Process of socialization and mood’s symptoms in incarcerated juvenile offenders

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship existing between sociodemographic variables and symptomatic mood changes from Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in a sample obtained from incarcerated juvenile offenders. The sample was composed of 90 inmate males, convicted in the Penitentiary Centre of Seville (Spain). All of them are from 18 to 25 years old, with an average of 21.4 years old (DT=1.96). The results evidence that the main factors to predict criminal behaviour in young people are the following: urban origin (58.9%), lack of family members (47.8%), large family (63.3%), low individual educational level (21.1%) low educational level in family members (57.2%) and low income. Our information also demonstrates that sociodemographic variables have an influence on the development of mood symptoms in criminal youngsters who are inmates in any prison.