Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Delinquent Children and Factors Associated with Recidivism

Yıl 2024, , 36 - 45, 14.03.2024

Masum Öztürk , Yağmur Güzel , Mustafa Erhan Demirkıran Zehra Akan Davut Akbalık Sevgi Gökcüoğlu

https://doi.org/10.5798/dicletip.1451488

Öz

Introduction: Many studies have shown that the prevalence and rate of delinquency in adolescents tends to increase during adolescence and decreases rapidly from the 20s to the early 30s. Juvenile delinquency is considered as a serious social problem because it is often occurs at a young age, is repeated and is often committed as a group. In this study, we aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of children between the ages of 12 and 18 who engage in delinquent behavior and the factors that contribute to recidivism.
Methods: Children between the ages of 12 and 18 who were referred by the judicial authorities for alleged crimes were included in the study. The files of the children were reviewed retrospectively. Age, gender, psychiatric diagnoses, types of crimes, intelligence levels, family history of crime, number of crimes were evaluated and the factors associated with recidivism behaviors were investigated.
Results: A total of 91 children referred by the judicial authorities to the outpatient clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry were included in the study. The average age of the children at the time of the offense was 14.10±1.25 years and 87 (95.6%) were boys and 4 (4.4%) were girls. At least one active psychopathology was found in 38 (41.8%) of the cases. The most frequent psychiatric disorders among the psychopathologies during the study were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 19 (50.0%) children and conduct disorder in 17 (44.7%) children. The presence of a family criminal history (p=0.024), school attendance (p<0.001), parental employment status (p=0.024), lifetime use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs (p=0.005), the presence of peers involved in criminal offenses (p=0.011) and the presence of a psychiatric disorder (p<0.001) in the child were found to be associated with recidivism.
Conclusion: Risk factors associated with delinquent behavior in childhood are also among the important risk factors for recidivism. Although the male gender has a higher risk for delinquent behavior, there are many individual, environmental, and familial factors that contribute to such behavior, such as psychiatric disorders, a family history of crime, peer environment, and dropping out of school.

Anahtar Kelimeler

adolescent, juvenile delinquency, recidivism, risk factors

Kaynakça

• 1.Bilginer S, Karadeniz S, Hizarci S, Yilmaz B, Kandil S.Forensic psychiatric evaluation and reports of juvenilepushed to crime: A two-year retrospective chartreview. Klinik Psikiyatri dergisi-Turkish Journal ofClinical Psychiatry. 2021; 24: 217-27.
• 2.Young S, Greer B, Church R. Juvenile delinquency,welfare, justice and therapeutic interventions: a globalperspective. BJPsych Bull. 2017; 41: 21-9.
• 3.Chung YR, Hong JW, Kim BB et al. ADHD, suicidalideation, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and alcoholproblem in Korean juvenile delinquency. Medicine(Baltimore). 2020; 99:e19423.
• 4.Sibley MH, Pelham WE, Molina BS et al. Thedelinquency outcomes of boys with ADHD with andwithout comorbidity. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2011;39: 21-32.
• 5.Gosain M. Psychological Dimensions of JuvenileDelinquency (May 18, 2020). Available at SSRN:https://ssrn.com/abstract=3697791.
• 6.Pechorro P, Gonçalves RA, Maroco J, Gama AP, NevesS, Nunes C. Juvenile delinquency and psychopathictraits: an empirical study with Portuguese adolescents.Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2014; 58: 174-89.
• 7.Pardini D. Empirically Based Strategies forPreventing Juvenile Delinquency. Child AdolescPsychiatr Clin N Am. 2016; 25: 257-68.
• 8.Karataş S. An Evaluation for Children Dragged intoCrime and Children Victims of Crime. PsikiyatrideGuncel Yaklasimlar. 2020; 12: 575-86.
• 9.Eyüboğlu M, Eyüboğlu D. Psychiatric Disorders,Sociodemographic Features and Risk Factors inChildren Driving to Committing Crime (Turkish).Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2018; 21: 7-14.
• 10.Lemos I, Faísca L. Psychosocial adversity,delinquent pathway and internalizingpsychopathology in juvenile male offenders. Int J LawPsychiatry. 2015; 42-43: 49-57.
• 11.American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic andstatistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edn.Washington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
• 12.Molinedo-Quílez M. Psychosocial risk factors inyoung offenders. Revista española de sanidadpenitenciaria. 2020; 22: 104-11.
• 13. Chan HCO. Violent Offending, Nonviolent Offending,and General Delinquency: Exploring the CriminogenicRisk Factors of Hong Kong Male and FemaleAdolescents. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2021;65: 975-98.
• 14.Wong TM, Slotboom A-M, Bijleveld CC. Risk factorsfor delinquency in adolescent and young adult females:A European review. Eur J Criminol. 2010; 7: 266-84.
• 15.Sarı A, Uzun Çiçek A, Bütün C, Yıldırım A.Sociodemographic and clinical features of childrendragged to crime in Sivas province. Adli Tıp Bülteni.2019; 24: 177-82.
• 16.Poyraz Fındık OT, Rodopman Arman A, ErturkAltınel N, Durlanık EG, Ozbek H, Semerci B. Psychiatricevaluation of juvenile delinquents under probation inthe context of recidivism. Psychiatry and ClinicalPsychopharmacology. 2019; 29: 427-34.
• 17.Underwood LA, Washington A. Mental Illness andJuvenile Offenders. Int J Environ Res Public Health.2016; 13: 228.
• 18.Coid JW, Ullrich S, Keers R et al. Gang membership,violence, and psychiatric morbidity. Am J Psychiatry.2013; 170: 985-93.
• 19.Young S, Moss D, Sedgwick O, Fridman M, HodgkinsP.A meta-analysis of the prevalence of attention deficithyperactivity disorder in incarcerated populations.Psychol Med. 2015; 45: 247-58.
• 20.Kim JI, Kim B, Kim BN et al. Prevalence ofpsychiatric disorders, comorbidity patterns, andrepeat offending among male juvenile detainees in South Korea: a cross-sectional study. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2017; 11:6.
• 21.Kardaş Ö, Kardaş B. Investigating Factors Relatedto Criminal Behavior in Adolescents With SubstanceUse. The Turkish Journal on Addictions. 2023; 10: 95-100.
• 22.ALTINSOY E, Ali K. SUÇA SÜRÜKLENEN ÇOCUKLARVE ÇOCUK SUÇLARININ KRİMİNAL AÇIDANİNCELENMESİ. Güvenlik Bilimleri Dergisi. 2022; 11:75-108.
• 23.Farrell AD, Thompson EL, Mehari KR. Dimensionsof Peer Influences and Their Relationship toAdolescents' Aggression, Other Problem Behaviors andProsocial Behavior. J Youth Adolesc. 2017; 46: 1351-69.
• 24.Assink M, van der Put CE, Hoeve M, de Vries SL,Stams GJ, Oort FJ. Risk factors for persistent delinquentbehavior among juveniles: A meta-analytic review. ClinPsychol Rev. 2015; 42: 47-61.
• 25.Güneş DK, Gökler R. The family characteristics ofjuvenile delinquency in Turkey Türkiye'de suçasürüklenen çocukların aile özellikleri. Journal ofHuman Sciences. 2017; 14: 3742-55.
• 26.Çelikten BB, Demirli C. SUÇA SÜRÜKLENMİŞÇOCUKLARIN OLUMLU SOSYAL VE SALDIRGANDAVRANIŞLARININ BAZI BİREYSEL VE AİLESELFAKTÖRLER BAĞLAMINDA İNCELENMESİ. FıratÜniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2018; 28: 73-83.
• 27.Şahinli Ş. Çocuğun suça sürüklenmesinde etkisiolabileceği düşünülen ailesel faktörler üzerinebetimsel bir alan araştırması. Journal of HumanSciences. 2018; 15: 717-31.
• 28.Cole B, Chipaca A. Juvenile delinquency in Angola.Criminology & Criminal Justice. 2014; 14: 61-76.
• 29.Bright CL, Jonson-Reid M. Multiple Service SystemInvolvement and Later Offending Behavior:Implications for Prevention and Early Intervention.Am J Public Health. 2015; 105: 1358-64.
• 30.Anjaswarni T, Nursalam N, Widati S, Yusuf A.Analysis of the Risk Factors Related to the Occurrenceof Juvenile Delinquency Behavior. Jurnal Ners. 2019;14: 129-36.
• 31. Yüksel T. Bir üniversite hastanesi çocuk psikiyatrisipolikliniğinde değerlendirilen suça sürüklenençocuklar. Dicle Tıp Dergisi. 2019; 46: 559-65.