Funkcje realizowane przez kuratora w postępowaniu z nieletnimi wynikają nie tylko z przepisów określających jego zadania, ale także z ogólnych dyrektyw i celów postępowania z nieletnimi oraz z celów danych środków oddziaływania, w których kurator ma do spełnienia określoną rolę. Tym samym można mówić o modalności realizowanych przez kuratora funkcji, która polega na tym, że w ramach danego środka kurator realizuje różne funkcje, lecz dominuje jedna z nich. Modalny charakter pełnionych przez kuratora funkcji rzutuje na model kurateli realizowany w danym środku oddziaływania wobec nieletniego
EN
Tasks performed by a probation officer in proceedings with minors result not only from the provisions of law, but also from general directives and objectives of dealing with minors and from given measures of treatment, which affect specific roles that probation officers have to fulfil. Hence the modality of functions performed by them. This means that within a given measure of treatment a probation officer carries out various functions, one of which prevails. The modal nature of tasks fulfilled by a probation officer affects the custody model used towards a minor
The contemporary socioeconomic transformations in a fundamental way impinge on the shift of displaying social maladjustment among young people. The forms of social activities of, the adolescents undergo a transformation along with dynamics of the current social progress. Some youth, as a consequence of their behaviour and state of demoralization, become subjects of judicial proceedings and sanctions, such as residential rehabilitation or correctional centers. In order to capture the tendencies of youth’s social maladjustment a behavior research was carried out among 120 pupils sentenced by court to a youth care center. The author has undertaken a research indicating, the evolving modes of the youth’s social functioning and the diagnosed symptoms of their social maladjustment have been captured and researched by the author of this paper.
The publication focuses on the manipulation of today’s youth as well as of their affairs. The first area concerns multiple methods of “attracting” young people to secular culture and pseudoculture. This is caused primarily by social fashion factors. It is also a strong area of nearly complete demoralization. The second area concerns medialization of the youth. This world appears in the media as a world of “computer people” and participation in “the network”. This applies above all to Facebook. The publication refers to earlier works by Ben Mezrich and Even Baileyn. Another important element of taking control over young people today is the area of economy. The author highlights the fact, that young people enter the labour market with greater difficulties compared to the older generation. This generation is seeking for livelihood and development in their work. Changes in the area of economy are forcing young people to reject the fixed both post-Marxism, and Taylorism, since both of them are ruthless for the young people. This is mainly due to the economic manipulation to which young people are powerless.
Nieletni sprawcy czynów zabronionych ponoszą odpowiedzialność sensu largo przede wszystkim na podstawie przepisów Kodeksu karnego bądź ustawy z dnia 26 października 1982 r. o postępowaniu w sprawach nieletnich. Jednak młode osoby do ukończenia 15 lat, które dopuszczą się czynu zabronionego, odpowiadają jedynie z przepisów ustawy. Ich zachowanie może być przejawem demoralizacji lub stanowić czyn karalny. Postępowanie w sprawach nieletnich prowadzi sąd rodzinny. Autor w niniejszym artykule prezentuje model postępowania ujęty w ustawie, jego stadia, właściwość sądową, prawa i obowiązki nieletniego jako strony oraz praktykę orzeczniczą w zakresie stosowania środków służących przeciwdziałaniu demoralizacji i przestępczości nieletnich. Trafność ich doboru ma wszakże prowadzić do osiągnięcia korzystnych zmian w osobowości i zachowaniu się nieletniego w celu zapobieżenia wkroczenia przezeń na drogę przestępstwa i ponoszenia odpowiedzialności już na gruncie Kodeksu karnego.
EN
Juvenile delinquents are responsible primarily for sensu largo under the provisions of the Penal Code or the Law of 26 October 1982 on juvenile delinquency. However, young people up to the age of 15 who commit a prohibited act shall be liable only to the provisions of the Act. Their conduct may be a manifestation of demoralization or a criminal act. Proceedings in juvenile cases are led by family courts. In this article the author presents the model of proceedings included in the law, its stages, jurisdiction, the rights and obligations of minors as a party, and the jurisprudence practice in the application of measures to prevent demoralization and juvenile delinquency. However, the relevance of their choice is to lead to favorable changes in the personality and behavior of minors, in order to prevent them from entering the path of crime and to take responsibility under the penal code.
The work of the probation officer for juveniles is tidied up with appropriate legal documents. However chaotic action is written down into the repair work and in spite of regulations which are describing the appropriate form of the execution of tasks, directly are touching practical actions carried out with charge. Because we are dealing with unordered, diverse world of the customer – persons of the juvenile and families.
PL
Praca kuratora sądowego dla nieletnich opiera się na formalnych aktach prawnych, które wskazują na prawa i obowiązki w relacji z podopiecznym. Pomimo tego działanie na granicy chaosu jest zapisane jako część aktywności naprawczej wynikającej z dynamiki relacji pomiędzy kuratorem, rodziną i nieletnim. Mamy bowiem do czynienia z nieuporządkowanym, zróżnicowanym światem podopiecznych – osoby nieletniej i jej rodziny. Realizacja obowiązków kuratora sądowego dla nieletnich jest działaniem interdyscyplinarnym i wymaga stworzenia właściwych warunków dla prowadzenia czynności nadzoru.
W artykule zaprezentowano badania nad poczuciem winy u skazanych odbywających karę pozbawienia wolności. Badano zależność między poczuciem a stopniem demoralizacji. Badaniami objęto 296 skazanych, mężczyzn w wieku od 18. do 64. roku życia, odbywających kary pozbawienia wolności w różnych typach i rodzajach zakładów karnych. Ustalono, że znaczna część osadzonych odbywających karę pozbawienia wolności przeżywa poczucie winy spowodowane wyrządzeniem krzywdy ofiarom swoich przestępstw. Najniższa skłonność do przeżywania winy oraz najwyższe tendencje do ignorowania ofiary i uruchamiania neutralizacji wystąpiła u osób zdemoralizowanych w wysokim stopniu.
EN
The article presents the findings of the study on the feeling of guild among convicts who serve their sentence. We investigated the relation between the feeling of guilt and the level of demoralization. The study involved 298 male inmates, aged 18 to 64, who serve their sentence in different types and kinds of prisons. It was found that a significant proportion of convicts who serve their sentence experience the feeling of guilt for the harm caused to the victims of their crimes. The lowest propensity to experience guilt and the highest tendency to ignore the victim and start neutralization were manifest among individuals who show a high level of demoralization.
The aim of this article is an attempt to answer the following questions: how have the contexts of use of the noun demoralization changed in the Polish parliamentary discourse in the last century, and what specific rules of conduct must be exceeded in order for certain actions or attitudes to be described as such. 1885 sentences obtained from the resources of the Polish Parliamentary Corpus, recorded since 1919 until the end of June 2022, were analyzed. The material was divided into three periods (1919–1939, 1945–1989, 1990–2022), and then discussed in the context of topics with which the phenomenon of demoralization was associated in particular time periods. Research has shown that the noun demoralization describes the problems of breaking legal, social and moral norms important in given periods, it can also serve propaganda purposes or strengthen the message presented. However, there are moral standards, the violation of which is not called demoralization.
PL
Cel artykułu stanowi próba odpowiedzi na pytania: jak w ostatnim stuleciu zmieniały się konteksty użycia rzeczownika demoralizacja w polskim dyskursie parlamentarnym oraz jakie konkretnie reguły postępowania muszą zostać przekroczone, aby pewne działania lub postawy można było określać tym mianem. Analizom zostało poddanych 1885 zdań pozyskanych z zasobów Korpusu Dyskursu Parlamentarnego, wygłoszonych podczas posiedzeń plenarnych Sejmu i Senatu RP oraz posiedzeń komisji od 1919 r. do końca czerwca 2022 r. Materiał został podzielony na trzy okresy (1919–1939, 1945–1989, 1990–2022), a następnie omówiony ze względu na tematy, z którymi łączono w poszczególnych przedziałach czasowych zjawisko demoralizacji. Badania ukazały, że rzeczownik demoralizacja nazywa istotne w danych okresach problemy dotyczące naruszania norm prawnych, społecznych i obyczajowych, może też służyć celom propagandowym lub wzmocnieniu przekazu. Pozostają jednak normy moralne, których naruszenie nie jest określane demoralizacją.
This paper aims to analyze the responsibility of minors for their crimes in context of the 1982 act on proceedings with minors, as well as with article 10§2 of the Penal Code. It argues that the fundament in judicial adjudication on minors is the 1982 act. Court does not „sentence” them on serving in correctional institution, but he „decides” on their placement there. Correctional measure, is obviously a unique mean of restricting freedom, but it is not perceived as a penalty. Penal Code on the other hand, can be used only in strictly specified circumstances, listed in article 10§2 of the Penal Code. Based on the Penal Code, the responsibility of minor is unique.
The police perform a few tasks in relation to demoralized juveniles as well as juvenile perpetrators of criminal acts. These tasks concern combating and preventing crime. The aim of the article was to present selected changes introduced recently in legal regulations concerning juveniles and to present the scale of juvenile delinquency. The presented material was analyzed in relation to the tasks faced by the police in this aspect. The analysis of statistical data and the analysis of legal acts and literature were used. It turned out that the scale of juvenile delinquency has a downward trend, which results from statistical data, which does not mean, that the police have fewer tasks generated by the phenomenon of demoralization and juvenile delinquency. Changes in legal provisions pose new challenges to the police, such as reacting in the form of a warning in the event of disclosing a punishable act whose perpetrator is a minor and the act bears the hallmarks of an offence. Therefore, police officers face the task of acquiring knowledge and expanding their competences in the field of juvenile delinquency proceedings.
PL
Policja realizuje szereg zadań w odniesieniu do nieletnich zdemoralizowanych, jak również nieletnich sprawców czynów karalnych. Zadania te dotyczą zwalczania i przeciwdziałania przestępczości. Celem artykułu było przedstawienie wybranych zmian wprowadzonych w ostatnim czasie przepisami prawnymi dotyczącymi nieletnich oraz przedstawienie skali przestępczości nieletnich. Dokonano analizy przedstawionego materiału w odniesieniu do zadań stawianych przed Policją w tym aspekcie. Posłużono się analizą danych statystycznych oraz analizą aktów prawnych i literatury. Okazało się, że skala przestępczości nieletnich ma tendencję spadkową, co wynika z danych statystycznych, co nie oznacza jednak, że Policja ma mniej zadań generowanych przez zjawisko demoralizacji i przestępczości nieletnich. Zmiany przepisów prawnych stawiają przed Policją nowe wyzwania, jak reagowanie w formie upomnienia w sytuacji ujawnienia czynu karalnego, którego sprawcą jest nieletni, a czyn nosi znamiona wykroczenia. A zatem przed funkcjonariuszami Policji jawi się przede wszystkim zadanie zdobywania wiedzy i poszerzania kompetencji w zakresie postępowania w sprawach nieletnich.
Juveniles in the care of probation centers are individuals displaying symptoms of demoralization in the form of e.g. truancy, evading compulsory education, abusing intoxicating substances such as drugs or alcohol, vagrancy, practicing prostitution, committing forbidden acts, participating in criminal groups, violating rules of social coexistence. Juveniles are referred to such an institution based on a legally valid ruling of a Family Court; individuals in the care of probation centers are aged 13 to 17. Persons who have been adjudicated an education measure in the form of placement in a probation centre most commonly come from dysfunctional families, in which there was violence; addiction of one or both of the parents; unemployment; a lack of love, sense of security, interest from a parent. The abovementioned factors contribute to forming in children a low self-esteem, self-assessment, passivity, lead to a law-violating life. That is why the assistance provided to minors during their stay in a probation center is so essential. The forms of support for demoralized youth staying in a probation centre include: psychological and pedagogical counselling, workshops on developing social competences, preventative activities, relaxation training. Additionally, sports therapy, job training, a youth volunteer club operating as part of “Chance – Social and Vocational Activation of Young People”.
PL
Nieletni podopieczni ośrodków kuratorskich, to osoby przejawiające symptomy demoralizacji w postaci np.: wagarów, uchylania się od obowiązku szkolnego, zażywania środków odurzających w postaci narkotyków lub alkoholu, włóczęgostwa, uprawiania nierządu, popełnienia czynu zabronionego, udziału w grupach przestępczych, naruszania zasad współżycia społecznego. Młodzież kierowana jest do takiej placówki na mocy prawomocnego orzeczenia sądu rodzinnego, podopieczni ośrodków kuratorskich znajdują się w przedziale wiekowym od 13 do 17 lat. Osoby, wobec których orzeczono środek wychowawczy w postaci umieszczenia w ośrodku kuratorskim, najczęściej pochodzi z rodzin dysfunkcyjnych, w których występowała przemoc, uzależnienie jednego bądź obojga z rodziców, bezrobocie, brak miłości, poczucia bezpieczeństwa, zainteresowania ze strony rodzica. Wyżej wymienione czynniki przyczyniają się do wykształcenia u dzieci niskiego poziomu poczucia własnej wartości, samooceny, bierności, życia niezgodnego z prawem. Dlatego też ważna jest pomoc świadczona nieletnim w czasie ich pobytu w ośrodku kuratorskim. Wśród form wsparcia świadczonej młodzieży zdemoralizowanej wyróżnia się oddziaływania w postaci: wsparcia psychologicznego, pedagogicznego, warsztatów z zakresu rozwijania kompetencji społecznych, zajęcia profilaktyczne, treningi relaksacyjne. Oprócz tego: sport, terapia, szkolenia zawodowe, młodzieżowy klub wolontariusza w ramach realizacji projektu ,,Szansa – Aktywizacja społeczno-zawodowa młodzieży”.
The article discusses the issue of the reaction of the system of administering justice towards juveniles who violated the law and social norms. Based on the objectives of the Act on proceedings in cases involving juveniles, contained in its preamble, the author makes a brief analysis of the applied measures of care and rearing in relation to minors, with a particular emphasis laid on those rarely pronounced. As it is clear from the analysis, they are measures that meet educational and rehabilitative functions. She also draws attention to the binding principle of individualism which should be a factor in mobilizing judges of family courts to adjudicate means that are adequate to the offense and the individual minor. In addition, the paper draws attention to the lack of precision of the notion of “demoralization” that can cause anxiety among judges in evaluating its degree.
Praca dotyczy zachowań dewiacyjnych nieletnich, które występują na terenach objętych badaniami wsi. Opracowanie przedstawia zarówno strukturę tych zachowań, jak i ich źródła oraz działania profilaktyczne prowadzone przez miejscowe świetlice. Przeprowadzone badania opierały się na indywidualnych wywiadach pogłębionych z pracownikami świetlic, które należycie zobrazowały sytuacje w każdej z placówek. W celu głębszego poznania specyfiki poszczególnych miejscowości posłużono się techniką obserwacji uczestniczącej. W pracy poruszono również teoretyczne aspekty tego problemu opierając się na literaturze przedmiotu. This paper concerns the deviant behaviour of minors, which occur in the villages examined by Author. What is more, it presents the structure of these behaviours, but also their sources and prevention activities carried out by local community day care centres. The research was based on individual interviews with employees of the community day care centres, which duly showed the situation in each of the branches. In order to better understand the specifics of each locality the technique of participant observation was used.
EN
This paper concerns the deviant behaviour of minors, which occur in the villages examined by Author. What is more, it presents the structure of these behaviours, but also their sources and prevention activities carried out by local community day care centres. The research was based on individual interviews with employees of the community day care centres, which duly showed the situation in each of the branches. In order to better understand the specifics of each locality the technique of participant observation was used.
This paper aims to analyze the responsibility of minors for their crimes in context of the 1982 act on proceedings with minors, as well as with article 10§2 of the Penal Code. It argues that the fundament in judicial adjudication on minors is the 1982 act. Court does not „sentence” them on serving in correctional institution, but he „decides” on their placement there. Correctional measure, is obviously a unique mean of restricting freedom, but it is not perceived as a penalty. Penal Code on the other hand, can be used only in strictly specified circumstances, listed in article 10§2 of the Penal Code. Based on the Penal Code, the responsibilty of minor is unique.
PL
Opracowanie niniejsze dotyczy odpowiedzialności nieletnich za dokonane przestępstwa. Precyzyjniej rzecz ujmując problemy odnoszą się do ustawy z 1982 r. o postępowaniu w sprawach nieletnich oraz do art. 10§2 kodeksu karnego. Podstawą do orzekania w sprawach nieletnich jest wspomniana powyżej ustawa z 1982 r. Sąd orzekając karę wobec nieletniego nie „skazuje go” na pobyt w zakładzie poprawczym lecz orzeka jego umieszczenie. Środek poprawczy jest, co prawda, środkiem izolacyjnym, stanowiącym wyjątkową formę pozbawiania wolności, lecz nie pełni funkcji kary. Natomiast z kodeksu karnego nieletni może odpowiadać tylko w ściśle wymienionych sytuacjach w art. 10§2 kodeksu karnego. Na podstawie kodeksu karnego nieletni odpowiada wyjątkowo. This paper aims to analyze the responsibility of minors for their crimes in context of the 1982 act on proceedings with minors, as well as with article 10§2 of the Penal Code. It argues that the fundament in judicial adjudication on minors is the 1982 act. Court does not „sentence” them on serving in correctional institution, but he „decides” on their placement there. Correctional measure, is obviously a unique mean of restricting freedom, but it is not perceived as a penalty. Penal Code on the other hand, can be used only in strictly specified circumstances, listed in article 10§2 of the Penal Code. Based on the Penal Code, the responsibilty of minor is unique.
Praca dotyczy zachowań dewiacyjnych nieletnich, które występują na terenach objętych badaniami wsi. Opracowanie przedstawia zarówno strukturę tych zachowań, jak i ich źródła oraz działania profilaktyczne prowadzone przez miejscowe świetlice. Przeprowadzone badania opierały się na indywidualnych wywiadach pogłębionych z pracownikami świetlic, które należycie zobrazowały sytuacje w każdej z placówek. W celu głębszego poznania specyfiki poszczególnych miejscowości posłużono się techniką obserwacji uczestniczącej. W pracy poruszono również teoretyczne aspekty tego problemu opierając się na literaturze przedmiotu.
EN
This paper concerns the deviant behaviour of minors, which occur in the villages examined by Author. What is more, it presents the structure of these behaviours, but also their sources and prevention activities carried out by local community day care centres. The research was based on 28 individual interviews with employees of the community day care centres, which duly showed the situation in each of the branches. In order to better understand the specifics of each locality the technique of participant observation was used.
Życie codzienne podczas trwania wojny diametralnie się zmieniło. Zmieniła się postawa ludności cywilnej i jej priorytety. Ciężkie i tragiczne doświadczenia wojenne nie uszlachetniły wszystkich ludzi, wręcz przeciwnie. Wojna i perspektywa braku możliwości życia na godnym poziomie wielu ludziom otwierała furtkę do wyzwolenia niemoralnych zachowań. W artykule tym zaprezentowano cztery aspekty wojennej rzeczywistości: strach, aprowizację, szpiegostwo i demoralizację. Bazę źródłową pracy stanowi cykl reportaży Białystok w łunie światowej pożogi wojennej , zawierający wspomnienia białostoczan spisane w 1934 roku w „Echu Białostockim” oraz wspomnienia Laury de Turczynowicz When the Prussians Came to Poland. The Experiences of an American Woman during the German Invasion wydane w 1916 roku.
EN
Everyday life during the war has changed dramatically. The attitude of the civilian population, which set other priorities than before, has changed. Heavy and tragic war experiences did not ennoble all people, just the opposite. The war and the prospect of not being able to live on a dignified level for many people opened the gate to the liberation of immoral behaviors. This article presents four aspects of war reality: fear, food supply, espionage and demoralization. The source base of the work is the series of reportages Białystok in the glow of world war conflagration, containing memories of Bialystok in 1934 in "Echo Białostocki" and memories of Laura de Turczynrowicz When the Prussians Came to Poland. The Experiences of an American Woman during the German Invasion issued in 1916.
Integralny rozwój człowieka obejmuje nie tylko sferę fizyczną, psychiczną i społeczną, ale także duchową. Na szczególne uwzględnienie zasługuje rozwój sfery moralnej. Warunkuje on jakość dokonywanych wyborów i konkretnego postępowania. Lawrence Kohlberg wymienia trzy poziomy rozwoju moralnego: prekonwencjonalny, konwencjonalny i postkonwencjonalny. Osiąganie kolejnych poziomów nie dokonuje się samoistnie, lecz wymaga określonych starań. Istnieje wiele czynników mogących powodować demoralizację i desensytyzację sumienia. Ich oddziaływanie zaburza rozwój osobowy i będące jego zewnętrznym wyrazem zachowanie jednostek. Brak dojrzałości moralnej prowadzi do niewłaściwych wyborów i zachowań, przed którymi należy chronić zarówno jednostkę, jak i społeczeństwo. Odpowiedzialnością wychowawczą starszego pokolenia wobec młodszego jest sprzyjanie rozwojowi moralnemu dzieci i młodzieży. Dokonuje się to poprzez ochronę przed czynnikami zaburzającymi rozwój moralny i zapewnienie wzorców sprzyjających temu rozwojowi. Szczególne zadanie w tym względzie ma do spełnienia rodzina. Rodzina ucząc norm, wskazując na przyczynowo-skutkowy kontekst zachowań, dając szansę naśladownictwa prawidłowych zachowań oraz pomagając w podejmowaniu odpowiedzialnych decyzji - stymuluje rozwój i stanowi szkołę właściwych wyborów.
EN
The integrated development of a person is composed not only of physical, psychological and social spheres, but also a spiritual one. The development of a moral sphere deserves special consideration. It determines the quality of choices made and specific actions. Lawrence Kohlberg mentions three levels of the moral development: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Reaching subsequent levels is not made spontaneously, but it requires specific efforts. There are many factors which could cause demoralization and desensitization of conscience. Their influence disturbs personal development, with the behaviour of individuals being its external expression. Lack of moral experience leads to improper choices and behaviours, against which both individuals and society should be protected. Promoting the moral development of children and youth is the educational responsibility of the older generation for the younger one. This is done by protection against factors disturbing moral development and by providing the models favourable for development. The family has a special task in this regard. The family stimulates the development and is the school of proper decisions by teaching norms, showing the cause-effect context of behaviour, giving a chance to follow suit with proper behaviour and helping in making responsible decisions.
DE
Die integrale menschliche Entwicklung umfasst nicht nur die physische, psychische und soziale, sondern auch die geistige Sphäre. Eine besondere Aufmerksamkeit muss der Entwicklung der moralischen Sphäre geschenkt werden. Sie bedingt die Qualität getroffener Entscheidungen und konkreter Handlungsweise. Lawrence Kohlberg zählt drei Ebenen moralischer Entwicklung auf: vorkonventional, konventional und postkonventional. Das Erreichen der nächsten Ebene geschieht nicht automatisch, sondern verlangt nach einer Anstrengung. Es gibt verschiedene Faktoren, welche die Demoralisierung und Abstumpfung des Gewissens verursachen. Ihr Einfluss stört die personale Entwicklung sowie die auf sie zurückgehende Verhaltensweise des Einzelnen. Das Fehlen der moralischen Reife führt zu falschen Entscheidungen und Handlungen, vor denen sowohl der Einzelne als auch die Gesellschaft geschützt werden muss. Zur Verantwortung im Bereich der Erziehung, welche der alten Generation gegenüber der jungen obliegt, gehört das Fördern der moralischen Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Dies geschieht durch den Schutz vor Einflüssen, die die moralische Entwicklung stören sowie das Bereitstellen von Vorbildern, die diese Entwicklung fördern. Eine besondere Rolle auf diesem Gebiet spielt die Familie. Indem sie die Normen weitergibt, auf Ursachen und Folgen der Verhaltensweisen verweist, eine Chance zur Nachahmung des richtigen Verhaltens bereitstellt, sowie beim Treffen der richtigen Entscheidungen hilft, stimuliert die Familie die moralische Entwicklung und ist damit eine Schule der richtigen Entscheidungen.
In the school year 1976/77 the Department of Criminology, Institute of State and Law, Polish Academy of Sciences, began research whose object was - among others - to ascertain the extent of social maladjustment among children from Warsaw elementary schools. As socially maladjusted were recognized children, whose behavior was characterized by a complex of comparatively persistent symptoms pointing to inobservance by those children of fundamental rules of behavior obligatory for the youth of this age (that is, truancy, hour-long gallivating round the streets without control, keeping company of demoralized colleagues, thefts, running away from home, drinking, taking drugs, sexual demoralization, vandalism, aggression). In the study were included all children of 3rd- 8th grades of 50 elementary schools in Warsaw: it was a random sample from all schools of this type in the city. There were over 600 classes included in the study, with the total of 17,662 children aged 9- 15. The main object of the study was to find out how many children with the symptoms of social maladjustment there are among the pupils of grades 3- 8. It was to be achieved by obtaining information from the teachers about those among their pupils whose behavior covered by the definition of social maladjustment as presented above. The extent of social maladjustment among the children of Warsaw elementary schools was found to be substantial, as there were 6.5% of socially maladjusted children in the classes examined (10% of the boys and 2.7% of the girls). The extent is greater in the higher grades (there were as many as 15.4% of socially maladjusted boys and 4.4% of such girls in the 8th grade), and lower in the lower grades (respectively 7.4% of boys and 1.4% of girls in the 3rd grade). From the 7th grade an exceptionally distinct increase is pronounced. The percentage of boys revealing symptoms of social maladjustment is 3,7 times higher than that of girls. Among girls, there is a more pronounced increase in the extent of social maladjustment in higher grades as compared with lower grades, than it is the case among boys. Among the eldest girls the symptoms of social maladjustment intensified than among the eldest boys. The study revealed also large differences in the extent of social maladjustment among different schools. The percentage of socially maladjusted children ranged from 2.3% in the ’’best” school to 17% in the "worst" one. The classes in the "worsts" schools were found to be smaller than those in the “best” ones where the disclosure of a smaller number of socially maladjustment children could have been connected with the poorer acquaintance of the teachers with their pupils in larger classes. The districts of the “worst” schools were also often defined by the head-masters as "difficult”, that is inhabited by families estimated by them as unfavorable educational environment. The definition of social maladjustment assumed in the study revealed first of all the children who: gallivanted (77% of socially maladjusted boys and 75% of girls), played truant (70% of boys and 79% of girls), kept company of demoralized colleagues (55 and 44% respectively). The next most frequently occurring type of behavior was stealing (1/3 of boys and 1/5 of girls), while it was seldom that the children with the symptoms of social maladjustment were considered as drinking alcohol (merely 16% of boys and 14% of girls), which result not only from the fact that the children start drinking in the higher grades, but also from the teachers being only poorly informed as to the extent of drinking among their pupils. Running away from home occurs seldom among the socially maladjusted children (13% of boys and 15% of girls), as well as the symptoms of sexual demoralization (which were, however, found in as many as 20% of socially maladjusted girls from the highest grade, and in only 5% of boys from this grade); the teachers gave no information whatever as to the taking of drugs by socially maladjusted children. In the obtained picture of social maladjustment among school children there was a variety of the types of behavior regarded as symptoms of maladjustment; the intercorrelations between separate symptoms were not strong. Connections between these symptoms are more frequent and stronger in the case of children from higher grades, in whom the process of social maladjustment is more intense. The child from the 3rd grade defined as socially maladjusted is first of all a neglected child: gallivanting, playing truant, keeping company of demoralized colleagues, often behaving aggressively. Among the 8th grade children a larger cumulation of various types of behavior was found and also other symptoms were noted much more frequently. In the lower grades, truancy is the behavior which initiates and intensifies the process of social maladjustment: among those playing truant the cumulation of other symptoms can be found much more often than among other children. In the case of older boys, it is the company of demoralized colleagues that acquires the initiating and intensifying role in the process of social maladjustment.. It increases and shapes aggressive attitudes, provides patterns and encouragement to drinking alcohol, and is also conducive to gallivanting, stealing and sexual demoralization. According to the teachers, the majority (over 2/3) of the socially maladjusted children had severe learning problems, which had distinct repercussion on their unsatisfactory school progress. Such children were termed maladjusted to school education. Apart from the socially maladjusted children, the teachers also named 6,2% of boys and 3,5% of girls from the examined classes as revealing symptoms of school maladjustment. Every sixth boy from the classes included in the study was socially maladjusted or maladjusted to school, and every sixteenth girl. As the children grew up, there was a trend to cumulation of the symptoms of social and school maladjustment in them. Among the socially maladjusted boys from the lowest grades, an essential dependence was found between their reading and writing problems and their truancy, which - as stated above - initiates the process of social maladjustment in these grades. When asked about the causes of the child’s learning problems, which occur among the half of socially maladjusted children, the teachers indicated the insufficient care at home and bad family situation as the cause. Among boys, this cause is particularly important in the case of socially maladjusted children from lower grades (2/3 of all cases), and diminishes in the higher grades when - according to the teachers - it is the child himself who is to blame, particularly for his laziness. According to the teachers, among the families of socially maladjusted children those are prevailing who - for various reasons - are incapable of coping with their protective and educational tasks. Among the socially maladjusted children, the contribution of those from incomplete families (approximately 1/3 of the families of socially maladjusted boys and as many as 42.2% of the families of girls) and those brought up by mothers alone (approximately 1/4 of boys and 1/3 of girls) is much greater than in the average population. The degree of education of the parents is usually low with physical workers prevailing, and while the fathers usually have some professional training, the majority of mothers have no profession at all. In the families examined both parents usually work out of home (which is typical of a Polish urban family). In the families of over 1/3 of maladjusted boys and nearly 1/2 of girls, there are conditions that decided about their distinct socially deprived character as educational environment. According to the teachers, alcoholism or excessive drinking of one of the parent accurs in over 1/3 of these families. The family background of socially maladjusted girls is more socially negative than this of boys. The intensity of negative characteristics of the environment was particularly explicit among the children whose social and school maladjustment symptoms were cumulated. The majority of socially maladjusted children had learning problems concerning at least two school subjects. The majority had also problems in learning to read and write and were still below the level of their grade at the time of the study as regards their command of these skills which are essential for school education. Protective and educational activities undertaken by schools in respect of socially maladjusted children are minimal as compared with the needs. Only 10% of boys and 15% of girls visit day-rooms or day stay-in schools. As few as 11% of boys and 8% of girls attend youth clubs in the culture clubs. While the day-rooms and day stay-in schools are visited by children from worse family environment, usually those taken better care of in their families attend youth clubs. A large part (approximately 2/3) of socially maladjusted children were included in the "summer holiday action” and participated in holiday camps. Also, regarding a large part of them psychologists and educators were consulted; however, the teachers await assistance of guidance centre not only in the form of diagnosis but also of a long-term treatment of maladjusted child and his family.
The study contains the results of an empirical research carried out in Poland devoted to the macro- and microsocial conditions of family orphanhood. In the first stage (1978), 97% of the population of all children’s homes, inhabited at the time of the study by 24,000 persons, were examined, and in the second stage (1980), 2.1% of this population were examined (520 persons, which made the sample representative of the country). The notion of family orphanhood was introduced in the study to describe the situation of children who are under care of State institutions due to the lack of care in their own families. The notion of social orphanhood is thus limited - in this formulation - to the situation when the State, in spite of negligence of basic parental duties by the parents, has not yet taken over the care of the child. The extent of social orphanhood in Poland is rated at approximately 10% of the population of children and young people aged 0-17. The extent of family orphanhood is rated at approximately 5 promile in the age group 4-18. The growth of family orphanhood shows the triple increase of the phenomenon during the last 20 years. At the time of the study, 58% of family orphans were in State; children's homes. From the point of view of the research tasks, this group of children and young persons was considered the most representative, as the principles of placing children under other forms of care (that is, for instance, foster homes, family children's homes, centres for school education and special educational institutions for socially maladjusted children and young people) are based on particular criteria of selection. Below a summary of the results of the study is presented. The greatest intensity of family orphanhood and crime can be found in the western and northern regions of Poland. As revealed by the statistical analysis, the intensity of these phenomena in various parts of the country is significantly correlated. Their joint source are the by-products of social changes. In the social conditions promoting the phenomenon of anomy, the group patterns of deviant behavior may reach broader social circles; the tendency to perceive that behavior as contradictory to the norms diminishes then. This tendency concerns criminal behavior to a much greater extent than the behavior from which the family orphanhood results. Thus the growth of social orphanhood measured indirectly (for instance, by the rate of care and protection cases in courts), seems to be more diagnostic as a ratio of increase of pathogenic social phenomena than as an index of reported crime. The growth of pathogenic social phenomena can be studied indirectly by means of a structure analysis of attributes of the population selected in a particular way. The structure of particular attributes of the population of institutions for children and juveniles varies significantly according to the intensity of the pathogenic social phenomena in different parts of the country. In the voivodships where this intensity is greater, a higher percentage of children under psychiatric care or those whose parents have been deprived of their parental rights, is to be found significantly more frequently; the distributions of frequency in the separate age groups are random in the examined population. In the voivodships where the ratio of pathogenic social phenomena is lower, the most numerous age group is that of 13-15, which means that - more often than in the remaining voivodships - the important reason for sending children to institutions are their educational problems connected with puberty, and not a generally worse situation of the families which would cause sending children to institutions regardless of their age. On the microsocial scale, the main cause of family orphanhood is the disorganization of the family related to the individual and social characteristics of the parents. Taking into account the level of disorders in the social behavior and that of disturbances in emotional relations between the members of the family, 4 categories of families were distinguished in the population examined. The majority are the families disturbed both in their social functions and in emotional relations; there were as many as 78.2% of them among 5200 families. The families which, however undisturbed, were educationally inefficient for other objective reasons (financial problems, housing problems, illness, disability, death of one parent were 7.1% of the cases. There were also 8.5% of the families with only emotional relations disturbed, and 6.3% of those with only social behavior disturbed. Thus the majority, that is, as much as 84.5% of the children were brought up in criminogenic environment. 75.3% of fathers and 55% of mothers were regularly drinking excessively; alcoholism was found in 55.6% of fathers and 19.6% of mothers; 66.6% of the mothers’ friends who lived together with the family were heavy drinkers. The high percentage of drinking mothers in those families should be noted. Lack of a permanent employment was found among 27.6% of fathers and 41% of mothers. Due to their alcoholism and poor professional training, a considerable part of the children's guardians found it difficult to obtain and keep a job. Until the time of the study, 15% of fathers and 6% of mothers had already been imprisioned; no reliable information was gathered as to their previous criminal records. Professional prostitution was found among 12% of mothers, while sexual promiscuity among as many as 40%. The instability of emotional bonds is a striking feature of the families examined. Only 1/3 of the parents are married. In 53% of the cases, the parents admittedly live together, but one of them is temporarily absent due to imprisonment or stay in a mental hospital, which are the most frequent reasons. 73% of the families live in very difficult financial conditions, 61% have serious housing problems. A very poor state of health (serious chronic diseases) was found in 18% of fathers and 23% of mothers. Health and physical development of children and youths in children’s homes are distinctly worse than the average in the country. Their height in 49,3% of the cases does not reach the age norm, the respective percentage in the case of weight being 42%. A half of the children had suffered from serious diseases, as shown by 48.6% of the cases of hospitalization. In as much as 17% of the children the past or present diseases are connected with damages of the central nervous system or with functional changes which reflect on their mental functions (cerebral concussion, epilepsy, acute neuroses). 17% of the ailments and diseases are immediately related to grave neglect (untreated advanced form of tuberculosis, effects of accidents). Congenital defects are found in 5% of cases. In the group of family orphans, the types of mental deficiency and personality disorders which impede the normal social functions can be found more frequently than in the entire population of children and young people. Only 56% of the children came within the limits of the normal intelligence level. The symptoms of nervousness - more or less intense - were observed among as many as 90% of them. There were only 13% of the children without any disturbances of behavior (that is, inhibition, increased kinetic restlessness, timidity, emotional sensitivity, aggressiveness etc.). Developmental deficiencies were found in as many as 84% of the children; the most frequent were those in the sphere of the development of visual (34.5%) and auditory (22.3%) functions, the least frequent were the disturbances of speech (13.8%). Deviant behavior is more frequent among the concerned population than in the entire population of children and youths in respective age groups. The following three types of behavior proving the threat of demoralization were found: behavior connected with school maladjustment, with environmental maladjustment against the background of defective emotional relations (excluding the one based on emotional disorders of the passive type, like inhibition, timidity, etc.) and delinquent behavior or that pointing to disturbed socialization. The most frequent are the types of behavior revealing school, maladjustment (41.4%), those revealing distrubances of emotional relations (28%), and the least frequent are types of behavior of deliquent character or pointing to disturbed socialization. It is worthy of notice that the intensity of behavior of the first and third types markedly decreases in the children’s homes, while in the case: of the second type, that is of behavior revealing disturbances of the emotional sphere, the decrease is much less visible. In the conditions of the children’s home the emotional compensation, which is an important problem, is difficult to solve.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.