CARACTERÍSTICAS PSICOLÓGICAS DE ADOLESCENTES QUE COMETERAM HOMICÍDIO.

Abstract

This dissertation is organized in two sections with the primary objective to characterize psychological aspects of adolescents who committed homicide and are under educational measures admission. An accurate assessment of the psychological aspects of these young people can contribute to the work of more relevant intervention and referrals to psychological needs of these individuals and may assist in the prevention of infractional behaviors and social reintegration. The first section consists of a systematic bibliographic revision with the purpose of analyzing the scientific production regarding adolescents who committed homicide. Therefore, a search has been performed between June and December 2012, in databases with national and international articles of the last ten years: Scielo and Pepsic; the ClinicalKey; the PsycNet; the Science Direct; and the Taylor & Francis, using different keywords combinations. A total of 14 articles was selected. Results showed the prevalence of international and empirical studies and the majority had the objective to analyze personality traits in this population with predominated studies that made use of psychological assessment. Studies focusing on homicide are scarce compared to research focused on other criminal acts or acts of generalization. The second section deals with an empirical article that aims to characterize the psychological configurations diversity in a group of adolescents who committed homicide. The study included 33 adolescents, male and female, aged between 14 and 19 years, who committed homicide and are serving educational measures deprived of freedom in institutions located in Goiânia, Goiás. The teenagers were submitted to a semi directed interview and the Rorschach Test (Comprehensive System). The results indicated some personality traits that promoted a division into subgroups. The specific survey profiles of adolescents who committed homicide allows to establish treatments and approaches more appropriate to each case. Although adolescents who commit homicide do not constitute a homogeneous group and that there are no standard universal characteristics that represent them, the main results demonstrated the insufficiency of psychological resources that interfere with their capacity to adapt to the environment. In general, the two sections of the dissertation emphasize the importance of considering psychological aspects that influence adolescents who committed homicide.