Abstract
Abstract From a behavioral-economic approach of delinquent behavior, this research aimed to identify potential consequences that could alter the cost of crime from the offender’s perspective. A questionnaire prepared to assess the level of informational and utilitarian reinforcement and punishment of these consequences was answered by 118 juvenile offenders in confinement. The reported level of informational reinforcement did not predict the level of multiplicity of offenses committed. The reported levels of utilitarian reinforcement, informational punishment, and utilitarian punishment predicted this level of multiplicity. Only the level of utilitarian punishment decreased the likelihood of an offender having been involved in more types of criminal acts. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Highlights
From a behavioral-economic approach of delinquent behavior, this research aimed to identify potential consequences that could alter the cost of crime from the offender’s perspective
Considering the delinquent behavior conceived by Becker (1993) as a behavior that, like any other, maximizes the resources considered important by the individual, this study aims to investigate, in the BMP light, what types of variables could be maximized by delinquent behaviors
Based on the application of questionnaires to adolescents and young adults in deprivation from freedom, this study tried to identify potential consequences of the delinquent behavior according to the report of the offenders
Summary
From a behavioral-economic approach of delinquent behavior, this research aimed to identify potential consequences that could alter the cost of crime from the offender’s perspective. A questionnaire prepared to assess the level of informational and utilitarian reinforcement and punishment of these consequences was answered by 118 juvenile offenders in confinement. Já os relatos dos níveis de reforçamento utilitário e de punição informativa e utilitária predisseram a multiplicidade. The phenomena related to juvenile delinquency are a long-lasting challenge to public policy makers and managers. These are complex phenomena that bear double and ambiguous burden of victimization as they entail risks to the ordinary citizens’ lives, victims of delinquent acts, while making the juvenile offenders victims with reduced chance of building a harmonious life in society. Several developmental theories intend to describe the processes of acquisition and maintenance of the delinquent behavior (cf Gaik, Abdullah, Elias, & Uli, 2010). These theories range from those pointing out psychopathy and low self-control as predecessors of that behavior, i.e., that attribute the causes of a behavior to an individual’s own characteristics, to those that perceive delinquency as a response to the environment in which the individuals are inserted, i.e., theories that emphasize environmental and Submetido: 08/09/2016; Revisado: 25/10/2016; Aceito: 09/08/2017
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