Perceptions of family functioning and its impact on juvenile offending.
Date
2009-03-20T07:13:37Z
Authors
Harrison, Leandra
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Crime committed by youth within South Africa is a problem of growing concern.
Family environments are seen as powerful putative factors in the development of
offending behaviour. On the basis of family systems theory, it was postulated that
juveniles are influenced by the reciprocal interactions amongst family members as it
shapes their development. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development illustrates that the
formation of morals is influenced by the quality of relationships within family units.
This study therefore explored juvenile delinquent’s perceptions of their families and the
impact it had on their offending behaviour. The subjective world of these offenders was
focused upon within the qualitative paradigm through an exploration of their
experiences. This method was deemed significant as it attempted to understand these
delinquents in terms of their own definitions of their family lives in order to provide an
in-depth and insightful account into how they perceived their families to have
influenced their behaviour. Eleven juvenile offenders, aged between 15 and 21
attending a diversion programme participated in the study. The research was conducted
in the form of semi-structured individual interviews where various themes relating to
the family were explored. The participants’ responses were recorded and analysed
utilising thematic content analysis. The participants perceived their families to
potentially act as a contributing factor in the development of their criminal behaviour.
Specific aspects, namely different family forms, family relationships, patterns and
response styles, as well as families levels of emotional involvement were all perceived
to have impacted on their delinquent behaviour. Although none of these factors can be
considered in isolation, a complex interplay of these family characteristics may
significantly contribute to the development of asocial behaviour. In contrast to these
findings, areas of contestation also arose from participants’ talk. Despite their
delinquency and the potential contribution of the family, some participants identified
the family to act as a protective factor and thus not influencing their involvement in
criminal acts. Aside from the family, other influences such as peer groups and
community violence were also identified as potential risk factors for juvenile
delinquency. Therefore although an important contributing factor, the family cannot be
considered in isolation when attempting to identify what may lead these juveniles to
engage in criminal acts.
Description
Keywords
Juvenile delinquents, Family, Systems Theory, Family relationships, Family patterns, Family emotional involvement