TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN UKRAINE

Torture and ill-treatment of children in Ukrainebut only indirectly evaluated through psychological methods. Direct cessationof unlawful behaviour is undoubtedly necessary, however certainty thatthe unlawful behaviour will not be repeated in a certain manner can only appearwhen we minimise its social and psychological causes. Directing workwith offenders solely at correcting behaviour during the period of the sentenceis, from the point of view of psychological clearly not enough.An important component of the issue studied here is the specific featuresof the development of personality of 14–18-year olds. It is at this age that adolescentsparticularly intensely feel the need to identify with the group, to belowto a group where they’re valued highly. Some typical age-linked featuresof minors are heightened tendency to impulsive actions; wanting to provethat they belong in the adult world; to assert themselves in the group at theexpense of those who don’t belong to the group; they can be used for theirown purposes by the leaders of criminal gangs.Even in the absence of directed training by adult offenders, adolescentswho are looking for unlawful entertainment or a way of earning month canfind them by themselves. Examples to imitate are fairly easily found in themedia and mass culture. Adolescents in general are probably capable ofdistinguishing between the real and the virtual worlds, however they cantake the attitudes circulated through mass culture quite seriously. A pseudoneedemerges to definitely become “cool” with the help of violence, to getas many as possible prestigious articles of consumption with as little effortas possible.However it is worth warning against making age factors too absolute.We are not dealing with some kind of fundamental “difficult” or “transitional”age, but about interaction between age, personal and social factors.Since:1) according to modern psychological theories, the formation of the corepersonality takes place up to the age of 5. This is confirmed by observations ofpenitentiary psychologists: it’s easier for them to work with adolescents whohad a normal upbringing in children and became involved in unlawful behaviouronly as adolescents.2) with young people over the age of 18 one can observe a certain infantilism,individual psychological features typical for an earlier age. An importanttendency of the modern day an artificial extension of social “maturing” ofyoung people applying even to those who are already working;162