[Joy riding and dyssocial behavior. A comparative study based on 84 members of a delinquent group]

Joy riding is the technical term for a specific behavioral pattern consisting of stealing a car without money-making purposes but in order to take it for fast and exciting rides, partially in combination with alcohol or drug consumption. In several cases this behavior can show addiction-like traits. American studies from earlier decades have shown that Joy riding seems to be a typical teenage offense committed by youths stemming from orderly social backgrounds, showing basically prosocial attitudes and seldom ending up in criminal careers. However, the present study provides evidence that Joy riding can also be part of an antisocial lifestyle. The characteristics of the joy riders examined in this trial differed just gradually from the control group of juvenile delinquents. It remains open a question, whether the differences found between our sample and American joy riders are due to sociocultural factors or rather are a consequence of different selection modes.