Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explain the roles of physical and verbal aggression, emotional immaturity, and lying behavior in the predictive relationship between emotional abuse and delinquent tendencies among juveniles and students in Punjab, Pakistan. METHODS: Data were collected from 232 juveniles incarcerated in the Borstal Jails of Faisalabad and Bahawalpur. A comparative sample of 276 students from government schools was collected through purposive sampling. The comparative sample was matched for socioeconomic status, gender, location, and age. Translated (Urdu) versions of the standardized scales were used to measure the respective constructs. Path analysis was conducted to determine the mediating effects of lying (as a personality trait), emotional immaturity, and physical-verbal aggression on the relationship between emotional abuse and delinquent tendencies. Multigroup analysis was performed to determine the strength and significance of each path for juveniles and students. RESULTS: Emotional abuse positively predicted delinquent tendencies and emotional maturity, lying as a personality trait, and physical-verbal aggression mediated this relationship among juveniles and students. A decline in emotional maturity was a stronger predictor of delinquent tendencies among juveniles, whereas physical-verbal aggression played a stronger role for students. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the indirect effects of emotional abuse on delinquent tendencies. This study also highlights the intense effect of emotional abuse on juvenile delinquents' emotional maturity and supports the importance of utilizing positive methods when dealing with adolescents, especially school personnel and clinical psychologists who interact with adolescents with problematic behaviors.