Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hamburg.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg.

The accompanying thesis, written as part of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work, and entitled "Recidivism in Unmarried Mothers: Problems of the Social Work Approach", is designed to make the general public conscious of the part it should play in the prevention and treatment of unmarried motherhood. It is taken as axiomatic that unmarried motherhood, in our culture, is but one presenting facet of a girl's disturbed personality. Social Casework with the unmarried mother is seen to be all the more important, because, if the personality difficulties of the mother are unresolved or heightened by unmarried parenthood, they can tend to produce a repetition of the experience which led to the first pregnancy. The degree of the unmarried mother's intelligence, and the time of her referral to the social agency, are seen as the critical factors which determine whether or not the caseworker is able to form a constructive relationship with her. With this in mind, cases of recidivists known to the Vancouver Children's Aid Society during the year 1946 are examined, with particular reference to (1) the intelligence of the girls concerned, and (2) whether or not they were referred to the agency before, or after the birth of the child. The conclusion is reached that in practice, the degree of the unmarried mother's intelligence Is not the major issue facing the social worker, but that the difficulty lies basically in the weakness of her actual contact with the mother. This weakness is shown to be due to a number of factors: delayed referral; "peculiar personality" of the unmarried mother; emphasis on early establishment of paternity; pressure of work, and lack of psychiatric consultation. It is pointed out that the public, while it has come a long way in modifying its citsorious attitude to illegitimacy, has not yet achieved full understanding of its implications. The resources in the community for the treatment and rehabilitation of the unmarried mother are definitely limited, and at present, the social agency is bearing the full weight of the problem. Various suggestions are made as to the ways and means of remedying the situation. The experience with unmarried mothers on which this study is based, has been obtained primarily while the writer was employed as a social worker for the British Columbia Provincial Field Service. It has been done with full awareness of its deficiencies, and it is hoped that this study will foreshadow further ones which will add the specialized experience of the private agencies to the knowledge which one worker has gained from the more general field of a public agency. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

The treatment of the offender has assumed increasing importance in Canada, as well as in other countries of the Western hemisphere, both because of the statistical rise in the incidence of law violations and because of persistent expressions of dissatisfaction over the results of current penal practices. The recidivistic offender has tended to become the focal point of attention. He symbolizes the failure of official actions to terminate the criminal career, and his persistence in law violation has more recently become a matter of economic interest. At the same time, the impression has become general that the recidivist is likely to be especially dangerous to the community. Consequently, a substantial amount of policy and practice has been developed with special reference to the recidivist. This study is concerned to inquire into the soundness of the rationale which adopts recidivism as an index of criminal personality, a criterion for evaluating specific institutional dispositions, and as a valid basis for developing social policy with reference to the treatment of a very substantial proportion of offenders. Prevailing policies concerning the recidivist have the effect of adding very considerably to the gravity and the duration of the penalties and limitations placed upon the offender. In some instances, the record of recidivism makes it possible for a person to be declared an "habitual criminal", thus making him liable to a sentence which is indeterminate. Despite his possible eligibility for parole, the "habitual criminal" is under a virtual life sentence. Professional disciplines having an interest in the well-being of the individual and of the consequence of official sanctions imposed upon deviants should recognize in the phenomena associated with the disposition of recidivists many critical issues, social, clinical, economic and ethical. The study has been predominantly focussed upon the adult recidivist in Canada, although experience and observations of a relevant nature have been derived from other jurisdictions. This is not a "case study" but is based upon an examination of the main literature in the field of criminology and of penology. Both theoretical and empirically derived sources have been consulted. In consequence of this examination the inescapable conclusion is that recidivism, essentially a statistical concept, should be treated as totally irrelevant to the formulation of social policy. Moreover, there are strong indications that much official behaviour in the treatment of the offender contributes directly and powerfully to recidivistic patterns. Present policy appears to owe much to the unreasoned emotions felt concerning the offender. With so much at stake, it becomes increasingly important that social policy must rest upon rational grounds. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Unviersity of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical referencs (leaves 41-45). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-103). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Robert O. Weagley. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.