Comparison of Identity Styles and Attachment Styles in Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Teenagers in Qom

Introduction and goal: 

Delinquency during adolescence is one of the abnormal behavior patterns that seriously harms the normal life of the adolescent and the people around him. This research was conducted with the aim of comparing identity styles and attachment styles in delinquent and non-delinquent teenagers in Qom city.

The research was descriptive-sectional and causal-comparative (post-event). All the delinquent teenagers living in the correctional center as well as the normal teenagers of Qom city in 2023 formed the statistical population of the research, among them, 60 people (30 delinquent teenagers and 30 normal teenagers) were selected by the available sampling method, and in addition to questionnaire of identity styles (Brzezunski et al., 2013) and the attachment style questionnaire (Collins and Reed, 1990). The data were analyzed in two levels of descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and LSD post hoc test with SPSS version 26.

The results showed that between the scores of informational identity, normative identity, confused/avoidant identity and committed identity in two groups of teenagers from statistically, there is a significant difference. Also, the mean scores of the two groups in secure, avoidant and ambivalent/anxious attachment were statistically significantly different. The results of the LSD follow-up test indicated that delinquent teenagers had a low level of committed and informational identity and secure attachment compared to normal teenagers and that delinquent teenagers used insecure attachment and difficulty in identification (avoidant and normative).

The results of the research emphasize the need for the increasing attention of experts and officials in the field of mental-social health to the role of identity and attachment style in preventing mental-decisional vulnerabilities in adolescence.