ERIC Number: EJ972899
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1050-9674
EISSN: N/A
Negative Peer Cultures in Juvenile Institutional Settings: Staff as Couch Coaches or Couch Slouches
Ahonen, Lia; Degner, Jurgen
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, v51 n5 p316-330 2012
Juveniles in institutional treatment lack the skills to cope with societal expectations, rules, and moral values. If not prevented by staff, bonds are established with other deviant youth and the placement serves as a perfect "school of crime." This article aims to explore staff strategies to prevent negative peer cultures, as well as their theoretical foundations and relation to staff academic level and professional experience. Data were collected at eight Swedish institutions, using the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory 2000, questionnaires, observations, and interviews with clinical staff. Results show that most facilities lack negative-peer-culture strategies, but this is not related to academic level or experience. The importance, in terms of influencing the residents, of theoretical knowledge concerning psychological group-processes, peer culture, and moral development, as these relate to staff-supervised or unsupervised time, is discussed.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Institutionalized Persons, Correctional Institutions, Juvenile Justice, Peer Relationship, Interpersonal Competence, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience (Psychology), Moral Values, Moral Development, At Risk Students, Social Networks, Negative Attitudes, Staff Development, Knowledge Level, Group Dynamics, Socialization, Prosocial Behavior, Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A