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DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY AMONG MALES IMPACTED BY THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

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Date Issued:
2023
Abstract/Description:
Delinquency is a major social and public health problem for families, young people themselves, and law enforcement agencies, and it is a threat to public safety. Juveniles often present with multiple issues during arrest, such as mental illness, substance abuse, low socio-economic status, family dysfunction, academic problems, and poor peer relationships. One of these justice-involved youths more prevalent mental health issues is conduct disorders (CD). Research has shown that 50%-90% of justice-involved youth are diagnosed with CD. Growing research supports the integration of spirituality into professional social work practice. This study aims to bring awareness that spirituality is essential to these justice-involved youths’ lives through the lived experiences of Direct Service Providers. This study aimed to understand better programming designed to meet the spiritual needs of juveniles with CD who were in juvenile residential treatment programs. This study examined the following questions: RQ1: How do DSPs describe the current spirituality programming offered to juveniles diagnosed with Conduct Disorder (CD) who are in a juvenile residential treatment facility? RQ2: What recommendations do DSPs have for enhancing programming to better meet juveniles’ spiritual needs? A cross-sectional qualitative research study utilized a thematic analysis to explore DSP’s perceptions of the role of spirituality in the lives of juveniles diagnosed with CD and impacted by juvenile justice services. This study’s results showed spirituality was critical and impactful to the lives of justice-involved youth. It also demonstrated the usefulness of Fisher’s four-domain model in assessing spirituality in justice-involved youth. This study concluded six primary themes from the analysis. The researcher deductively coded the first two themes to explore the research questions in this manuscript. The last four themes resulted from inductive coding of the interviews: (a) programming and resources available to youth (RQ1); (b) recommendations for enhancing spirituality programming and resources for youth (RQ2); (c) viewing spirituality as religion; (d) support for religion and spirituality for youth; (e) facilitators to youths’ spiritual development; and (f) barriers to youths’ spiritual development.
Title: DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY AMONG MALES IMPACTED BY THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
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Name(s): Hill-Thompson, Katina R. , author
Cooley, Morgan, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
School of Social Work
College of Social Work and Criminal Justice
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2023
Date Issued: 2023
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 138 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Delinquency is a major social and public health problem for families, young people themselves, and law enforcement agencies, and it is a threat to public safety. Juveniles often present with multiple issues during arrest, such as mental illness, substance abuse, low socio-economic status, family dysfunction, academic problems, and poor peer relationships. One of these justice-involved youths more prevalent mental health issues is conduct disorders (CD). Research has shown that 50%-90% of justice-involved youth are diagnosed with CD. Growing research supports the integration of spirituality into professional social work practice. This study aims to bring awareness that spirituality is essential to these justice-involved youths’ lives through the lived experiences of Direct Service Providers. This study aimed to understand better programming designed to meet the spiritual needs of juveniles with CD who were in juvenile residential treatment programs. This study examined the following questions: RQ1: How do DSPs describe the current spirituality programming offered to juveniles diagnosed with Conduct Disorder (CD) who are in a juvenile residential treatment facility? RQ2: What recommendations do DSPs have for enhancing programming to better meet juveniles’ spiritual needs? A cross-sectional qualitative research study utilized a thematic analysis to explore DSP’s perceptions of the role of spirituality in the lives of juveniles diagnosed with CD and impacted by juvenile justice services. This study’s results showed spirituality was critical and impactful to the lives of justice-involved youth. It also demonstrated the usefulness of Fisher’s four-domain model in assessing spirituality in justice-involved youth. This study concluded six primary themes from the analysis. The researcher deductively coded the first two themes to explore the research questions in this manuscript. The last four themes resulted from inductive coding of the interviews: (a) programming and resources available to youth (RQ1); (b) recommendations for enhancing spirituality programming and resources for youth (RQ2); (c) viewing spirituality as religion; (d) support for religion and spirituality for youth; (e) facilitators to youths’ spiritual development; and (f) barriers to youths’ spiritual development.
Identifier: FA00014319 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Crime
Juvenile delinquency
Spirituality
Crimininology
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014319
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU