Vandalistic motives in adolescent representation

The article discusses the motivation for vandalism adolescents and describes the main ideas about the incitement to vandalism in adolescents. There is a fragmentation of scientific opinions about the motives of vandalism among adolescents. The conclusion is made about the need to generalize in a single methodological context. The article describes vandalism behavior as conscious, purposeful activity of the subject. Empirical research of perceptions of motives in a multiage sample is conducted. The study sample is 541 people and covers different regions of the Russian Federation, the largest settlements. The sample of the study consists of persons of different ages, 85 of whom are teenagers. The results indicate a specific understanding of the causes of vandalism among adolescents. The dominant role of the motive of joy, boredom, loneliness and aspiration for self-demonstration in inducing vandalism has been revealed. Conclusion is made about the key role of social-psychological motive, i.e. social alienation, as well as affective motive, which is poorly regulated by teenagers' experience of joy and stimulates destruction of urban infrastructure objects. Finally, heuristic use of activity theory to study the structure of vandalism is noted. The importance of motivational studies for increasing the control of young people over their own behavior is emphasized.