Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-164). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

abstract: Prior research has found links between family environment and criminal outcomes, but research is lacking on why these factors often occur together within families. Parental criminality, family size, and family disruption have been analyzed as risk factors for juvenile delinquency, but their relationships with each other have gone largely unexplored. This thesis explores the relationship between parental criminality, having children, number of children, and patterns of residence with children. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth '97 are used to associate likelihood of having children, likelihood of having any children out of residence, percent of children in residence, and number of children with arrest prevalence and self-reported offending. Results were generally supportive. Moderate effect sizes were found for likelihood of having children, with large effects on likelihood of having any children out of residence. Moderate effects were found for percentage of children in residence, and large effects were found for number of children. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2011

The main purpose of the current study is to evaluate the deterrent effects of the two juvenile law revisions in Japan. The time series data of delinquency rates in Japan (1965-2014) are investigated through auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modeling. Results demonstrates that there are insignificant deterrent effects of the revisions on the whole juvenile delinquencies, repeat offenses, or murder cases, after controlling for serial dependency and other factors. In terms of practical implications, these results suggest that the public and politicians should acknowledge that harsher policies are less likely to deter juvenile delinquency. While the current macro-level analysis is informative in that it provides a big picture of delinquency in a society, further research efforts are needed to explain why the law revisions failed to deter juvenile delinquency.

This study deals with a six month experiment of group work with a delinquent adolescent gang, together with the more general implications of the teen-age gang problem for the community. Throughout the thesis extensive use has been made of the writer's process records on this specific gang. Background information on sixteen of the gang members was obtained from a detailed study of case work, Juvenile Court and school records. The thesis begins with the sociological background of gang formation in disorganized areas. Special attention is given to the psychological needs of the individual which are satisfied through gang association. The process of encouraging a specific gang to become part of an agency program and the activities of this gang as a club within the agency are then discussed. The group work techniques employed and the various problems encountered are described in considerable detail. An evaluation of the six months' contact with the gang is presented. In setting forth the implications of the study, emphasis is given to the general philosophical requirements for the individual group work practitioner, the pitfalls which are to be avoided, and practical suggestions on such subjects as discipline, skills etc. The question of the responsibility of the private group work agency in the area of delinquent gangs is considered in detail and attention is given to the implications of a policy of dealing with gangs upon agency program, house rules, membership etc. The need for community coordination and a variety of community resources is stressed. A part of the study is devoted to examples found in various cities of community coordination to deal with delinquent gangs. A brief picture of the present stage of development in this regard in Vancouver is also given. The general principles of effective community organization in meeting the problem of gangs is set forth and the various alternatives in community-wide programs are discussed. A brief outline of a suggested plan for a community-wide organization to coordinate the treatment of delinquent gangs in Vancouver concludes the thesis. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study is primarily concerned with the early recognition of symptomatic behaviour in school, and subsequent treatment of the child who may become delinquent. It is based upon the premise that the only effective method of control of juvenile delinquency lies in prevention. The findings are based upon investigation of a sample group of delinquents from the Vancouver Juvenile Court, and a smaller group of delinquents from the same sample, studied in the city schools. The progressive development of delinquency is traced, from its origin in emotional factors, through the school years, to the ultimate conflict with the law. The study indicates the behaviour characteristics of many pre-delinquent children in school, and the extent to which these attributes are recognizable as symptomatic patterns. The attitudes of teachers toward troublesome behaviour in school are discussed with reference to the feasibility of a collaborative approach, between the social worker and the teacher, to the problem of prevention. In its theoretical aspects, the study draws from reports of current programs in delinquency control, with emphasis upon their preventive content. The analysis of the various control measures shows their limited recognition of the deeper-lying emotional basis of delinquent behaviour. An outline for a preventive program is presented. It is based upon the conditions indicated by the study, and the resources available to such a program in the city of Vancouver. The outline suggests how a preventive program may be launched on an experimental basis, through a reorganization of existing agencies and services. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of a PhD in Community Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / South Africa is one of the most violent countries with most crimes committed by the youth. Following conviction and sentencing of a young person the transition is normally very difficult for the family. It may indicate a need for change in order to find harmony. The study examined resilience in 50 Xhosa speaking families who have a juvenile delinquent that has been sentenced for a period of not less than 1 year. In each family one parent (n=50) and one adolescent (n=50) were interviewed. The researcher used self-report questionnaires to access information. A standardized questionnaire was used for gathering information regarding family composition, employment, level of education, income, age and gender of the respondent’s nuclear family members. The questionnaire had an open-ended question which asked for the respondents’ opinion on which factors or strengths they believed helped their family through the difficult time. The following standardized questionnaires were also used; Family Hardiness Index (FHI), Social Support Index (SSI), Relative and Friend Support Index (RFSI), Family Time and Routine Index (FTRI), Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC), Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI 8) and Family Crises Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale (F-COPES). The key coping strategies used by individuals, spouses, parents and siblings were reliance on spirituality, seeking support of relatives and friends, sharing with family and remaining positive in the midst of adversity. There is however a need for more research to be done in a wider population of South Africa so as to allow for generalizability of the findings.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / Juvenile Delinquency is not an inherent condition, but it is learned through association, imitation, pressure, needs, wants, influence and desires. There is a growing tendency in South Africa of juvenile involvement in crime. Somehow, it is believed that the juveniles are motivated by the Bill of Rights, Section 28 of the South African Constitution, which prohibits co operative punishment. In the year 2008 statistics of Empangeni Magistrates court, 15 % of juveniles appeared in court for different offences. In the year 2009 juvenile cases showed a 21 % increase and in 2011 they increased by 32 %. It is believed that if nothing is done, the economy of the country will never improve. In this study 25 Juvenile offenders were interviewed. 2 case studies of juvenile offenders who had been arrested and charged were done and 3 parents of juvenile offenders who had been arrested then successfully put on non custodial rehabilitation were interviewed. The results proved that causes are systemic. This explains that the whole community is part of the causes. Therefore, the involvement of the community is essential in the prevention of juvenile crimes. The revolutionary awareness campaigns around Umhlathuze are essential. The offender rehabilitation organizations should be given slots at schools, community meetings and conferences. Juveniles with antisocial behavior should be treated for the prevention of crime as a career. The Department of Social Development should be given staff to enable to plan, implement and evaluate policies and programs. The recreational constructive facilities should be offered in an environment that is safe. Adequate support should be given to parents as well. The South African Police need community support in this area.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Criminology at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 1992. / The investigation aims at analyzing, describing and explaining the treatment of juvenile offenders committed to Vuma Reform School by various South African juvenile courts. The analytical method of research is used to describe methods and programmes of treatment in order to gain insight into the treatment programme of Vuma Reform School. The documentary study technique, supplemented with an unstructured interview technique is used to analyse data consisting of one-hundred juveniles and sixty-six officials - The farmer were committed to the reform school between January 1988 and May 1990, and the officials are in employment by June 1990. Two institutions form the basis of treatment of juvenile offenders, namely the juvenile court and the reform school. Findings of the investigations are as fallows :— (a) The juvenile court has a significant role in adjudicating a convicted juvenile. The legal provisions of dealing with such juveniles and presentence investigation reports presented by social workers lay the foundation on which treatment should be based. (b) The majority of juvenile offenders under investigation were convicted of property re1 ated offences and, to a lesser extent, offences against persons and administration of justice. (c) Vuma Reform School's Internal structure consists of four divisions namely, the management, professional, administrative and auxiliary divisions. (d) The majority of personnel at Yuma Reform School are unqualified to carry out the treatment functions of the Reform School. Further, there is no psychological division to carry out psychological methods of treatment and psychological tests; and hence no vocational training programme is provided for. (e) The treatment programme of Vuma Reform School falIs into three phases, namely: admission, treatment and education and preparation for release. Each of these phases has individual programmes. For example, the admission phase has the reception and orientation programme; the treatment and education phase has academic and educational programmes, recreational, religious instruction, food and clothing, and discipline and control programmes. Lastly, the preparation for release phase has leave of absence, family units and correspondence and reconstruction services within the scope of treatment. Recommendations of the investigation are as follows :— (a) The status of the juvenile court should be upgraded, conditions of parental and legal representation of juveniles be reviewed and presentation of the presentence investigation report be made obligatory to all juvenile court trials. (b) Alternative sentences other than whipping be employed more oftenly by juvenile courts. (c) The composition of the Board of Management be broadened and training of personnel be adopted as a matter of policy. (d) The treatment programme of Vuma Reform School be improved by employment of clinical psychologists; provision of literacy classes for juveniles who need functional knowledge; provision of vocational training, improved recreational faci1ities and employment of a chaplain and active involvement of juveniles into the religious instruction programme. / University of Zululand

The concept of social control has been used in sociology since the foundations of the discipline were laid almost a hundred years ago. At the turn of the century social control developed two distinct orientations. The concept has referred to the process of socialization or how individual behavior is regulated in primary group relations, and alternatively, to how the large macrosocial institutions such as education, religion, law and the political system maintain order in society. Early research in social control focused on the development of inventories of societal means of social control. Changing standards of science, however, forced an abandonment of that perspective and research became more directly concerned with the socialization process. Most recently, social control arguments have centered upon the primary group aspects of socialization and the relation of that socialization to delinquency and have been unattentive to larger social institutions and secondary group factors that also influence behavior. The version of social control theory developed by Travis Hirschi in "Causes of Delinquency" (1969) has been shown to be an exemplary model of social research. He claimed that in early childhood many youths form a bond to society which prevents some of them from becoming involved with delinquency while others who fail to form a bond become delinquent. Hirschi's theory was strongly supported by the research he conducted which showed that delinquency involvement was inversely related to the strength of an individual's relationship to society. Despite the importance of Hirschi's research there is mounting evidence that various institutional experiences such as tracking and grading in school operate as contingencies experienced by adolescents which affect their ability to pursue the legitimate careers which is central to Hirschi's thesis and and which may force some youths into patterns of delinquent behavior. Similarly, youngsters who come from different positions in the class stl'ucture may vary in their likelihood of obtaining access to high status positions or conversely participating in delinquency if they fai1. Yet the impacts of educational policies and the effects of social class background have not been incorporated into social control arguments. This dissertation extends the explanatory model developed by Hirschi. First, it argues that the socialization levels reached by youngsters in primary group socialization are sometimes altered by subsequent experiences. Secondly, it contends that those changes are related to school experiences and social class backgrounds of youths. Finally, it avers that those changes increase or decrease the likelihood that adolescents will become involved in delinquent behavior. The data for this research was obtained from the Marion County Youth Study, an ongoing survey of a panel of male youths who were high school juniors in 1964. A twenty-five percent random sample of the panel in 1967 comprised the group used in this research. The group's 1964 responses were identified, and this served as the basis for the data analysis. The first part replicated Hirschi's contentions that the bond was formed in the family. One element, not fonned in 1964, emerged prior to the youth's graduation. Secondly, this research diverged from Hirschi's contention that social class was not related to the levels of bond achieved by youths or delinquency. Delinquency and two of the four elements of the bond were found to be related to social class. Third, the social bond was found to be moderately unstable and change was somewhat related to the educational and social background of the youth. Finally, these changes in bond and secondary group factors were translated into significant variations in the delinquency rates for the youths who comprised the analysis groups.

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg. / WHSLYP2017