JUVENILE JUSTICE IN INDIA – THE CHANGING FACE OF CRIMES BY YOUTH

Abstract

Drug misuse and juvenile delinquency share overlapping aetiologies that are complex and multifaceted and include parental, social, psychological, environmental, and economic aspects. Initiation, maintenance, and even escalation of drug use and criminal behaviour in an individual are heavily influenced by social factors like culture, neighbourhood, and family. Juvenile delinquency can be influenced and sustained by factors such as family structure and functioning, broken homes, absent or unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships, unbalanced parenting, lack of guidance, economic instability, substance abuse or addiction in the family or among peers, access to addictive substances, exposure to physical, sexual, emotional abuse or trauma violence, and peer pressure. Psychological factors that can result in drug use and criminal behaviour include high stress, personality traits like high impulsivity or sensation seeking, depression, and anxiety. People who develop substance use disorders have excessive dependencies, which may initially be reinforced because they lower stress and lift spirits. The belief that drugs can provide solace and help lift one above all misery, which underlies continued drug use, is associated with this reduction. There has also been evidence of an association between early violent behaviour, impulsivity, and problems with concentration or attention.