Determinants of lawy behavior of adolescent personality in scientific literature

Abstract

Abstract. The article formulates a holistic view of the essence of the adolescent’s personality
and psychological determinants. Based on the analytical-reflexive analysis, the criminalization of
the adolescent’s personality means the process of forming his/her behaviour, which does not comply
with legal norms, public morality and has clearly defined antisocial features of varying severity, i.e.,
delinquent, criminal behaviour. We understand the adolescent’s ability to resist criminalization
(lawful behaviour) as a psychological characteristic of his/her personality, which is manifested in the
willingness to act in accordance with legal and moral norms in situations of criminogenic temptations.
The psychological basis of lawful behaviour are two types of attitudes: legal and lawful behaviour.
The normative-legal attitude fixes the decision to adhere to a certain group, type or set of legal norms,
despite the distinctive features of each specific legal norm. This attitude accumulates knowledge of the
law, attitude to it and willingness to act in accordance with general principles or types of legal norms.
The selectivity of the legal framework is due to different attitudes to a particular legal norm.
Such an attitude is formed due to individual intellectual and psychological activity, as well as due
to the adoption of legal attitudes of others or social groups. The reception of such an installation is
carried out in two ways: rational (through meaningful assimilation) and through socio-psychological
mechanisms (conformity, imitation, suggestion). External and internal psychological determinants of lawful behaviour of adolescents have been determined. External ones include the experience of trusting, warm family relations and the experience of observing stable positive legal traditions in society; internal – knowledge, skills that provide experience of law-abiding behaviour, meaningful life and behaviour, highly developed positive personal qualities, a positive attitude to the rule of law, a willingness to comply with the rule of law. The peculiarities of adolescents’ abilities to resist the phenomena of criminalization have been
outlined: reduction of the level of its manifestation in situations in which hidden negative circumstances
should be taken into account; when adolescents try to adapt to a new social environment or gain recognition in a group; when incitement to delinquent actions is veiled by a socially acceptable goal.