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Understanding and Modification of Delinquent Behavior

NCJ Number
167078
Author(s)
L Morgan
Date Published
1992
Length
405 pages
Annotation
This book provides an overview of juvenile delinquency: its causes, the juvenile justice system as a therapeutic and adjudicatory agency, and the techniques for counseling youth in areas where there is failure or identity crisis.
Abstract
The first chapter discusses the origin of the deviant traits and characteristics that compose the personality of delinquent youths and cause them to develop a faulty perception of their social environment. This is followed by a chapter that discusses the various theories of the causes of antisocial behavior, as well as the effects of the family and community on social development during early childhood. The third chapter discusses the juvenile justice system, explaining the workings of the juvenile court and its placement agencies such as detention centers, training schools, halfway houses, shelter homes, youth camps, probation, and after-care services. Another chapter discusses the restructuring of behavior through counseling. It addresses the techniques for counseling delinquents in difficult areas such as drug and alcohol use and abuse, dating, religion, hostility, motivation, sex, venereal disease, race, fear, anxiety, pregnancy, and disillusionment. The concluding chapter discusses such effective treatment techniques as behavior therapy, psychotherapy, and many other therapies that have been developed over the years to change and/or modify behavior. Chapter notes