European University of Lefke (EUL) Faculty of Health Sciences Social Service Department Lecturer Asst. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Özada gave information about the “connection between family relations and juvenile delinquency”.

“Disruptions in family structures and family relationships often cause a social problem”

“The family, the smallest unit of the society, is the most important institution for the upbringing of children. However, children do not always get the chance to grow up in healthy family environments. Disruptions in family structures and family relationships often cause a social problem. Sayin that one of these problems is the children who are pushed into crime. Özada said as stated in the children’s rights convention, as the physical, mental, emotional and social development of persons under the age of 18 continues, crime should be handled differently from adults, and in this respect, family-related characteristics are remarkable in criminal behavior that occurs at an early age. “The emphasis on family relations in studies related to the reason of juvenile delinquency is remarkable. The family does not always contain positive feelings such as love, affection, support and acceptance. Negative feelings such as hostility, rejection, abuse, and domination can be involved in bad family relationships. Gove and Crutchfield (1982) investigated the relationship of many family variables with juvenile delinquency, ”said Özada, and stated that the study examined the parents’ behaviors, natural states in the home and their relationships with their children as parents.

“The experiences of parents in their childhood years play an important role in their child-rearing style”

In the continuation of her statement Özada stated that “In the results obtained from the study, it was determined that the predicted variables in the criminal behavior of boys are different from those of girls. For boys, it is understood that negative communication and interactions of parents are effective in turning to crime. For girls, exposure to abuse comes to the fore in turning to crime.  The love relationship between the father and the boy is also important for the child to create a healthy identity. The most important study on this subject is the work of Glueck and Glueck (1950). Only% of males committed to crime in the survey. 40 shows that 2 of them stated that they received love, affection and sympathy from their fathers. It is stated that this rate is 80.7% among children who do not turn to crime. In the research, it is revealed that depriving children of especially the father’s love, affection and sympathy may lead to antisocial behaviors. Parents’ own childhood experiences play an important role in their child-rearing style. The attitudes of a father who cannot establish a healthy interaction with his parents in his childhood years, and a father who does not see enough love, and a mother who experiences excessive pressure in her younger years can be negative due to these bad experiences (Yavuzer, 2001: 132). The biggest result obtained in researches on family relations; It is stated that the affectionate relationship between family members is more effective in preventing criminal behavior than a broken family structure. (Nye, 1958; Paschall et al., 2010; Simons et al., 2007) ”.

“Parents’ overly authoritarian attitude towards children causes negative effects on children’s tendency to crime”

Finally, “Parents’ overly authoritarian attitude towards children can also cause negative effects on children’s tendency to crime. Sometimes, adolescents can use their criminal behavior as a tool to gain independence from parental authority and take control of their lives. As a result, by determining the factors that lead to criminal behavior in adolescents, taking various precautions before the occurrence of criminal behavior and providing services that will prevent adolescents from turning to crime may have a decreasing effect on juvenile delinquency ”.