published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / SPACE / Master / Master of Arts

This study, a test of the specific deterrence in the area of juvenile delinquency, has three basic concerns. The first of these is to obtain perceptual measures of the primary components of the doctrine. Individual interpret reality, and it is this perception or interpretation of reality, rather than reality itself, that influences behavior. Second, the concern is to consider the pleasure aspect of delinquent involvement. Prior research has concentrated on punishment, virtually overlooking pleasure. And thirdly, the concern is to view specific deterrence in terms of its implicit temporal ordering, that perceptions be measured prior to the advent of subsequent delinquency. Specifically this study investigated recidivism of juvenile male first time burglary offenders. The data was drawn from police reports, probation officer's impressions and interviews with 127 boys who met the criteria of this study. The specific patterns found are both consistent and inconsistent with the deterrence doctrine. Consistent with the doctrine, pleasure is directly related to recidivism. The fact that pleasure is also one of the best predictors of recidivism suggests that its omission from most prior research may certainly have diminished the potential predictive power of the doctrine in those studies. Consistent with both the doctrine and prior research, certainty of apprehension (logarithm) is a primary deterrent to recidivism. The findings regarding the severity of punishment, on the other hand, are not so straightforward. Admittedly, the recidivists did not experience what they perceived as severe punishment. The court's response appeared to be irrelevant, and the response viewed as one of the most severe (grounding) by the recidivists was infrequently applied to them. Consistent with the doctrine, severity of apprehension (punishment) was inversely related to recidivism. However, the effect of punishment appears to be an indirect one through the condemnation of the act. This suggests that fear of punishment may not be the "deterring force"; rather, certain and severe sanctions may act to educate the one-time offender, specifying what is accepted as moral behavior. Obviously, further research is needed to uncover the interrelated effects of certainty of apprehension, moral condemnation and severity of punishment.

Pre-sentence evaluations are commonly prepared by court clinics to assist the court in sentencing dispositions and plans for treatment of offenders. There is no standard policy in effect for advising a defendant of his legal rights prior to evaluation by a mental health professional for purposes of a pre-sentence report. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the effects that different types of briefing or warning statements may have upon clients in a court clinic. The present study systematically investigated two factors in briefings given before a pre-sentence evaluation. The first factor was the nonverbal communication of the person giving the briefing. The effects of these briefing manipulations were assessed in terms of client behavior and mental health evaluator's impression of the client. Specifically, these dependent variables were measured by MMPI scales L, K, and Pd, an Evaluation Rating Scale, a Briefing Questionnaire, a Psychopathology Rating Scale and a Nonverbal Behavior Record Form. A set of hypotheses was forwarded which predicted that these behavioral indices would vary as a result of changes in briefing procedure. Contrary to predictions, results indicated that the briefing procedures had no significant effect upon any of the measures of clients' behavior. While questionnaire data indicated that subjects were affected by the type of briefing immediately after the briefing was given, it appears that these effects were of very short duration. These findings are discussed with regard to the methodology of the present study and with regard to previous research concerned with Miranda warnings.

<p>Despite the unpleasant living conditions in prison, recidivism seems to be an uncontrollable phenomenon. It is evident that prison life is harsh with inmates having to sleep on the floors due to overpopulation, frequently subjected to physical and sexual abuse, and overpopulation leading to numerous communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections. Prison should therefore, be the least favourable ecosystem in which to be incorporated. However, research indicates that thousands of youth return to prison habitually. This study aimed to explore juvenile inmates perceptions of their return to prison. Although recidivism is often measured in terms of the success of rehabilitation programmes, this study focused on eliciting socio-economic factors influencing recidivism.</p>

This project involved an analysis of the theoretical foundations for Indianapolis Prep; an alternative school for about 50 students ages 14 to 18 years who are on probation with the Juvenile Court of Marion County, Indiana. The accepted purpose of Indianapolis Prep is to prepare students to make a successful transition from the Juvenile Center through a transition academy and through a semester of success in a regular high school to high school graduation. For the population involved, the traditional path to a high school diploma is not viewed as the best alternative.Indianapolis Prep is part of the national “Cities in Schools” project; a project which appears to have the potential for making a substantial impact on the future direction of American education.The outcomes of the project were documented in various forms since the traditional format of preparing one large piece of writing with an introduction and a conclusion was inadequate. The process of the study served as an effective means for shaping the documentation of outcomes. The writer kept a journal of observations of Indianapolis Prep as well as one on reflections regarding her participation in the school. Compiling these writings into a summary produced an interesting anecdotal document of Indy Prep’s development in theory and in practice. This anecdotal record developed into an anthology of choice writings, proposals, reports, and poems and prose, all narrated and tied together with summarized journal writings.The following components were included in the creative project report:A statement of the creative project.A handout used by the “Cities in Schools” project to introduce and explain Propinquity, and organizational concept of interagency services.A description of the plan, implementation, and outcomes of the Sophomore Academy, a forerunner to Indy Prep.Examples of students’ poems and prose as well as writings of the investigator.An evaluative report of Indy Prep’s participation in the Ball State University staff development project. This report was compiled from observations, interviews, and notes on weekly SDP conferences and meetings, as well as information from monthly Ball State conducted workshops. Examples of contracts developed through the staff development program were included.A component of several essays in which thoughts and theories derived from various readings along with the writer’s experiences and study of Indy Prep were formulated and/or systematically organized.The final component was a bibliography of readings.

This thesis, whilst taking a predominantly criminological topic as its subject matter, incorporates other sociological and social psychological debates around youth transitions, power relations, youth culture and capital. In so doing, this thesis attempts to come to terms with the wider problems faced by young people who become embroiled in offending. It argues that the transition to 'adulthood' is heavily implicated in the fact that most offending occurs in late childhood and youth. This study asked 20 young women and 20 young men about why they started and stopped offending and what influenced or inhibited them in that behaviour as they grew older. What these young people suggested was that their decision to offend - or not offend - was very much based on their need to feel included in their social world, through friendships in childhood and through wider commitments in adulthood. The process of moving through the transitional arrangements from childhood, through youth, to adulthood seems to run parallel with the process of starting offending, maintaining such behaviour over a period of time and eventually stopping offending in favour of greater conventionality and stability. This analysis of the parallel paths between the process of youth transitions and the process of offending draws on the theoretical concepts of Pierre Bourdieu, in particular that of capital accumulation. But it goes further in suggesting the need to take into account not only capital accumulation but also capital expenditure and power imbalances - power imbalances based not only on class distinctions, as Bourdieu suggests, but also on age and status.

The present study used the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile (PRP) to assess differences in personality organization in violent and nonviolent juvenile offenders.

The purpose of this study is to discover the spatial distribution of adjudicated delinquents and to analyze the relationship of these delinquents to a distribution of other attributes of population aggregates. Specifically, this study focuses on the relationship in Fort Worth between the social and economic data of a specific zone. Chapter I and III of this study discuss previous ecological studies and their findings. Furthermore, possible restriction to previous studies are brought out and the design for this study is developed. Chapter III presents the methodology design used in the project. Chapter IV and V present findings of this study and discuss implication drawn from these findings. Moreover, statistically significant results are explained with regard to present sociological knowledge and future research.

The construct of psychopathy holds promise as a discriminating variable in the classification and explanation of childhood antisocial behavior. The new generation of psychopathy measures, designed to measure this construct in adolescent populations, must meet acceptable standards of reliability and validity prior to the clinical application of the construct with adolescent offenders. The purpose of this study is to examine the construct and predictive validity of adolescent psychopathy as measured by the PCL:YV, PSD, SALE, and SRP-II. Data from two samples of detained adolescent offenders (short-term and long-term detention) are utilized to investigate construct validity via MTMM. In addition, external validity indices including institutional violations (fighting, seclusions, and treatment refusals) and community supervision (probation contacts, drug testing, and re-arrests) are operationalized and measured in order to examine the predictive validity of adolescent psychopathy. Results of construct validity offer modest support for the two-factor model of psychopathy. For external validity, Factor 2 accounted for greater variance in the prediction of institutional infractions and subsequent placements in a secure facility; however, its overall predictive validity was low. The results suggest that the current measures assess psychopathic traits and behaviors which may be stable in adults but are likely to be normative and transient in many adolescents.