Social Support, Metacognitive Beliefs, Mental Health and Vitality of Normal and Delinquent Adolescent Boys in Correction and Rehabilitation Centers of Ahvaz

Juvenile delinquency is a global phenomenon, although its type and seriousness varies according to each society. Juveniles’ attempts to express themselves and find an independent identity as well as their insufficient experience and limited knowledge lead them to react differently. One of these reactions can be delinquency, resulted from family problems, social and economic disruption, and lack of social support. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether there is a difference between juvenile boys kept in Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Ahvaz and normal juvenile boys with regard to mental health, social support, metacognitive beliefs, and vitality. Some research that can be related to the article: in the area of metacognitive beliefs and mental health in our country, Purehsan et al. (2016) investigated the tendency of Tehran students towards drug abuse and suggested that positive and negative metacognitive beliefs, especially about anxiety, result in increased tendency towards drug abuse. Cuyper et al. (2013) compared the personal networks of prisoners prior to incarceration with general population and proved that the prisoners had created and maintained intimate networks; there was no difference between the prisoners and general population. Akbarzadeh et al. (1393) compared normal and drug abuser university students from Tabriz Islamic Azad University in terms of metacognitive beliefs and psychological capital using MANOVA. The results revealed that the drug abuser students were characterized by low psychological capital and disturbed beliefs.
This is a casual-comparative research. The statistical population included 2 groups: male juvenile delinquents from Correction and Rehabilitation Centers of Ahvaz and normal male juveniles. The latter were selected through multistep clustering method and matching cultural, social, and economic status. The data, collected through calculating the average and standard deviation and applying MANOVA with matching social-economic state, was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. The questionnaires and scales were distributed among two groups to collect information. The general health questionnaire, made by Goldberg & Hillier (1979), included four subscales: somatic symptoms, anxiety, social function disorder, and depression. The social support questionnaire, made by Sherbourne & Stewart (1991), included five subscales: tangible support, emotional support, informational support, affectionate support, and positive social interaction support. Metacognitive beliefs questionnaire included five subscales: cognitive confidence, positive beliefs about anxiety, cognitive self-consciousness, negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger, and negative beliefs concerning the consequences of not controlling thoughts. Vitality questionnaire was provided by Ryan & Frederick (1997). Reliability and validity of the questionnaires were also examined by Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis.
Discussion of Results & According to the findings, there was no significant difference between normal male juveniles and male delinquent juveniles with regard to mental health, social support subscales and vitality. Concerning mental health, the results were opposed to those of other studies. However, for social support, the results are in accordance with some research such as Cuyper et al. (2013). Also, for vitality, our findings are consistent with a study by Young et al. (2015). In addition, the social support that juvenile delinquents might receive (the delinquency can be due to an ethnic conflict), the education that they received in Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Ahvaz, and the fact that they might not have juvenile delinquency records can be considered as the cause of these results. Overall, these results pointed to the fact that socio-economic class is an effective variable, and many teenagers from disadvantaged classes may be at risk of criminal behaviors. Also, these teenagers need training in order to improve mental health and relationships, learn how to deal with criminal acts at the level of family, neighborhood, and community, reform metacognitive beliefs and adjust internal energy. Thus, based on the results of this study, it is suggested that training informative programs are needed for teenagers and their parents. It is also suggested to perform some qualitative research on causes of crime among teenagers. One need to exercise caution to extend the results to a female sample and should consider the limitations of data collection.