The tendency to deviant behavior is the result of a "failure" in the process of the formation of a teenager's personality and solution to his age tasks. The following types of deviant behavior are distinguished.
Deviant behavior is a separate action or system of personality's actions violating social-psychological, moral or cultural norms that have developed in a given society, but not illegal behavior. This includes truancy, leaving home, vagrancy, aggressive behavior, self-aggression, suicide, sexual deviations, early alcoholization, etc.
Addictive behavior - abuse of various substances that change the mental state: tobacco, alcohol, drugs. Addictive behavior is a kind of deviant behavior.
Delinquent behavior - behavior that manifests itself in violation of the law, committing crimes.
Any deviant behavior is classified as disadaptive behavior.
Disadaptation of a person is an individual's inability to adapt to the social environment due to the mismatch between the individual's goals and values.
School disadaptation is an independent phenomenon, a set of signs indicating that the sociological and psychological status of the child does not correspond to the requirements of school education, which makes it difficult or impossible to master school disciplines.
There are a lot of reasons why teenagers begin to show "stable" deviant behavior. We will talk about them later. However, some factors can lead to the formation of a special tendency to self-destructive behavior. The main one is a dysfunctional family.
We call dysfunctional families that have any of the following trends:
- Abuse of alcohol and/or other drugs (hidden or obvious) by a family member;
- Physical abuse of a spouse and/or children;
- inappropriate sexual behavior of a parent towards a child, ranging from depravity to incest;
- ignoring the emotional state of children;
- Severe discipline, rigid dictatorship without choice or, conversely, lack of rules and discipline in the family;
- Clear preference of one child for another, one child feels rejected;
- constant disputes, scandals, tension;
- Parents compete strongly with each other or with children, and are aimed not so much at achievements as at humiliation and denial of the other's valuable qualities;
- Excessively strict requirements for religious education, daily routine, work, blind passion for sex, television, household chores, sports, politics, etc.; obsession with any of these cases can destroy intimacy in the family, as the emphasis is on compliance with the rules rather than normal relations.
If one of the parents shows addiction to something mentioned above in his or her behavior, it is harmful to the child. If they both practice any of the dangerous behaviors, the results can be even more damaging: each parent pushes the child to destructive steps towards himself or herself.
Disadvantaged parents tend to have traits that make living with them tense and even painful, the hardest part is for children who are completely dependent on them.
The main destructive models of behavior of dysfunctional parents:
- They subject their children to emotional, physical or sexual violence or are completely indifferent to them and do not follow their development;
- They are chronically dissatisfied with themselves or others;
- They have bad habits and addictions;
- They neglect their needs, as well as those of others;
- They expect that their children will subsequently satisfy their own needs;
- They do not know what to do with their feelings, so they try not to notice them;
- They are inconsistent, unpredictable, unorganized, or simply despotic;
- They may be overly demanding on themselves and others;
- Their judgments are full of criticism and hostility, and they usually have a stigma, a desire to humiliate and offend others;
- They cannot listen to others;
- They like to blame ("you always...", "you never...", "you are an idiot!");
- They place too many demands on others and are completely indifferent to their needs and feelings, their actions are dictated by fear, anger, suffering, and not love.
What is it like for a child to be born in a family that does not know how to solve the difficulties? Gradually he may come to the conclusion that his parents treat him as he deserves. Such a belief may develop in the mind before the child learns to express his feelings in words.