Manifestations and Causes of Deviant Behavior among Middle School Students and Ways of Addressing Them

Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the manifestations and causes of deviant behavior among middle school students and ways of addressing them. The sample of the study included (120) psychological counselors at public education schools in Riyadh Region. The researcher adopted the analytical descriptive approach and used a questionnaire she designed for achieving the study's objectives. The study obtained several findings، most importantly the following: manifestations of deviant behavior among middle school students, from the perspectives of psychological counselors were rated (high), from the perspectives of sample members; causes of deviant behavior among middle school students، from the perspectives of psychological counselors were rated (moderate), from the perspectives of sample members; and ways of addressing deviant behavior among middle school students, from the perspectives of psychological counselors were rated (high), from the perspectives of sample members; and no statistically significant differences were found at the significance level of (0.05) among the opinions of sample members on the questionnaire's axes and the total score, as regards the variables of (gender – years of experience). The research presents several recommendations in the light of obtained findings: the necessity of working on finding a digital mechanism for monitoring students' interaction within schools in Riyadh city on social media; and the necessity of working on activating the role of social work offices at schools in order to educate on the determinants of interaction between students within and outside schools.
Keywords: deviant behavior – middle stage – psychological counselors.