Maltreatment and offending behavior: comparative study among female and male adolescents judicialized

• Grant number: 15/25612-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Marina Rezende Bazon
• Grantee: Lyara Correia Guimarães
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The submission of teenagers to Juvenile Justice System because their involvement in illegal practices is a phenomenon with strong growth in Brazil. Offenses in adolescence, however, is a normal phenomenon, in statistical terms, although it must be recognized that there are different patterns of delinquent conduct. In the literature there is reference to a "common delinquency", characteristic of most teenagers, in which the manifestation of behavior is occasionally; there is reference to another pattern called "distinctive or persistent delinquency", featuring a small group of teenagers, in which the manifestation of behavior is frequent, showing up volume and diversity of offenses. Longitudinal studies have identified several risk factors - personal and social - associated with persistent pattern. In this context, aspects of relationships and family experience are highlighted. Violence in this context, especially child maltreatment (abuse and neglect), is identified as a significant factor. However the connection between maltreatment and delinquency is not clear; moreover, the data have revealed significant differences between the sexes in this respect. The female offenders are more likely to have been abused and this also have been more severe, compared to male offenders. The possible interference of sex / gender in terms of vulnerability to exposure to different forms of violence should be considered in investigations. This cant providing a more refined knowledge to understand the problem and provide clues to the forms of necessary intervention. Thus, the aim of this study is to characterize a youth sample of judicialized teenagers, of both sexes, with regard to maltreatment and the delinquent behavior. In addition, it intends to verify the possible association between the level of engagement in delinquent (pattern behavior) and the types of maltreatment. Finally, the aim is to gauge the existence of gender differences in relation to these two variables. To that aim, after the project submission to the Research Ethics Committee, we intend to conduct the study with 40 judicialized adolescents (aged 15 to 18 years incomplete) subdivided into two groups according their sex. To collect, we intend to use the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) for information about possible exposure to maltreatment, and a Structured Interview on Self Reported Delinquency to obtain information about the delinquent pattern behavior. The data will be treated according to their characteristics and scientific parameters. So we could quantified and treated the data by the quantitative analysis. We shall carry out descriptive analyzes in order to characterize the sample on the variables in the study. Following, will be calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient between the raw scores on the subscales of maltreatment and the parameters of engagement in delinquent behavior. Finally, it should make inferential analysis in order to compare data between the sexes.