Browsing by Subject "antisocial behaviour"

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    Institutionalization as a contributing factor in antisocial behaviour : implications for statutory social work practice
    (1987) Clarke-Mcleod, Peter George; Isaacs, Gordon
    This study looks at the role of statutory social work practice within the framework of current South African legislation. The implications of this legislation for persons exhibiting antisocial behaviour were examined in the light of institutional and community-based management options. An overview of the literature is presented in order to place the concepts of institutional care, community-based options and legal reform in perspective. These literature studies provided the framework for an exploratory survey of 70 purposely sampled statutory social work clients, with a view to re-examining institutionalization as a possible contributing factor in their antisocial behaviour. Using a structured interview schedule, the Researcher elicited information concerning the respondents' histories of institutionalization, their evaluations of its effects and other possible factors contributing to their antisocial behaviour. The outcome of the study confirmed the major research question, namely that institutionalization could be regarded as a contributing factor in antisocial behaviour. Conversely, the findings reflected major literature surveys which stated that institutionalization has an adaptive potential for certain client systems. Results flowing from both negative and positive factors are mediated by the characteristics of the institution; by those who are institutionalized, and by other factors which precede, coexist with or follow institutionalization. The study supports the preferential use of community-based alternatives in statutory social work as well as providing guidelines for institutional reform and future research.
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    The Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury and an Investigation of Behavioural, Emotional and Executive Functioning in a Sample of Male Young Offenders
    (2021) Steenkamp, Nina Simone; Schrieff, Leigh
    Introduction: Previous research describes significant associations between criminal offending behaviour and traumatic brain injury (TBI). In young offenders, particularly, TBI is significantly more prevalent than in the general youth population. This association might be explained by the fact that key TBI sequelae (e.g., aggression, behavioural and cognitive impulsivity, emotional dysregulation) can place individuals at risk for criminal offending. However, at least two critical questions remain relatively under-investigated: Is there crossnational variability in the prevalence of TBI in young offenders and in the emotional, behavioural, and cognitive profile of young offenders with and without TBI? Few studies report on prevalence of TBI in young offender populations from low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), and fewer describe the neuropsychological profiles of TBI-afflicted young offenders from LMICs. Method: Participants were a South African sample of 25 young offenders and 56 non-offender controls. Conducting such investigations in South Africa is valuable because (a) crime rates, particularly those related to violent offences, are higher in this country than elsewhere in the world, and (b) the prevalence of TBI in South Africa is three times the global rate. All participants were administered self-report measures of emotion regulation, aggression, antisocial behaviour, as well as standardized tests of various executive functions (planning, cognitive flexibility, generative fluency, inhibition, problem solving, and rule learning/maintenance) from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) battery. I also gathered self-report information about their history of TBI, including whether it was accompanied by loss of consciousness (LoC). Results: Prevalence of TBI was higher in offenders (n = 18/25; 72%) than in non-offenders (n = 24/56; 43%). Offenders reported experiencing more severe TBI: The distribution of TBI with LoC was significantly different across offender and non-offender groups, p < .001. Analyses detected significant main effects of offender status on all outcomes; significant main effects of TBI on emotion regulation, aggression, and antisocial behaviour; and significant offender x TBI interaction effects on emotion regulation and aggression, ps < .036. Conclusion: These findings are broadly consistent with previous studies in this literature. Hence, the present study confirms the importance of understanding associations between TBI and offending (particularly in LMICs) and how the co-occurrence of the two is predictable and can have cumulative effects on affect, behaviour, and cognition. Because sustaining a TBI is preventable, describing the risk for negative outcomes and the socioeconomic costs thereof can inform policy development, rehabilitation planning, and initiatives to reduce recidivism rates.