Social representations about adolescents in conflict with the law

Abstract

The number of cases of violence involving adolescents as perpetrators and victims of the act has been discussed in the present society. This study aims to identify the perception of scribes and employees of police stations about the social representations of adolescents in conflict with the law and how these data may interfere in attendance and reception of complaints. The research was applied in 2 Police Stations in Defense of Women and in 1 Police Station of three cities in the state of São Paulo. The instrument for data collection was a semi-structured interview composed of socio-demographic questions and seven open questions related to the topic researched. The results indicate four main factors: the fault in the family, the fault in the adolescents and the difficulty of understanding adolescence as biopsychosocial phase, the feeling of impunity experienced by current Brazilian society and the need for public policy development directed to ensuring the rights of adolescents and their family. The conclusion is that social representations of adolescent can interfere with the construction of the relationship between professional and adolescent in the infrational context which requires specific preparation of professionals to attend the adolescent and understand their real needs.