The family of a delinquent child

Institute of Social Work, University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Abstract

The issues of violence and aggression are discussed very often in contemporary society. According to some surmises, the amount of violence in our society increases, threatening mainly the children, who become either victims or offenders. Therefore, possible influence on aggression and violence among children is also a focus of discussions. One of the influences is the education in families. The fundamental question is – what is family's influence on the aggressive or violent behaviour of children? This article concentrates on violent criminal activity of children in the Czech Republic. It defines the basic terms related to violent criminal activity and it presents the analysis of statistical data concerning criminal activity of children guilty of an act of violence. It is concerned with the search for common features of families of children who have committed a serious violent crime. It defines the criteria for comparing the families, education and personal characteristics of the delinquent children. Furthermore, there is an analysis of selected case studies from the last five years. The article focuses on the possibilities of work with the families involved.