title: Sociodemographic characteristics and aggression quotient among children in conflict with the law in India: A case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of juvenile delinquency has increased in the past decade in India and juvenile crimes are increasingly being reported. This has been attributed to many biopsychosocial factors. It is essential to understand these issues in the context of India to determine the response of acts of children in conflict with the law. We aimed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics and the aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law (juvenile delinquents) in observation homes across India and compare them with those who were not.
  
  
  METHODS
  We did a case-control study in five juvenile homes in the cities of Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune. Ninety inmates (74 boys, 16 girls) were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics and aggression quotient of children in conflict with the law were evaluated using two separate questionnaires, i.e. a sociodemographic questionnaire and the modified Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. These were compared with a control group of similar age, sex and income status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the children in conflict with the law surveyed belonged to the lower socioeconomic strata, had a significantly higher chance (p<0.05) of coming from broken homes, have addictions, jailed family members and suffered physical and sexual abuse than controls. They also scored higher on all domains of the aggression questionnaire than controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A collection of sociodemographic attributes such as broken homes, addictions and abuse seem to have an important association with juvenile delinquency. Children in conflict with the law are also more likely to be associated with a higher aggression quotient as compared to children who were not.
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Archit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Ooha Susmita
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Biddala
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Mandavi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Prathyaksha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Variar
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Aparna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate students, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Soham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: P Shivaram
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Renuka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kunte
authors.affiliation: Dean and Deputy Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Velu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Subramanian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shankar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002651:Child Advocacy; D003710:Demography; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012926:Social Control, Formal / Q000379:methods; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires