PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACH TO JUVENILE

DELINQUENCY
(Chandan Bhati)
(Roll no.1432)
A number of different ideas are drawn together under psychoanalysis, but the general stand point is
that, inner dynamic forces are used to explain human behavior. Psychoanalytical theorists perceive
criminal behavior to be the result of some mental conflict of which the criminal may be virtually
unaware. This conflict is always present as an internal contradiction between the demands of
reason and conscience, and those of instinct. A victory for instinct can lead to thoughts and deeds,
which will often be socially unacceptable. Everyone experiences this conflict, but some manage to
control instinct better than others. If the conflict is not resolved in a socially acceptable way, it may
be expressed in ways, which are criminal. The behavior will tend to get worse unless the resolution
of the conflict is done or treated. Criminality is then seen as one of the outward signs of the
disease, or of the problematic resolution of the mental conflict, just as physical deformity may be
the manifestation of a physical disease1. Sigmund Freud split the personality into three parts 2 : Id,
Ego and Super Ego.
The Id is an unconscious area of mind and the most primitive portion of the personality from
which the other two are derived. It is made up of all biological urges – to eat, drink, to be warm, to
be comfortable and to obtain sexual pleasures. It is driven by desire. It woks on the pleasure
principle irrespective of the consequences and is illogical. It characterizes the unsocialized and
unrestrained individual. It is the part of the personality with which one is born. It holds all the
desires even those society considers wrong or bad and to that extent Freud says it needs to be
repressed. The repression or control of the Id is carried out by the Ego and Super Ego3.
The Ego does not exist at birth, but is something the individual learns. It is largely conscious
although some of it is unconscious. It tempers the desirous longings of the Id with the reality of
what might happen if it is not controlled. It also learns the reality of how best to serve the Id4.

1
Katherine S Williams Criminology (New Delhi: Universal Publications, 2001)
2
Morgan Introduction to Psychology,576 (New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill,1999)
3
Id p-577
4
Id p-578
The Super Ego is largely part of the unconscious personality. It may contain conscious elements,
for example, moral or ethical codes, but it is basically unconscious in operation. It is the
conscience, which exists in the unconscious areas of mind. The super ego characterizes the fully
socialized and conforming member of the society5.
The theory explains Juvenile Delinquency as a vast majority of delinquent acts can be explained by
the presence of an unduly strict superego or an unduly weak super ego because of an unduly weak
Ego which will lead to ‘victory’ of Id.
The most important influences on the individual are the precepts and moral attitudes of the parents
or those in loco parentis6. The super ego is often seen as the internalized rules and admonitions of
the parents and through them, of society. The super ego acts on the ego; thus when a child desires a
biscuit it may not take one even if it could not be punished because the child starts to reprove
itself. The super ego may therefore praise and punish the child in the same way as the parents do
and so the child slowly learns an inner set of rules or values. If the behavior of the child lives up to
the thoughts of the Super Ego, it experiences the pleasant feeling of pride but if they do not the
child’s own Super Ego punishes it by self-reproach and feelings of guilt.
The Ego therefore has two masters, each to be obeyed and each pushing in different directions.
The Id demands pleasure, the super ego demands control and repression. The result is inner
dissension, which can never be fully resolved. Freud agreed that for the super ego to develop, the
parents scold the child to become anxious that their love will be removed. The next time the child
considers a ‘bad’ deed he or she will feel anxiety that the parents may leave. The anxiety is
unpleasant and leads to repression of the deed. As the child does not understand the difference
between thought and action, the mental desire is also repressed in case the parents discover it. The
basis of control or repression is therefore seen as built upon relationships with parents or those in
loco parentis. This means that pathogenic family patterns may be responsible for Juvenile
Delinquency. This conclusion is supported by various sociological studies. Of the various
pathogenic family patterns that have been emphasized in the research on juvenile delinquency,
Broken Homes, Sociopath Parental Model, Parental Rejection and Family Discipline appear to be
the most important7.

5
Id p-580
6
Katherine S Williams Criminology (New Delhi: Universal Publications, 2001)
7
Coleman C James, Abnormal Psychology And Modern Life, 388( Bombay: D.B Tarporevala Sons & Co. Private
Limited ed., 1988)