Poverty and Crime in Young People From Children Protection Centers

Abstract

Young people who are in a situation of residential care are considered to be in a condition of multidimensional poverty. Research aims to achieve the following general objectives: first, to identify the level of delinquency of young people and its determining factors and, second, to propose strategies and programs. This research will follow a two-stage research process in which different research methods will be applied. Along with the main results, the authors point out that the most frequent crimes refer to these youngsters getting involved in gang fights; alcohol consumption; in attacking classmates, parents, and teachers; they steal money and or other objects from the collaborating family; they consume pornography and go out to discotheques, pubs, and nightclubs. In the educational field, although they are dedicated to their education, they obtain very low grades. They only participate moderately in sports activities and have very low participation in religious services; furthermore, the young men have a moderately high level of belief in the legal system.