Abstract

HUERTAS DIAZ, Omar; DIAZ MEJIA, Nadia Marleth  and  TRUJILLO GONZALEZ, José Saúl. David Matza: criminological perspective of minors drifting towards juvenile delinquency. Rev. Crim. [online]. 2016, vol.58, n.3, pp.49-60. ISSN 1794-3108.

The phenomenon of juvenile delinquency has continued to be an ongoingly controversial issue; current research lines are focusing their efforts in search of the reasons why a minor ends up entering the delinquent world. Nevertheless, they fail to acknowledge the presence of authors having devoted their studies in trying to provide an answer to that question. A leading scholar in the study of this phenomenon is sociologist David Matza from the United States, a pioneer in theories of social nature attempting to give a solution to all the unknowns posed within the context of juvenile topics. This article is focused on analysis and reflection about the major premises of his theory dealing with delinquent subcultures from a perspective based on interaction. This will show us, therefore, that this is a subculture in keeping with the conventional culture, with members not far from those young people considered normal by a majority of society. This is the explanation concerning why some of them are quite close to breaking the law.

Keywords : Offender's conditioning actors; forms of crime; deviant behavior; the subculture theory; delinquent youth/juvenile offender.

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