It's easier to become a criminal than to get a job : A study about juvenile delinquency in adolescence and horizons of opportunities

Studien undersökte förekomsten av brottsligt beteende hos ungdomar i allmänhet och hur sociala och personliga resurser kan fungera som skydds- eller riskfaktorer i synnerhet samt vilka skillnader som finns mellan flickor och pojkar. Undersökningen gjordes på 1324 ungdomar i årskurs nio genom projektet LoRDIA. Data analyserades med t-test, Spearman's korrelationsanalys och hierarkisk multipel regressionsanalys. Resultaten visade att den starkaste prediktorn för ungdomars brottsliga beteende var deras kamraters brottsliga beteende. Socialt välbefinnande visade sig vara en viktigare personlig resurs för flickorna när det handlade om att predicera brottsligt beteende. Psykologiskt välbefinnande var viktigare för pojkarna Överlag låg studiens resultat i linje med tidigare forskning. Avvikande resultat diskuterades. Undersökningen relaterades till möjlighetshorisonter och ungdomars uppfattning om vilka studie och yrkesval de stod inför. Slutligen föreslogs hur företag och branschorganisationer kan tänka och agera från studiens resultat.The study examined the prevalence of criminal behavior among adolescents in general and how social and personal resources can act as protection or risk factors in particular and also what differences exist between girls and boys. The survey was conducted on 1324 youths in ninth grade through the LoRDIA project. Data was analyzed by t-test, Spearman's correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the strongest predictor of young people's criminal behavior was peer delinquency. Social well-being turned out to be an important personal resource for the girls when it was about predicting criminal behavior and psychological well-being was important for the boys. While overall the results were in line with previous research, some divergent results were also discussed. The study was related to horizons of opportunities and to young people's perception of the educational and career choices they faced. Finally ways for companies and organizations to think and act on the results of the study were suggested