The social problem of juvenile delinquency and treatment efforts to alleviate this problem are introduced in this study. Literature related to theories on delinquency, institutional treatment, the role of recreation in correctional settings, and leisure education is reviewed and summarized. A basis for a leisure theory on delinquency is presented, suggesting delinquent behaviors are socially unacceptable leisure pursuits. Implications include efforts to replace delinquent behaviors with socially acceptable leisure pursuits (i.e. recreation).

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Many youth are able to be successful in the traditional school setting. Large numbers are not successful. Dropout rates are alarming. There is little research that examines the drop out problem from the perspective of the youth. Traditionally programs that are designed to help have been designed by adults. This qualitative study focused on the voices of youth. Participants in this study were male clients aged fifteen to seventeen who were adjudicated and court mandated to receive treatment in a drug treatment center. All of the participants had a history of delinquency and poor academic achievement. They had dropped out of school prior to entering the treatment program. This qualitative study addressed two questions: 1. What are the factors that prevent at-risk youth from being successful in school? 2. What can schools do to help these youth be successful at school? This study provided information about what schools could have done to help these youth be more successful. It also looked at their current academic success in the treatment program as a possible model to help other youth. Five youth volunteered to participate in the study. All interviews were confidential. Interviews were also conducted with a probation officer, program administrator, teacher, and a parent that had a youth in the program in order to triangulate results. The voices of students supported the literature with respect to the factors that contribute to students being at risk for delinquency and dropping out of school. Some of these factors include issues surrounding anger management, academic issues, nurturing at school, family situations, school at a treatment center, hiring teachers, childhood experiences, drug use, obtaining drugs, crime and drugs, treatment programs, dual diagnosis, communication and issues surrounding success and failure. The strength of this qualitative research project lies in the fact that the real voices of students did support the quantitative literature in this field. / Graduation date: 2004

盧瑞忠. / 論文(哲學碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院社會工作學部, 1998. / 參考文獻: leaves 203-216. / 中英文摘要. / Lu Ruizhong. / Chapter 第一章： --- 序言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第二章： --- 靑少年犯罪理論和硏究結果 --- p.8 / Chapter 第三章： --- 本硏究各槪念的文獻探討 --- p.39 / Chapter 第四章： --- 研究問題及硏究假設 --- p.78 / Chapter 第五章： --- 研究方法 --- p.89 / Chapter 第六章： --- 調查結果 --- p.94 / Chapter 第七章： --- 討論 --- p.151 / Chapter 第八章： --- 總結及建議 --- p.187 / 參考文獻 --- p.203 / 附錄一：給家長的信 / 附錄二 ：《子女問卷》 / 附錄三：《父母問卷》

背景：除性別及年齡等人員變數外，犯罪思想被視為犯罪行為的重要因素。西方研究找出了犯罪思想不同的結構，同類型的研究在中國或香港相對罕見。這範疇的研究可促進對邊緣青年的預防工作，所以有急切性。 / 目標：本研究旨在了解西方犯罪思想結構能否適用於中國香港的年青罪犯，亦嘗試發掘本土獨有的犯罪思想。犯罪思想與犯罪行為的關係亦會被探究。 / 方法：六個焦點小組找出了超過三百多個青少年的犯罪思想。四位有經驗之臨床心理學家仔細分析並製訂了一個一百四十六題的問卷。 探索性的因素分析提取了具本土特性的犯罪思想題目。 它們與兩個外國的測量，名為犯罪情感測量表 (CSSM) 及犯罪思想測量表 (CTS) 一同被放進回歸模型， 以了解能否提升結構模式的適配度及解釋青少年人的普遍及具體犯罪行為。 / 結果：探索性因素分析找到了十四項具本土特性的犯罪思想題目， 它們能提升CSSM結構模式的適配程度 (goodness of fit) ，卻未能於CTS達至理想效能。 當它們與CSSM結合後，一個四因子模型 (包括「英雄主義」、「對司法系統的態度」、「對罪犯的認同」及「相信法庭對青年人寬大」) 被塑造了。 「對司法系統的態度」能解釋普遍的罪案和有關肢體暴力、財產、毒品及性暴力的罪行。 「對罪犯的認同」能解釋普遍的罪案和有關肢體暴力及財產的罪行。 具本土特性的犯罪思想因子跟CSSM有類似統計學上顯注的辨別能力， 「英雄主義」在識別肢體暴力的罪犯上有些微優勝，而「相信法庭對年青人寬大」則可識別干犯毒品罪行的年青人。 與西方研究結果相符，性別和年齡解釋了大部分犯罪行為的差異，犯罪思想測量表能帶來的附加值有限。 / 討論：是次研究為本地年青人犯罪思想的探索。 在CSSM中，只有「對司法系統的態度」和「對罪犯的認同」這兩個因子被確立，兩個本地獨有的犯罪思想卻被發現了。 討論圍繞着四個犯罪思想因子中共同包含了對司法系統的態度或期望及渴求朋輩的贊同或情感。 文章討論了有關的中國教子方法，指出了如何善用研究所得的資料辨別與輔導邊緣青少年。 / Background: Criminal thinking was one of the strongest predictors, apart from demographic variables like gender and age, in predicting offending behavior. There were quite a lot of western researches on criminal thinking coming up with different constructs. In Chinese or Hong Kong research on this domain was however relative rare. Corresponding research was called for to facilitate the early intervention on the at risk youth. / Objectives: The present study aimed at exploring the applicability of the western criminal thinking constructs to Hong Kong - Chinese young offenders' population and discovering any indigenous criminal thinking. The relationship of criminal thinking with criminal behavior of youth had been studied also. / Method: 6 focus groups in young offenders' populations generated over 300 criminal thinking related statements. Four clinical psychologists experienced in young offenders’ work had given their opinions and narrowed the statements down into a 146 questions’ assessment. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to extract the indigenous items. These items were put into factor analysis and logistic regression together with the two western scales, namely CSSM and CTS, to see how well the indigenous items and factors could improve the goodness of fit of the model and the explanatory of general and specific criminal behavior of local young offenders. / Results: 14 local items had been generated from exploratory factor analysis. They had further improved the goodness of fit of CSSM, but not CTS, no matter in criminal or school samples. By combining the indigenous items with CSSM, a four factor model with factors namely, Heroism, Attitude towards Justice System, Identification with Criminal Others and Belief in Court’s Leniency toward Youth was yielded. Attitude towards Justice System could extensively explain general, physical violence, property, drug and sex offences. Identification with Criminal Others could explain general, physical violence and property offences. The two indigenous factors had comparable statistically significant classification power as the two factors of CSSM, with Heroism slightly more competent in identifying young criminals of physical violence, and Belief in Court’s Leniency towards Youth as more competent in identifying criminals of drug offences. Similar to the western finding, gender and age as demographic variables had explained most of the variances of criminal behavior and hence the added value of the scales on top of the demographic variables was limited. / Discussion: The current study aimed at exploring the constructs of criminal thinking in local young offenders. While only the constructs related to Attitude towards Justice System and Identification with Criminal Others of CSSM were being validated in Hong Kong - Chinese population, two indigenous criminal thinking constructs had been found. Discussion had been made on the two main elements in local young offenders’ criminal thinking as reviewed by the four factor model, i.e. attitude and expectancy towards justice system as well as need for approval and affiliation with peers. The cultural specific parenting style that might be associated with the thinking constructs were discussed. Directions to utilize the finding on early identification of and psychoeducation on at-risk youth had been highlighted. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Yeung, Yin Yan. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 329-360). / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendixes includes Chinese.