Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes"

Konan Koffi Paulin; Traore Brahim Samuel; Kouassi Ettien Silvie; Aka Rita Ahou; Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes"

Konan Koffi Paulin, Traore Brahim Samuel, Kouassi Ettien Silvie, Aka Rita Ahou, Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie

Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 7 March 2021 Accepted: 29 April 2021 Published: 8 May 2021

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Abstract

At the end of a post-electoral crisis in 2011, urban delinquency in Ivory Coast is undergoing a deep change. Young adults and teenagers attack the population according to a triptych that signs a particular modus operandi. An interpretation of this criminality, which is foreign to the taxonomy of delinquency, attempts to situate the place of toxic substances in the criminal actions of those whom the population calls "microbes". This was a cross-cutting study lasting three (03) months. Based on the exhaustive sampling technique, 123 subjects out of 583 young people in conflict with the law enrolled in a resocialisation and reintegration project in 2020, were selected. The respondents were all male, aged 10-25 years old and all out of school. They were all polydrug users, with prevalences of 98.37% for cannabis and 95.12% and 91.87% respectively for psychotropic drugs diverted from their therapeutic use and alcohol. Their criminal trajectory revealed offences of theft in meetings (100%) and assault and battery (84.55%), 15.45% of which led to death. Ritualisation was noted in the preparation of the assaults and in their execution; the first stage being conditioning by the consumption of a "psychoactive cocktail", the second: acting in a gang, and finally the third stage: execution of a scene of murderous violence with knives and unusual weapons 97.28% (machete, axe and human bones). Criminal intentionality presides over the act in the case of "microbes". Drug use only serves to convey a feeling of omnipotence and an increase in cortical excitement. It thus responds to a ritualisation imbued with symbolic signifiers and constitutes a preparatory conditioning for planned predatory violence. The traditional tandem drug and crime should not be the only explanatory approach to all criminal violence among drug users.

Published in	American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14
Page(s)	44-49
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Juvenile Delinquency, Drugs, Microbes, Predatory Violence, Ivory Coast

References

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Konan Koffi Paulin, Traore Brahim Samuel, Kouassi Ettien Silvie, Aka Rita Ahou, Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. (2021). Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 9(2), 44-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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Konan Koffi Paulin; Traore Brahim Samuel; Kouassi Ettien Silvie; Aka Rita Ahou; Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2021, 9(2), 44-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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AMA Style

Konan Koffi Paulin, Traore Brahim Samuel, Kouassi Ettien Silvie, Aka Rita Ahou, Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2021;9(2):44-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14,
  author = {Konan Koffi Paulin and Traore Brahim Samuel and Kouassi Ettien Silvie and Aka Rita Ahou and Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie},
  title = {Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes"},
  journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {44-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  abstract = {At the end of a post-electoral crisis in 2011, urban delinquency in Ivory Coast is undergoing a deep change. Young adults and teenagers attack the population according to a triptych that signs a particular modus operandi. An interpretation of this criminality, which is foreign to the taxonomy of delinquency, attempts to situate the place of toxic substances in the criminal actions of those whom the population calls "microbes". This was a cross-cutting study lasting three (03) months. Based on the exhaustive sampling technique, 123 subjects out of 583 young people in conflict with the law enrolled in a resocialisation and reintegration project in 2020, were selected. The respondents were all male, aged 10-25 years old and all out of school. They were all polydrug users, with prevalences of 98.37% for cannabis and 95.12% and 91.87% respectively for psychotropic drugs diverted from their therapeutic use and alcohol. Their criminal trajectory revealed offences of theft in meetings (100%) and assault and battery (84.55%), 15.45% of which led to death. Ritualisation was noted in the preparation of the assaults and in their execution; the first stage being conditioning by the consumption of a "psychoactive cocktail", the second: acting in a gang, and finally the third stage: execution of a scene of murderous violence with knives and unusual weapons 97.28% (machete, axe and human bones). Criminal intentionality presides over the act in the case of "microbes". Drug use only serves to convey a feeling of omnipotence and an increase in cortical excitement. It thus responds to a ritualisation imbued with symbolic signifiers and constitutes a preparatory conditioning for planned predatory violence. The traditional tandem drug and crime should not be the only explanatory approach to all criminal violence among drug users.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes"
AU - Konan Koffi Paulin
AU - Traore Brahim Samuel
AU - Kouassi Ettien Silvie
AU - Aka Rita Ahou
AU - Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie
Y1 - 2021/05/08
PY - 2021
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14
DO - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14
T2 - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JF - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JO - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
SP - 44
EP - 49
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-426X
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14
AB - At the end of a post-electoral crisis in 2011, urban delinquency in Ivory Coast is undergoing a deep change. Young adults and teenagers attack the population according to a triptych that signs a particular modus operandi. An interpretation of this criminality, which is foreign to the taxonomy of delinquency, attempts to situate the place of toxic substances in the criminal actions of those whom the population calls "microbes". This was a cross-cutting study lasting three (03) months. Based on the exhaustive sampling technique, 123 subjects out of 583 young people in conflict with the law enrolled in a resocialisation and reintegration project in 2020, were selected. The respondents were all male, aged 10-25 years old and all out of school. They were all polydrug users, with prevalences of 98.37% for cannabis and 95.12% and 91.87% respectively for psychotropic drugs diverted from their therapeutic use and alcohol. Their criminal trajectory revealed offences of theft in meetings (100%) and assault and battery (84.55%), 15.45% of which led to death. Ritualisation was noted in the preparation of the assaults and in their execution; the first stage being conditioning by the consumption of a "psychoactive cocktail", the second: acting in a gang, and finally the third stage: execution of a scene of murderous violence with knives and unusual weapons 97.28% (machete, axe and human bones). Criminal intentionality presides over the act in the case of "microbes". Drug use only serves to convey a feeling of omnipotence and an increase in cortical excitement. It thus responds to a ritualisation imbued with symbolic signifiers and constitutes a preparatory conditioning for planned predatory violence. The traditional tandem drug and crime should not be the only explanatory approach to all criminal violence among drug users.
VL - 9
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Konan Koffi Paulin

Addiction and Mental Hygiene Service, National Institute of Public Health, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Traore Brahim Samuel

Medical Sciences Training and Research Unit, Félix Houphou?t Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Kouassi Ettien Silvie

Center Marguerite Te Bonle, National Institute of Public Health, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Aka Rita Ahou

Medical Sciences Training and Research Unit, Félix Houphou?t Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie

Medical Sciences Training and Research Unit, Félix Houphou?t Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

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Konan Koffi Paulin, Traore Brahim Samuel, Kouassi Ettien Silvie, Aka Rita Ahou, Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. (2021). Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 9(2), 44-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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Konan Koffi Paulin; Traore Brahim Samuel; Kouassi Ettien Silvie; Aka Rita Ahou; Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2021, 9(2), 44-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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Konan Koffi Paulin, Traore Brahim Samuel, Kouassi Ettien Silvie, Aka Rita Ahou, Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie. Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes". Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2021;9(2):44-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14,
  author = {Konan Koffi Paulin and Traore Brahim Samuel and Kouassi Ettien Silvie and Aka Rita Ahou and Yeo-Tenena Yessonguilana Jean-marie},
  title = {Toxic Substances Use and Juvenile Violence in Ivory Coast: The Case of Young Adults and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law, Known as "Microbes"},
  journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {44-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20210902.14},
  abstract = {At the end of a post-electoral crisis in 2011, urban delinquency in Ivory Coast is undergoing a deep change. Young adults and teenagers attack the population according to a triptych that signs a particular modus operandi. An interpretation of this criminality, which is foreign to the taxonomy of delinquency, attempts to situate the place of toxic substances in the criminal actions of those whom the population calls "microbes". This was a cross-cutting study lasting three (03) months. Based on the exhaustive sampling technique, 123 subjects out of 583 young people in conflict with the law enrolled in a resocialisation and reintegration project in 2020, were selected. The respondents were all male, aged 10-25 years old and all out of school. They were all polydrug users, with prevalences of 98.37% for cannabis and 95.12% and 91.87% respectively for psychotropic drugs diverted from their therapeutic use and alcohol. Their criminal trajectory revealed offences of theft in meetings (100%) and assault and battery (84.55%), 15.45% of which led to death. Ritualisation was noted in the preparation of the assaults and in their execution; the first stage being conditioning by the consumption of a "psychoactive cocktail", the second: acting in a gang, and finally the third stage: execution of a scene of murderous violence with knives and unusual weapons 97.28% (machete, axe and human bones). Criminal intentionality presides over the act in the case of "microbes". Drug use only serves to convey a feeling of omnipotence and an increase in cortical excitement. It thus responds to a ritualisation imbued with symbolic signifiers and constitutes a preparatory conditioning for planned predatory violence. The traditional tandem drug and crime should not be the only explanatory approach to all criminal violence among drug users.},
 year = {2021}
}

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