La realtà criminogenica nello sviluppo di una carriera antisociale e violenta giovanile. Uno studio esplorativo

The aim of this study is to delve into the criminogenic reality of juvenile offenders by exploring the criminogenic factors at the basis of their antisocial onset, and of their development in a delinquent and violent career. The delinquent careers of 460 juvenile offenders, involved in at least one violent crime, were reconstructed by analysing their criminal records (i.e. official and self-reported offences) and the psychological and social files gathered at the Juvenile Justice Centre in Northern Italy. The findings of this study suggest that an early onset was a robust and significant factor of a longer and more severe delinquent career. Contrary to expectations, a violent onset and a specialised criminal pattern were not related to a higher risk of persistence. Instead, a heterogeneous delinquent pattern, characterised by different types of offences, was significantly related to the risk of persisting into offending. The level of offensivity (i.e. the extent to which their actions related to their delinquent careers were serious and disruptive, beyond and above their crimes themselves) was higher in first-time or occasional offenders, rather than in persistent offenders, suggesting that it depended on the criminal experience of the offender: the higher the experience, the lower the level of offensivity required to commit a crime. Criminal persistence was influenced by psycho(patho)logical problems that affected how the juvenile adjusted to life. Substance abuse was another factor that aggravated an already impaired psychological and familial condition. More studies are certainly necessary to understand further the criminogenic needs of juvenile offenders, so as to be able to intervene as early as possible, efficiently and specifically in the life of these juveniles in order to prevent them from becoming the adult criminals of tomorrow.