Risk factors and interpersonal relations of juvenile criminals and their functioning at a reformatory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify groups of youth criminals with specific profiles of risk factors. Next, we aimed to trace relationships between these risk factors and selected personality traits of the minors by shaping their styles of interpersonal functioning. The research covered 96 minors aged 16-21, inmates of corrections institutions who were accused of aggressive crimes. These persons took psychometric tests using the SAVRY checklist and Stanik’s IPS Scale. An analysis of results helped to identify three groups of juvenile criminals with respect to the intensity and configuration of risk factors: ‘seriously unadjusted group’, ‘disturbed personality group’ and ‘sociopathic group’. Research results point to some essential statistical differences between the isolated groups with respect to all the four domains provided by the SAVRY. A thorough review of the correlation between the risk factor groups and the juveniles’ styles of social functioning indicated significant differences between historical, social and protective factors. A qualitative analysis of the results shows intensified occurrence in, particularly, the ‘seriously unadjusted group’, of features such as hostility, suspicion, and tendency to rebel against external orders.