Discourse Analysis of the Denial Among Delinquent Teenagers Based on Cohen's Model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student of linguistics, College of the literature and human sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

2 Associate professor, Department of linguistics, faculty of literature and human sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

3 Associate professor, Department of Persian literature and linguistics, Faculty of literature and human sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Denial is a defense mechanism similar to other types of defense mechanisms such as projection, rationalization. In questioning the accused, the first meaning that can be understood from their words is denial. The aim of this study is to analyze the denial discourse of delinquent teenagers based on Cohen's model. The research is descriptive-analytical and the study is conducted by library and field methods and its type is qualitative-quantitative. The statistical population of study is 60 delinquent teenagers in Ahvaz prison, from which 30 female and 30 male teenagers were selected by available methods. Due to security and ethical issues, the cases were introduced by prison manager. First, permission to access the files has been obtained, then the statements of delinquent teenagers were divided into two categories of during the arrest and in the court. The statements were examined and analyzed based on Cohen's denial discourse analysis (2001) in three levels: literal denial, interpretive denial, and implicit denial. The level of denial at different levels in delinquent teenagers was compared and the effect of gender, prison history of the person and the type of crime on the types of denial was evaluated. The results showed that the most literal denials occurred during the arrest and the most interpretive and implicit denials occurred during the trial. Also, denial is less in girls than boys. Among the types of crimes, theft delinquents denied their crime more than others. The results of research can be used in various fields of linguistics, especially in...

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