Delinquency often escalates by imitating the behaviors of close friends and learning from them.Compared with adult offenses,juvenile delinquency is more often committed by multiple perpetrators.Therefore,friend relationships have much to do with the prevention of juvenile delinquency.
  In the"Survey of Juvenile Delinquents,"juvenile delinquents'satisfaction level with friends is lower than that of general youths,showing that juvenile delinquents are apt to feel maladaptation in friendship more frequently than general youths.The"Survey of Juvenile Training School Instructors"also points out many problems caused by recent juveniles'maladaptation in friendship,such as"They have not acquired the skills to smoothly build interpersonal relationships,""They cannot reject temptations from friends,"and"They cannot build strong trusting relationships with other people".
  Juvenile delinquents seem to have become more likely to run away from this sense of maladaptation by following others blindly and fleeing from their own responsibilities,instead of positively trying to resolve the problem.They may have strengthened the tendency to withdraw into a small world of protective families and close friends and avoid hurting one another.However,as long as juveniles remain in this situation,they cannot have the will to make efforts for attaining their future goals,nor can they carry out their social responsibility to secure their own place in society.
  For the sound growth of juveniles,parents'affection toward them during their childhood and schooling period,and experiences of playing in groups are pointed out to be very important.Juveniles can learn various things among groups,such as curiosity,patience,excitement,and conflicts,as well as the pleasure to play with friends.However,decreasing play areas and the development of electronic equipment deprived them of close interaction among groups,and more and more juveniles try to find a comfortable place in their individual small living space without acquiring self-discipline,a sense of responsibility,and the desire to improve themselves,etc.,which they are originally supposed to acquire through the process of growing up.
  When they feel satisfied with their small circle of peers and behave according to their own rules,there is likely to be a gap in recognition between the rules of general society and theirs.There is a possibility that juveniles repeating group delinquency for fun might increase and that violent acts such as lynching might escalate to serious consequences while prioritizing their in-group rules.
  For these juvenile delinquents, treatment taking advantage of a scene in a group is effective.Under this treatment,adults do not guide juveniles unilaterally,but the focuses are on juveniles'growth through friendly competition,letting them bounce their individual values and emotions off one another in activities in groups for achieving their common goals.Their growth will be facilitated by giving them many opportunities for communicating with one another and letting them experience various types of commitment.In those processes,it is important to encourage them to acquire self-discipline,a sense of responsibility,and the desire to improve themselves.
  In juvenile training schools,juveniles of similar ages live together in groups,guided closely by instructors in charge,and learn pleasure and a sense of fulfillment to accomplish something in groups through experiencing conflicts and cooperation in daily life.After acquiring such basic interpersonal skills,juveniles learn how to reject temptations from bad friends,how to communicate in workplaces,how to build actual human relationships according to programs using various methods such as role-playing.In probation offices,treatment is conducted to strengthen juveniles'sense of belonging to society by making them experience the pleasure of working among various people through social participation activities such as nursing care.It is expected that such education and treatment will help them build a foothold for becoming a responsible member of society and smoothly withdrawing from bad company.