07 - Chapter 2 PDF

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Juvenile de/inquency:the Concept
The Juvenile Justice System
Delinquency Causation: Theories and Approaches
Juvenile delinquency: A New Area for Educators
Needs and Problems in Education
Juvenile Delinquents and the World of Work
Treatment, Prevention and Rehabilitation of Delinquents
Conclusions to the Chapter
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
l11e review of related literature is a crucial aspect of the planning of a
study, the objective of which is to justify the rationale of an ensuing study. It
provides an ove1view of historical perspective, development, deviations and new
departures of research in that area and also suggests methods of research appropriate
to the problem under investigation.
Tumey and Robb ( 1971) state that "the identification of a problem,
development of a research design and determination of the size and scope of the
proble� all depend to a great extent on the care and intensity with which a researcher
has examined the literature related to the extended research". An investigation worth
the name in any field of knowledge cannot be done without careful consideration of
previous attempts related to it. The Review of Related Literature also helps in
providing placement and direction for the study to be filled into its existing body of
knowledge.
The literature reviewed in the context of the present study is presented
below, under appropdate heads.
2.2 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THE CONCEPT
Juvenile Delinquency is still not fully understood. The experts do not
agree upon its causes, and even less is known about 'how' and 'why' it ends. The
Review of /?elated literal/tre
problem of delinquency still remains as a serious concern for all persons who believe
in healthy and harmonious development of human personality all over the world
(cited in Brown : 1989).
The first problem m a discussion of juvenile delinquency is an
adequate definition of this tenn. Scholars do not agree on a definition of juvenile
delinquency. The minor criminal (age 7 to 18) who violate the law of the land and
commit offences like theft, gambling, cheating, pick-pocketing, murder, robbery,
dacoity, destmction of prope1ty, violence and assault, intoxication, vagrancy, begging,
kidnapping, abduction and sexual offences are tenned "juvenile delinquent" (Mangal:
1984).
The legal defmition of the delinquent child differs from place to place,
in the opinion of Walsh and Furfey (1958). However, the legal enactment of all
places agrees on two points - (i), the delinquent child should be of a young age, that is
below a specific age and (ii) his behaviour and his social conditions should be such as
may require legal steps that may not be possible through adult comts.
Weinberg (1961) prefers to define juvenile delinquency in terms of
behaviour that is traditionally regarded as responsible and is in contravention of law.
Robinson ( 1961) considers delinquency as that kind of behaviour which is regarded as
against its best interest by a pa1ticular period of time whether or not the delinquent is
convicted by a comt. According to Cohen ( 1955), when any specified behaviour
becomes unacceptable in society and when it crosses the tolerance level it may be
regarded as deviant behaviour. Such deviant behaviour includes delinquency, adult
criminality, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, marital and family disharmony and
17
Review of Related Literature
prejudice against minorities.
Coleman (1981) describes Juvenile Delinquency as a dangerous extreme
of childhood naughtiness with a multiplicity of psychological and social causes.
2.2.1 Juvenile Delinquency - An increasing Social Phenomenon?
In the 20th centmy and especially after World War II, juvenile crime
increased far more quickly than adult crime and became an ever greater social
problem11 (Encyclopaedia of Psychology: 1972, Volume 2, p. 166).
The 8th United Nations Congress on the prevention of crime and the
treatment of offenders repmted that C1ime and victimisation continue to pose serious
11
problems, affecting both individuals and entire group and often transcending national
frontiers 11 (cited in Police Research and Development : Qua1ter I, p. 12: 1992) .

•
. Mc Nulty ( 1995) rep01ts that a breathtaking rise in juvenile crime is
occurring even as the national rate of violent crime has levelled off; and the nation's
population of juvenile has fallen. These statistics suggest that the United States is
facing the most violent juvenile crime surge in its history.
The Hindu daily (Dec. 2, 1996) unfolded the tragedy that shook the
1
conscience of the capital city of Trivandrnm, Kerala. 1
On August 19, when the
decomposed body of a second year degree student surfaced in the unused
pond............. His 16 year-old brother was whisked away in a police van .......... on
charge of murder1 1• Figures made available by the District Crime Records Bureau
(DCRB) show a steady increase in the number of crimes committed by juveniles.
'The Week' weekly (Sep. 20 : 1998) in its cover story - 'Violence in
kids' repmted:
18
"Among themselves, Luke, Kinkel, Carnewal, Johnson and Andrews
killed 15 people and wounded 44. These American kids had decided to put an end to
their problems -with guns". The article continues ...... ... ''Kids all over are
increasingly getting aggressive. But unlike in the west, aggression in children in India
is not manifested to the extent of shooting sprees."
There are many ways of looking at the problem of crime. For those
who are inclined towards the social defence philosophy based on modern approaches
in respect of prevention of crime and treatment of offenders, the problem is not as
simple as it seems to be taken by most lawyers and judges, policemen and
prosecutors. For one thing even today, we do not know clearly the cause of crime for
being able to develop a definite strategy for its control. Secondly, all known
punishments in the civilised world have proved themselves practically ineffective to
deter the increasing number and types of crimes.
Rollen ( 1997), studied the social ecology of crime using police crime
report and demographic data. Clear evidence was found to support the general social
ecological theory that c1ime is the product of social and economic conditions. It was
predicted that variables reflecting high levels of social disorganisation (anomie)
would be positively related to assaultive crimes and that the variables reflecting
economic hardship would be positively related to c1imes of theft.
Using self-rep01ted data collected from a random sample of 1,740
adolescents aged 13 - 17, drawn from Senior and Junior High Schools of Taipei,
Yang ( 1993) anived at the finding that, communities that were characterised by high
level of pove1ty, heterogeneity and population density and families that are
19
Review ofRelated Literature
characterised by a high level of disorganisation are found to have substantial direct
influence on delinquent behaviour. Bonding of deviant social groups has substantial
impacts on officially recorded delinquency.
2.2.2 Crime and Delinquency in Indian Judicial System
Crime and delinquency are no recent phenomena. Male violence in
human behaviour is as old as organised human society (cited in Glueck: 1960).
The te1m 'crime' and 'delinquency' are legal ones and their meaning
varies from country to country. In India, any person of 21 years and above convicted
by the comt for violating the provision of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal
Procedure Code (CPC) is a criminal.
Labelling an individual in the age group of 7 to 18, as delinquent, he
must be convicted by the comt for violating the provision of the Children's Acts, the
IPC and the CPC. Individuals below the age of 7 even although committing such
offences as covered legally in the tenn delinquency- are not labelled delinquents but
are termed problem children. Individuals between 18 and 21 who violate the
provisions of IPC and CPC are midway between criminals and delinquents are
labelled young or youthful offenders.
Delinquency-The National Scene
How much delinquency is there in India? If figures published by the
National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs are to be relied upon, then
they would be too general showing only the tip of the iceberg (Vadakkumcherry:
1996). One major reason is that the problem of delinquency, till now, has never been
a major concern of police in India.
20
The share of juvenile crime in the total quantum of the offences under
Indian Penal Code, 1860, was 3. 7 percent during 1987 and it fell sharply to 1. 7
percent in 1988.
Prasad ( 1981) in his study, found that the frustration found among the
rural masses and the inappropriate socialisation process were identified as reasons for
the increased crime involvement of lower caste females among female murders.
The observation of Viswathasi ( 1982), Krishna ( 1982), and the like
reports that murderers mostly come from lower income groups and rural homes and
joint families and they are illiterates.
Airomaih (1993) who asserts that Saudi Arabia has one of the lowest
crime rates in the world, sheds light on the problem of juvenile delinquency in Saudi
Arabia. His findings are:
1. Both social class and family structure are unrelated to delinquency in Saudi
Arabia.
2. Delinquency tends to increase with age.
3. Religious practices were strongly negatively related to delinquency.
4. Parental attachment and involvement in school were also signi.6.cantly
negatively related.
5. Association with delinquent friends is significantly positively related.
A study of institutionalised girls lead Dave ( 1976) to the conclusion
that broken - home and lack of sympathetic handling were the most outstanding
factors promoting delinquency. The other important factors identified were feeling of
insecurity, aggressive behaviour, pove1ty, ill treatment, and tedium of life.
21
The effects of family-oriented Chinese culture on children's likelihood
of delinquency involvement was found to prevent their adolescents from getting
involved in delinquent acts. Whereas the Chinese family operating in American
Society was affected by American culture according to Ma ( 1993). The investigators
study on acculturation and delinquency in Chinese - American communities indicated
that acculturation attenuates children's beliefs in traditional cultural values which in
turn increases children's likelihood of delinquency involvement.
The Socio-demographic conelates of juvenile delinquents identified by
Channa Basava, Issac and Bhaskar ( 1981) are the foBowing:-
1. 88% of them hailed from urban areas (which constituted leading industrial
centres).
2. 93% of them were from nuclear families of lower socio-economic class.
3. 57% belonged to families where family psychopathology existed.
4. 80% of them had not come up even to the upper primary school level.
5. 95% were persistent trnants who had rnn off from home several times and
were inconigible.
An inverse relationship was observed between socio-economic status
and incidence of delinquent behaviour by Shankar ( 1984). Other correlates of the
behavioural dynamics of juvenile delinquency were urban environment, lack of
proper socialisation at home, over leniency of parents followed by frustrating and
conflicting home environment.
22
Who Commits Delinquent Acts?
Brown ( 1989), while sharing his personal experience as a troubled
youth, wrote for the William Gladen Foundation thus: " Nearly every child will
commit at least one delinquent act before reaching adulthood. Surveys of high school
students found that as many as 95% of those questioned admitted to at least one
delinquent act. Yet most children are only occasional delinquents whose misdeeds
are usually minor and scattered throughout childhood. Their misbehaviour often goes
unnoticed or is not considered serious enough to require intervention.
If behaviour that diverges from the accepted pattern of the society is
shifted, it may be referred to as a misdemeanour. It may include wilful badness,
misbehaviours, disobedience and other minor destructive activities when the
divergence from accepted pattern is very great, we have the delinquent group
(Kumari: 1977).
Delinquency - A Predicator of Adult Crime?
Willemse ( 1932) asserts the fact that delinquency is not inherited nor is
delinquent a contigential criminal, it is the product of social, economic conditions and
essentially a co-efficient of friction between the individual and community. But to a
small percentage, the delinquent behaviour is due to intrinsic criminal mind rather
than due to environment.
Strong correlation has aheady been drawn by Randazoo ( 1992),
between sexually assualtive behaviour of juvenile sex offenders and adult sex
offenders.
Mc Cord and Mc Cord's ( 1958) finding indicated that the effect of a
23
in society.
Adult justice might be thought of as " criminal justice system" - adult
law enforcement, prosecution defence, trial, comt, probation, prison and parole.
Juvenile justice, on the other hand, says Coffey ( 197 5 ), can be thought
of as law enforcement, probation - screening, juvenile court, then juvenile corrections.
In terms of the justice system to which both adult and juvenile
offenders relate, consider the diagram (Fig. I).
25
Fig 2.1 Diagrammatic representation of the Process of the Criminal System
ADULTS '
·\..
1. Booking
2. Preliminary Court/ Prosecution
LAW VIOLATION POLICE 3. Information /Pleas/Prosecution
4. Arraignmentffrial DISPOSIDON
1. Observed
2. Reported ........................................... .................................................................... 1. Dismissal
°'
N
3. Detected 3. Dismiss JUVENILES 2. Probation REHABILITATED
3. Institution Parole/After-care OFFENDER
'
4. Suspected 4. Arrest .
1. Intake/Petition
2. Detention Hearing .
3 urisdic on Hea g
...... ·....... J ti . rin ···························· /
"'�
.,::
�
�
�
�
�
"'
�
-
�
-
"'
�
Howlett and Hurst (1971) comment on the traditional approach to
juvenile justice as one vehicle which simply describe the existing agencies and
suppo1t services in dealing with juvenile justice, whereas the 'system approach'
provides the means whereby the processes of the system as well as each of its
elements may be analysed.
Melvin and Doleuler ( 1998), two professionals in the juvenile justice
system, believe that getting the young ones on the right track is the most important
step in the juvenile justice system and hence to those who are intent upon a life of
crime, juvenile justice system is the last stop.
A closer examination of juvenile justice as a system may be classified
by the following diagram (Fig. 2).
27
Fig. 2.2 Diagrammatic Representation of the Process of the Juvenile Justice System
SUSPECTED OR REPORTED DELINQUENCY
I ... .... .. . . .. . .
POLICE INVESTIGATION
>
NO ARREST
PREL!MINARy
JUVENILE ARREST
COURT
FUNCTIONS
�
�
,..
DETENTIONan orRELEASE I PROBATION
FUNCTIONS
JUVENILE COURT HEARING

, ............................................ .. ...... CASE DISJ\11SSED
JUR! !CTION
r
DISPOSIDON
PROBATION
RECIDIVATE
I�---· COURT ---• INSTITUTIONS
PAROLE
Police, Courts and Corrections
The juvenile justice system is manned by many individuals who are
involved in making decisions about offenders. Gibbons ( 1976) reports that policemen
are most frequently involved in the initial decisions about reported juvenile law
breakers, for they either observe these youths in acts of deviance or they learn about
them from citizens. The police occupy a cmcial position in the decision system; they
control the initial s01ting out of youths thus determining which are to be viewed as
28
"bad" or "delinquent" and taken to court and which do not need court intervention.
Criminal justice system recognises that the efficiency of the legal
machinery depends basically on the quality of the initial work done by the police
(Barnes and Teeters: 1966). Prevention and controlling of crime is the basic duty of
the police, the large established disciplined force of the society. They are designed
and established for this purpose. TI1e te1m 'police' refer primarily to agents of the
state whose function is the maintenance of law and order and especially the
enforcement of the criminal code (Sutherland and Cressey: 1965).
From another point of view, it may be pointed out that the ability of the
police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence,
actions, behaviour and ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect
(Louis: 1977). However, the general complaint against the police forces is the
excessive use of force on suspects and others.
The image and reality of police behaviour makes common man
shudder when one talks of the use of third-degree methods in police work
(Sharma: 1981).
The discretionary role of policemen is well provided by Bordua (1967)
who report that the police have a great number of contacts with juvenile which do not
result in court refenal and that thes(;: episodes far outnumber the instances in which
the police decide to take a youth to court.
Bell (1971) commented on the prevalence of the delinquency problem
like this: "it seems clear that most adolescents at sometime commit delinquent acts but
are not officially defined as delinquent is the result of social judgement, in most cases
29
made by the police".
Juvenile court, according to Fox (1972) is part of the total juvenile
justice system - a complex of law enforcement, judging, punishing and helping
functions carried on officially and unofficially by a variety of public officers.
Philosophy of the Juvenile Court
The philosophy of juvenile comt, in the opinion of Pound (1964) is
much broader than the philosophy of criminal comts. With the inclusion of the
clinical approach, the philosophical boundaries have broadened even more. The
category of the 'predelinquent', the abandoned, neglected and cruelly treated - all
facilitated the liberal concept of juvenile comt operation.
As to the dispositional phase of the juvenile court, Turner (1981)
recorded greater co-operative work between mental health officials. It is suggested
that most juvenile can best be dealt with and coITected through psychotherapy rather
than commitment to a correctional school where psychiatric services are inadequate or
unable.
Juvenile corrections ts actually juvenile treatment, consisting of a
variety of activities that, in effect, treat young offenders for the purpose of
rehabilitation. The concept of using treatment and the relationship between juvenile
coITections and the justice system is clear from the words of Slavson (1965). "Our
juvenile laws are founded on the ideal that children should receive from the state care,
training and treatment - all designed to rehabilitate them and prepare them for
adulthood".
Juvenile conection is a significant segment of American justice, says
30
Review ofRelated literature
Fox ( 1972). In a sense, the concept of juvenile correction is simple, it is merely the
rehabilitation ofjuvenile delinquents.
"Methods of treatment of the juvenile offender are in a state of
dynamic change and development . . . . . . . One of the most significant developments is
the use of the community volunteer as the key person in the treatment".
"To condemn is the business of the judge applying the penal law, but
to determine the conect diagnosis in cases as complex as those that come up in courts
for juvenile delinquents is something a single individual is not capable of doing".
Citizen Awareness in Crime Prevention
It has been also been shown that community awareness and
involvement in cnme prevention were non-existent. Police should change their
conception of their role from that of a law enforcement agency dedicated to catching
offenders to that of a public service agency devoted to close relationship with the
people and communities being policed.
Statistics on juvenile crime and incarceration in the United State has
questioned the efficacy of the juvenile justice system to make the greatest possible use
of community services resources in the treatment of these juveniles is the observation
of Rich ( 1982).
Rights of the Child
The promotion of separate right for children is a modem development.
The idea that children are vulnerable, dependent and distinct from adults, they
therefore need pa1ticular protection by society, emerged only in the eighteenth and
31
nineteenth centuries. The United Nations, " Po]jcy Review" ( 1986) reports:
Unfortunately, the environment sunounding children in many parts of the world is
still often harsh, severe and even cmel. Of prime imp01tance are phenomena relating
to the sale of children, juvenile delinquency and child labour.
Weisberg (1978) on 'the concept of the rights of the child' alleged that
"it is not necessarily true that parents enjoy an absolute right to control and dominate
their children and any prope1ty they might hold. Many children are neglected,
abandoned, abused (sexually or othe1wise), beaten, sold into slavery, mutilated, and
even killed in times of hunger or other difficulty".
In resolution 1386 (XIV) (20 November 1959), the General Assembly
of U.N. proclaimed the Declaration of the Rights of the Child " to the end that he may
have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of the society
the rights and freedom herein set forth."
The Declaration presents a code for the well being of every child
"without any exception whatsoever" and "without distinction or discrimination on
account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, prope1ty, bitth or other status, whether of himself or of his family"..
United Nations, in the Declaration of the Rights of the child says:
"Again, " ......... the child, by reason of his physical and mental
immaturity, needs special treatment, education and care required by hls particular
condition. The child shall be protected against all· forms of neglect, cruelty and
exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic in any form".
32
the police operation with delinquents and neglected were concerned. Over and above,
there was no uniformity in the provisions of law among the Children's Acts which
were in force in different states.
Law Reform in India
In a major reform, India introduced and enacted its Juvenile Justice Act
in 1986 and its Model Rules in 1987, developed by the National Institute for Social
Defence of the Ministry of Welfare.
The Juvenile Justice Act focuses on juvenile delinquents defined as
males not having attained the age of 16 and females not having attained the age of 18.
It established a juvenile justice system completely separate and distinct from the
system for adults.
J. J. Act, 1986 Section 2 ( c) defines a delinquent 'juvenile' as a juvenile
who has been found to have committed an offence.
J. J. Act 1986, Section 2 (1) : defines ' neglected juvenile' as a juvenile who is
1. found begging or
2. is found without having any home or settled place of abode and without any
ostensible means of subsistence and is a destitute or
3. has a parent or guardian who is 'unfit or incapacitated to exercise control over
the juvenile; or
4. lives in a brothel or with a prostitute or frequently goes to any place used for
the purpose of prostitution or is found to associate with any prostitute or any
other person who leads an immoral, dmnken or deprived life ; or
5. who is being or is likely to be abused or exploited for immoral or illegal
34
purposes or wiconscionable gain.
Organisational Reform in India
The juvenile justice system governed by the new Model Rules
designates as the competent authority the Board for Neglected Juveniles, the members
of which should be qualified magistrates with special knowledge of child psychology
and child welfare, and the Juvenile Court, whose magistrates are appointed by the
Government and which is assisted by a panel of social workers, appointed by the state
government.
Rule 20 stipulates that cases shall be handled without unnecessary
delay. Accordingly the Juvenile Justice Act states that neglected juveniles, as
determined either by the police or by other persons or organisation, have to be
brought before a board with 24 hours. Delinquent juveniles should be released on
bail, and they may be sent to an observation home as an alternative to pre-trial
detention. When a juvenile is anested the parents or guardians and the probation
officer must be informed of the action.
Disposition Measures
Under the Model Rules, there is no death penalty for juveniles.
Neither can juvenile incarceration be used. Instead, a range of discretionary
disposition measures is provided for: the Juvenile Court may allow the juvenile to go
home after advice or admonition; it may direct the juvenile to be released on
probation of good conduct and placed wider the care of parents, guardian or other fit
persons; or it may impose a fine or community se1vice order.
35
Incarceration is the very last res01t, limited to exceptional cases. Only
in cases where the Juvenile Court is convinced that no other measure is suitable or
sufficient may it order the juvenile to be kept in any form of custody in a facility.
Such a decision must, however, be submitted to the state government, which is
empowered to modify the order for the rest of the pe1iod of sentence.
In cases where custodial detention cannot be avoided, the Juvenile
Justice Act makes it clear that neither police lock-ups nor jails are considered suitable
to receive juveniles considered as neglected or delinquent. For this purpose, different
types of facilities have been established. l11e observation home provides an
alternative to pre-trial detention, when it is not possible for the juvenile to remain with
the parents or guardians. The juvenile home is a more permanent solution for
juveniles whose well-being and interests cannot be ensured if they remain in their
ordinary environment and for whom no other suitable custodial arrangement can be
made. The special home is an alternative to incarceration for delinquent juveniles in
cases where custody cannot be avoided.
Prevention
To protect juveniles from victimisation, an entire chapter of the
Juvenile Justice Act is dedicated to the definition of special offences against juveniles,
such as cruelty, their engagement as beggars, the provision to them of intoxicating
liquor, narcotic drugs or other substances, and the exploitation of their labour.
Community Involvement
The involvement of non-governmental organisations 1s a sttiking
feature of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Model Rules. Both take great care to
36
involve the community m many ways at all levels. Thus, organisations and
individuals are called upon to assist juveniles in need of care and protection.
Honorary social workers play and impmtant pa1t in procedures before the Board for
Neglected Juveniles and before the Juvenile Comt. Community access to institutions
is ensured, that is, the young detainees may have visitors, and inspectors check on
conditions. Such access is intended to offset a young detainee's isolation from
society. Also voluntary organisations are actively involved in follow-up and after
care activities. To help state governments overcome the financial burdens of
implementing the Act, the Act empowers them to create special funds for juvenile
welfare.
From Justice to Welfare
The Model Rules of 1987 contained detailed provisions govemmg,
inter alia, the qualification, training, organisation and supervision of staff, the overall
management of juvenile institution, and the treatment and handling of juveniles in
trouble and in conflict with the law.
The Juvenile Justice Act has provided the advantage of establishing an
acceptable working definition of juveniles at social risk. It provides an answer to the
following three basic questions.
(a) Who decide that a juvenile is at social-risk
(b) QY what criteria is a juvenile characterised as being at social risk and
(c) Precisely what measures are applicable.
37
Institutional Treatment
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
of Juvenile Justice (General Assembly resolution 40/33, annex) stipulate the
following objectives for the institutional treatment of juveniles.
"26. 1. The objective of training and treatment of juveniles placed in institutions is to
provide care, protection, education and vocational skills, with a view to
assisting them to assume socially constrnctive and productive roles in society."
"26.2 Juveniles in institutions shall receive care, protection and all necessary
assistance-social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical and physical-
that they may require because of their age, sex and personality in the interest of
their wholesome development".
Barotallas and Denitz ( 1990) criticises the "institutional" part of
treatment as merely for custody and control there is general agreement that these
institutions are having prison like-facilities, where the inmates are crowded together,
and are not conducive to successful rehabilitation. The youthful inmates in such
institutions, they add, are influenced by the negative innate sub culture and the
atmosphere is one of violence, intimidation and sexual exploitation.
Finckenauer and Mc Ardle ( 1990) claim that a fairly large body of

',,,:
research literature has been developed over the past several years, saying that nothing
almost nothing "works" to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents effectively.
38
Juvenile Justice in Practice
Practically, in every state, the juvenile justice system, to say the least,
works in some way or other and that is all about it. Everybody speaks a lot about the
system, but nobody seems to be convinced about the need and urgency of juvenile
detection, delinquency prevention and control. Nobody plans anything seriously
about the co-ordination and co-operation among various services and agencies in the
field of delinquency control and prevention.
2.4 DELINQUENCY CAUSATION: THEORIES AND APPROACHES
The search for clues to delinquency causation has gone in many
directions during the past hundred years, so that it is no simple matter to sum up the
varied hunches and hypotheses that have been pursued at one time or another.
Theorising about delinquency is not a hopeless morass of conflicting and ambiguous
arguments about aetiology. Similarities between the perspectives of one theorist and
that of another have guided Gibbons ( 1976) to s01t out three major viewpoints.
(a) The biogenic approach
(b) The psychogenic approach and
(c) The sociogenic approach
Biogenic Approach
Biogenic approach answers to etiological question with the view that
the law breaker is a person whose misconduct is the result of faulty biology. The
offender is hereditarily defective, he suffers from endocrine imbalance or brain
39
pathology; his bodily structure and temperament pattern have pushed him toward
delinquency and so forth.
Gluecks ( 1956) found that mesomorphs (boys with athletic, muscular
body type) were more frequent among the offenders they studied than among the non
offenders. Mesomorphic structure characte1ised 60. 1 percent of the lawbreakers, but
only 30. 7 percent of the non-delinquents.
Lombarso ( 1909), an Italian, studied a number of criminals and their
physical characteristics in general. He believed that criminals have certain physical
characteristics which are inborn. He further established that criminals could be
recognised by their physical characteristics as strong chin, protruding ears, abundant
hair, enormous jaws, square and protruding chin, smaller number of lines in the palm,
greater mobility of face and hands, swift movement of eyes and broad cheek bones
and so forth. Lombarso held the view that criminals are born.
Goring ( 19 I 9), an English criminologist, in reaction to Lombarso's
theory, compared the physical characteristics of prisoners and that of Oxford
graduates. He found that anatomical differences did not distinguish the two groups
and that intelligence was more significant factor in criminality. Smith· {1978)
suggested that the thief and murderers suffered from disturbances of gland cells and
nervous system. ·
Another theory stemming from the relationship between delinquency
to body structure is of Krestschmer ( 1994) a German, who advanced the themy that
criminals have asthmatic, body-long muscular and lean manic behaviour.
40
Psychogenic Approach
Psychogenic approach tells us that the offender behaves as he does in
response to psychological pathology of some kind.
Aichhom (1955), a pioneer in this theory, has asserted: "There must be
something in the child himself which the environment brings out in the form of
delinquency". A second assumption of his perspective is that the environment may
function as a precipitating force, but never as a primary force in causation.
Bmt ( 1938) claims that 85 percent of the offenders he studied prior to
1938 were emotionally impaired.
Emotional disturbances of many kinds have been identified in the
aetiology of delinquency. Grossbard ( 1962) provided an example of this view. He
averred that most offenders show inefficient or underdeveloped ego mechanisms and
tend to act out mental conflicts instead of handling them by rational means or
symptom formation.
The most imp01tant of the early studies of delinquency and emotional
problems was the research of Healy and Bronner ( 1936), which compared 105
delinquents with 105 of their non delinquent siblings in New Haven, Boston and
Detroit. The investigators concluded that "it finally appears that no less than 91
percent of the delinquents gave clear evidence of being or having been unhappy and
discontented in their life circumstances or extremely emotionally disturbed because of
emotion-provoking situation or experiences.
Hakeem (1958) criticised the findings of Healy and Bronner with the
following arguments:
41
1) The staff members who reported on personality characteristics of the subjects
were psychiatric and social workers predisposed to the opinion that major
etiological variable in delinquency is emotional disturbance.
2) The differences between the offenders and non delinquents were probably
exaggerated.
3) Clinical judgements were obtained by subjective methods; no effort was made
to disguise the identities of the subjects prior to examination.
4) Psychiatric workers were in greater contact with offenders than non-offenders.
If they had spent an equal amount of time with non offenders they would have
observed emotional problems which they originally over looked.
Coffey ( 1975) opposes the opinion of many criminologists that
personality disorders have little or no bearing on delinquency. He says of
delinquency - at least, of ce1tain varieties of delinquency. One such personality
disorder is known as mental deficiency.
Contrary findings are rep01ted by Lahri ( 1977) in the personality
patterns of delinquent children. He found no significant difference between normal
children and delinquents in their personality patterns. All the more vagabonds and
delinquents were found to have normal emotional stability and stronger super ego
strength. They showed a tendency of self-sufficiency as normal children.
Sahney (1984), in a comparative study between delinquents and non
delinquents, anived at the following conclusions:
42
I) The delinquents showed significant difference from non-delinquents in
respect of extraversion /introversion, social maladjustment and automism
and denial.
2) The delinquents showed significantly poor adjustment on home, health,
emotional, social and total adjustment.
The psychological determinants of problem behaviour among girl
students were traced out as ne1vousness, fearfulness, carelessness, laziness, shyness,
wony about examination and emotional stability by Kalra ( 1976).
Penetrating into the causes of delinquent behaviours of Higher
Secondary school students, Brar & Dhillan ( 1971) found that quite a large number of
young boys and girls who have been carried away by the stress and strain of the
adolescent period tend to enter into antisocial and criminal adventure.
In numerous investigations, chiefly on juvenile behaviour, Eysenk and
Wurzburg (1972) obse1ves only moderate correlation between personality traits and
delinquent or criminal behaviour. Delinquency according to them seemed to correlate
most reliably with aggressiveness, hostility, impulsiveness, neuroticism and
extraversion
Authorities like Moodie and Rogers (1940), from their long clinical
experience, believe that behaviour difficulties in children such as truancy, stealing and
dishonesty are mainly due to the thwarting of the psychological needs of security and
affection.
Proponents of psychogenic arguments of delinquency are content with
the findings of Schuessler and Cressey ( 1950), who reviewed many studies of
43
personality characteristics of delinquents and criminals. They concluded: "the data
made it impossible to conclude that criminality and personality elements are
associated."
Self -esteem, Intelligence and Delinquency
The self-esteem of successful youth was found to be significantly
higher than that of incarcerated youth by Waller (1992).
As an evidence of behaviour problems in regular classroom, discipline
referrals was taken up by Seay ( 1993) to study its relationship with I. Q scores. The
analysis of data indicated that 72% of the discipline referrals were from the low I.Q
score (75-90) population.
Data relating to the intellectual characteristics of juvenile murders
and juvenile staff offenders were analysed by Hays et al. ( 1980). The overall
intelligence scores of murders were significantly lower than that of status offenders.
For both murderers and status offenders the verbal scores were lower than
performance scores.
Sociogenic Theories of Delinquency
Sociogenic arguments explain variations m delinquency rates by
condition of social strncture. They account for individual offenders by reference to
normal learning processes which go in gangs and other circumstances that stigmatise
contacts with social control agencies, and to other variables of that kind.
Delinquency and Social Structures
There has been no dea11h of broad arguments about social structure and
crim in alistic conduct. These views, markedly divergent from psychogenic ones, all
44
advance a picture with roughly the same details: a characterisation of criminals and
delinquents as normal individuals who are reacting to deficiencies of the social
organisation in which they find themselves.
One line of speculation emphasises the lack of opportunity for
achievement of common American success goals. Merton's ( 1957) theory of anonie ,
which contends that delinquency and other form of deviance is a response to the
unavailability of conventional or socially approved routes to success and is
characteristic of lower-class persons.
Banon (I 955) attributed delinquency to the clash of values in a
pluralistic society, to the impersonality, individualism, disrespect for law and order,
exploiting nature and other ingredients central to the American way of life.
Matza ( 1969) argued 3 claims as the basic process through which
deviance arise. They are:
affinity, affiliation and signification
Affinity arguments assert that a person "catch a deviance" when placed
in circumstances of social disorder.
Affiliational hypotheses aver that new recruits to deviance· learn
deviant acts and attitudes through association with persons who have already strayed
from the path.
Signification refers to process through which individuals who are
apprehended in flirtations in deviance are driven fiuther into misconduct through
stigmatising special responses to them.
45
Reckless and associates ( 1973) studied boys who were nominated by
teachers as good 11 boys (unlikely to get into trouble with the law) and "bad" boys
11
(thought to be headed for trouble) following them over a four-year period in order to
see which ones became involved in juvenile delinquency. The study concluded that
"a good self concept, undoubtedly a product of favourable socialisation, veers slum
boys away from delinquency, while a poor self concept, a product of unfavourable
socialisation, gives the slum boy no resistance to deviancy, delinquent companion or
delinquent sub culture.
Predictors of female violence according to Livingston ( 1997) are
history of sexual and I or physical abuse in childhood/ adolescence; history of abusive
adult relationships; the woman's fear of losing a relationship, non compliance with
psychotropic medication and a history of depression.
Problems of behaviour contrary to societal norms mere approached
from several theoretical points of view. Bordua ( 1960) discussed the major
sociological, and anthropological theoretical orientations to the problem of delinquent
behaviour, identifying the major approaches in terms of causation (a) delinquent
subculture as arising from "status deprivation" and "status punishment" of lower class
male adolescents; (b) lower class as a rnle culture possessing conduct norms and
values which contradict those of other subculture groups that dominate the subculture
(c) adolescent street groups and gangs as arising out of a need to create and maintain a
set of status c1iteria, which need develops because of the inability of adolescents to
share in the 1ights and privileges of adults and (d) the inability of law-abiding
46
Review of Related literature
elements to constmct and maintain effective social control of youth in many urban
areas.
Social Control and Containment Theories
Sociological research on delinquency has led to the development of a
diversity of causal images in search for an understanding of the phenomenon.
Hirschi's ( 1969) focus is upon three major theoretical orientations namely,
( 1) The control theory (Bond theory)
(2) The strain theory and
(3) The Cultural deviance theory
According to control or bond theories, a person is free to commit
delinquent acts because his ties to the conventional order have somehow been broken.
Delinquent acts frequently represent relatively exciting activities or the most
expedient route to some desirable goal, hence many of us would engage in these acts
if we were not restrained from doing so by our social ties to others. No special
motivation to engage in law breaking is required when these social ties are breached.
According to strain or motivational theories, legitimate desires that
conformity cannot satisfy, force a person into deviance. Merton's 'anomie theory' is a
case of strain theory, for it holds that persons tum to deviance when their legitimate
aspirations for success and upward mobility are fiustrated by social order.
The key to any 'strain' explanation of adolescent law violation (Merton:
1938 Chen: 1955; Cloward and Ohlin: 1960) is the proposition that some adolescents
are diiven to law violation in response to the fiustration of experiencing or
anticipating failure.
47
According to the cultural deviance theories, the deviant conforms to a
set of standard not accepted by a larger or more powerful society.
The defining characteristic of a rule culture perspective in the view of
an adolescent as drawn or socialised into law violation in an attempt to live up to the
perceived expectations of his or her deviant associates. The sub culture theories of
Cohen (1955); Miller (1958); Cloward and Ohlin (1960), Akers (1973) Sutherland
and Cressy ( 1974) and the like vary a great deal in terminology and focus, but share
the common element of stressing " affiliational" causal processes.
Vazsonyi (1995) examined etiological risk factors m juvenile
delinquency from a control theory perspective (Social and self-control theories). Two
adolescent samples were used for this purpose. A Swiss national sample (N=970) and
a local American sample (N=232). The Findings were:
(1) Self control during early adolescence was highly productive of
delinquent behaviour four years later (2) American youths were consistently more
delinquent than their Swiss age mates, especially on more serious act. Although
developmental process in delinquency was similar for both the groups, Swiss youth
reported closer family relations and a higher level of self-control. These closer.family
relations and the greater self-control accounted for over 70 percent of the mean level
difference in delinquency by nation. This focuses on implications of the funding for
the tenants of self-control the01y as well as its implication for national difference.
The control theory of Hirschi, in the view of Briar and Piliavin (1965);
Karacki and Toby (1962); Polk and Halferty (1966) and Hewitt (1970) is not
48
concerned with delinquency-causing motivation or provocation but is concerned with
factors that prevent deviance.
The 'Containment theory' of Reckless ( 1973) is another version of the
'control theory' the central thesis of which is that individuals are restrained from law
breaking partly by outer. Containment such as social ties to others, consistency of
evaluations of the persons made by others and so on.
Inner containment in the form of pro social self-concept is of major
significance in keeping persons from wandering into law breaking. Inner containment
according to Reckless consists mainly of self components, such as self control, good
self concept, ego strength, well developed superego, high frustration tolerance, high
resistance to diversions, high sense of responsibility, goal orientation ability to find
substitute satisfactions, tension-reducing rationalisations etc.
Social Bonds and Delinquency
Home
A study by Coughlin ( 1993) on the relationship between family
coalitions and adolescent antisocial behaviour indicated no associations between
parent-child coalitions and occunences or the severity of delinquent behaviour. But
family problem solving skills and non-intact family structure were significant
predictors of later delinquency and also of the severity of the delinquency by the
adolescent.
600 students who were involved in theft of prope1ty, acts ignoring
authority, physical offences including sex offence or behaviour disorders were
compared to 600 non-delinquents. The implication emerged led Shankar ( 1984) to
49
believe that lack of proper socialisation at home was found to lead a child to become
delinquent. Urban environment was observed to be a potent factor in dete�mining
delinquent behaviour. Over leniency of parents followed by frustration was rated as
the top factor among the various sources of home environment leading to delinquent
acts.
Relationship between factors in family background and delinquency
when studied by Walters and Bandura (1958) found basic lack of affection in the
families of aggressive boys. Parental antecedents of aggression, especially the
relationship with fathers, were significant.
Peer Association
The importance of peer association and its influence in the aetiology of
delinquency has been emphasised in many themies.
The central concern of research by Banachowski (1997) was to
determine if the social processes like friends' influences, parental bond and school
bonds have effects on adolescents' perceived peer pressure to commit delinquent
behaviour. The findings asserted that peer pressure played an important role in the
genesis of adolescent behaviour.
After examining the cases repmted in the National Crime Survey on
robbery, assault and larceny, Clark (1991) repo1ted that peer association influence the
aetiology of delinquency.
Two themies of adolescent delinquent involvement-the social bond
theory and reputation enhancement theory was combined and studied by Smith ( 1997)
to explain girls' delinquent involvement. Results indicated that combination of social
50
bonds and reputation enhancement better account for variance m girls' delinquent
involvement than social bonds accounted for alone.
Woodley ( 1997) examines how school and family contribute to the
genesis of delinquent behaviour. He is of the opinion that positive and negative self
conception in determined through informal labelling process. Teachers have negative
expectations and perceptions of at-risk students and consequently they develop
negative self-concept.
Ecological Distribution of Delinquency
The ecological explanations to the aetiology of delinquency started of
from the common sense observation that delinquency and crime are apparently not
equally distributed equally in community areas. hlstead in some neighbourhoods
deviance is endemic, while in others it is rarely encountered.
The first major sociological study of the ecology of criminality took
place in Chicago in 1940 with the work of Thrasher, Shaw and Mekay. They found
that official rates of juvenile delinquency were fight in neighbourhood of rapid
population change, poor housing, poverty, tuberculosis, adult crime and Mattel
disorders.
They regarded all of these conelates of delinquency as reflections of
an underlying state of social disorganisation. They viewed areas of high delinquency
as communities which were lacking in social stability, normative consensus, and
social cohesion, which, as a result, freed youngsters from the bind of social control to
engage into law brea�ing.
51
Shaw ( 1931) summarised their funding on geographical area and
distribution of delinquency as follows:
1. Nearer a given locality is to the centre of the city, higher will be its rate of
delinquency.
2. High rate of delinquency is in the industrial areas of the city.
3. Slum areas of the city breed highest percentage of delinquency.
Kerawalla and Reckless ( 1959) argue: "Unhappy homes are found in
the background of many criminals. But it is not equally true of millions of others who
did not become criminals? Delinquent rates, human ecologists assure us, are the
highest in slum areas. But what precisely is the relationship between features of
slum-living and delinquency? How uniquely this factor is concerned in the crime
situation is the question. A study of such factors marks only a beginning, although an
important beginning, in the study of crime and criminal behaviour. By itself
hypotheses and not provide definite answers. Crime is a phenomenon that is multi
cause in nature.
Youth Culture and Delinquency
The basic argument about youth culture holds that a social pattern has
grown up... which draws middle class adolescents into deviant conduct, much of it in
delinquent form.
Bernard ( 1967) has enumerated characteristics of this teen age culture ,
including value stress upon cars, clothing, records, teen-age magazines, special
language forms and other features.
52
The study of Friedenbach ( 1998) explored factors associated with
adolescent victimisation utilising the lifestyle/Exposure Model of personal
victimisation, the relationship between adolescent victimisation and deviant behaviour
was analysed. A continuing study of the life style and values of youth were done to
collect data. Findings indicated substantial evidence of victim-offender overlap
among high school students for all dimensions of deviant behaviour including:
criminal behaviour, heavy alcohol use, marijuana use, hard drug use and dangerous
driving.
2.5 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: AN AREA OF CONCERN FOR
EDUCATORS
The standard of care provided by any society or government for the
homeless, neglected and delinquent children is a good measure of its civilisation. The
problem of juvenile delinquency has invited the keen attention of penologists,
psychologists and sociologists in several parts of the world, much more than the
educationalists themselves.
The Demand for Education
"The Will of God ......... places the tight of every child that is born into
the world to such a degree of education as will enable him, and as far as possible, will
pre dispose him, to perform all domestic, social, civil and moral duties" (cited in
Cremin : 1960).
The Government of India has acknowledged education as one of the
most impo1tant inputs to Human Resources Development in its National Policy for
53
Children.
The goal of education in our democracy, as Andrews (1972) points out,
is to guarantee each individual throughout his life a full and equal opportunity to
secure the skills, the knowledge and the understanding necessary to fulfil himself as
an individual and as a constrnctive member of the society.
For many juvenile delinquents in our country, however, this goal
continues to have little meaning. To say, juvenile delinquency has a long past and
their education a short history.
In developing countries, children have long been largely ignored in
public policy - making and the development of programme strategies for improving
their welfare. The World Summit for Children held in 1990 epitomised this
realisation and reaffirmed the collective commitment to change this situation (cited in
Asia-Pacific Population Journal, lI (3); 1996).
The impact of delinquency control strategies on the direction and pace
of educational innovation from the 19th century to the present was discussed in a
study by Sedlack (1981 ). It is suggested that the historical preoccupation with using
the schools as agencies of socialisation to prevent ciiminality has not only contributed
to self-fulfilling prophecies, but it has also encouraged educators, social workers and
psychologists to embark upon a potentiaUy totalitarian mission.
Despite a growing body of research identifying the positive impact of
appropiiate educational interventions in the successful rehabilitation of incarcerated
juveniles, Abraamson (1991) repmts that recidivism rates for juvenile offenders
remain high.
54
Review of Relateel Literature
It is axiomatic to state that education equips the individual to face the
realities oflife. Both formal and informal modes ofeducation enable the individual to
adjust himselfin the community in a meaningful way. This may be, to a great extent,
keep the educated away from anti-social path (cited in Prasad : 1981).
l11e importance of disseminating the cultural organisational perspective
on social maladjustment in the popular media was stressed by Webber (1992). His
arguments was that the system restructuring of special education should include
revised, more inclusive federal defmition ofemotional and behaviour disorders.
The School and Delinquency
As regards the responsibilities of the school, psychologists hold
different views. Glueck (1959), giving imp01tance to school, says that school is the
second social institutional circle ofinfluences to which a child is subjected.
James (1995) argues that schools are unfairly isolated from other
agencies that provide services for children by the Juvenile Justice System's failure to
address adequately the problem of juvenile delinquency. School officials need to get
back into the network ofjuvenile justice care agencies that share the common interest
ofaddressing juvenile violence.
55
Information presented by Kincaid (1991) have valuable effect in
developing a basic nomenclature for lay persons, professionals, students and teachers
who share an interest in the perceived need to get crime and violence out of schools.
He asse1ts that a better understanding of the crime and violence in our schools and
society can lead to a decline in student's apathy, anger and criminal delinquent
behaviour.
Schools unlike the police, courts and probation officers have a natural
relationship with the parents and their pupils. Hence in the opinion of Kvaraceus and
Ulrich ( 1959), schools occupy a most strategic role in the prevention and control of
juvenile delinquency and correction of juvenile delinquents.
Kennedy and Pursuit ( 1965) point out the unique position the schools
have in the personality development of children and that teachers should identify child
and youth problem and initiate corrective action at an early stage. One of the major
aims of the school according to them is to motivate law-abiding behaviour among
children at a fairly young age.
Lowenstein ( 1975) noticed that violence and disruptive behaviour are
more frequent in Secondary Schools than in Middle and Primary Schools and the
overall violence and disruptive behaviour is more common among boys than girls
with the peak at 15 years.
"It would appear, says Litwack ( 1961), that the more frustrating and
unrewarding the school situation becomes, the more retarded is the youngster
educationally, the more likely is he to rebel in anti-social behaviour, both in and out
of school".
56
Review of Relutecl Literature
lb.ree types of school delinquency - school crime, school misconduct
and school non-attendance were the variables studied by Jenkins (1993) in its relation
to various social bond variables.
The decreasing levels of school commitment, school attachment,
involvement in school activities and belief in the fairness and legitimacy of school
rules were linked to increasing rate of school delinquency.
Links between literacy and school experiences of juvenile offenders
that may have led to their dropout and delinquent behaviour was explored by Aller
( 1997). Language literacy in terms of its role in the socialisation of these juveniles
was examined. Lack of language literacy contributed to the participants' frustration
and dissatisfaction with school.
Throughout one school year, Edwards ( 1982) observed the truant
behaviour of a group of students. The samples generally had neither the I.Q. nor the
motivation to succeed in school. Half of the samples subsequently involved in
antisocial behaviour and finally contributed themselves to the adjudicated delinquent
population.
Special Education as an Alternative
Rhodes & Paul ( 1978) view special education as an alternative to
regular education programme from which the socially and emotionally vulnerable
children cannot make profit. Their major hope is that the disadvantaged in the regular
classroom can successfully adapt to the special cuniculum.
Fomess ( 1992) points out that the lack of a clear, universally accepted
definition of maladjustment have under identified the youths with emotional or
57
behaviour disorders and thereby excluded from special education.
Rodda ( 1991) discusses about developing and implementing an
educational program for young offenders. Strategies suggested for establishing
programmes include planning creative and diverse progra1mning, providing an
abundance of resources, creating a trustwo1thy and warm environment, empowering
students and maintaining a low teacher I student ratio.
Maag & Howell ( 1992) addressed the current controversy regarding
the exclusion of youths labelled socially maladjusted from special education services
under the auspices of the seriously emotionally distributed category by
reconceptualising the issue from a cultural-organisational perspective and subscribing
the problem to a child centred perspective.
Mesinger ( 1982) reviews and analyses a publication on alternative
education for behaviour disordered and delinquent youth. the articles, he says, are
discussed in terms of the trend toward the right of the delinquents to a free and
appropriate education of exceptional children in the least restrictive environment.
Process of Socialisation and Schooling
The success of an educational institution should be measured not by
the facility with which the seniors can make orations or solve mathematical problems;
but the social adjustability of its alumni.
Anastasi ( 1958) defines social adjustment as the interaction of an
individual with other personality groups and culture elements.
In the context of rapid social change, the schools are forced to assume
greater share of the burden of the socialisation of children. This fact, Coffey ( 1975)
58
Review of Related Litermure
says, carries broad implications for preventive work in crime and delinquency.
'Social Skill' , in the words of Professor Elton Mays (cited in Sondhi:
1956). 'shows itself as a capacity to receive communications from others and to
respond to attitudes and ideas of others in such a fashion as to promote congenial
participation in a common task'. But "Social-Skill " is stressed nowhere m our
education, he adds, even though, Aristotle, had said - 'Man is a social animal'.
Social skills training, as an individual treatment, was experimented by
Smith (1988) with incarcerated juvenile delinquents. This was found to have positive
results, regardless of the personality of the subjects.
Role of teachers in Socialisation
Flanders (1959) observes that the role which teachers occupy in the
socialisation process has tremendous impact on the lives of the youth.
Children deficient in the area of social skills were given a treatment
package by Mehaffey (1992) to improve social competence. Effectiveness of self
modelling as a social skill training and status improvement technique was proved
through this study.
Caspari (1976) asserts that " all teachers have certain kinds o:f _expertise
with children in some situations. No professions are better aquatinted with
development norms of behaviour than the teachers, seeing as they do children over a
wide range at close quarters".
The reason why adolescents engage themselves in unhealthy practices
which are detrimental and injurious to the best interests of the society in the opinion
of Brar and Dhillon (1971) is that parents and teachers do not show sympathetic and
59
Review of Relutecl Literuture
cautious attitude, put unnecessary restraints and fail to provide desirable outlets.
Perkinson (1958) compared teachers, who did not pa1ticipate in a child
study program. l11e teachers who did pa1ticipate had more insight into their pupils'
personalities and were more likely to change in the direction of greater congruence
between self than those who did not pa1ticipate.
In a study among 200 teachers, Sudha (1966) found that teachers were
not psychologically oriented in their approach to the behaviour problems of children.
Wickman (1928) found that teachers regarded behaviour problems of
an ove1t and aggressive type as more serious than those of a withdrawing and
recessive nature whereas the reverse was true for mental hygienists.
"l11e teachers' energy " explains Simpson (1974), " is drained by the
necessity of being always on the ale1t to ce1tain outbreaks of anti-social behaviour, to
meet insolence without losing self control and to cool the tempers of those whose
fiustrations drives them into conflict with their peers".
l11e effect of praise and blame as techniques of behavioural problem
elimination was found to be effective by Becker et al. (1968). They found that
children who had been previously well behaved showed increased dis111ptive
behaviour when the teacher paid attention to undesirable responses.
Patel (1974) found that indirect teacher influence had favourable effect
on motivation and classroom organisation and also on the attitude towards teacher.
Solomon and Wahler (1973) found that teacher gives a large
proportion of her attention to problem behaviour. He is also of the opinion that peers
pay I 00% attention to the problem behaviours. Both peers and teachers largely ignore
60
the adaptive behaviours of children in the classroom.
Stundick ( 1993) found adjacent stress statistically significant m its
relation to academic average, attendance and conduct.
In the opinion of Wilson and Morrow ( 1962), well-adjusted
adolescents do better academic work than those who suffer from a feeling of
inadequacy and emotional stress.
The effect of teacher's stress on students and on teachers themselves
was the concern of research for Earl ( 1993). Data indicate that stress was a significant
factor with three fourth of the teachers.
Li ( 1996) found that the sources, effects and copymg strategies of
occupational stress were different between special school teachers and regular school
teachers in Taiwan.
Intervention Attempts to Improve Classroom Behaviours
Classroom behaviour of three deviant children was observed. In
addition to establishing adequate baselines for the frequencies of the reported
behaviour, estimates of the teachers' use of positive and negative reinforcement were
obtained. By means of reinforcement deviant behaviour was reduced. Praising the
desired behaviour and ignoring the deviant ones was the techniques employed. Net
result was a decline in the occurrence of the deviant behaviour.
A six year, school based prevention programme which modified
classroom teacher practices and provided child social skills training was evaluated by
Donnell, et al. ( 199 5) to find its effect in preventing school failure, drug use and
delinquency among low-income children.
61
11uough controlled demonstration, role playing and conective
feedback, behaviourally disordered students were taught to monitor trainer
behaviours, peer behaviours and their own behaviours. Rutherford ( 1982) in this way
attempted to teach self control of the behaviourally disordered students.
Betts ( 1998) observed that when given an oppmtunity to engage in
anticipatory playwriting, the juvenile offenders exhibited authentic reading and
writing behaviour, far beyond those evidenced in the traditional classes held at the
correctional facility. This study shows that such a program can make productive
changes in the behaviour of at-risk youth.
Transition classes introduced in Connecticut schools through a variety
of child centred, experience-based activities was given a follow-up study by Fritz
( 1997). It was found to have effect in lowering the need for remedial services and
special education, and in allowing developmentally young students to achieve
academic success in line with their development.
Wilgosh ( 1982) established relationship between learning disabilities
and delinquency recommended intervention strategies to be adopted in classrooms.
Shelton ( 1997) analysed the impact of a treatment program for. at-risk
students. It was found to have increased self-esteem, improved attitude towards
study, increased attendance, academic success and improved student behaviom.
Cognitive Correlative of Delinquents
Low intelligence was found to be associated with delinquency. Quay
( 1965) indicated that children who persistently behave in aggressive and disruptive
ways in the classroom or who are delinquency-prone, when compared with their non-
62
aggressive and non-dismptive peers are not only low in intelligence but also lower in
basic scholastic achievement than would be expected on the basis of their intelligence.
Life studies of inmates of prisons indicate that delinquents and
criminals usually show a history of insubordination, idleness-tmancy and poor marks
during school days (cited in Crow and Crow: 1951 ).
Delinquent and non-delinquent adolescent males who did not differ in
I.Q. or age, but differed in socio-economic status were compared on the Torrance Test
of Creative Thinking. Anderson and Stoffer (1980) did not find significant effect or
intention between 1.Q. and adjudication status with respect to figural creativity. But
there was a adjudication status for verbal creativity scores.
Elmer et al. (1980) compared 16-17 year old incarcerated delinquents
with a matched group of controls, on measures of logical operational ability and found
no significant difference between the groups.
2.6 NEEDS AND PROBLEMS RELATED TO EDUCATION
Needs in Education
The concept of 'need' is being increasingly widely used in educational
discussions, now a days. Mace (1953) once said in a discussion of 'need': ''It is not a
technical term, it is in common use, and it is perhaps less ambiguous than any of the
alternatives that might be suggested". The most obvious criterion of need is that a
state of affairs conceived of is absent: People are without food, children are without
love, or pensioners are without the means of living comfo1tably.
'Expressed needs' should be collected from students themselves and
63
tends to "quicken the intellect, inspire self-respect, excite to higher aims and afford a
healthful substitute for low and vicious amusements" among the criminals (Cited in
Viswathasi: 1982).
Bushan (1970) observes that a large majority of the prisoners admitted
to prisons of India are illiterate. Fonnal education is a remedy for the idle mind and
makes prisoners friendly and co-operative. All. the more it spreads literacy among
illiterate inmates and can turn them from criminality.
It scarcely needs saying that behavioural problem children constitute a
major concern in the field of education. But Woody ( 1969) feels it surprising that
more professional effo1ts have not been directed at combating the difficulties these
children manifest and in meeting their needs.
Schools are ill prepared to adapt to the needs of many children who
come from the streets. Students who do not fit in well are either expelled or otherwise
deprived of education on the grounds that they could not benefit from regular schools.
Schools that successfully responded to increased students crime and
violence employed both internal and social tactics to maintain safe schools. Nicoll's
(1996) observation in this respect was that schools were reaching out to meet a variety
of student social needs.
The study of Jayasingh (1982) revealed that for property offenders, the
period of jail sentence varies between a few days and a year or two and rarely up to
three years. Therefore, none of the prope1ty offenders were found to be availing the
facilities for education. TI1is attitude was more among recidivists than among first
offenders.
65
Review of Related Litera11tre
Al-Saud (1992) assessed the need for post-secondary education in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and suggested stmctural changes to include post secondary
education finding that the incarcerated inmates benefited and valued the on-going
educational programmes.
Developing more programmes to prevent children from entering the
juvenile justice system, Edalman (1986) found Children's Action Teams which were
raising awareness of the need of children and developing ways for communities to
meet them.
Delinquent: as a Disadvantaged Child
To those who face the awesome task of educating the disadvantaged
children, success lies in using the human needs as a springboard to learning, in the
opinion of Bottom ( 1970). TI1e deprived child is a paradox to many who teach him.
Overcoming their impoverished background appears an ove1whelming task as put it
''You need the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job and strength and endurance of
Samson" (Bottom: 1970).
Teacher Strategies Vs Student Needs
Establishing an environment for effective learning requires redefining
the roles of teachers and students. Leamer-centred instmction and an active role for
the learner in constmcting meaning should be emphasised (Hatry, Grenier and
Ashford, 1994 ). The World Bank Repmt on Priorities and Strategies for Education
reports that Basic inputs, classroom activities and adequate time and materials are
required for students to learn". The traditional view of teacher's role in instituting
truths and transfeITing knowledge should be abandoned, at least during part of the
66
instruction time (Ellis and Fouts: 1993).
Doyle ( 1995) investigated effective teaching practices as determinants
of student success. Competent instructional practices defined as the extent to which
students rated instructors' overall classroom teaching behaviour as characterised by
high levels of subject matter knowledge, clarity of explanations, and organisation and
preparation of class content had significant, positive influence on students' grades.
Micheal ( 1967) on the management of behavioural consequences in
education asse1ts that the techniques of classroom management involving behavioural
modification are based on the operant learning theory of B.F. Skinner and his
followers.
Behavioural modification principles (known as Contingencies
Applicable for Special Education) were applied on 16 delinquents in a project
launched by Cohen ( 1965) who used the method of programmed instruction to reach
specific target of academic achievement. (If the learner completed a unit of program
with a score of 90 percent, he was eligible to take examination in which he could earn
reinforcement in the form of points each worth one percent. These points could used
to buy potato chips, cakes and other facilities. l11e only way, the student could·obtain
points, was by emitting the desired behaviour, namely studying).
Cohen et al. Successfully shaped the behaviour of delinquents and
generated desirable activities. The study established the fact that systematic
contingent application of reinforcement was most effective in the treatment of
antisocial behaviour.
67
Relation between Needs and Problems
Want of satisfaction of needs leads to the development of several
problems. Need satisfaction is essential for the growth and development of a person.
According to Maslow ( 1964), a need may be basic, if it has the
following characteristics:
1. Its absence breeds illness.
2. Its presence prevents illness.
3. Its restoration cures illness.
4. Under certain very complex free situation, it is preferred by the deprived
person over other satisfaction.
George (1968), conducted a study on the needs and problems of High
school and college students. The study found that there was close correspondence
between the problems and needs of students. The need for guidance service was also
brought out in the study.
Mulay (1971) conducted a study of the needs and problems of
adolescents and found that ( 1) the socio-economic status is highly related to the
problems of the adolescent (2) urban students have significantly higher achievement
motivation than the rural students.
Teachers and parents have to realise the comparative seriousness of
different types of behaviour problems. Sudha (1966), in her study, requested 166
teachers to rank the frequent behaviour problems, in their order of seriousness.
Inattention, carelessness, laziness and disobedience were considered as the most
serious problems by the teachers of Kera la. The least serious problems according to
68
when analysed led Kabbur (1987) to the following conclusions:
1. Juvenile delinquents were less intelligent, excitable, undisciplined and tough-
minded.
2. Juvenile delinquents had less ability to handle abstract problems.
3. They demanded attention and showed nervousness.
4. They were less controlled and were dependent.
5. They were prone to jealousy than normal children.
Verma (1980) employed a factorial design to study the impact of social
deprivation, intelligence, sex and two personality dimensions namely extroversion
and neuroticism on the problem solving ability of children. Social deprivation was
found to relate negatively to problem solving ability.
Two groups of boys viz., delinquents and non-delinquents, when
compared by Sahney (1984) to find out the differences between the groups in relation
to psychotism, some of the personality variables showed that delinquents significantly
differed from non-delinquents in respect of extroversion/introversion, social
maladjustment and automism and denial. The delinquents also showed significantly
poor adjustment on home, health, emotional, social and total adjustment.
A group of delinquent and a control group of non-delinquent girls
equated for age and intelligence and similar socio-economic background were given
Wechsler-Bellereve Intelligence Scale, by Vane and Eisen (1954) to determine if the
delinquents would give a characteristic pattern on this test. There was statistically
significant difference between these two groups only for two of the sub tests, the
delinquents being inferior to the non-delinquents for both. On the whole, the
71
(I) Morally developed adolescents felt more secure than the morally
underdeveloped.
(2) Moral development was related to feeling of security.
(3) Moral development was not related to personality.
(4) Self-concept was not related to moral development and moral
underdevelopment.
Growth and development of moral judgement in children, when
studied by Bandopadhyay ( 1981), was found to have a linear relationship with age.
All the more girls were found to have more matmity than boys in three areas of moral
judgement viz., attitude towards justice, equality and authority and collective
responsibility. Boys and girls of missionary schools were better in moral judgement.
No significant association between socio-economic status and moral judgement was
observed. Where both parents adopted the same form of discipline (love oriented or
power assertion) children showed more mature moral judgement. The greater the
divergence between parents the lesser was the development of moral judgement.
The effectiveness of a theoretically grounded and empirically tested
intervention programme to promote socio moral development of at-risk youth was
experimented by Miller (1998). Intervention goals included empathy, moral
reasoning skills, task orientation and self-responsibility. Intervention strategies
included co-operative learning, building a moral community, creating a mastery
climate and pa1ticipatory decision making.
Results indicate that this intervention was effective in promoting socio-
moral growth.
74
Comparison of two therapeutic interventions with institutionalised
delinquent males was done by Franklin ( 1979). Results of the study indicated higher
ratings on moral judgement for the treatment groups.
A critical, philosophical examination of moral reasoning and moral
education as it exists in current educational practices led Murphy ( 1998) to suggest
immediate implementation of a proven methodology to teach moral education.
Need for Values and Character Education
Unless inter-religious values are built into the education system, it will
be difficult to expect the younger generation to imbibe them. They will reject
religious values altogether and fall into a sterile and ultimately destructive hedonism,
or they will lapse into religious fundamentalism that can create havoc in the 21st
century. The universal values inherent in all the great religious systems of the world
need to be clearly articulated in terms of contemporary consciousness and the
compulsion of the global society. This should be reflected in the structure of
educational theory and mass communication. One of the measures necessary for this
is a paradigm shift in the traditional pattern of present-day education (Karan Singh:
1998).
Jackson ( 1993) documented the thinking of successful African
Americans regarding value education as an educational approach for improving social
and academic chances of 'at-risk' students. The results show that values and
character education will improve the cognitive learning of 'at risk' students while
reducing their socially deviant behaviour. The results also challenge the reticence of
75
ln many situations students, even though integrated into the formal
educational structure, may suffer from a disjunction between education and the world
of work (cited in Statistical Cha1ts and Indicators on the Situation of Youth: 1995).
While examining the Juvenile Employment Opportunities (JEO)
programme used in Jefferson Parish, Bauer (1995) found that finding work for
juveniles is a most effective way of keeping them away from a life of crime.
Students at - risk & World of Work
To Provide recommendations for dropout prevention programmes
among students in below average socio-economic status, black and at-risk of dropping
out of school, Enzor (1991) found that these students had less information for making
appropriate career decisions and were limited in their knowledge of working world as
compared to average to high socio-economic status, white and non at-risk students.
At-risk students were significantly less committed to community service and leisure
roles than were non-at-risk students.
The study of Williams (1993) supp01t other studies that report lower
than average intelligence scores for delinquents. He explains that delinquents with
low I. Q may have turned to delinquency in an attempt to achieve some measures of
success when raced with limited opportunities for success. The investigation
concluded that vocational education might give juvenile delinquents additional
opportunities for success in the world of work.
Quality programmes in vocational resource centres related to the
dropout rate of special needs population when studied by Aguirre (1992} suppo1ted
the concept that centre characteristics such as peer tutming, counselling, computer
81
programs, parental participation and teacher ability were the services that helped to
increase the retention level of at risk students.
Young adults are two to three times more likely to be unemployed
than older adults. De Lamatre ( 1996) investigated the antecedents of youth
unemployment to see that serious delinquency and substance use problems were
associated with a decreased likelihood of employment.
Family factors including higher parental expectation and more
household chores were associated with a decreased likelihood of employment.
Finally, neighbourhood factors, including negative perception of job availability and
lower job access were associated with a decreased likelihood of employment. High
school employment, receiving public assistance, delinquency and race were
associated with employment status.
Research indicated negative effects of high school employment on
student's academic performance (Barton: 1989). The need for causal modelling to
explore relationships between family disadvantage variables, youth unemployment
and other key variables.
The Annual Report of the Police Administration indicate that 87
percent to 90 percent of the total repeated offences committed against property have
an economic motive. Therefore if prisoner is trained in a vocation "to which he is
best adapted, his chance of getting employment, and becoming law abiding would be
increased" ( cited in Jeyasingh: 1982).
82
Vocational Resource & Retention
In an effort to identify the positive effects of correctional programmes
on the post release behaviour of youthful property offenders, Lattimore, Witte and
Baker ( 1990) invites our attention to an experimental assessment of the effect of
vocational training. The Sandhills Vocational Delivery System (V.D.S) integrated
training and employment services provided by various agencies into one program.
The V.D.S program was designed to increase pa1ticipants' vocational skills through
training. The first element of the V.D.S was the evaluation of the inmates' vocational
aptitudes and interests. Among the 18-22 year-old males of N01th Carolina prisons,
the experimental group had positive effects on the post release recidivism.
A theoretical basis for the effectiveness of the Vocational Delivery
System is found in the economic models of criminal behaviour which suggest that
improved potential to earn legal wages will reduce pa1ticipation in crime.
Problems in the field of Vocational Training
There is an ever-increasing interest in, and commitment of support for
vocational and technical education, as observed by Meade ( 1965). But the task before
us is how to integrate successfully the very best of both worlds-general and vocational
education. He continues-during the past 50 years, the united states has developed a
dual system of education. They have devised vocational education of the contributory
resources of general education just as they did not allow general education to be
positively affected by what vocational education could contiibute to its improvement.
Employers have indicated that people most often fail at jobs because of
tli�ir lack of proper work attitudes. Patt of the responsibility of the discipline of
83
vocational education is to develop in students the values related to work that are
essential from them to succeed in a chosen career.
The study designed by Falcon-Emmanueli ( 1995) was to explain and
predict the work attitudes of students enrolled in vocational teacher education at the
University of Pue110 Rico. Respondents reported that parents/guardians exerted the
major influence on student's attitudes toward education and work. Perception of
parental work attitudes, perception of peer work attitudes, and work attitudes of
people in expected occupation were the three independent variables that were found to
be significant in predicting work attitudes.
While the Competency-Based Vocational Education (C.B.V.E) was
implemented in Illinois Post Secondary Institutions, Douglass's (1990) barrier
verification revealed 9 interpersona� 8 organisational and 8 material barriers cited by
more than 50 percent of the respondents.
Scholastic Achievement and Vocational Interest as related to
prolonged Deprivation, when studied by Kathuria (1982), revealed negative and non
significant relationship between scholastic achievement and global prolonged
deprivation. Prolonged deprivation was significantly related to vocational -interest.
Prolonged deprived and non-deprived students differed significantly with respect to
their vocational interests.
Problems in Vocational Education
Mo\\ji ( 1983), While investigating into the vocational and educational
problems of 1800 XI and XII standard arts, science and commerce students of Greater
Bombay, reported that absence of guidance for choice of courses, lack of co-
84
ordination between schools and colleges, paucity of trained teachers, uninteresting
syllabi and tools, defective admissions, large classes and inadequate facilities,
dissatisfaction among teachers regarding low wages and heavy workload are some of
the major problems.
Valde ( 1993) looked into the issues concemmg the definition of
guidance, different aspects of work and students, attitude towards it, issues related to
students' current living situation, practical vocational guidance at school and
vocational choice. Approximately, third of the students announced university or
college studies as their most likely choice after school. Only less than a fifth planned
to seek admission to vocational training. It was also found that students' knowledge
about educational and vocational opp01tunities was inadequate.
Educators in general and vocational educators in particular will face a
variety of professional challenges in the future is the argument of Kisner ( 1993). He
critically assessed the willingness of vocational educators and administrators to adapt
to the current situation and to improve the field of vocational education. While
exploring the similarities and difference in the flexibility in adapting to change he
found vocational educators were moderately flexible and there was no statistically
significant difference between vocational instructors and administrators in the degree
of flexibility in adapting to change events.
One of the unresolved issues in the area of vocational and technical
education is the stage at which vocationalisation should begin. The age of maturity of
children, the vocational needs of society, the quantum of essential general knowledge
to be impa1ted to students, the balance between knowledge and skill in the curriculum
85
are some of the considerations that figure in a discussion of this issue. Socially useful
productive work, work experience, and work-education have been provided for in
normal secondary schools where vocationlisation has not been introduced.
To find an answer to the problem of unemployment among
disadvantaged youth, the internationally known Centre for Employment Initiatives
prepared brief case studies on disadvantaged youth who had certain characteristics
like dropped out of school, difficulty in adjusting to society, under privileged
backgrounds, broken families, involvement in delinquent acts and membership in
delinquent networks. The centre programmed a 15 weeks Employment Oriented
Educational program for the disadvantaged, as an answer to this problem.
Spectrum of Technological Needs
The psychological construct of vocational behaviourism in secondary
school student was analysed by Gomez ( 1997). Through the analysis of the alert
score for the making of vocational decisions of the 'Vocational Advice System', it was
seen that there was an excessive need on the part of the individual for advice and
support in the making of decisions which is motivated by the lack of security in
oneself and in his/her own academic possibilities, as well as the lack of clarity in the
face of vocational options presented to them.
Job training in the vocational education should be as per Lillis ( 1984),
within the given economic systems, which is feasible to plan training programmes to
meet often rapidly changing circumstances-such programmes would have to be both
"realistic" (i.e. matching the skills of each coho1t to the existing job situation) and
'flexible' (i.e. able to match shifting conditions).
86
The Marshallese inherited an American educational system which does
not provide them an appropriate educational experience. Doxey (1993) assessed the
qualitative needs for a vocational cuniculum development by conducting an
occupational analysis compiling a prioritised listing of skills for the spectrum of their
technological need. Basic literacy and communication skill should be brought to a
productive level, general work ethics and motivation need improvement, the college
should establish a strong institutional culture and identity were his recommendations,
based on his findings.
For meeting the vocational needs of handicapped youth, Bar-deva
(1983) conducted case studies on selected communities. It revealed the need for
collaborative eff01ts among vocational education, special education and vocational
rehabilitation. Interaction patterns, mandatory collaborative efforts and formal
collaborative agreements resulted in more vocational programme alternatives.
'Raising the literacy rate is important since this is positively related to
labour productivity" rep01ts the World Bank (1994).
Perceptions of regular and special population high school students
towards enrolment practices and career value of their cunent vocational program was
found to be similar. Presly (1994) fmther found that vocational enrolment decisions
are often left largely to the discretion of the student, rather than supervised by a
trained counsellor. Students do not perceive vocational education as an equal to
academic education. Gender and ethic origin as factors resulted in numerous
differences in degree of strength of the students' beliefs. Students in the 9th and 10th
grades are more likely to benefit from organised career planing practices.
87
The Educational and Vocational aspiration of parents for their child,
whether boy or girl, did not differ in industrial communities, whereas they differed in
agricultural community, as observed by Pane er Selvam ( 1984).
Carrington ( 1990) assessed the perceived vocational training needs of
non public schools in St. Crove. Data was gathered from students, educators and
parents of students using occupational label s01t. It requested the participants to select
five occupational category (from total 25) which they considered to be first in
importance to prepare the students for the world of work. The choice made by the
respondents were compared, ranked and pri01itised to yield the perceived vocational
need of students. The choices made by the study population were compared with data
relating to the manpower needs of the country and also with the choices made by
another population in a similar study. Findings showed a strong consensus that white
collar occupations are considered more important than the blue-collar manual
occupation.
2.8 PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OF

DELINQUENTS
Emphasising the need for preventive action, the 8th united Nations
Congress ( 1992) on the II Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders" called
upon states to prepare training programmes based on the principles of the UN
declarations, aimed at defining and disseminating the rights of offenders, victims of
crimes and abuse of power. These topics should become part of the curricula of
88
faculties of law, criminological institutes, law enforcement training centres and
judicial colleges.
Juvenile crime, pa1iicularly crime involving interpersonal violence and
theft, was repmted to be escalating steadily world-wide (U.N. Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice: 1993). Successful crime prevention pose several
obstacles like deplorable living condition in many urban areas of the world, in
particular in developing count1ies and in the least developed countries; the rapidly
dete1iorating 'qualify of life', demographic trend of urban swelling, particularly by
young persons and its criminological implication in the urban environment.
Docs Correctional Programmes work?
Juvenile conections are actually juvenile treatment, consisting of a
variety of activities that, in effect, treat young offenders for the purpose of
rehabilitation. Clinically meaningful changes were repmied by adolescents regarding
decreased delinquent activity and number of delinquent friends. Significant
differences were noted on life skill development, school attendance and average
grades.
"Our juvenile laws are founded on the ideal that children .should
receive from the state, care, training and treatment-all designed to rehabilitate them
and prepare them for adulthood 11 ( cited in Coffey: 1975).
Sutphen ( 1993) evaluated a multi systematic treatment programme for
high-risk first offenders. Case management, educational programs, family therapy
and parent-adolescent nmturing program were included.
89
Caravello ( 1981) investigated the relationship among treatment,
recidivism and probation adjustment to detennine the degree to which treatment
recommendations made at the presentencing level are followed by judges and agreed
with by supervising probation officers. When probation officers followed treatment
recommendations more closely, students were more compliant in treatment, more
stable in employment, residence and family and were considered a less likely to have
future criminal involvement.
Martinson (1974) rep01ted that efforts to identify correctional
programmes that have positive effects on post release behaviour of youthful property
offenders have, for the most part, proved futile. This 'nothing works' attitude of
Martinson was concurred by the 'National Academy of Sciences'- Panel on Research
on Rehabilitative Techniques stating that. "the entire body of research appears to
justify that we do not know of any program or method of rehabilitation that could be
guaranteed to reduce the criminal activity of released offenders ". Sechrest, White
and Brown ( 1979) experts in the panel subsequently observed that much of the
research on rehabilitative technique focussed on weak or poorly defined programmes
implemented to an unknown degree which were evaluated using inadequate r�search
designs.
The relationship between offenders' perception of a residential
community diversion incentive program and subsequent behaviour was investigated
by Ettner ( 1995). The perception about the characteristics of the program differed for
offenders who failed to complete the program and for those who completed the
program.
90
BuFord (1993) rep01ts about the education of tmants, incorrigibles and
delinquents of an urban population in Chicago thus :- Working in unison with juvenile
court system and social agencies, Chicago Public Schools have successfully attempted
to educate deviant students towards becoming socially acceptable, self determining,
vocationally trained and financially independent.
In a juvenile diversion programme, comparative study was done by
Polan (1994) between client who dropped out prior to completion of the programme
and clients who completed the programme. Findings showed that clients who
completed the' programme reduced law violation and had a positive change in family
interaction. The diversion programme fulfilled its broadly stated goals of teaching
client responsibility and reducing family dysfunction.
While commenting on "Something That Works in Juvenile Justice",
Mecord (1990) evaluates an Intensive Protective Supe1vision Project as an attempt to
reduce delinquency. An adequate assessment of the effectiveness of the programme
found that the effmts have been successful in preventing recidivism.
In 1994, the state of Ohio implemented new policy initiative called
RECLAIM Ohio: Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternative� to the
Incarceration of Minors in 9 Counties to treat less serious juvenile offenders in the
community while reserving space in institutions for more serious offenders. Moon
(1997) evaluated the RECLAIM: Ohio and found that the pilot counties significantly
increased the number of offenders incarcerated for serious offences, and significantly
decreased the number of offenders incarcerated for less serious offences.
91
Intervention Programmes
Project Head Sta1t, an intervention programme which aims to reduce
the effects of at-1isk variables and make positive changes in overall functioning of
children, implemented a parent training programme at its parent child centre.
Williams (1998) studied the effect of the training programme on parents and children.
Mothers who were experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety associated with child
rearing skills were found to have a decline into their stress and anxiety levels across
time.
A weekly report form that addressed behaviour of each child at the
beginning of each session of the program revealed that there was statistically
significant decline in the number of aberrant behaviours reported by parents across the
four weeks of the programme.
A home treatment programme for offenders, when evaluated by
Kirigin (1982), found that rate of alleged criminal offences, percentage of youths
involved in those offences, percentage of youths institutionalised were reduced as an
after-effect of the treatment programme.
A survey was conducted by Bloss (1995) among American -School
Counsellor Association members to study about school- based family intervention.
Results indicated that counsellors prefer to work with students
individually and consult with staff more than doing parent consultation. Workload
and work schedule were rated as the largest barriers to providing family interventions.
Parent consultation, parent education and family consultation, were reported as
approp1iate function of a school counsellor's role.
92
Perceptions and experiences of education by young men in correctional
facilities was studied by Balson ( 1998). All individuals expressed strong opinions
about progra1mnes offered, educators themselves and the impo1tance of education in
general self-esteem and value for the pa1ticipant students were based on how teachers
and other educational staff treated them. All interviewed have defmite opinions on
what helped or hindered them in education programmes in correctional facilities.
Youth often turn their energies toward activities destructive to
themselves and the society that ignores them. Bembry ( 1995) studied experimentally
at-risk youth in a community se1vice programme where they engaged with the elderly
in nursing homes. The relationship of the independent variable, the community
service to the dependent variables of self-esteem, grades and school attendance were
studied. The results suggest that unless there is a special academic component within
the community service programme, it may be unrealistic to expect improvements in
academic perfonnance.
Game ( 1998) gathered information relevant to initiating a corrections
education programme in a private prison in N01th Carolina. The findings of the study
illuminated issues having an impact on prison education programmes. About fifty
percent of all inmates entering prison have less than a high school diploma and many
cannot read. About 25 percent of the inmates were assumed to be able to benefit from
vocational programmes. Limitations on programming are imposed by and inmates a
problem mobility, sentencing and the security level of the prison.
Hackler ( 1960) rep01ted an educational-work experience project for
delinquents. The study involved four experimental groups who led some form of
93
work expenence and/or remedial education along with a control group that was
involved in a regular school programme. TI1e exponential subjects did not differ
significantly from the control cases 111 involvement in delinquency, following
participation in the experiment.
An experimental study to detennine the effects of a leisure education
intervention programme on attitude towards leisure, alcohol and other drug use as
expressed by adolescent male residents at a correctional facility was studied by
Hutchinson (1993). Treatment did not produce a difference between the experimental
and control group.
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEPS) that provided
disadvantaged youth jobs and employment experiences implemented two models of
learning along with it, the remedial instruction model and the educational enrichment
model. Each model operated in conjunction with a job was evaluated by McCausland
(1995). All significant findings favoured youths in enrichment projects, rather than
remedial classes. Youth in job alone had the most positive outcome.
Potential delinquents were given program featuring work experience
along with a modified academic programme designed to reduce delinquent
tendencies. The study began in 1961 and continued till 69. 13-14 years boys were
involved. Regarding the overall impact of the programme, Ahlstrom and Havighurst
(1971) obse1ves: "By 1969, it was apparent that all these efforts and expenditure of
money had remarkably little effect". Only I/4th of the boys benefited from the
programme.
94
Schuritzgebel and Kolb (1964) launched an interesting project to
modify the behaviour of delinquents. The adolescents working within the project
were labelled by comt. The laboratory of the project was set up in a large store in
front on a street comer. This project is known as Street Comer Research . The
project employed 50 male delinquents with an average of 18 years of age. A control
group was formed from the police.
The technique used with the experimental group was as follows:
1) Defining desired behaviour.
2) Determining the most effective reinforcers.
3) Detennining the repe1toire ofthe subjects' past and present behaviour.
4) Application ofreinforcers and modifying application according to results.
The experiment hired the delinquent.
Intervention strategies were recommended by Wilgosh ( 1982) to
adjudicated juvenile delinquents, as his study established relationship between
learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency.
Treatment of Delinquency: Role of Counselling
Wanen (1992), in a 12--week counselling programme, examined the
therapeutic outcomes of family counselling with adjudicated juveniles and their
parents found significant differences between the pre-test and post-test scores for the
adolescent on the Parent-child communication inventory. While studying the overall
pattern of parental motivational traits, using a Personality Research form-E, he found
that parents were living in a very constricted, mundane environment, where very little
pleasurable activities occuned.
95
Physical fitness training and counselling, as a treatment for youthful
offenders, was experimented by Hilyer ( 1982). MANOVAs revealed significant
difference between the groups on pre test measures in favour of control group and
significant difference on the post test measures in favour of experimental groups.
Six families that provided foster parenting services to delinquent
children were given training, family counselling and group counselling. The
programme impact on foster parenting was evaluated by Loyd (1982). Results
showed significant increase in tenns of self-regard and inner directedness in foster
fathers. Foster mothers displayed no significant gains.
Tracy ( 1995) commenting on the supervisory tasks of certified
rehabilitation counsellors among juvenile delinquents, reported that administrative
tasks were the most imp01tant, supportive tasks and educational tasks were rated as
second and third.
Effects of counselling intervention on successful student outcomes
quasi experimental study by Waxman (1992) was conducted among academically at
risk students. Findings showed that personal intervention of a college counsellor
significantly improved grades, retention rates and academic persistence for. at-risk
students.
2.9 CONCLUSION TO THE CHAPTER
The review of literature did equip the researcher with a meaningful
grasp of the context from which to sta1t her investigation. The problem of juvenile
delinquency, various approaches to the explanation of the phenomenon, theoretical
96
explanations in this respect, the legal enactment to deal with the problem., the
educational status of the delinquents as well as the vocational prospects, treatment and
rehabilitative measures were probed in detail. Studies dealing with the needs and
problems of juvenile delinquents, particularly those relating to their education and

r')ee.J
vocation, were very few, indicating the imperative/or such studies and this review
helped the investigator to give final shape for the present study.
97

07 - Chapter 2 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

07 - Chapter 2 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

l11e review of related literature is a crucial aspect of the planning of a

study, the objective of which is to justify the rationale of an ensuing study. It

provides an ove1view of historical perspective, development, deviations and new

to the problem under investigation.

Tumey and Robb ( 1971) state that "the identification of a problem,

The literature reviewed in the context of the present study is presented

below, under appropdate heads.

2.2 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THE CONCEPT

Juvenile Delinquency is still not fully understood. The experts do not

(cited in Brown : 1989).

The first problem m a discussion of juvenile delinquency is an

adequate definition of this tenn. Scholars do not agree on a definition of juvenile

commit offences like theft, gambling, cheating, pick-pocketing, murder, robbery,

dacoity, destmction of prope1ty, violence and assault, intoxication, vagrancy, begging,

Weinberg (1961) prefers to define juvenile delinquency in terms of

behaviour that is traditionally regarded as responsible and is in contravention of law.

Robinson ( 1961) considers delinquency as that kind of behaviour which is regarded as

convicted by a comt. According to Cohen ( 1955), when any specified behaviour

regarded as deviant behaviour. Such deviant behaviour includes delinquency, adult

prejudice against minorities.

Coleman (1981) describes Juvenile Delinquency as a dangerous extreme

of childhood naughtiness with a multiplicity of psychological and social causes.

2.2.1 Juvenile Delinquency - An increasing Social Phenomenon?

problem11 (Encyclopaedia of Psychology: 1972, Volume 2, p. 166).

frontiers 11 (cited in Police Research and Development : Qua1ter I, p. 12: 1992) .

. Mc Nulty ( 1995) rep01ts that a breathtaking rise in juvenile crime is

facing the most violent juvenile crime surge in its history.

decomposed body of a second year degree student surfaced in the unused

(DCRB) show a steady increase in the number of crimes committed by juveniles.

'The Week' weekly (Sep. 20 : 1998) in its cover story - 'Violence in

"Among themselves, Luke, Kinkel, Carnewal, Johnson and Andrews

is not manifested to the extent of shooting sprees."

in respect of prevention of crime and treatment of offenders, the problem is not as

simple as it seems to be taken by most lawyers and judges, policemen and

punishments in the civilised world have proved themselves practically ineffective to

deter the increasing number and types of crimes.

predicted that variables reflecting high levels of social disorganisation (anomie)

economic hardship would be positively related to c1imes of theft.

Using self-rep01ted data collected from a random sample of 1,740

characterised by a high level of disorganisation are found to have substantial direct

influence on delinquent behaviour. Bonding of deviant social groups has substantial

impacts on officially recorded delinquency.

2.2.2 Crime and Delinquency in Indian Judicial System

Crime and delinquency are no recent phenomena. Male violence in

human behaviour is as old as organised human society (cited in Glueck: 1960).

Procedure Code (CPC) is a criminal.

Labelling an individual in the age group of 7 to 18, as delinquent, he

labelled young or youthful offenders.

Delinquency-The National Scene

How much delinquency is there in India? If figures published by the

a major concern of police in India.

The observation of Viswathasi ( 1982), Krishna ( 1982), and the like

joint families and they are illiterates.

Arabia. His findings are:

2. Delinquency tends to increase with age.

3. Religious practices were strongly negatively related to delinquency.

4. Parental attachment and involvement in school were also signi.6.cantly

5. Association with delinquent friends is significantly positively related.

A study of institutionalised girls lead Dave ( 1976) to the conclusion

insecurity, aggressive behaviour, pove1ty, ill treatment, and tedium of life.