An Ecological Study on the Criminal Offences of Adolescent Students Reported on the Daily Newspapers in Korea

Lee, Kil Hong; Lee, Hun Je

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The present study was performed to identify the socio-psychiatric aspects of adolescent criminal offences reported on daily newspapers and to use them as basic materials for prevention of adolescent criminal offences.
METHODS
The author analysed 681 cases of adolescent criminal offenders, including 642 males and 39 females who reported on daily newspaper such as DongA Ilbo and Chung-Cheong Ilbo, aged from 12 through 21. In data analysis, the subjects were divided into two subgroups as the student(261 cases) and the non-student(420 cases).
RESULTS
1) The rate of student were more common in female and younger in their age group comparing with the non-student. Recently, the incidence of student's offences of all adolescent of offences were remarkably increased, while those of the non-student was Decreased. 2) Violence and theft or group offences were more common in the student, while felony or solitary offences were more frequently observed in the non-student. The more vulnerable time of criminal offences in the student were more in afternoon, while the non-student were more in midnight. 3) The psychological conflicts and the economical causes were the most ones in the student, while the curiosity, the personality problems and the heterosexual conflicts were more common in the lion-student. physical aggressions were more prominent ones in the student, compared with the instrumental aggression in the non-student. 4) The student committed offense more in the patterns of group offences with peers, younger in their age and were more often with their peer students, while the non-student committed offense more in the patterns of solitary crime, more prevalent with older aged jobless peers. 5) Most of the victims in the student were more abused to the intimate persons, and more younger students, while those in the non-student were more abused to the unknown persons and more older aged adolescents.
CONCLUSION
In order to prevent and correct increasing trends of violence in school, nationwide guidance programs should be promptly applied through promotion of psychological wellbeing in family and school, proper guidance to peer relationship, and providing more opportunities for sound recreational activities in evening time to help dissipate the frustration of the adolescents.