Transitions in Offending Trajectories; Shared Experiences of Juvenile Delinquents
Abrah Boamah, P.
Abstract:
Within life course theoretical perspectives of criminality, offending behavior is seen as trajectory with a series of transitions. While some Life Course researchers argued that offending behavior remains stable over a life time. Others maintain that critical life events such as marriage and stable employment may change offending trajectory. In this paper, the researcher addresses the question of how juvenile delinquents experiences at the Senior Boys Correctional Centre (SBCC) in Accra. – Ghana redirected their paths to conformity. Using a qualitative research design the researcher tracked and explored the lived experiences of ten juvenile delinquents in their young adulthood. Contrary to the expectation of Edwin Sutherland (1947), the findings revealed that in intmates groups individuals learn the values, attitudes, motivations as well as the rationalizations and techniques for desisting from crime.
Keywords: Transitions, life course, Desistance, friendship
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APA citation
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Abrah Boamah, P., (2014). Transitions in Offending Trajectories; Shared Experiences of Juvenile Delinquents. International Journal of Social Sciences, III(5), pp. 1- 9.