Click here to download

Delinquent behavior in adolescence: empirical contribution and clinical implications
Journal Title: RIVISTA DI PSICOTERAPIA RELAZIONALE  
Author/s: Michela Erriu, Giulia Ballarotto, Silvia Cimino, Luca Cerniglia 
Year:  2019 Issue: 49 Language: Italian 
Pages:  27 Pg. 45-71 FullText PDF:  259 KB
DOI:  10.3280/PR2019-049003
(DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation:  clicca qui   and here 


Delinquent behavior represents an element of the individual suffer-ence that during adolescence can revest particular characteristics, such as violence and aggressiveness. Recent international studies have investigated the emotional and behavioral functioning during the specific adolescent phase, with par-ticular attention to the external components of psychological distress, which can in turn lead to direct disorders towards others and the envi-ronmental context. In particular, empirical research has found associations between different variables of psychological functioning, including aggression, destructiveness, difficulty, attention, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and delinquent actions. Based on recent contributions from the scientific literature on the adolescents’ dysfunctional behavior, this study aims to empirically investigate the emotional-behavioural functioning in a sample of adolescents, with specific attention to delinquent behaviour. In particular, thanks to the collaboration of schools in Central-Northern Italy, a sample of N=346 adolescents (173 males and 173 females) was evaluated through the administration of the self-report questionnaire Youth Self-Report 11/18. The results of the research do not show gender differences with re-gard to the average scores in the scale Delinquent behaviour, whose scores seem to increase with the age of adolescents. Interesting asso-ciations between delinquent behaviour and other aspects of emotional-behavioural functioning have also been found, which seem to vary ac-cording to the age of the adolescents. The results show the relevance of specifically evaluate the development phase in which adolescent be-haviour occurs, in order to be able to manage prevention and/or treatment interventions adapted to specific needs.
Keywords: Adolescence, delinquent behaviour, relationships.

  1. Achenbach T.M. (1991). Youth Self-Report Form and Profile for Ages 11-18 (YSR/11-18). Itaca, Ill.: Riverside.
  2. Achenbach T.M., Rescorla L. (2007). Multicultural understanding of child and adolescent psychopathology: Implications for mental health assessment. New York: Guilford Press.
  3. Ali F., Amorim I.S., Chamorro-Premuzic T. (2009). Empathy deficits and trait emotional intelligence in psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 47: 758-762. doi10.1016/j.paid.2009.06.016
  4. Anderson E.L., Steen E., Stavropoulos V. (2017). Internet use and Problematic Internet Use: A systematic review of longitudinal research trends in adolescence and emergent adulthood. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22, 4: 430-454., DOI: 10.1080/02673843.2016.122771
  5. Andolfi M., Mascellani A. (2010). Storie di adolescenza: esperienze di terapia familiare. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  6. Ballarotto G., Porreca A., Erriu M., Ronconi L., Cimino S., Cerniglia L., Tambelli R. (2017). Does alexithymia have a mediating effect between impulsivity and emotional-behavioural functioning in adolescents with binge eating Disorder?. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 14, 4: 247-256.
  7. Bateson G., Longo G. (1988). Verso un’ecologia della mente. Milano: Adelphi.
  8. Bonino S. (2005). Il fascino del rischio negli adolescenti. U.K.: Taylor & Francis.
  9. Bonino S., Cattelino E., Ciairano S. (2003). Adolescenti e rischio. Comportamenti, funzioni e fattori di protezione. Firenze: Giunti.
  10. Bornstein M.H., Bradley R.H. (2014). Socioeconomic status, parenting, and child development. London: Routledge.
  11. Bowen M. (1979). Dalla famiglia all’individuo. Roma: Astrolabio.
  12. Carbone P. (2010). L’Adolescente prende corpo. Roma: II Pensiero Scientifico.
  13. Cerniglia L., Cimino S., Erriu M., Jezek S., Almenara C.A., Tambelli R. (2018). Trajectories of aggressive and depressive symptoms in male and female overweight children: Do they share a common path or do they follow different routes? PLoS One, 13, 1.
  14. Cerniglia L., Cimino S., Ballarotto G., Casini E., Ferrari A., Carbone P., Cersosimo M. (2015). Motor vehicle accidents and adolescents: an empirical study on their emotional and behavioral profiles, defense strategies and parental support. Transportation Research part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 35: 28-36.
  15. Chau K., Kabuth B., Chau N. (2014). Gender and family disparities in suicide attempt and role of socioeconomic, school, and health-related difficulties in early adolescence. BioMed Research International., DOI: 10.1155/2014/314521
  16. Cicchetti D., Rogosch F.A. (2002). A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70: 6-20., DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.70.1.
  17. Cimino S., Cerniglia L., Paciello M., Sinesi S. (2013). A Six-year Prospective Study on Children of Mothers with Eating Disorders: The Role of Paternal Psychological Profiles. European Eating Disorders Review, 21: 238-246.
  18. Cimino S., Cerniglia L., Paciello M. (2015). Mothers with depression, anxiety or eating disorders: Outcomes on their children and the role of paternal psychological profiles. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46, 2: 228-236.
  19. Cirillo S., Rangone G., Selvini M. (1994). Il sottotipo “regolare” della famiglia dell’adolescente antisociale. Terapia Familiare, 44.
  20. Connor D.F. (2012). Aggression and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: Research and treatment. New York: Guilford Press.
  21. Costa E., Loriedo C. (eds.) (2007). Disturbi della condotta alimentare. Diagnosi e terapia (Vol. 20). Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  22. Crone E.A., Dahl R.E. (2012). Understanding adolescence as a period of social–affective engagement and goal flexibility. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13, 9: 636.
  23. Cronen V.E., Johnson K.M., Lannamann J.V. (1983). Paradossi, doppi legami e circuiti riflessivi: una prospettiva teorica alternativa. Terapia Familiare, 14: 87-120.
  24. DiClemente R.J., Hansen W.B., Ponton L.E. (eds.) (2013). Handbook of adolescent health risk behavior. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
  25. DuRant R.H., Cadenhead C., Pendergrast R.A., Slavens G., Linder C.W. (1994). Factors associated with the use of violence among urban black adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 4: 612-617.
  26. Ernst A., Alkass K., Bernard S., Salehpour M., Perl S., Tisdale J., Frisén, J. (2014). Neurogenesis in the striatum of the adult human brain. Cell, 156, 5: 1072-1083.
  27. Erriu M., Cerniglia L., Cimino S. (2018). Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Adolescent Victims of Motor-Vehicle Collisions, Trauma Mon, 23, 1:e62282.
  28. Erriu M., Ballarotto G., Marzilli E., Cimino S., Cerniglia L. (2017). Attachment and Psychopathological Risk in Students Attending an Italian University. EC Psychology and Psychiatry, 4, 5: 199-205.
  29. Figner B., Weber E.U. (2011). Who takes risks when and why? Determinants of risk taking. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 4: 211-216., DOI: 10.1177/096372141141579
  30. Frigerio A., Cattaneo C., Cataldo M.G., Schiatti A., Molteni M., Battaglia M. (2001). Valutazione dei problemi comportamentali in un campione italiano di soggetti attraverso la CBCL/4-18, il TFR e il YSR. Paper presented in workshop at La Sapienza, University of Rome: Faculty of Psychology.
  31. Galambos N.L., Barker E.T., Almeida D.M. (2003). Parents do matter: Trajectories of change in externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 2: 578-594., DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.740201
  32. Haley J. (1970). Family therapy. International Journal of Psychiatry, 9: 233-242.
  33. Hoffman L. (1984). Principi di terapia della famiglia. Roma: Astrolabio.
  34. Hoffman L. (1985) Beyond power and control: Toward a ‘second order’ family systems therapy. Family Systems Medicine, 4: 381-396.
  35. Honess T.M., Charman E.A., Zani B., Cicognani E., Xerri M.L., Jackson A.E., Bosma H.A. (1997). Conflict between parents and adolescents: Variation by family constitution. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 3: 367-385.
  36. Horigian V., Robbins M., Szapocznik J. (2004). Terapia breve strategica familiare. Rivista Europea di Terapia Breve Sistemica e Strategica, 1.
  37. Hunter S.C., Boyle J.M., Warden D. (2004). Help seeking amongst child and adolescent victims of peer aggression and bullying: The influence of school stage, gender, victimisation, appraisal, and emotion. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 3: 375-390., DOI: 10.1348/000709904155237
  38. Karp I., O’loughlin J., Hanley J., Tyndale R.F., Paradis G. (2006). Risk factors for tobacco dependence in adolescent smokers. Tobacco Control, 15, 3: 199-204.
  39. Kazemian L., Farrington D.P., Le Blanc M. (2009). Can we make accurate long-term predictions about patterns of de-escalation in offending behavior? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 3: 384-400.
  40. Kiesner J., Carnaghi A., Lasorella V., Pastore M. (2009). Co-occurrence of depression and antisocial behavior during adolescence: The failure model. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 36, 1: 115-132.
  41. Kim K.J., Conger R.D., Elder Jr, G.H., Lorenz F.O. (2003). Reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Child Development, 74, 1: 127-143., DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.0052
  42. Kipping R.R., Campbell R.M., MacArthur G.J., Gunnell D.J., Hickman M. (2012). Multiple risk behaviour in adolescence. Journal of Public Health, 34, 1: 11-12.
  43. Kupersmidt J.B., Coie J.D. (1990). Preadolescent peer status, aggression, and school adjustment as predictors of externalizing problems in adolescence. Child Development, 61, 5: 1350-1362.
  44. Laird R.D., Jordan K.Y., Dodge K.A., Pettit G.S., Bates J.E. (2001). Peer rejection in childhood, involvement with antisocial peers in early adolescence, and the development of externalizing behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 2: 337-354.
  45. Leadbeater B.J., Kuperminc G.P., Blatt S.J., Hertzog C. (1999). A multivariate model of gender differences in adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Developmental Psychology, 35, 5: 1268., DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.35.5.126
  46. Leiter A.M., Rheinberger C.M. (2016). Risky sports and the value of safety information. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 131: 328-345.
  47. Malagoli Togliatti M. (1989), Comportamento aggressivo negli adolescenti: una lettura in chiave sistemico-relazionale, Famiglia e Minori, 2: 31-39.
  48. Melchiorre F. (n.d). L’ambiente familiare e le cause del disadattamento. Crime Out. Consultato il 13 febbraio 2017, su -- http://www.crimeout.it/doc/articolo_melchiorre.pdf
  49. Minuchin S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  50. Minuchin S., Fishman H.C. (1981). Family therapy techniques. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  51. Minuchin S., Rosman B., Baker L. (1978). Psychosomatic families: Anorexia nervosa in context. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  52. Mokdad A.H., Forouzanfar M.H., Daoud F., Mokdad A.A., El Bcheraoui C., Moradi-Lakeh M., Kravitz H. (2016). Global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors for young people’s health during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet, 387, 10036: 2383-2401., DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00648-
  53. Nicolò Corigliano A.M., Ferraris L. (1991). Famiglia e adolescenza. in Malagoli Togliatti M., Telfener U. (a cura di), Dall’individuo al sistema, Manuale di psicopatologia relazionale. Torino: Bollati Boronghieri.
  54. Offer D., Boxer A.M. (1991). Normal adolescent development: Empirical research findings. In Lewis M. (ed.), Child and adolescent psychiatry: A comprehensive textbook, pp. 266-278. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
  55. Olson D.H. (2000). Circumplex model of marital and family sytems. Journal of Family Therapy, 22, 2: 144-167.
  56. Paciello M., Fida R., Tramontano C., Collie E., Cerniglia L. (2012). Moral dilemma in adolescence: The role of values, prosocial moral reasoning and moral disengagement in helping decision making. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 10, 2: 190-205., DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2012.75909
  57. Petanjek Z., Judaš M., Šimić G., Rašin M.R., Uylings H.B., Rakic P., Kostović I. (2011). Extraordinary neoteny of synaptic spines in the human prefrontal cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108, 32: 13281-13286.
  58. Pierobon M., Barak M., Hazrati S., Jacobsen K.H. (2013). Alcohol consumption and violence among Argentine adolescents. Jornal de Pediatria (Versão em Português), 89, 1: 100-107.
  59. Piquero A.R., Carriaga M.L., Diamond B., Kazemian L., Farrington D.P. (2012). Stability in aggression revisited. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 4: 365-372.
  60. Ramisetty-Mikler S., Almakadma A. (2016). Attitudes and behaviors towards risky driving among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 3, 2: 55-63.
  61. Rescorla L., Achenbach T., Ivanova M.Y., Dumenci L., Almqvist F., Bilenberg N., Erol N. (2007). Behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents of children ages 6 to 16 in 31 societies. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 15, 3: 130-142., DOI: 10.1177/1063426607015003010
  62. Roussos A., Francis K., Zoubou V., Kiprianos S., Prokopiou A., Richardson C. (2001). The standardization of Achenbach’s Youth Self-Report in Greece in a national sample of high school students. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 10, 1: 47-53.
  63. Rutter M., Rutter M., (1993), Developing minds: Challenge and continuity across the lifespan. New York: Harmondsworth, Middx, Penguin, Basic Books.
  64. Samm A., Värnik A., Tooding L.M., Sisask M., Kõlves K., von Knorring A.L. (2008). Children’s depression inventory in estonia. single items and factor structure by age and gender. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 17: 162-170.
  65. Sica L.S., Aleni Sestito L., Molinar R., Ciairano S. (2009). Transgressive behaviour during adolescence: A narrative research. Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo, 13, 3: 579-612., DOI: 10.1449/3078
  66. Speranza A.M., Williams R. (2009). Fare diagnosi nell’infanzia e nell’adolescenza. In Dazzi N., Lingiardi V., Gazzillo F. (a cura di), La diagnosi in psicologia clinica. Personalità e psicopatologia. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  67. Steinberg L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28, 1: 78-106.
  68. Vallario L., Martorelli M., Di Trapano A., Giorgi R., Martorelli R., Cozzi E. (2005). Gli abusi mediatici: le nuove strade maschili del rischio in adolescenza. Psicotech. Fascicolo, 2: 1000-1017.
  69. van Duijvenvoorde A.C., Peters S., Braams B.R., Crone E.A. (2016). What motivates adolescents? Neural responses to rewards and their influence on adolescents’ risk taking, learning, and cognitive control. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70: 135-147.
  70. Vettorato G., Gentili F. (2010). La devianza giovanile in Italia negli ultimi 20 anni. Educare a un Mondo che Cambia, 15-34.
  71. Vieno A., Santinello M., Pastore M. (2008). Lo sviluppo del comportamento antisociale durante la fase preadolescenziale. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 35, 1: 175.
  72. Von Bertalanffy L. (1950). An outline of general system theory. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
  73. Willoughby T., Hamza C.A. (2011). A longitudinal examination of the bidirectional associations among perceived parenting behaviors, adolescent disclosure and problem behavior across the high school years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 4: 463-478.
  74. Zuckerman M. (2007). The sensation seeking scale V (SSS-V): Still reliable and valid. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 5: 1303-1305.

Michela Erriu, Giulia Ballarotto, Silvia Cimino, Luca Cerniglia, Delinquent behavior in adolescence: empirical contribution and clinical implications in "RIVISTA DI PSICOTERAPIA RELAZIONALE " 49/2019, pp. 45-71, DOI:10.3280/PR2019-049003

   

FrancoAngeli is a member of Publishers International Linking Association a not for profit orgasnization wich runs the CrossRef service, enabing links to and from online scholarly content