Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Sarah Matthey

Abstract

AbstractJuvenile recidivism is a concern for human service professionals who are dedicated to developing policies aimed at addressing and reducing such recidivism. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of former juvenile delinquents as to how community institutions and resources prevented them from recidivating. Social learning theory was used to frame this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with nine former juvenile delinquents who had experience with community institutions and resource use. Saldana’s inductive coding process was used for data analysis. Nine themes were identified: (a) behavior modification contributed to prevention of recidivism, (b) specialized programs incorporating family involvement may reduce recidivism, (c) receptivity to program connected to prevention of recidivism, (d) interpersonal perceptions connected to involvement with resources prevented recidivism, (e)perceptions from others impacted behavior and the connection to recidivism, (f) being involved in communities helped prevent recidivism, (g) reliable adults prevented recidivism (h) fear of returning to institutions prevented recidivism, (i) desire to become a better person linked to decrease in recidivistic behavior. Initially hesitant towards treatment, former juvenile delinquents ultimately found favorable outcomes through their engagement with community institutions and resources. The results of this study may lead to positive social change by providing information to human service professionals on the importance of incorporating community resources into the design of new initiatives, leading to a reduction of juvenile delinquency recidivism.

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