Upbringing and Education of Children and Youth with Behavioral Disorders : a Challenge for Evangelization

Sa？etak The paper adresses behavioral disorders of children and youth as an old, but always-present problem. As less stigmatizing than the term ？behavioral disorders“, the term ？behavioral problems“ is also used, and includes the continuity of behavior from risky behavior to behavioral difficulties and finally to behavioral disorders. In wider sense, they point to risky behaviors such as unjustified school absenteeism, poor school success, lack of discipline in school and at home, defiance, disobedience, smoking, alcoholism, drug experimentation, inappropriate communication with peers, lack of empathy, excessive withdrawal, depression, self-aggressive behavior such as self-harm, suicide. In the narrow sense, the terms indicate delinquent behavior defined by regulations. Since some children, despite their exposure to numerous risk factors (genetic or biological factors, childhood personality, peer factors, school-related factors, risk factors in the family, community risk factors) do not develop behavioral disorders, attention is increasingly focused on research on protective factors. In addition to protective factors such as female sex, parental bonding, supporting family climate, family arrangements, positive temperament, healthy belief, prosociative orientation, social skills, intelligence, prosocial peer group, academic achievement, self-discipline and self-esteem, one can mention also the sense of meaning and of the future, as well as religious and spiritual commitment. The work focuses on some researches that show how religiosity acts as a protective factor in the development of behavioral disorders. Religious adolescents are less likely to take psychoactive substances, are less likely to associate with peers who use them, are less asocial, and family religiosity is positively associated with the amount of parental attachment and is in moderate negative correlation with delinquent behavior. Society responses do not always follow the complexity and variability of behavioral disorder of children and youth. In this work, we are discussing the connection between Pope Francis’s exhortations with the above-mentioned problem, and we conclude that acquiring knowledge about the phenomenon of children and youth behavioral disorders increases the competence of providing answers and expands the Church’s ability to prevent the development of 58 Rije？ki teolo？ki ？asopis, god. 27 (2019.), br. 1 behavioral disorders in children and youth. By analyzing the documents of St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis the authors note that in none of them children