Ungdomars attityder till kriminalitet och riskfaktorer till ett kriminellt beteende

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes towards criminality among adolescent people. The main goal of this study is to find out, which risk factors are for criminal behavior among the youth. It’s also to understand if gender and ethnicity of the adolescent people plays any part in their attitudes towards criminality and risk factors for criminal behavior. The study has been carried out using a quantitative method for the data collection. The theoretical approach in this study is achieved using system theory and deviance behavior. Data has been collected from adolescent people from high school, ranging from the age of 16 to 20. All of the participants in the study are teenagers whom are studying in high school in Sweden. The results show that there are many different risk factors, which affect the adolescent criminal behavior. One of the risk factors shown are parental control in knowing whom their children socialize with. Also the adolescents own attitudes towards crime and especially socialization with other criminal teens are contributing risk factors for the teens to commit criminal acts. Gender has been shown to have a significant role when it comes to young people's attitudes and involvement in criminal acts. Male participants show a larger scale of criminal participation compared to women, and they generally have a more positive attitude towards criminal behavior than women. Ethnicity has also been found to have a significant role in the study. Participants with other ethnic origin than Swedish respondents view themselves as a more crime prone group than Swedes, it is also a high proportion of respondents with Swedish background who believes this. This study has provided a greater understanding of how young people's attitudes towards crime looks like, and what aspects affect criminal behavior.