In order to explain how the delinquent behavior of Brazilian juveniles is developed, the conditions of socialization and resocialization of 116 institutionalized boys, in Natal-RN, were investigated. The discourses of 17 subjects were analyzed. The adolescent inmate conditions of socialization have been marked with poverty and dereliction. Delinquent behavior starts as a survival strategy. The discourse of subjects reproduces the dominant ideology when they assess themselves negatively and input their delinquent behavior to their own personal characteristics. Trajectory of life of 17 subjects ten years after their internship, confirms the inefficiency of the programs of socialization. The analysis of the broader social context shows that juvenile delinquency roots are in the over exploitation of the lower classes by the capitalist accumulation model prevalent in Brazil.
Juvenile delinquency; Socialization; Street boys
