Mass media socialisation and delinquent behaviour

Pages: 327-330
Nalini Malhotra and Jasleen kaur (Department of Psychology, Punjabi University, Patiala)

Delinquent behavior as socially unacceptable behavior demonstrated by adolescents is a long standing subject of public concern. Media influence upon adolescents has generally been assumed to significant, with powerful and long lasting consequences. The influence of Mass media is a combative issue, when it comes to juvenile behavior. The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between media values (Pro-social and antisocial) and delinquent behavior. Jessness inventory and Media socialisation questionnaire were administered to a sample of 120 juvenile delinquents from observation homes. The obtained data were subjected to Pearson’s product moment correlation. The result revealed that Pro-social media values were found to be negatively and significantly correlated, however, the antisocial media values were positively correlated with delinquent behavior in a significant manner. Future implications for the present study were also discussed.