Department of Educational Psychology

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Browsing Department of Educational Psychology by browse.metadata.advisor "Damons, Lynne Nesta"

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    Reflections on the experiences of a group of emerging-adult violent offenders and the value of interventions in navigating their lives
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Stewart, Grant Charles; Damons, Lynne Nesta; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Educational Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This study sought to explore the experiences and meaning-making process of emerging-adult violent offenders and the value of interventions in navigating the social spaces of their lives. Underpinning this study was a broad view of violence and that communities suffering from historical and persistent violence be viewed as urban war zones. Consequently, young men growing up in such social-historical contexts are often faced with having to navigate multiple spaces fraught with various forms of violence. The consequences of this exposure to violence is manifold, including a readiness for aggressive and violent responses. The response of many young men who engage in violence can be viewed as an exercise in agency in the context of very limited choices. The study was a qualitative study which embraced a Participatory Action Research methodology. 10 emerging-adult male violent offenders from a lowincome community on the Cape Flats who had experienced interventions were purposively selected. The process of access and participation was challenged by the systemic realities of working in the context. Data were generated through semistructured interviews, focus groups, participant generated artefacts and reflections in a research journal. The analysis of data was thematic and an ongoing and iterative process. The young participants in the study revealed experiences of violence, loss, fluidity (instability) and economic survival that were spatially and temporally entangled. Interventions they had experienced were largely insufficiently accessible or effective in addressing this complex reality. Participants offered insights about what can assist transformative processes with young violent offenders in the community. It is the recommendation of this study that consideration be given to integrating their suggested factors into future strategies. In addition, future research with action processes should include the beneficiaries of interventions as collaborators to better grasp what is needed to navigate the complex spaces, to widen their life options with skills to navigate diverse social spaces and to sensitively and effectively include grief and loss processes. Finally, institutions such as schools and police services should be better equipped to respond to the needs and actions of troubled youth.