Adolescent Vandalism: the Role of the Parent-Child Relationship in the Development of Destructive Behavior

Abstract

Background. While the phenomena of intentional destroying and damaging of private property have been known since ancient times, the term "vandalism" appears only in 19 th century. In the 20 th century, much research devoted to vandalism was conducted in the spheres of criminology, sociology, psychology, and education. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to investigating the correlation between a child's propensity for vandalism and the child-parent relationship. Objective and Method. The main purpose of our research was to investigate the correlation between the styles of family upbringing and adolescents' propensity for vandalism. For this purpose, we analyzed the main predictors of adolescents' propensity for vandalism on the basis of the psychological diagnostics of 60 Russian families from Ekaterinburg. We investigated whether the fact that a child was brought up in a one-parent or disadvantaged family is significant for forming an adolescent propensity for vandalism. We also clarified the influence of various styles of family upbringing on an adolescent's propensity for vandalism of different types. Results. Based on statistical analysis, we concluded that an atmosphere of violence within the family plays a key role in forming adolescents' propensity for vandalism. The style of maternal upbringing has a greater influence on determining adolescent destructive behavior than the paternal, especially when the father's parenting style is "non-interference. " Conclusion. Based on our research results, we suggest that preventive efforts against vandalism should be directed toward the prevention of family violence, and that there should be a differential approach toward parental education directed toward correcting individual parental styles of upbringing.

Comparison of Needs, Pressures, and Aspirations among Motherless and Normal Adolescents: A Quantitative-Qualitative Analysis

“…In explaining the need for harm avoidance -pressure of harm and risk in motherless adolescents, it can be acknowledged that the absence of the mother, the father's preoccupations, and family conditions make the adolescent feel less secure and more vulnerable, thus creating a need for harm avoidance (Kruzhkova et al, 2018;López-Rodríguez et al, 2018). If this need is not met and harm is not controlled, pressure of harm and risk arises in a motherless adolescent.…”

“…Furthermore, how the mother behaves towards the adolescent and pays attention to their needs significantly affects the formation of their personality structure. Events during adolescence and how an adolescent is treated and responds to their needs relate to mental states, self-esteem, personality during maturity, and behavioral patterns in adulthood (Kruzhkova et al, 2018;López-Rodríguez et al, 2018;Patil & Jadhav, 2018). Therefore, educational experts have always emphasized the role of the mother in child upbringing.…”