Prime Reasons Behind Youth Criminality In The United Kingdom - Essay Example

Prime Reasons Behind Youth Criminality In The United Kingdom 1. Title ‘Investigating prime reasons behind youth criminality in United Kingdom.’ 2. Background to the study and research aims Youth criminality has been a major global concern with United Kingdom showing equally high rates of crimes in young population. Where is a vast literature available on identifying the reasons behind increasing rate of youth criminality with research addressing various identified areas singularly, there is limited evidence of what interventions should have been designed as preventive measures to avoid such inclination to criminality in the first place. For this reason, this research tends to focus on holistic discussion regarding primary reasons leading to crimes in youth and also identifying the dominating themes acting as the major trigger in juvenile crimes. Some of the major reasons identified include poverty, social deprivation, family background, ethnic violence, peer pressure, alcoholism, substance abuse and psychotic illness (Ludwig, Duncan and Hirschfield, 2001; Anderson, Cesur and Tekin, 2012; Smith, 2012). A research conducted by UserVoice (2011) investigates if factors like readily available employment, proper housing facility, healthy family life, compliance to regulations and public policies, suitable sentencing strategies and accurate diagnosis of psychotic problems may lead to resolution of high crime rates in UK. Where there is an ample research available regarding factors leading to criminal behaviour in youth individually, limited research refers to dominating themes and major social factors that contributing to risks to mental health of existing youth. The aim of this research is to identify how existing juvenile and adolescent criminals are lead onto the path of criminality in a particular community and how community structure, public policies’ outlook and access to social justice system can curtail these risks (Bennett and Hollway, 2004; Jansson, 2007; Ross, Duckworth, Smith, Wyness, and Schoon, 2010). For this purpose, it is important to consider views of young individuals who have already served a minor sentence in order to draw a social and legal framework having a holistic approach that can assist in reducing the instances of crimes in the first place. 3. What kind of research methods would be most useful for your topic? A mixed research methodology comprising of qualitative as well as quantitative research will be used. The qualitative part of study will employ primary inductive thematic analysis through which emergent themes will be identified and coded with the data (Bazeley, 2007; Charmaz, 2006). This method involves free flowing of data and allows interviewers to identify more than one causative factors leading to criminal behaviour in selected subjects. The participants will be selected through purposive sampling according to preselected criteria complying with the research questions (Bazeley, 2007). The same sampling method also allows selection on the basis of theoretical saturation as addition of new participants is unlikely to add new insights to predetermined research questions. In addition to that, snowball sampling will also be used to assist further recruitment of subjects through chain referrals (Bazeley, 2007; Charmaz, 2006). This method will allow access to a relevant population that is usually not reachable through social services or law enforcement authorities’ data. The research design is appropriate for the research objective as it allows access to the desired population and further assists in investigating factors contributing to their diversion towards crimes in early age. Simultaneously, another sample of participants will be drawn from families mainly siblings and cousins, of those who have spent at least six months of jail sentence in the past two years. The reason for including this part is to allow views of general population indirectly linked with youth crimes in the research and investigating circumstances leading to committing crimes at such young age. In order to avoid bias of misstatement from two members of the same family, both samples will be drawn through stratification of the population. 3.1 Sampling Principles & Procedures Through purposive sampling, a sample of 30 subjects per group will be gathered with the help of local social services agency located in Manchester having data of juvenile criminals who have already spent a sentence of at least six months in prison and are currently on probation. The purpose of using probation factor is to evaluate effects of prison sentence on intent of recurrence of crimes by the subjects. Using this method means that only a limited population who have gone through the phase of facing the precursors and aftermath of crimes will be assessed according to inclusion criteria. Further inclusion criteria includes age bracket to be in between 15-21 years. Same criteria will be utilised to select second group comprising of family members of the individuals that have spent prison sentences during the age of 15- 21 years and belong to the same age group. However, it will be ensured that participants of the second samples do not have any criminal record themselves and were only involved in witnessing the living circumstances of their family members. The exclusion criteria will involve multiple and lengthy sentences exceeding the period of 2 years. Also, subjects that have been diagnosed with severe cases of depression will also be excluded as the research mainly relies on subject’s objective evaluation of causes behind their behaviour and repercussions of such behaviour. Furthermore, patients of other cognitive impairments shall also be excluded. Also, no stratification will be performed on the basis of ethnicity. Once the criteria has been established, the local social services agency having data of young individuals having spent a sentence of at least six months in last three years will be obtained. Along with that, details of their medical history will also be obtained so that inclusion criteria can be followed duly. The given list will be discussed with psychological clinicians and social workers in order to select the most relevant participants. Once ascertained, the participants will be contacted via telephonic conversation followed by official letter, and requested for participation in this research. Individuals showing reluctance to participate will also be visited by the administrators of the research and be given explanation about the objective and contents of the research along with their potential future benefits. After the desired samples have been selected, they will be compared in order to ensure that general social circumstances are uniform in both the groups. The research participants will then be made aware of the research objectives and approach of questions before commencing interviews. It is important to note that findings of the research are more applicable to the population that is at risk of committing crimes due to social factors than general population therefore generalisation and applicability of research findings may be a concern. However, the outcomes of the research may indicate transformations required in local policy framework and community-based interventions for avoiding crimes in the selected local settings. At the given point of time, this sampling error cannot be eliminated. On the other hand, it will be tried to have an equal representation of male and female participants in both the sample so that only social contexts such as family history, social status, substance dependence etc., can be examined irrespective of gender differences. 3.2 Data Collection Methods The purpose of this research is to examine social situations leading to inclination towards crime in youth. In order to investigate these areas, participants from both samples will be either interviewed at their residences or any other mutually agreed location. In order to ensure that confidentiality is maintained, all the participants will be interviewed individually and separately. The questions asked from both the samples will be same with slight contextual differences i.e. first sample will be asked questions about themselves whereas second group will be asked questions about their family members. Important elements being discussed in the semi-structured interviews will address areas like general behaviour (general level of stress and depression, circumstances leading to delinquency), family history and background (i.e. social status, family income level, type of parenting, relations with siblings, presence of single parent or both, parental conflicts, family size, child abuse and parent’s crime history if any), nature of relations with peers (i.e. general level of social acceptance, popularity, status in educational settings, general count of friends etc), education (level of education acquired at the time of committing a crime and current level of education), nature of community, substance dependence (i.e. first exposure to alcohol and drugs if any, frequency of exposure, was the crime committed due to this exposure, current frequency), and effectiveness of local authorities (Farrington, n.d; Gorman-Smith, Tolan, Loeber and Henry, 1998). Furthermore, a close-ended questionnaire will also be filled by the participants of both groups assessing the frequency and severity of above mentioned factors and their contribution to criminal behaviour as viewed by participants of both groups. For this purpose, the questionnaire will comprise of ten questions per dimension/ causative agent. The questionnaire would yield total of 40 points. The survey questionnaire will be influenced by Silverberg Parental Monitoring Scale that will use 5-Point Likert Scale from ‘never’ to ‘always’ for the items mentioned in the questionnaire. Elements of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to examine past-year prevalence of hazardous and harmful drinking will also be made part of the questionnaire (Strunin et al., 2013, p. 2604). The AUDIT includes 10 items examining frequency and intensity of drinking, the presence of alcohol dependence symptoms and negative consequences of drinking. Another tool used will be self-reporting of drugs through DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for substance abuse and dependence (Riggs, 2003). This criterion will assist in assessment of progression and frequency of substance’s use and its combination with other substances at the time of sentencing. It will be ensured by the verdict of clinical practitioners that none of the participants are showing aggravated signs of conduct disorder, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, clinical depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder. After gathering this information through questionnaire, a structured 2-hours baseline interview will be conducted with each participant. Through interview, a thorough investigation and assessment of the participants’ self-reporting regarding their social background, family history, psychological functioning, psychosocial maturity, attitudes about illegal behaviour, intelligence, school achievement and engagement, work experience, mental health, current and previous substance use and abuse, family and peer relationships, use of social services, and antisocial behaviour shall be performed. In the second phase of interviews, details about extent of criminal behaviour will be assessed by asking questions about illegal activity and involvement in more than one criminal activity. For this purpose, range, frequency and other circumstances of those activities will be examined. Furthermore, second phase of interviews will be also help in collecting information about changes in life situations immediately after completing prison sentence. Other developmental factors like progressive changes in future employment status or relationship with family after sentence will also be assessed. Where the research tools are appropriate for the purpose of study, there are some inherent practical issues that are required to be mitigated in order to have an objective output of the research. Research participants may choose to misstate on the questionnaire and during the interviews. Since there are limited means of corroborating the output produced by each participant, it will be difficult to ensure that research findings are applicable on the general population. Secondly, research only intends to include those subjects that are not diagnosed with any severe mental disorder. It is important to note that diagnosis of such disorders may remain hidden from interviewers if previously diagnosed by other clinicians. Also, accurate diagnosis requires more than one sitting with the participants. Due to time and resources constraint, it is difficult to ensure this factor. Also, availability of participants at three different stages i.e. filling of questionnaire, two interviews’ session, is difficult to ensure. The nature of the research itself would require a team of multiple professionals to retrieve information from the participants, assess if every participant reflects characteristics of desired population and also maintaining objectivity of the participants. Also, adequate tools and resources would be required to corroborate findings of the two tools used during the study. 4. Data Analysis Once the samples have been formed, necessary averages i.e. age, family income etc would be taken to ensure that both groups reflect same characteristics. Once the averages have been acquired, the findings of questionnaire will be assessed with the help of Super ANOVA (pack 5). It would be ensured that there are no significant differences among the two samples selected. In order to assess internal reliability of the perceived parental monitoring scale and AUDIT, Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha will be used. It is important to note that linear relation will be assumed between findings of scale and outcomes as all the participants are expected to possess similar characteristics (Strunin et al., 2013). Dependent variables assessed during the analyses would include specific antisocial and delinquent behaviours for cluster analysis in response to independent variables including family risk, conflict, disruption, deviant behaviours, substance abuse, alcoholism, level of family, income, age, level of education and peer pressure (Gorman-Smith, 1998, p. 323; Ledoux, Miller, Choquet, and Plant, 2002). With the help of ANOVA findings, the deviation among findings of interviews as assessed by interviewers and questionnaires will be identified. Bi-variate associations between each dependent and independent variable will be developed and examined through Chi-Square tests. Same relation will be further extended by multiple logistic regression models. Outputs of these analyses would be compared sample wise. The hypothesis of this research is that common social problems are the main causative agents behind criminal behaviour in youth. The null hypothesis assumes that there will be no significant differences among the outcomes of both groups. Since data being utilised is qualitative as well as quantitative in nature, interviewers will be required to convert qualitative findings of interviews in the numeric data using Linkert scale in order to be used in numeric data processing software. The data will then be administered by two interviewers to ensure that conversion of qualitative data to quantitative one is done with optimum efficiency. Then, data will be inserted into statistical software for thorough analyses. Through t-tests’ findings, selection of the hypothesis will be performed. It will also be ensured that all the missing data is also considered during the statistical analysis. In order to avoid missing data in the first place, it will be ascertained that all the participants have undergone all three phases of the research i.e. questionnaire and two interview sessions. Reasons for missing any phase shall be well-accounted during the analysis. 5. Ethical Considerations All the ethical considerations related to qualitative research shall be considered during and after research. Firstly, necessary formal procedures will be followed in order to form an alliance with local social agency for this research. This step is essential for employing suitable recruitment tools in order to access desired population and then other necessary ethical considerations shall be followed. First ethical requirement in this regard is respect for persons. It requires a commitment to ensuring the autonomy of research participants, and, where autonomy may be diminished, to protect people from exploitation of their vulnerability. The dignity of all research participants must be respected (Mack, Woodsong, Macqueen, Guest and Namey, 2005). Adherence to this principle ensures that people will not be used simply as a means to achieve research objectives. In order to ensure this, a formal consent of the participants will be obtained after ensuring that they are well-versed with the purpose, method, time period, potential benefits of the research. It will also be conveyed to them that they will be free to withdraw from the research anytime they deem suitable without any negative consequences. Also, they will be made aware of their rights if they find that the research is not being conducted in a right manner. Details of contact personnel will also be made available to them. Another important ethical consideration is beneficence which requires a commitment to minimizing the risks associated with research, including psychological and social risks, and maximizing the benefits that accrue to research participants (Mack et al., 2005). Since the research refrains from any kind of physical or psychological experiment or any form of invasive activity, there are limited risks attached to this kind of research. Same will be made known to the participants while letting them be aware of the course of study. Third ethical consideration would be fair distribution of risks and benefits of the research. Since the study design focuses on deriving themes from existing data i.e. past experiences of participants and does not perform any kind of experimentation, there are no risks involved. In order to ensure confidentiality, necessary measures will taken for protection of physical and electronic data and only authorised professionals shall be allowed to access personal details of the participants. All this information will be provided to research participants in a written form after having oral discussion. 6. Deliverables The results of this study is expected to give information about common factors leading to criminal activity in youth as perceived by those involved in committing crimes and those who have experienced similar living conditions. The research findings will indicate need for necessary changes in policies and frameworks governing life of youth at risk. 7. Scheduling of the Study Before commencing the study, necessary measures will be taken to ensure that all the professionals required for research are available and are on board. For this purpose, two interviewers, two research assistants and trained psychologists will be employed for various stages of the research and they will be made aware of the course of research and tools used in it. Week 1 & 2: Acquiring details of required population and forming samples after acquiring written consent. Formation of groups. Week 3- 6: Getting questionnaires filled by all the participants. Getting two-sessions of interviews completed with each participant. Week 7- 9: Conversion of emergent themes in qualitative findings of research into quantitative data. Performing chi-tests and variance analyses of two groups with reference to independent and dependent variables. Week- 10 & 11: Final data Analysis and recording findings of the research 8. Estimation of Sources Required One of the main expenses expected to be incurred in this study would be purchase of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Silverberg Parental Test along with Super ANOVA Pack 5. Another important step would be acquisition of services of certified psychologists in order to examine if participants are fit for the research objective and also designing different components of the research questionnaires. Along with that, there will be an administrative cost involving purchase of hardware and other clerical office supplies. Furthermore, since interviewers are expected to travel for conducting interview sessions to multiple locations, a reasonable budget will be allocated for it. As far as time allocation is concerned, researchers will be required time to get accustomed to research methodology and tools used before actual commencement of the process. In addition to that, procedures of local agency contacted for this purpose, designing research criteria and selecting relevant individuals and contacting them, acquiring formal consents from the participants and finalizing the sample structure would require sometime. All the participants and researchers will spend at least two hours for questionnaires’ filling and four hours for interviewers in individual case. Considering that there are 30 participants in each sample, this step constitute of the largest resource consuming part of the research. However, the possibility of inducting more interviewers may also be considered if the financial resources allow, for reducing the amount of time spent in order to complete the research on time. At all points, services of research assistants will be required to ensure that all the data is inserted in the statistical tools used on timely basis and in a correct manner. Furthermore, interviewers are expected to have necessary professional skills of corroborating qualitative findings with quantitative data. 9. Reflection on Your Study The findings of the research will be assessed with the help of Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) (Bazeley, 2007). This rigour will assist in assessing if the research aim and research method is appropriate considering that the concept of Grounded theory supports analysis of emergent themes (CASP-Uk, 2012; Charmaz, 2006). The same rigour indicates if research design, tools used, recruitment strategy and analysis are suitable for the research purposes. Hence, there will be a continuous examination of different aspects of the research and also application of its results on general population. It is important to note that the research is only recruiting participants that have either committed crimes in young age or have witnessed crimes taking place around them. The research intends to examine the common factors that increase risks of crimes in youth. However, crimes also take place in demographic segments that are at minimum risk. Due to differences of social settings being examined, the generalisation and applicability of this study is difficult. Secondly, sample size is also limited to examine common trends. However research findings would indicate population at risk of committing crime or developing delinquent behaviour. Such findings can assist in changing outlook of policies governing lives of youth and also initiating community-based interventions to reduce this risk. References Anderson, D.M., Cesur, R., and Tekin, E., 2012. Youth Depression and Future Criminal Behavior, [online] Available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp6577.pdf [Accessed 4 January, 2014]. Bazeley, P. 2007. Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. London: Sage. Bennett, T., and Hollway, K.,2004. Gang membership, drugs and crime in the UK. British Journal of Criminology, 44(3), pp. 305-323. CASP-UK. 2012. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme-Making sense of evidence about clinical effectiveness [Online]. Available at: http://www.casp-uk.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CASP_Qualitative_Appraisal_Checklist_14oct10.pdf [Accessed 4 January, 2014] Charmaz, K., 2006. Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Farrington, D.P., (n.d). Family Influences on Delinquency, [online] Available at: http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763760564/60564_CH10_Springer.pdf [Accessed 4 January, 2014]. Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P.H., Loeber, R., and Henry, D.B., 1998. Relation of family problems to patterns of delinquent involvement among urban youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26(5), pp. 319-333. Jansson, K., 2007. British Crime Survey: Measuring Crime for 25 Years. [online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/bcs25.pdf [7 January, 2014]. Ledoux, S., Miller, P., Choquet, M., And Plant, M., 2002. Family structure, parent-child relationships, and alcohol and other drug use among teenagers in France and the United Kingdom. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 37(1), pp. 52-60. Ludwig, J., Duncan, G.J., and Hirschfield, P., 2001. Urban poverty and juvenile crime: Evidence from a randomized housing-mobility experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, pp. 655-679. Mack, N., Woodsong, C., Macqueen, K., Guest, G., and Namey, E., 2005. Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector's Field Guide. Family Health International. Riggs, P.D., 2003. Treating adolescents for substance abuse and co-morbid psychiatric disorders. Science and Practice Perspectives, 2(1). Ross, A., Duckworth, K., Smith, D.J., Wyness, G., and Schoon, I., 2010. Prevention and Reduction: A Review of Strategies for Intervening Early to Prevent or Reduce Youth Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. [online] Available at : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182548/DFE-RR111.pdf [Accessed 7 January, 2014]. Smith, D., 2012. A New Response to Youth Crime. Routledge. Strunin, L., et al., 2013. Parental monitoring and alcohol use among Mexican students. Addictive Behaviours, 38, pp. 2601-2606. UserVoice., 2011. What’s Your Story?- Young Offenders Insight into Tacking Crimes and Its Causes. [Online] Available at: http://www.uservoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/User-Voice-Whats-Your-Story.pdf [4 January 2014]. Read More