Brackettinc

Antisocial and nonlegal acts perpetuated by delinquents range from minor to grave offenses. Antisocial behavior includes vandalism, causing damage to property, truancy, especially from school work, disobedience, vagrancy, defiance to parents and to persons of authority, gambling accompanied by petty thievery, thrill seeking, like gate crashing, extortion and other sadistic acts, acts of lasciviousness, which are crimes against chastity. Accompanying the above delinquents acts are alcoholism and drug addiction.

When the different patterns of delinquent behavior are met with parental indifference or neglect and if he delinquent gets away from legal punishment, he or she is likely to commit more serious crimes, such as homicide, murder, arson, and kidnapping. At this stage, the delinquent has lost track of what is right and what is wrong and views society as a factor that hinders satisfactions.

Identification is the mechanism where the individual enhance self esteem by patterning him herself after another person. This is process of attaining success through the accomplishments of an external agent. This external agent may be another person, a group or an object. This is done in fantasy or actual behavior. If used in moderation, identification is both helpful an stimulating and it frequently leads to superior achievement.

Parents, teachers, movie heroes and fictional characters may be the objects of identification. Social groups and prized possessions may also become objects of identification from which an individual may derive satisfactions and security. For example, students bask in the glory of our basketball team, or our dear Alma mater.