The Relation between Family Functioning and The Independence of Juvenile Delinquents

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency can be considered in the context of adorescent conflict for becoming an independent adult and is closely associated with the familial interaction.

At first, to study the family functining, the self-report measure of 75-items regarding family functioning were administered to a sample of 214 high school students and a sample of 198 juvenile delinquents detained in the juvenile classification home.

As result of factor analysis, 3-factors (emotional cohesion, social activity, constraint) were found out. Juvenile delinquents were stronger in emotional cohesion and in constraint than high school students, but social activity was in the opposite derection.

Secondly, based on the hypothese that substance abuse (A-group) is rejecting to become an independent adult and that being a member of gang organization (B-group) is hurring to start independent social life, two groups were compared about 3-factors.

A-group and B-group were both strong in constraint and weak in emotional cohesion, but A-group was less active socially and B-group was opposite. It was examined that a member of gang organization trys to break away from the constraint in the family and wants to be independent from his family by coming into a gang organization, but substance abuser can not resist the familial authority or constraint and trys to forget the confict of independence by substance abuse.