Role of Peer Pressure and Aggression in Juvenile Delinquency

The objective of the research was to identify the psycho-social factors that predict adolescent delinquency. Juvenile delinquency has developed into a complex problem in India and the rest of the world in the current industrialised and urbanised culture. An individual under the age of 18 would be regarded as a juvenile delinquent if they committed a crime, according to legal view. High levels of aggression and peer pressure are linked to adolescent delinquency. On the basis of the review of literature, significant variables were identified and research objectives were formulated. To achieve the desired objective of the study, a sample of 150 Juvenile Delinquents with age range from 14 to 18 years was included in the study. All participants were administered Peer Pressure Scale (Singh & Saini, 2010) and Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Warren, 2000) by applying the rules of the respective manual. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Stepwise Regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. The results indicated that there is a positive and significant correlation between peer pressure and physical aggression, verbal aggression and anger (dimensions of aggression) and delinquency. Stepwise Regression analysis identified four major predictors of juvenile delinquency. These are peer pressure, verbal aggression, physical aggression, and anger.