ABSTRACT
Delinquency is a term that has different meanings and usages. Most commonly, a juvenile delinquent is defined as someone who has transgressed the law: ‘a young person who has been prosecuted and found guilty of an offence that would be classified as a crime if committed by an adult’ (Graham 1991). This definition has the virtue of precision. Its limitation however is that is does not take into account the full extent of behaviour or attitude. In psychodynamic terms, delinquency carries a much broader meaning: it relates to a more fundamental concern about responsibility and honesty, both in relation to oneself and to others. The essence of delinquency lies in its failure of duty to meet both the legal and moral requirements of the prevailing social order. The word itself draws its source from the Latin linquere – to leave, forsake or abandon. The delinquent is unable or unwilling to do that which is owed to the group, community or society. Delinquency is thus not an activity confined to a criminal minority, but refers to a tendency that is integral to the development of all social relationships.
