents come from the lower class. They commit their offences as member of gangs. Study has revealed that as many as 83% of the children come from poor families. Poverty compels sometimes both of the parents to be outside the home for a very long period to earn their daily bread. The children will not be taken care of. Such children may consciously or unconsciously join hands with gangsters and become delinquents.

3. Delinquency Areas

It is said that some areas are highly vulnerable to delinquent trends. The delinquents mostly come from the areas of poor housing, overcrowding and the areas in which cinema houses, hotels, night, clubs, liquor shops are found in a large number. It is true that when a family is living in the heart of the town the chances are greater for the children of such families to pick up delinquent behaviour. It is to be noted that not all the children living in the delinquent areas are delinquents.

4. Companions and Gangs

As the child grows older he goes into the neighbourhood and becomes a member of the playgroup or peer group. If by chance he joins the group or the gang that fosters delinquent attitudes he is also likely to become a delinquent.

In fact, much delinquency springs up from the prevalent attitudes in the groups within which the youth has immediate contacts. Charles Shaw has opined that ‘delinquency is a product of community forces’.

In cities, in slum areas peculiar social groups called ‘gangs’ are found. Generally the gang starts as a playgroup. In the absence of playground facilities, the children will start playing in streets and finally organise themselves into gangs. The gang has all the qualities of an in group such as loyalty, cooperation, social solidarity and unity.

5. Beggary

Beggary is often the cause of juvenile delinquency. Child beggars mostly come from either very poor families or broken homes. These children are betrayed of the needed love and affection of the parents.

They crave for the satisfaction of their inner impulses, desires and ambitions. They choose to become beggars for the same. As beggars they get annoyed to see others enjoying life. Some of them may even become rebels.

Other Social or Environmental Factors

(a) School Dissatisfaction - Some students get dissatisfied with school life. Parental irresponsibility, unmanageable student-teacher ratio, lack of entertainment and sports facilities in schools, indifference of the teachers may contribute to this.

Such dissatisfied students become regular absentees in schools and start wandering in streets. They may even form gangs of their own and become gamblers, eve-teasers, pickpockets, drunkards, smokers and drug addicts.

(b) Films and Pornographic Literature have also added to the magnitude of delinquency. Cinema, television and obscene literature may often provoke sexual and other impulses in adolescents. Hence they may start their ‘adventure’ in satisfying them in the process of which they commit crimes.

(c) Deep-seated inner desires coupled with outside pressures, compulsions and temptations also contribute to juvenile delinquency. For example, on hearing the interesting narration of the illicit sex experiences or such other criminal experiences from one’s gang mate, one may be tempted to follow the same.

Personal or Individual Factors

Personal factors such as mental deficiency and emotional disturbances may also contribute to juvenile delinquency.

(a) Mental Deficiency in Delinquency

It has been observed that good number of delinquents is mentally deficient. Studies have revealed that there is larger proportion of mentally defectives in children. The relationship between intelligence and delinquent behaviour has been studied carefully. The average intelligence in a normal group of children is 100 IQ (Intelligence Quotient).

It is quite natural to assume that the dull and mentally handicapped or defective adolescents do not have the necessary insight to make distinctions between ‘right’ and ‘deviant’ methods and behaviour.’ Such children are often used by the more intelligent children of the gang or the adults for their criminal purpose.

(b) Emotional Problems of the Individual

Mental troubles and emotional maladjustment are strong factors in delinquency. Emotional problems of inferiority, jealousy and being thwarted are very common among the delinquent children.

“Delinquency is a rebellion and an expression of aggression which is aimed at destroying, breaking down or changing the environment”.

This rebellion is mostly against the social conditions which deny the individual his basic rights and the satisfaction of his fundamental needs. Thus, delinquents are not born so, but they become so due to social circumstances and personal deficiencies. They are mostly maladjusted persons.

According to psychoanalytic view, the delinquent is an individual who is governed by the ‘pleasure principle’. He wants to get immediate pleasure and immediate satisfaction for his needs. So he becomes a victim to his own impulses. He is neither able to control his impulses nor able to imagine to think the consequences of his actions. Thus, it may be said that juvenile delinquency is the result of both social or environmental and personal or individual factors.

Prof Austin Pais

(Prof Austin Pais is Assistant Professor in E&C Department, Yenepoya Institute of Technology. He is also CEO & Founder of Trainident)