Socio-pedagogical prevention of deviant behavior of under age children in the United States

The aim of the study is to research the problem of organization of social and pedagogical preventive work with deviant children in the USA. The main methods of research are: the analysis of the scientific literature and generalization. It is underlined that there are many approaches to understanding the concept of «deviation», yet most scholars (including American) agree that deviant behaviour can be defined as a behaviour, which contrasts with "normal behaviour", namely, socially acceptable in a particular society. While dealing with deviant behaviour, it's important to combine punishment and preventive measures, whereas the latter should prevail. There are various interrelated types of prevention (social, pedagogical, socio-pedagogical, psychological, medical and criminological). It is directed at creating the prerequisites for forming law-abiding, moral behaviour; a system of social, legal, pedagogical and other measures aimed at eliminating the causes and conditions facilitating neglect, delinquency and antisocial behaviour of juveniles that are carried out in combination with individual preventive activities and those families being in a socially dangerous situation. Socio-pedagogical prevention is often considered in the context of socio-pedagogical work as a complex of targeted shared and individual influences on consciousness, feelings and volition of the students in order to develop immunity to negative influences of the environment, to prevent asocial orientation of juveniles, their antisocial behaviour and to change the students' attitude toward reality in the process of re-education. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of social-pedagogical and medical work in USA with such category of juveniles as drug users which is provided by social pedagogues, social workers, psychologists and medical workers. They work together with juveniles to prevent crimes and other serious deviations. It is underlined that successful social-pedagogical and medical work with the young people which have problems with drugs is impossible without rehabilitation.