Bullying and juvenile delinquency: Common risks, different outcomes: How to prevent recidivism

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency affects those involved but also the community. Prevention of the development of such crimes of the recidivism is essential to reduce the negative impact of crimes, even those committed by juveniles. There is not a single cause of juvenile crimes; we refer to risk factors related to the individual and to the family. Among different risk factors, bullying in school has been shown as early precursor of future violence. On average bullying affects 1 student in 4, either as a bully, a victim or belonging to the so called 'bully-victims' group, i.e. those admitting both committing bullying and being victimised at school. This chapter discusses the problem of bullying and juvenile delinquency, underlining common characteristics and different outcomes.