PARENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF MONITORING THEIR ADOLESCENTS’ COMPLIANCE WITH DIVERSION ORDERS

Authors

  • Zurina Abdulla Stellenbosch University
  • Veronna Goliath Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15270/51-2-443

Abstract

The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 makes provision for the diversion of child/adolescent offenders and expects parents to monitor their compliance with diversion orders. This paper examines how parents’ experience fulfilling this role, especially against the backdrop of their reduced influence during the adolescent development phase, following a qualitative study undertaken with 12 parents of diverted adolescents in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. The findings revealed the particular difficulties that parents experienced in monitoring compliance and highlight the specific parental support needs that can be met by social workers and other child justice officials.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Zurina Abdulla, Stellenbosch University

Area Manager of NICRO, Eastern Cape Province

Veronna Goliath, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Department of Social Development Professions, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

References

ALLEN, J.P., PORTER, M.R., McFARLAND, F.C., MARSH, P. & McELHANEY, K.B. 2005. The two faces of adolescents’ success with peers: adolescent popularity, social adaptation, and deviant behavior. Child Development, 76(3):747-760.

ARTHUR, R. 2007. Family life and youth offending: home is where the hurt is. London: Routledge.

ASHBOURNE, M.L. & DALY, K.J. 2010. Parents and adolescents making time choices: choosing a relationship. Journal of Family Issues, 31(11):1419-1441.

BAKKEN, J.P. & BROWN, B.B. 2010. Adolescent secretive behaviour: African American and Hmong Adolescents’ strategies and justifications for managing parents’ knowledge about peers. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(2):359-388.

BENGSTON, V.L. & ALLEN, K.R. 1993. The life course perspective applied to families over time. [Online] Available: http://www.imamu.edu.sa/topics. [Accessed: 12/10/2013].

BROEKING, J. & PETERSON-BADALI, M. 2010. The extent and nature of parents’ involvement in Canadian youth justice proceedings. Youth Justice, 10(1):40-55.

BUEHLER, C. 2006. Parents and peers in relation to adolescent problem behaviour. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68:109-124.

CRESWELL, J.W. 2009. Research design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

D’CRUZ, H. & JONES, M. 2004. Social work research. Ethical and political contexts. London: Sage Publications.

DE GARMO, D.S., PATRAS, J. & EAP, S. 2008. Social support for divorced fathers’ parenting: testing a stress buffering model. Family Relations, 57:35-48.

DE VAUS, D. 2001. Research design in social research. London. Sage Publications.

DENSCOMBE, M. 2010a. The good research guide for small scale research projects (4th ed). Berkshire: Open University Press.

DENSCOMBE, M. 2010b. Ground rules for social research. Guidelines for good practice (2nd ed). Berkshire: Open University Press.

DENSCOMBE, M. 2003. The good research guide for small scale research projects (2nd ed). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

ENGEL, R.J. & SCHUTT, R.K. 2005. The practice of research in social work. London: Sage Publications.

GUBA, E.G. & LINCOLN, Y.S. 2005. Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In: DENZIN, N.K. & LINCOLN, Y.S. 2005. The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 191-215.

HARGOVAN, H. 2013. Child justice in practice. The diversion of young offenders. SA Crime Quarterly, 44:25-35.

HARRISON, L. 2008. Perceptions of family functioning and its impact on juvenile offending. Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand. (Unpublished MA thesis)

HENNING, E., VAN RENSBURG, W. & SMIT, B. 2004. Finding your way in qualitative research. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

HESSE-BIBER, S.N. & LEAVY, P. 2006. The practice of qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.

KEIJSERS, L., BRANJE, S.J.T., VAN DER VALK, I.E. & MEEUS, W. 2010. Reciprocal effects between parental solicitation, parental control, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1):88-113.

KEIJSERS, L. & LAIRD, R.D. 2014. Mother-adolescent monitoring dynamics and the legitimacy of parental authority. Journal of Adolescence, 37(5):515-525.

KERR, M., STATTIN, H. & BURK, W.J. 2010. A reinterpretation of parental monitoring in longitudinal perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1):39-64.

KRISNAKUMAR, A. & BUEHLER, C. 2000. Interparental conflict and parenting behaviours. A meta-analytic review. Family relations, 49(1):25-44.

MANKAYI, A. 2007. Experiences of parents whose children have completed a diversion programme. Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. (Unpublished MA thesis)

MASON, M. 2010. Sample size and saturation in Ph.D. studies using qualitative interviews. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3):Article 8.

MILLER, S. & SAMBELL, K. 2002. What do parents feel they need? Implications of parents’ perspectives for the facilitation of parenting programmes. Children and Society, 17(2003):32-44.

MULFORD, C.F. & REDDING, R.E. 2007. Training the parents of juvenile offenders: state of the art and recommendations for service delivery. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17:629-648.

MUNTINGH, L. & BALLARD, C. 2012. Report on Children in Prison in South Africa. Cape Town: Community Law Centre.

NICRO. 2013. [Online] Available: http://www.nicro.org.za. [Accessed: 06/01/2013].

NIXON, E. & HALPENNY, A.M. 2010. Children’s perspectives on parenting styles and discipline: a developmental approach. Dublin: The National children’s strategy research services. Office of the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs. Department of Health and Children.

PILLAY, Y. 2008. Adolescents’ perceptions of parenting practices with respect to substance use. KwaZulu-Natal: University of KwaZulu-Natal. (Unpublished MA thesis)

PORTA, D.D. & KEATING, M. 2008. How many approaches in the Social Sciences? An epistemological introduction. In: PORTA, D.D. & KEATING, M. (eds) Approaches and methodologies in the social sciences. A pluralistic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 19-39.

RODGERS, J.L. & BARD, D.E. 2003. Behaviour genetics and adolescent development: a review of recent literature. In: ADAMS, G.R. & BERZONSKY, M.D. (eds) Blackwell Handbook of Adolescence. Malden: Blackwell, 3-17.

SCHOPPE-SULLIVAN, S.J., SCHERMERHORN, A.C. & CUMMINGS, E.M. 2007. Marital conflict and children’s adjustment: evaluation of the parenting process model. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69:1118-1134.

SIEGEL, L.J. & WELSH, B.C. 2012. Juvenile delinquency: theory, practice and law. United States of America: Wadsworth Cencage Learning.

SINGH, A. & SINGH, V. 2014. A review of legislation pertaining to children, with particular emphasis on programmes offered to children awaiting trial at Secure Care Centres in South Africa. Social Work/MaatskaplikeWerk, 50(1):99-115.

SLOTH-NIELSEN, J. & GALLINETTI, J. 2011. “Just say sorry?” Ubuntu, Africanisation and the Child Justice System in the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008. Electronic Law Journal, 14(4):63-90.

SMETANA, J.G. 2013. The role of parents in moral development: a social domain analysis. [Online] Available: http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/articles/smetana. html. [Accessed: 16/04/2013].

SORKHABI, N. 2010. Sources of parent-adolescent conflict: content and form of parenting. Social Behaviour and Personality, 38(6):761-782.

SOUTH AFRICA. 2010. Child Justice Act, 75 of 2008. Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Pretoria: Government Printer.

SOUTH AFRICA. 2006. Children’s Act, Act No. 38 of 2005. Department of Social Development. Pretoria: Government Printer.

STATTIN, H. & KERR, M. 2000. Parental monitoring: a reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4):1072-1085.

STEINHARDT, M. & DOLBIER, C. 2008. Evaluation of a resilience intervention to enhance coping strategies and protective factors and decrease symptomatology. Journal of American College Health, 56(4):445-453.

TAYLOR-POWELL, E. & RENNER, M. 2003. Analyzing qualitative data. University of Wisconsin: Madison. [Online] Available: http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Analyzing-Qualitative-Data-P1023. [Accessed: 16/02/2013].

TOLOU-SHAMS, M., HADLEY, W., CONRAD, S.M. & BROWN, L.R. 2012. The role of family affect in juvenile drug court offenders’ substance use and HIV risk. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21:449-456.

VRSELJA, I. 2010. Etiology of delinquent behavior: review of Patterson’s and Moffitt’s theory of Developmental Psychopathology. Psychological Topics, 19(1):145-168.

WRAY-LAKE, L., CROUTER, A.C. & McHALE, S.M. 2010. Developmental patterns in decision-making autonomy across middle childhood and adolescence: European American parents’ perspectives. Child Development, 81(2):636-651.

YAU, J.P., TASOPOULOS-CHAN, M. & SMETANA, J.G. 2009. Disclosure to parents about everyday activities among American adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 80(5):1481-1498.

Downloads

Published

2015-07-22

How to Cite

Abdulla, Z., & Goliath, V. (2015). PARENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF MONITORING THEIR ADOLESCENTS’ COMPLIANCE WITH DIVERSION ORDERS. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 51(2). https://doi.org/10.15270/51-2-443

Issue

Section

Articles