Violent extremism is commonly conditioned by a variety of psychological processes and mechanisms that when activated or deactivated aid implication in extreme behavior, including destructive actions with a large dose of cruelty against people and groups. One of those processes is moral disengagement, which was originally postulated by Bandura. To test this relationship, the present research focused on studying these mechanisms in members of Colombian illegal armed groups. Total sample size was 18 (14 males and four females) demobilized members of the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia [AUC]) and guerrilla organizations (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [FARC], National Liberation Army [ELN], among others), which had participated directly or indirectly in violent actions against people and groups, which included murders, tortures, and massacres. Qualitative methodology was used, specifically in-depth interviews and content analysis. This analysis led to the verification in the narratives of the participants of the use of all the mechanisms of moral disengagement described by Bandura aiming to justify their behavior within the armed group. The most noteworthy mechanisms were those that minimized participation (especially, attributing behavior to obeying orders: displacement of responsibility) and moral justification, especially, the context of confrontation. Moral disengagement processes are found in armed group members (such as insurgency, terrorist organizations, or militias). These mechanisms cancel ordinary psychological reactions of rejection, fear, and moral controls that oppose the carrying out of cruelty and extreme violence.

En este trabajo se pone a prueba un modelo teórico en el que se integran variables del grupo de iguales, variables familiares/escolares, y el nivel de autocontrol, con el propósito de comprobar su capacidad explicativa sobre la conducta antisocial de los adolescentes de ambos sexos. La muestra del estudio incluye 471 adolescentes escolarizados en centros públicos del estado de Mérida en Venezuela. Los resultados de los análisis de Estructuras de Covarianza revelan que, tanto para los hombres como para las mujeres, la pertenencia a un grupo desviado, la inadecuada supervisión familiar y un bajo nivel de autocontrol son las variables más relevantes con respecto a la probabilidad de desarrollar conducta desviada. Sin embargo, estas variables dan cuenta en mayor medida de la conducta antisocial de los chicos que de la de las chicas. Se plantea la necesidad de prestar mayor atención al tema del género en la investigación y los modelos teóricos de la delincuencia. Palabras clave: Autocontrol, delincuencia juvenil, grupo de iguales, sexo/género, vinculaciones convencionales.Analysis of the relationship between peer group, attachment to family and school, selfcontrol, and antisocial behaviour in a sample of Venezuelan adolescents

This study of the effect of family and peer group variables on drug use among male adolescents shows that both the drug consumption behavior of parents and peers, and their relationships with the adolescent have an important influence on the latter's own use patterns. With respect to adolescents who do not consume drugs, users of both legal and illegal drugs reported less affectionate family relationships, greater drug consumption by both parents, greater contact with drugconsuming peers, and greater identification with and participation in unconventional groups and activities. These findings coincide to a large extent with the assumptions of Some of the main theories of deviant behavior (social control theory, differential association theory, and social learning theory), which suggests the desirability of integrating these theo-*TO whom correspondence should be sent at

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