Date of Conferral

7-19-2024

Date of Award

July 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Dr. Kimberley Blackmon

Abstract

The risk factors of juvenile delinquency and crime fail to acknowledge the systemic injustices, environmental stressors, and challenges youths bring to mentoring programs. Community-based mentoring programs are in place to assist with deterrence and reduction of juvenile delinquency and crime. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand delinquency and crime in adolescents through the theoretical lens of social control theory. The goal was to explore the theories and understand what can be done to counteract the risk factors from the perspective of mentoring professionals. The research questions focused on community-based mentoring programs’ role in an adolescent’s life and perceptions of mentoring youths. Interviews with 12 mentoring professionals from the Long Island area of New York were conducted via Zoom. Data were collected through virtual interviews and analyzed by coding and identifying themes in the data. The key findings that the prevention strategies assisted adolescents in making better choices and thinking about the consequences of their actions before making decisions and that having a positive outlook and an open mind help an individual to build a relationship with those whom they mentor. The study can assist stakeholders in understanding the effectiveness of community-based programs. These data support the need for positive social change through the implementation and evaluation of mentoring programs geared toward counteracting the risk factors.

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