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Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth
This minor dissertation involves exploratory research by way of in-depth qualitative interviews with two past juvenile offenders exploring the idea of 'possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth. The participants share experiences of their own incarceration as juveniles as w...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Public Law
2020
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| _version_ | 1867614073228623872 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Fernan, Tess |
| author2 | Van Der Spuy, Elrena |
| author_browse | Fernan, Tess Van Der Spuy, Elrena |
| author_facet | Van Der Spuy, Elrena Fernan, Tess |
| author_sort | Fernan, Tess |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This minor dissertation involves exploratory research by way of in-depth qualitative interviews with two past juvenile offenders exploring the idea of 'possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth. The participants share experiences of their own incarceration as juveniles as well as insights gained through their recent working experience with incarcerated youth. This study concerns itself with risk and resilience factors relating to offending behaviour. It is acknowledged that there has been a recent shift in criminological debates with a greater focus on primary prevention efforts in building resilience to anti-social behaviour in a child’s formative years. However, the current study is focused on secondary prevention efforts with a specific focus on incarcerated youth. The well-developed body of work on risk factors is consulted which determines criminal victimisation, family violence, school violence, structural violence in the form of poverty and institutional violence in the form of incarceration as key factors which may contribute to offending behaviour. Acknowledging that the attention to date has largely focused on what past factors may influence or contribute to a criminal trajectory, this study shifts the focus to the idea of 'possible selves’ and the potential that future expectations, fears and hopes can have on preventing further offending behaviour. 'Possible selves’ is a social-psychological construct initially devised by Markus and Nurius in 1986. It is largely an under-developed area of research with only a few key studies undertaken and limited application to delinquent and incarcerated youth. Findings have however indicated that 'possible selves’ do have the ability to influence present and future behaviour, particularly when balance (i.e. goals and fears are developed in the same life domain) and feasible strategies to achieve desired selves and avoid feared selves are developed. Youth offending in the South African context is reviewed to explore the current climate and determine the extent of current interventions focusing on the re-integration of incarcerated youth offenders both during and post-release. The empirical component of this study produced findings across five key themes being risk factors present prior to incarceration, the nature of possible selves of incarcerated youth, the impact of incarceration, possible selves are limited by context and the self and implications for practice of a 'possible selves’ intervention. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31578 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:14.597Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | Department of Public Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Public Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31578 Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth Fernan, Tess Van Der Spuy, Elrena public law This minor dissertation involves exploratory research by way of in-depth qualitative interviews with two past juvenile offenders exploring the idea of 'possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth. The participants share experiences of their own incarceration as juveniles as well as insights gained through their recent working experience with incarcerated youth. This study concerns itself with risk and resilience factors relating to offending behaviour. It is acknowledged that there has been a recent shift in criminological debates with a greater focus on primary prevention efforts in building resilience to anti-social behaviour in a child’s formative years. However, the current study is focused on secondary prevention efforts with a specific focus on incarcerated youth. The well-developed body of work on risk factors is consulted which determines criminal victimisation, family violence, school violence, structural violence in the form of poverty and institutional violence in the form of incarceration as key factors which may contribute to offending behaviour. Acknowledging that the attention to date has largely focused on what past factors may influence or contribute to a criminal trajectory, this study shifts the focus to the idea of 'possible selves’ and the potential that future expectations, fears and hopes can have on preventing further offending behaviour. 'Possible selves’ is a social-psychological construct initially devised by Markus and Nurius in 1986. It is largely an under-developed area of research with only a few key studies undertaken and limited application to delinquent and incarcerated youth. Findings have however indicated that 'possible selves’ do have the ability to influence present and future behaviour, particularly when balance (i.e. goals and fears are developed in the same life domain) and feasible strategies to achieve desired selves and avoid feared selves are developed. Youth offending in the South African context is reviewed to explore the current climate and determine the extent of current interventions focusing on the re-integration of incarcerated youth offenders both during and post-release. The empirical component of this study produced findings across five key themes being risk factors present prior to incarceration, the nature of possible selves of incarcerated youth, the impact of incarceration, possible selves are limited by context and the self and implications for practice of a 'possible selves’ intervention. 2020-03-12T14:56:36Z 2020-03-12T14:56:36Z 2019 2020-03-12T14:43:16Z Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31578 eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law |
| spellingShingle | public law Fernan, Tess Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| title_full | Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| title_fullStr | Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| title_short | Imagining ‘possible selves’ as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| title_sort | imagining possible selves as an intervention strategy for incarcerated youth |
| topic | public law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31578 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fernantess imaginingpossibleselvesasaninterventionstrategyforincarceratedyouth |