A Case-Analysis Based on the Alienation Theory of Delinquency

Abstract

This is a case study based on the alienation theory of delinquency presented in the last issue of this journal. Self-alienation process and mechanism of a 14 years old delinquent boy were carefully studied. This boy, although not psychopathic and having fundamental ability to relate to others, have deep sense of deprivation and repressed oral dependency need. To cover this tragic deep feeling, as a defense machanism, he develops compensatory aggression and toughness accompanied by denial of anxiety and dependency, which is reinforced by hostility. In the past, he was ambivalent between his deep dependency need and his compensatory aggression and toughness. The former let him seek socialized interpersonal relationship at home and at school which made him as conformistic as possible. The latter let him give up socialized interpersonal relationship and let him become self-alienated and delinquent. After this ambivalent period, he developed feeling to be more and more rejected by parents and society, feeling to be discriminated from “squore guys”, and deviant self-concept as a “bad boy”; which led him toward the direction to give up socialized interpersonal relationship. Thus now he alienates himself from ordinary society, gives up socialized role-taking, gives up socialized achivement, loses socialized selfe-concept, and his surperego as well as interpersonal feeling loses its socialized direction. This alienation process is always reinforced by various rejective environmental forces and also by peer group association in which he finds some substitute of what he gives up. This differential association, identification and roletaking again stimulate the outer pressure and his alienation insocial relationship (vicious circle). As he gives up socialized interpersonal relationship, in deep emotional level also, his defense mechanism against love and dependency need becomes perfect, and he is compulsively tough and hostile toward ordinary human world. As a summary of these complicated process, we can see his delinquency process just in his self-alienation mechanism in which he gives up socialized interpersonal relationship not only in periferal level of social role-taking but also in deep emotional level.