Juvenile delinquency is closely linked to complex psychosocial and value-based developmental trajectories. This study compares life-course narratives (childhood and school experiences, daily life structure), value orientation, self-concept, and standardized self-reports of emotions among adolescents with delinquent behavior, adolescents with psychiatric disorders, and healthy peers. Using a mixed-methods design, narrative interviews were conducted with all three groups ( N = 48). Participants were asked to describe their feelings in relation to these domains in order to assess emotional processing, measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Compared with their healthy peers, narratives from adolescents with delinquent behavior were characterized by greater strain across their developmental course. These descriptions were marked by housing and caregiving instability, insecure bonding experiences with primary caregivers, difficulties in forming coherent and socially oriented value systems, and a tendency toward self-concepts marked by overcompensation. Regarding emotional experience, PANAS results indicate that both the delinquent and psychiatric groups reported higher levels of negative affect than healthy adolescents. Although adolescents with psychiatric disorders also reported adversity, their narratives tended to reflect greater variability in protective factors and more opportunities to benefit from therapeutic and relational support. The findings suggest that delinquent behavior may arise from the cumulative interplay of early adversity, environmental instability, disrupted relational experiences, and challenges in developing individualized values and stable, non-compensatory self-concepts. These results highlight the importance of interventions that address potential moral injury, strengthen reliable relational contexts, and promote socially integrated value orientations. Qualitative approaches provide important insights into these mechanisms and should complement quantitative assessments when working with high-risk youth.
Gampe et al. (Sun,) studied this question.