The phenomenon of juvenile deviance occurs when there is no actual crime, but it represents a clear sign of unease, especially during adolescence. The deviant adolescent tends to express his or her conflicts through a “negative identity choice”, that is, an identity based on roles that have been presented as dangerous and illicit. Deviance can represent a defense against anxiety related to one’s own limits, the same ones that should be understood and tolerated to help the adolescent grow and develop a healthy identity.

Several studies report a relationship between dysfunctional attachment with the school context and problem behaviors, of a delinquent and violent nature, in adolescence. International literature, in particular, shows the presence of a relation between school disengagement and dropout, family distress and juvenile delinquency.

This research investigates the relationship between school dropout, frequency of minor crimes and family distress in a group of adolescents living in the area of Caltanissetta, a Sicilian city with a school dropout rate of 27%, which records the presence of 102 minors taken into care by the penal system in the year 2023.

The research was conducted starting from the data entered in the archive of the UISMM Center of Caltanissetta (Social Service Offices for Minors), that provides assistance to minors who have committed crimes and arranges for the collection of information to ascertain the personality of minors. This research involved a group of 121 adolescents and young adults, including 81 boys (66.9%) and 19 girls (15.7%), aged between 15 and 24 years (M = 18.89, D.S. = 1.84).

A database was created, divided into two parts, the first for the purpose of collecting information on the participants, namely: age, sex, educational level, any diagnosis according to the DSM 5, school failures, any reports by social services, type of crime, use of substances; the second part aims to investigate information relating to parental figures, such as: age, educational level, socio-economic status, any diagnoses according to the DSM 5, marital separation and problems related to crime.

Preliminary analyses show the presence of a negative correlation between the child's educational level and the number of reports by the social service, which also correlates with the use of narcotic substances. It seems interesting how the presence of a parent with legal problems correlates with the number of reports to social services.

The high rate of school dropout influences the phenomenon of juvenile deviance, since it represents an obstacle to the economic growth and employment of the country, with a consequent increase in forms of poverty and social exclusion.

It would be appropriate to increase actions to combat school dropout, and a structuring of integrated models of psycho-pedagogical intervention, to guide and support schools and the family context.

Keywords: School dropout, family distress, criminal behavior, adolescence, identity.