Abstract
The pandemic emergency negatively affected all individuals in every part of daily living. The consequences in terms of psycho-social changes, especially in young people, were disastrous involving anxiety, depression, disturbances in sleep and appetite, post-traumatic stress disorders, use of alcohol and drugs. The impact of the severe rules about social behaviors and social distancing imposed by governments caused an increase in behavioral problems among the youngest, especially in externalizing problems, anger, cyberbullying, and internet addiction. Through the recovery of normality, new problems arose in the form of juvenile deviance (e.g., increased fights between groups, baby gangs’ violent attacks, and social conflict). This phenomenon was not yet properly studied by researchers, but its impact is significant, in particular COVID-19, changing the young people’s experiences related to the school, the peer group and the use of social media, intensified some risk factors for juvenile deviance. Evidence is poor on this topic, so the goal of this research project is to analyze the violence among young people and its relationship with the psycho-social consequences of COVID-19. In detail, the project will analyze the official statistics on juvenile deviance from ISTAT databases, Police force data, Municipal Police data, demographic and socio-economic data, school data with particular attention to the metropolitan areas involved in the project (Grosseto, Siena, Florence, and Bologna). It will examine the legal files related to judgments made by the Florence Court for collecting information related to the legal cases including socio-demographic, ethnic, and family-related data, type and modalities of the aggression and violent behaviors, psychological evaluation, and consequences of the aggression. It will analyze the relationship between the psycho-social effects of COVID-19 and the deviant and violent behaviors of young people to define the risk factors for violent behavior among youth during the pandemic through the administration of self-report questionnaires. At last, it will design and implement preventive programs for youth violence through the Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) intervention. The expected effects of this project are to clarify the interaction between the pandemic event and the deviant behaviors in the youth population, to create an effective prevention program for youth violence that could be used for preventing future increases in the phenomenon too, and to better understand the sense of unsafety within urban communities caused by a wide range of deviant behaviors.
Results achieved
Overall, the project achieved its main objectives and generated several important scientific and societal outcomes. From a scientific perspective, the research produced new empirical evidence on the behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among young people. While much of the early research on the pandemic focused primarily on mental health outcomes, the present project extended this line of inquiry by examining behavioural outcomes such as aggression, deviance, and violence. The project also contributed to the advancement of theoretical understanding of youth deviance by integrating criminological and psychological perspectives. In particular, the research highlighted the relevance of General Strain Theory in explaining the impact of large-scale social crises on youth behaviour and demonstrated how individual traits, social relationships, and contextual stressors interact to influence deviant behaviour.Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Gabriele Prati
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari"
Coordinatore:
Università di Siena(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 64.977,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 28
Data di inizio
15/10/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
