The purpose of the degree project is to create a deeper understanding of juvenile delinquency and young offenders.This is done by studying and analyzing how juvenile delinquency and young offenders are presented in official documents and which innovations have been used and proven to be successful for the young offenders.The authority studied in the work is the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen).   Adolescence is the most crime intensive period in life according to the police.Most young people who commit crimes only do so on a few occasions between the ages of 13 and 17.Only a small group of young people, on the other hand, commit the majority of crimes. Both boys and girls commit and are exposed to crime.However, it has been shown that boys commit more serious crimes compared to girls.Young people who commit crimes tend to be a group that is difficult to change, which leads to a more complicated treatment and rehabilitation.Without intervention, the risk of recidivism for young people who commit criminal acts is between 60-80%.   With regard to juvenile delinquency, it is important to pay attention to and offer support at an early stage.This is primarily to reduce criminal development, which thus also reduces the risk factors around various forms of serious problems.In the process of dealing with children and young people who violate the law, there are different aspects for society.Partly the preventive work but also the responsibility to react to crime.This form of problem in society is complex, which means that it is important that the relevant authorities take their responsibility. When working with young offenders, it is important to take into account the current risk and protection factors that occur. A risk factor can be described as a characteristic, process or relationship that increases the risk and probability of developing a certain behavior, in this case a norm-breaking behavior. In the assessment of risk factors, it is important to also analyze factors that contribute to the young person not developing a norm-breaking behavior, referred to as protective factors. The protective factors can be seen as a buffer or mechanism that can change the effects of being exposed to a risk. Theories in criminology emphasize the importance of parenthood in influencing criminal behavior.Parents are an important part of influencing the social and antisocial behavior of children and young people.The probability of criminal behavior increases for the children and young people where the parents fail to correct deviant behavior.

The purpose of this field study is; through caregivers' description of their community, to gaina greater understanding of caregivers' experiences of raising children in areas with high gang crime in the Cape Flats, South Africa. This is achieved through ethnography and qualitative interviews with six caregivers. By analytically reviewing empirical data using theories of social constructionism and liberating pedagogy this study wants to emphasise caregivers' experiences as a source of knowledge on how to prevent children from gang involvement and how to support caregivers in areas with high gang crime. The main findings of the study indicate that the family is one of the most significant risk and protective factors. Caregivers affected by poverty, substance abuse and crime were identified as major risk factors for children's gang involvement. While education, faith and support of caregivers, and other caring adults were found to be the major protective factors.Social interventions need to be increased, focusing on caregivers and their shared environment.By supporting and empowering caregivers, children have a greater chance of resisting gang involvement. This can be achieved through parenting programs and support groups for at-risk caregivers.

Juvenile delinquency is a social problem that is often discussed amongst the press and also criminologists. The aim of this study is to examine and mainly come to a closer understanding of what causes youths to become delinquent. Therefore, this study is going to examine the risk- and protective factors regarding juvenile delinquency. Furthermore, this study also examines what efforts are efficient regarding the preventive work of juvenile delinquency. The method used in this study is a systematic literature study based upon previous research interpreted by two theories, Merton’s strain theory and Hirschi’s social bond theory. To fulfill the purpose of the study a qualitative approach has been adapted. The results of this study shows that central factors such as leisure, school and the youth’s family and social network can be a risk factor as well as a protective factor depending on the social available support and context. Moreover, this study also shows that the adults regarding the youth’s life, both personal and professional, have a considerable responsibility over the youth in the efficient preventive work against juvenile delinquency. Also, a joint effort and collaboration between the parties is necessary to work against juvenile delinquency in an efficient way.

The purpose of this voyage is to explore the phenomenon of resilience with a South African child survivor of abuse. This research may be used to foreground elements in narrative conversations that can be employed to enhance resilience in other child survivors of abuse. The collaborator was identified using a constructivist approach of selection, incorporating the Indigenous Knowledge of the staff involved in the care of abuse survivors in a place of safety. The selection work session led to the generation of an operationalisation of the concept resilience, as well as an observation schedule for resilience specific to this environment. A 16-year-old female collaborator was identified as resilient for the purpose of this research. A number of in-depth interviews with the collaborator were conducted whilst the collaborator was in the place of safety, as well as after her move to a children’s home. Narratives about the collaborator’s life were generated and computer aided qualitative data analysis was undertaken. This facilitated the generation of networks of codes which allow for the representation of the particular resilience processes present in the collaborator. In this study the ability to adapt and utilise new environments is identified as a major factor in the collaborator’s resilience. / Dissertation (MEd(Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

This study investigated factors promoting academic resiliency within Latino students at an urban high school in the Los Angeles area. The criteria of “on-track” to graduate served as the operational definition of academic resilience. A total of 92 students completed the survey. Of these, 57 were on-track to graduate and 35 students were “not on-track” to graduate. The California Healthy Kids Survey: Resiliency & Youth Development Module (WestEd, 2008a) was the instrument employed to obtain quantitative data using three external protective factors (caring relationships, high expectations, and meaningful participation) and three internal protective factors (social competence, autonomy and sense of self, and sense of meaning and purpose). An additional demographic section was also included. A t-test for independent samples indicated a significant mean difference between Latino students on-track to graduate and not on-track to graduate for two of the protective factors: participants on-track to graduate reported a stronger sense of meaning and purpose and higher expectations than did Latino students not on-track to graduate. A Pearson Correlation matrix showed that each of the three primary relationship pairings was significantly correlated. A chi-square test determined that gender and on-track to graduate were found to be independent of each other, as were various Latino origins and academic resiliency. The findings revealed no significant difference between academic resiliency and household composition, languages spoken, or maternal/paternal educational level. Furthermore, Latino participants born in another country were more likely to graduate than Latino students born in the United States.

No description available.

Violence in all forms poses a concern because of associations with multiple adverse effects including injuries and mental health problems. There is however limited data on violence in general and youth violence in particular in Ghana. To explore the nature and scope of youth violence in Ghana, we used the nationwide Global School-based Health Survey, conducted among senior high school students in Ghana, to explore risk and protective factors at the individual, family, and environmental levels associated with sexual and physical violence victimization. A fifth of these students reported being forced to have sex in their lifetime while two out of five had been a victim of a physical attack in the year preceding the survey. In final multivariate analysis, for sexual violence victimization, history of sexual activity with or without condom use at last sex, feeling sad or hopeless, and being a victim of bullying and electronic bullying were identified as risk factors, while having friends who were not sexually active was protective. Independent risk factors for physical violence victimization were attempting suicide in the last year, alcohol use in the past month, and bullying other students in the past month. Parent respect for privacy just reached significance as a protective factor for physical violence victimization in the final model. Recognition of the magnitude of violence victimization among Ghanaian students and associated factors must be used to guide development and implementation of appropriate concrete measures to prevent and address the problem. .

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialarbetare inom socialtjänsten, Individ- och familjeomsorgen, IFO, arbetar med olika skyddsfaktorer hos barn i åldrarna 0 - 20 år som växer upp i en svår hemmiljö, exempelvis föräldrar med missbruksproblematik eller familjevåld. I studien användes en kvalitativ metod i form av individuella intervjuer med sju socialarbetare som idag arbetar som utredare med barn och unga inom socialtjänsten eller som nyligen har arbetat som det. Studien genomsyras av de teoretiska utgångspunkterna gräsrotsbyråkrat, handlingsutrymme samt barnperspektivet. Resultatet visade att det finns flera faktorer som påverkar arbetet med skyddsfaktorer, till exempel föräldrar och arbetsplatsen. Socialarbetarna arbetar med barnet, föräldrarna samt nätverket. Nätverket var en stor del av arbetet med skyddsfaktorer. I resultatet framkom det även att samverkan med andra aktörer är viktig i arbetet men att det inte alltid genomförs. Slutsatsen som kunde dras var att klienter kan ha förutfattade meningar om socialtjänsten vilket gör att de ställer sig negativa till insatser vilket skapar en problematik när det gäller arbetet med skyddsfaktorer. Arbetet med skyddsfaktorer är viktigt för att barn ska må bra. / The purpose of the study was to investigate how social workers within the social services, Individual and family care, IFC, works with various protective factors with children at the age of 0 - 20 that grow up in a difficult home environment, for example parents with substance abuse problems or family violence. The method that was used in the study was a qualitative method in the form of individual interviews with seven social workers that work as investigators of children at the social services or social workers that previously have worked as investigators. The study is permeated by the theoretical points of grassroots bureaucracy, room for maneuver and the child perspective. The result showed that there are various factors that affect the work with protective factors, for example the parents and the workplace. The social workers work with children, parents and the network. The network was a big part of the work with protective factors. Cooperation with other actors is important in the work according to the social workers, but this doesn't always happen. The conclusion that could be drawn was that clients have preconceptions about the social services, which leads to negative clients toward contribution which creates problems with the work with protective factors. The work with protective factors is important so that children feel good and therefore should the positive side of the social services show.

In recent years, Europe has witnessed a flow of refugees from war struck areas who seek asylum in various European countries, where Sweden is one of the recipient country. A large portion of these refugees comprise of unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs). Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine how unaccompanied refugee minors have the conditions in Malmo when it comes to individual health and lifestyle (tobacco, alcohol and drug use) and social environment (absence of family, living situation, school, social support and future prospects) as compared to the general population of the same age; and also, if these conditions could possibly put them at a risk to encounter or commit a crime. Method: The data is collected using quantitative survey questionnaires distributed to URMs (N=30). The data of the general population has been obtained through Region Skåne. Results: The findings indicate that in comparison to the general population, URMs report high level of ill-health, tobacco use, access to narcotics and low social support, which are termed as risk factors. The institute of school, however, is termed a protective factor for the URMs, where they score almost equivalent to the general population in terms of school satisfaction and better than them in terms of help and support from the teachers. The implication of the findings are discussed further in the paper.

LGBTQ individuals have many risk factors and have difficulty navigating going through school because of all the social issues. This study is an autoethnography that looks into the perceived protective factors of a gay male educator. I was challenged to change my dissertation to share my story of being a teacher and dealing with many different risk factors. My committee introduced me to autoethnography and shortly after, I was speaking with a student when the topic of the “It Gets Better” campaign came up. The student said to me, “Prove it.” My dissertation has been a living document with many changes. However, this is my truth of having to navigate being an educator in a small town and being gay. While risk factors are always present for LGBTQ individuals, the focus here is on the positive. The underlying explorations involve going back into the closet for my job, reflections, support systems, and how/why my life is perceived to be better.