Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Delinquent identity'

This thesis investigates the nature and the development of a delinquent social identity. Three issues are addressed. These concern the negative identity that results from social comparison processes in school, the role of the peer group in delinquency and the variable nature of the delinquent social identity. One argument of the thesis, which is based on the concepts of self-categorization theory, is that the delinquent social identity develops out of a negative identity because of perceived differences between groups of adolescents in the school in terms of their commitment to academic studies and their attitude towards authority. The first study in this thesis demonstrates that compared to non delinquents, delinquents are more likely to perceive their social status in the school to be low as well as stable, and are more concerned about their reputation among their peers. Also, delinquents are more likely to rationalize against guilt through the techniques of neutralization, are more likely to value unconventional norms and tend to have negative experiences, both at home and in school. Based on social identity theory, this thesis argues that delinquency arises out of a search for an alternative positive identity through " social creativity ", which is only possible through the group. Membership in a delinquent group or a delinquent social identity offers the delinquent a sense of " positive distinctiveness " which is derived from the rejection, redefinition and reversal of conventional norms. It is only through a social identity where members perceive each other as interchangeable and share an interdependency, that such a reversal receives social validation, and that members achieve a sense of self-consistency which becomes part of their reputation. The second study in this thesis confirms that delinquents show a relative preference for a group strategy of derogation of the outgroup for coping with negative social comparison, rather than one which involves an individual strategy of competition, and that this group strategy is more likely to enhance their self-esteem. Delinquents' tendency to reverse conventional norms is demonstrated in the third study of the thesis, which also revealed that this reversal is evident only when delinquents are compared to non delinquents, and that this rejection is not total. These findings not only provide support for Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency but also that of Sykes and Matza who argue that delinquents drift in and out of such behaviours. In fact, this thesis suggests that this drift can be explained in terms of a shift in the salience of identity. Because the delinquent identity is a social identity, it is variable and context-dependent. Differences in attitudes towards authority, rationalizations against guilt and self-derogation can be explained by differences in the salience of the delinquent social identity. The last three studies of the thesis provide evidence of these variations with both self-report and incarcerated delinquents.

Adolescent school violence is a serious health problem that adversely affects the learning process. Prevention of juvenile delinquency and antisocial behavior has become a major field of research and policy making worldwide. The present study has been undertaken in an attempt to study the phenomenon of female juvenile delinquency in the schools in Cyprus since there is a lack of research on this challenging issue and its diverse parameters. The aim of this study has been to examine the extent of the phenomenon of female juvenile delinquency in secondary schools in Cyprus and the role of gender in delinquency. Further, emotional factors precipitating delinquent behavior, specifically the role of depression and traumatic experiences have been examined. The role of ethnicity in a rapidly changing, multicultural society has also been taken into consideration.

This study explores ethnic identity and ethnic culture and the role they play in the lives of young men in gangs. Fifty male youths between the ages of 14 and 20 were interviewed. These youths were of French (10), Haitian (10), Jamaican (10), and Latino (10) ethnicity. Ten youths from a variety of other ethnic backgrounds were also interviewed. All youths were confined in maximum-security detention centers in Montreal, Canada. Participatory observation of males who were full-fledged gang members or affiliated with gang members was conducted at these centers. Analysis for this dissertation was conducted following the Birmingham School perspective and Herbert Gans's theory of symbolic ethnicity. The Birmingham School perspective is used to explore symbolic meaning behind specific styles [i.e. hairstyles, image, demeanor] and the degree to which they are interrelated with these young men's ethnic culture and ethnic identity, and how these various styles are signifiers of resistance or belonging. Herbert Gans's conception of symbolic ethnicity is used to explore ethno-cultural identity and its meaning in gang life. The research shows that these gangs (the French, Haitian, Jamaican, Latino, and youths from a variety of other ethnic backgrounds) are organized along racial and ethnic lines. Latinos were most likely to explicitly identify preservation of ethnic identity and ethnic culture as important components of gang life. This research is exploratory and identifies important issues for further investigation.
Key words. youth gangs, delinquency, Montreal, ethnicity, culture, identity, style.

As a group, Native American youth have elevated rates of delinquency and substance use. However, research specifically examining the etiology of delinquency among Native American youth is sparse. In order to fill this gap, this study utilized a general strain theory (GST) framework integrated with feminist criminological insights and an indigenist stress-coping model (ISCM) to examine the impact of victimization as a source of strain (i.e., interpersonal victimization, sexual assault, and peer assault) on delinquent outcomes (i.e., violent and property delinquency, alcohol and marijuana use) among a sample of Native American youth attending school (and likely residing) on or near Indian reservations. This study utilized secondary data from the third wave of the Drug Use Among Young American Indians: Epidemiology and Prediction: 1993-2006 and 2009-2013 study (N = 2,457). Partial proportional odds (PPO) models were estimated to examine the potential non-linear effects of victimization on delinquency while ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were estimated to test the mediation and moderation hypotheses within GST. Models were estimated for the total sample and for males and females separately to assess for gender differences in GST processes. Special attention was paid to the role of Native American cultural identity as a moderator in the strain - delinquency relationship. Results indicate mixed support for hypotheses drawn from GST.

This study examined the roles of emotion regulation, negative emotional reactivity, callous-unemotional traits, and socioemotional competence (i.e., identity, self-esteem, communication skills, work orientation, empathy) in overt aggression in a sample of detained juvenile offenders. Clusters were formed based on type and level of overt aggression exhibited: reactive, proactive/reactive, and low aggression. The proactive/reactive distinction failed to provide differential relationships with dependent variables when compared to an overall level of overt aggression. Results indicate that adolescents high in overall overt aggression exhibit higher levels of callousunemotional traits and negative reactivity, as well as lower levels of selfconcept and self-esteem when compared to those low in overt aggression. Additionally, youth with high levels of both overt aggression and callous-unemotional traits displayed significantly lower levels of empathy. No significant findings for overt aggression and emotion regulation emerged. Implications for interventions with adolescent offenders as well as future research directions are discussed.

This thesis explores how young resisters and desisters in their teenage years maintain their resistance to and desistance from offending and asks to what extent they are agentic in the process. The term 'resister' refers to those who, according to a self-report survey, have never offended, and the term 'desister' to those who have offended and then ceased for at least twelve months. By situating desisters analytically adjacent to resisters, I have moved towards conceptualising desisters as current non-offenders. Desisters may have shared a past with persisters, as they have both offended. However, desisters share their current experience, that of maintaining non-offending, with resisters. It is this obvious, yet largely ignored, link between young resisters and desisters which underpins the thesis. Two qualitative methods, both of which elicited young people's own perspectives, were employed between 2003 and 2005. Secondary analysis of 112 qualitative interviews with resisters and desisters in their teenage years was conducted and peer led focus groups (in which a young peer, rather than an adult researcher, acted as the facilitator) were held with 52 teenage resisters. Young people's resistance to offending does not feature prominently in the literature. When it does, it is often associated with a state of innocence or passivity, while young desisters are said to 'grow out of' offending. This emphasis on an absence of offending, rather than on actively attained resistance, reflects an adult oriented view. The thesis challenges this by drawing on the sociology of childhood, a theoretical perspective which has not previously been applied to young people's resistance to and desistance from offending and which emphasises young people as agentic. Their agency is evidenced by the findings. Chapters Four and Five report how young people employ numerous strategies of resistance and desistance and Chapter Six how that they face trials and tribulations in maintaining their nonoffending, while Chapter Seven focuses on the 'being' rather than the 'doing' of sustaining non-offending. It is the work of Derrida that enables the argument to be taken a step further. Derrida's (1981) assertion is that binary oppositions are rarely neutral, but that one is the dominant pole. For example, in Western society the first of the following binary oppositions are usually regarded as the dominant or privileged pole: white/black, masculine/feminine, adult/child. In respect of the binary opposition at the heart of the current thesis, namely offender/non-offender, the non-offender is - from an adult perspective at least - the dominant pole and the non-offender is hailed as the norm. By contrast, several findings in the thesis point to the fact that the dominant pole in the binary opposition for young people is the offender rather than the non-offender. First, the discourse of young resisters and desisters suggests a view of the offender rather than non-offender as the norm. Secondly, many resisters and desisters face trials and tribulations, such as bullying, relating to their nonoffending status. Yet, if it were the case that the non-offender was the dominant pole and was privileged by young people (as it is in the adult population), resisters would not be penalised in such ways for not offending. Thirdly, some of the strategies used by resisters, such as involvement in anti-social behaviour, signify an attempt to compensate for their non-offending status. Again, if the non-offender was the dominant pole in the binary opposition, far from resorting to mechanisms to compensate for their non-offending behaviour, this behaviour would be encouraged, as it is by adults. This inverted world has implications for young resisters and desisters. Their resistance is to be understood in the context of an expectation of offending, rather than non-offending. Contrary to the notion of the pull of normality bringing desisters back to a non-offending state, the pull of normality among young desisters - and many resisters - is better understood as being towards offending. Resistance, evidenced by the strategies and trials and tribulations of resisters and desisters, is against this pull. Moreover, as non-offending is the modus operandi in the adult world, to be an adult non-offender requires less effort. For a young person, being a non-offender is more challenging than it is for adults and maintenance of resistance constitutes a struggle not previously reflected in adult representations. Adults, not having taken account of the different modus operandi of the young person's world, have not attributed agency to resistance and have underestimated young people's struggle to maintain resistance. The strategies demanded of resisters and desistcrs to maintain non-offending and the trials and tribulations which they face when they do have heretofore been overlooked.

Fifty teachers and forty-five probation officers participated in this study which was designed to elicit their opinions on critical risk factors that lead youth to criminal behavior. Risk factors identified included: dropping out of school, participating in gang activity, poverty, using drugs (or just the availability of drugs), parental involvement in criminal activity, and the lack of parental supervision.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-113). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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A escola, como um espaço de socialização e de transmissão do conhecimento historicamente acumulado, assume um importante papel na construção da identidade do adolescente, tanto no que se refere à reposição de identidades estigmatizadas, como nas possibilidades de ressignificações com sentido emancipador. Assim, amparado nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da perspectiva histórico-cultural, na qual a singularidade é entendida como um produto da história das condições sociais e materiais do indivíduo, esse estudo tem por objetivo compreender, por meio do método do materialismo histórico dialético, a construção da identidade de adolescentes autores de atos infracionais e o papel da escola nesse processo. Trata-se, portanto, de um estudo qualitativo, que se utilizou de três principais fontes de coletas de dados, quais sejam: os registros dos Livros de Ocorrência Escolares (LOE) das escolas, os processos judiciais disponibilizados pela Vara da Infância e Juventude, bem como as entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os adolescentes. A análise dos dados, por sua vez, foi feita a partir de núcleos de significação apreendidos nos discursos dos adolescentes, em conjunto com a análise documental de dados já coletados por uma pesquisa maior, da qual o presente estudo faz parte. Os dados da pesquisa demonstraram que a escola é um lugar, para maioria destes adolescentes, de reposição de identidade estigmatizada, que sitentiza, antes do ato infracional, na figura do aluno problema e após o ato na figura de aluno infrator. Outras possibilidades de identidades com sentido emancipador lhes são, muitas vezes, negadas. Isso demonstra, portanto, o importante papel mediador da escola na constituição da identidade dos adolescentes autores de atos infracionais, tanto no sentido de repor identidades estigmatizadas por meio de preconceitos e estigmas, como de possibilitar identidades emancipadoras, de maneira a transformar e ressignificar suas trajetórias escolares negativas.
The school, as a space of socialization and transmission of historically accumulated knowledge, assumes an important role in the construction of the identity of the adolescent, both as regards the replacement of stigmatized identities, as in the possibilities of resignification with an emancipatory sense. Thus, based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of the historical-cultural perspective, in which the singularity is understood as a product of the history of the social and material conditions of the individual, this study aims to understand, through the method of dialectical historical materialism, the construction of the identity of adolescents responsible for delinquency episodes and the role of the school in this process. It is therefore a qualitative study that used three main sources of data collection, namely: the records of School Occurrences Books (LOE) of the schools, the judicial processes made available by the Child and Youth Court, as well as semi-structured interviews with adolescents. Data analysis was based on clusters of meaning seized in the discourses of adolescents, together with the documentary analysis of data already collected by a larger research, of which the present study is part. The research data showed that the school is a place, for most of these adolescents, to replace stigmatized identity, which situates, before the infraction act, the figure of the “problem student” - and after the act - in the figure of the “offender student”. Other possibilities of identities with an emancipatory sense are often denied to them. This demonstrates, therefore, the important mediating role of the school in the constitution of the identity of the adolescents responsible for infractions, both in the sense of restoring stigmatized identities through stigma and prejudice, and of enabling emancipatory identities that transform and resignify their negative school trajectories.

This thesis investigates the nature and the development of a delinquent social identity. Three issues are addressed. These concern the negative identity that results from social comparison processes in school, the role of the peer group in delinquency and the variable nature of the delinquent social identity. ¶ ...

碩士
國立成功大學
護理學系碩博士班
97
The prevalence of adolescents’ delinquent behaviors was 20% in Taiwan. The impact of adolescents’ delinquent behaviors severely affects adolescents, their family, and the society. Given the high prevalence of adolescent’s delinquency, adolescents’ perception and explanation on the experience and the consequences of their delinquent behaviors are important to investigate. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of adolescents having delinquent behaviors. Hermeneutic Phenomenology was used in this qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 7 juvenile offenders from a juvenile detention house in southern Taiwan. Data were collected by individual in-depth interviews. Each interview lasted about 90-100 minutes. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis. Three themes were merged from 11 interviews: (1) lacking self-respect; (2) exploring self-identity through delinquency; and (3) searching a dim light in the tunnel. In the journey of exploring their self-identity, adolescents experienced disrespects from others and strived for respect, attention, and care by being delinquent. In the delinquent world, adolescents obtained temporary respect and self-identity, and felt a sense of belongingness. On the other hand, adolescents also experienced a conflict between self value and social norms, and struggled to escape from the dark tunnel. The unconditional love and support from families are the foundations to assist adolescents keeping hope and courage to overcome any possible obstacles in the future. The findings of this study suggest professionals working with juvenile offenders need to be sensitive to observe and realize the real needs and deficiencies of adolescents’ delinquent behaviors, and assist adolescents to find a positive self-identity and prevent from future delinquency.

碩士
國立臺北大學
犯罪學研究所
99
Under the wave of globalization and following the immigrating population of foreign spouses, the number of children of foreign spouses is on the rise gradually and the population grows rapidly. The population structure starts to change when some of the children of foreign spouses enter into the age of junior high schools.Their adaptation to the environment and development in social control and self-control becomes one of the focuses on social issues. The children of foreign spouses experience cross-culture impact and whether if such impact could result in deviant behaviors, merits further study. The study discusses the association between ethnic identity, social control and self-reporting deviant behaviors based on criminological theory. The study adopts self-reporting questionnaire and codes the questionnaire after recovery. The sample scope consists of 237 children of foreign spouses attending the 7th to 9th grade of junior high schools in Taoyuan County, were selected by quota sampling. The samples were analyzed using SPSS 12 and tested with statistical methods including the Chi Square Test of Independence, the Pearson's correlation, t test, and one-way ANOVA. The results attained are described in the follows: 1. Family control is subject to influence from family structure: The education of father has influence over mother control, while father’s financial income has influence over mother control, peer attachment, and school control. The financial income of mothers has influence over mother control, family interactions, and peer attachment. Ethnic gender has significant difference over mother control, school control and peer attachment. 2. The ethnic identity for children of foreign spouses has mediator effect for social control influenced deviant behaviors and the ethnic identity for children of foreign spouses has mediator effect over low self-control influenced deviant behavior. In view of the theoretical implications, the roles and functions of father and mother in a family structure has influence over deviant behavior while ethnics is regarded as the strong factor for crime forecasting, because ethnic groups contain profound ethnic-culture and value-based belief ecology system. In other words, “ethnics” that affect culture, language, custom, and belief, is one of the factors for crime forecasting. Social control shows important impact on the occurrence of deviant behavior through ethnic identity. Children of foreign spouses hold ethnic identity towards their mothers can affect the degree of social bond on their children with respect to emotional attachment. Ethnic identity shows influence on the improvement of language tool use, flow of emotional expression, interpersonal skills, and low self-control over deviant behaviors. Improving links of social bond is the best prevention treatment when facing with an environment flooded with diverse crime incentives. Currently the social-political and educational system have already offered consultation and education to foreign spouses as well as providing after-class counseling for economically disadvantaged groups. The paper recommends a combination of private-sector resources with mutual cooperation to organize activities related to cross-cultural field of learning and to overturn biasing and ideology, respect and tolerate diverse culture. For family communities, strengthen parental relationship and parental education to improve the living environment and enhance community cohesion by creating a friendly environment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-concept of juvenile delinquents and to compare it with the self-concept of non-delinquent adolescents. The aspects of the self and their role in self-concept formation were outlined. Psychosocial and moral development were discussed, as well as factors that affect moral development. Juvenile delinquency was studied. Poverty and lack of parental care stood out as the main causes of juvenile delinquency. The South African juvenile justice system was also investigated. The Adolescent Self-concept Scale was administered to 20 delinquent and 20 nondelinquent adolescents. The results revealed that there is a significant difference between the self-concept of juvenile delinquents and that of non-delinquents. The delinquent group was found to have a low general self-concept. In order to determine how delinquent behaviour influences the self-concept and vice versa, one respondent from the delinquent group was randomly selected and an indepth study was carried out.
Educational Studies
M. Ed. (with specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

碩士
中國文化大學
心理輔導研究所
95
ABSTRACT This study is try to find out: 1. what labels the juvenile delinquent has? 2. what kinds of transformation in juvenile delinquent’s self-identity? 3. how the negative label influences Juvenile Delinquent’s Self-Identity? This study’s outcome is too many negative labels make juvenile behave in a negative way, and even make him becomes juvenile delinquency. The conclusions are: 1. narrative not only change the number of labels, but also transform their characteristics; 2. when juvenile delinquent can has his own definition about anything, he will be bale to construct and reconstruct labels;3. when juvenile delinquent discovers that he has something good, his self-identity can transform in positive way.

M.A.
The young offender's criminal behaviour exerts enormous damage to the social and economical aspects of the country. Exploring the identity construction of young offenders, the decisions and choices they make in breaking into strangers' houses, stealing and hijacking other people's cars, is the focus of this study. Attention will also be focused on exploring how the criminal "career" affects and is affected by their identity construction. It is also the purpose of this study to explore what could be attracting the young offender to embark on a criminal expedition, in spite of the consequences of such activities, which appear to be uninviting and uncomfortable. The study comes about as a result of the misery and 6 trauma experienced by victims of the young offender's criminal activities (Clifford, 1974). People spend a lot of money improving the security systems in their properties with the purpose of barring the offenders from entering their premises, or taking the cars away from them. This, however, does not seem to work most of the time as it has in some cases contributed to the offenders also improving their skills on how to commit crime. There is increased surveillance in department stores, insurance premiums are high and there is an increase in the cost of goods and services. It seems that as crime escalates, more young people are sent to prison. Society also feels that prison is the best option for the young offender. Others would like the death sentence to be imposed to deal with the crime problem. At the moment, prisons are overcrowded with young people, who will be released in a few years' time. The question is whether, at the time of their release will they be able to be reintegrated back to society. What kind of people are we expecting them to be when they become adults? What role will they play in the functioning of the community? Probably the community needs to be informed about what happens in prison, for there is a general assumption that prison is a rehabilitative institution. It is seen as a place where we get rid of troublemakers, who on their release have become good citizens with a brighter future. People perceive a prison as a place that rehabilitates offenders and helps reintegrate them back into society. Whether the prison pursues and achieves this purpose needs to be seen. However, the high rate of recidivism leaves much to be desired. Cronje'et al. (1976) in their study found that a large number of young offenders became recidivists or recidivism can be traced back to juvenile offences

Probation officers report that motivational processes, such as future-orientation and self-concept, are key factors in program participation and success. This dissertation consists of three studies that explored the role of possible selves, a specific form of future-oriented self-concepts, in promoting successful outcomes for youth who are court-ordered to probation. Using survey and administrative data from the Social Processes in Probation Study (SPPS), the first study explored a hypothesized model of how possible selves characteristics affect adolescent probation outcomes (e.g., probation compliance, recidivism, school engagement). This study found that adolescent possible selves were significantly related to probation outcomes, although not always in the manner expected nor as reported for other adolescent populations. Higher counts of possible selves and their characteristics were consistently associated with poorer outcomes for youth on probation. However, further analyses uncovered a complex network of interactions between the characteristics of possible selves, wherein certain combinations of these characteristics transmitted a mixture of beneficial and risky effects for certain outcomes and under certain conditions. Building upon the knowledge gained in the first study, the second study examined the relationship between possible selves and probation outcomes within the context of parental support and probation tactics. Three potential pathways were tested: (A) direct effects, independent of external factors; (B) meditated effects on the relationship of external factors on outcomes; and (C) moderated effects on the relationship of external factors on outcomes. Findings of this study did not support either a mediated or moderated pathway for any of the probation outcomes. However, the data suggest an interaction trend between probation tactics and possible selves for the outcome of rearrests, suggesting that supportive probation tactics may be of importance to lowering risk of rearrest for youth with limited possible selves. For the outcomes of rearrest and of school problems, possible selves had a significant direct effect, even after controlling for perceived parental support and probation tactics. The final study used a grounded theory approach to examine the process through which possible selves translated into behavioral action for adolescents on probation. The data suggest a process involving four phases of action: initial goal development, creation of identity-driven goals, planned action, and sustained progress. During Phase 1, initial goal development occurs as future-oriented thinking emerges following social interactions about the future. During Phase 2, goals integrate with identities to create motivational synergy, helping youth move toward taking action. During Phase 3, goals translate into planned actions through a specific skill set that involves understanding the pathway and steps needed to achieve the goal. During Phase 4, youth engage in sustained pursuit of progress by accessing resources for support, including help to negotiate short-term versus long-term desires, encouragement that bolstered efficacy beliefs, and accountability that communicated that the youth and their goal mattered. Throughout the process, the presence of role models with whom youth identify were important to the development of goals, plans, and perseverance. Implications for practice and policy with this population are discussed.