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In juvenile delinquency, some aspects of the personality have an important role in the probability of engagement in antisocial behaviors. For this reason, integrating them to the work with this population makes it possible to propose interventions more sensitive to the characteristics of young people and, therefore, more effective. As the structures of many juvenile delinquency care systems have similar socio-educational objectives, cross-cultural / comparative studies are pertinent to explore this problem. The aim of this study was to compare groups of adolescents from Brazil and Spain, offenders and non-offenders, regarding aspects of personality. The sample consisted of 210 male adolescents, with a mean age of 17.7 years. These young people responded to the Jesness Inventory - Revised (JI-R), a tool that measures psychological functioning in the context of juvenile justice. The raw scores on the JI-R were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the effect size was calculated with Cohen’s d. The results show that, among the groups of offenders, the sample of Brazilian adolescents presents higher levels in Value Orientation and Social Anxiety. As hypothesized, the groups of offenders are not so different from each other, especially with regard to antisocial orientation, which adds evidence that adolescents who grow up in different cultures share personality variables associated with criminal behavior., En delincuencia juvenil, algunos aspectos de la personalidad tienen un peso importante en la probabilidad de realizar conductas antisociales. Por esto, integrarlos al trabajo con esta población permite hacer las intervenciones más sensibles a las características de los jóvenes y, por ello, más efectivas. Como las estructuras de muchos sistemas de atención de la delincuencia juvenil tienen objetivos socioeducativos semejantes, los estudios transculturales/comparativos son pertinentes para explorar este problema. El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar grupos de adolescentes de Brasil y España, infractores y no infractores, con respecto a aspectos de personalidad. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 210 adolescentes varones con una edad media de 17.7 años. Estos jóvenes respondieron al Jesness Inventory – Revised (JI-R), una herramienta que mide el funcionamiento psicológico en el contexto de justicia juvenil. Las puntuaciones directas en el JI-R fueron comparadas por análisis de varianza (ANOVA) y el tamaño de efecto fue calculado con la d de Cohen. Los resultados muestran que, entre los grupos de infractores, la muestra de adolescentes brasileños presenta niveles más elevados en Valores Subculturales y Ansiedad Social. Como se hipotetizaba, los grupos de infractores no son tan distintos entre sí, en especial a lo que se refiere a la orientación antisocial, lo que suma evidencia a que adolescentes que se desarrollan en culturas distintas comparten variables de personalidad asociadas al comportamiento delictivo

The objectives of this study are to identify the different existing profiles of adolescent offenders regarding different protection factors for deviant behavior and analyze whether there are differences between their recidivism rates. We analyzed data of 858 adolescents aged 14 to 17 who in 2010 completed a criminal case in juvenile justice in Catalonia and who were assessed with the SAVRY. To identify the clusters, latent class analysis technique was used, based on SAVRY protective factors. The results indicated four groups: 1) adolescents without protection factors (Vulnerable); 2) adolescents without social support, but with strong motivation for change (Motivated); 3) adolescents with social support, but without positive personal characteristics (Supported); 4) adolescents with strong social support and positive personal characteristics (Protected). Recidivism rates of the groups were compared in 2015, controlling for the risk factors. The Vulnerable presented the highest proportion of recidivism (51%), followed by the Motivated (42%), Supported (38%) and Protected (27%). This study shows the importance of protective factors for human development, especially when it comes to young people at risk to engage in criminal behavior., Los objetivos del presente estudio son identificar los distintos perfiles existentes de adolescentes infractores sobre la base de distintos factores de protección de la conducta desviada y analizar si existen diferencias entre sus tasas de reincidencia. Se analizaron los datos de 858 adolescentes de 14 a 17 años que en 2010 finalizaron totalmente una causa penal en la justicia juvenil en Cataluña y que tenían los datos de la evaluación del riesgo hecha con el SAVRY. Para identificar los perfiles se utilizó la técnica de análisis de clases latentes, a partir de los factores protectores del SAVRY. Los resultados indicaron cuatro grupos: 1) jóvenes sin factores de protección (Vulnerables); 2) jóvenes sin apoyo social, pero con fuerte motivación para el cambio (Motivados); 3) jóvenes con apoyo social, pero sin características personales positivas (Apoyados); 4) jóvenes con fuerte apoyo social y características personales positivas (Protegidos). Se compararon las tasas de reincidencia de los grupos en 2015, controlando los factores de riesgo. Los Vulnerables presentaran la mayor proporción de reincidentes (51%), seguido por los Motivados (42%), Apoyados (38%) y Protegidos (27%). Este estudio muestra la importancia de los factores protectores para el desarrollo humano, en especial en lo que se refiere a los jóvenes en riesgo para implicarse en comportamiento delictivo. The objectives of this study are to identify the different existing profiles of adolescent offenders regarding different protection factors for deviant behavior and analyze whether there are differences between their recidivism rates. We analyzed data of 858 adolescents aged 14 to 17 who in 2010 completed a criminal case in juvenile justice in Catalonia and who were assessed with the SAVRY. To identify the clusters, latent class analysis technique was used, based on SAVRY protective factors. The results indicated four groups: 1) adolescents without protection factors (Vulnerable); 2) adolescents without so

This paper investigates the relationship between substance use and delinquency in relation to violent offenses (V) and non-violent offenses (NV). A sample of 778 school adolescent was selected – it included only students who had committed at least one crime. The Questionário de Comportamentos Juvenis, which is an auto report questionnaire on offenses and substance use, was then used to record information from selected adolescents. The groups V and NV were compared by sex for variables related to alcohol, cannabis and other drugs use. The T test for independet groups was used to compare groups. The effect size was calculated based on the Cohen's d. In most cases, the average of substance use of V groups was larger than the average of NV groups, though with small effect sizes. The alcohol use among adolescent girls didn't show differences between groups. The results support previous studies' results. Longitudinal studies are needed to study the development of behavior, as well as studies with groups of juvenile offenders., Este estudio investiga la relación entre el consumo de sustancias y conductas delictivas violentas (V) y no violentas (NV). La muestra de 778 adolescentes escolares fue seleccionada por ya haber relatado la comisión de al menos un delito a lo largo de la vida. Respondierion al Questionário de Comportamentos Juvenis, una encuesta de autoinforme sobre comisión de delitos y consumo de sustancias. Los grupos V y NV, fueron comparados por sexo, en sus promedios de variables referentes al consumo de alcohol, de cannabis y de otras drogas, mediante la prueba T para muestras independientes. El tamaño del efecto fue calculado con el d de Cohen. Los promedios de consumo de los adolescentes V fueron mayores a los de los adolescentes NV, con tamaños del efecto pequeños. A parte de esto, el consumo de alcohol entre los adolescentes no ha mostrado diferencias entre ambos grupos. Los resultados se alinean parcialmente con la revisión de trabajos previos. Son necesarios estudios longitudinales que tengan en cuenta el desarrollo de las conductas, así como estudios con población de adolescentes infractores. This paper investigates the relationship between substance use and delinquency in relation to violent offenses (V) and non-violent offenses (NV). A sample of 778 school adolescent was selected – it included only students who had committed at least one crime. The Questionário de Comportamentos Juvenis, which is an auto report questionnaire on offenses and substance use, was then used to record information from selected adolescents. The groups V and NV were compared by sex for variables related to alcohol, cannabis and other drugs use. The t test for independet groups was used to compare groups. The effect size was calculated based on the Cohen’s d. In most cases, the average of substance use of V groups was larger than the average of NV groups, though with small effect sizes. The alcohol use among adolescent girls didn’t show differences between groups. The results support previous

Many adolescents manifest delinquent behavior, but only a few are responsible for most of the offenses and the serious crimes. To know the differences in the criminal engagement and in the personal variables related to the more persistent/severe antisocial behavior is important to adjust the Juvenile Justice Systems to the adolescents needs. In the Brazilian Justice System, this is not considered. Although the law indicates the importance of personalizing legal and social responses to each juvenile offender, the treatment is essentially undifferentiated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and describe personal variables that discriminate subgroups of Brazilian adolescents with different levels of criminal engagement. A total of 193 male adolescents (133 recruited in schools and 60 institutionalized) answered a Self-Report Delinquency Questionnaire, which included scales of psychosocial constructs. Five groups were found by the Ward and K-means clustering methods. The adolescents were compared on variables such as personal traits. Those groups with major criminal engagement had higher levels of impulsivity (η² = 0.08; p = 0.002), higher antisocial values (η² = 0.08; p = 0.003), and higher prevalence of alcohol (X² = 103.75; p < 0.001) and marijuana use (X² =257.61; p < 0.001). This finding confirms the specialized literature, denoting how important it is to identify and understand the differences in the criminal engagement of adolescents.