A study of probationers in their social environment

Abstract

The thesis is in 2 parts. Part 1 contains a description of the relationships which a sample of young male probationers had at home, at work, within their peer-group and with their girlfriends or wives. The material conditions in which they lived are summarised, and brief data were collected concerning their mental and physical health. Attention is drawn to the fact that difficulties in one sector tended to be statistically associated with difficulties in another; moreover the presence of environmental stresses indicated a greater likelihood of reconviction within 12 months of the probation order being made. After the order had been in existence for 2 months, it was found that the quality of the probation officer's casework relationship was statistically associated with the client's parental relations, father-son and mother-son relationships, the probationer's contemporary associations, the level of support he enjoyed at work, and his personality characteristics. Furthermore a moderate or bad casework relationship was linked with a higher reconviction-rate. Thus the probation officers were best able to make a good relationship with those who appeared to need least help. An attempt to devise a Stress Score was only moderately successful, and Part 2 describes a method of assessing the environment which was intended to improve on it. It isolates 3 areas of the environment: support at home, work/school and crime contamination - which, it is suggested, together make up a social system likely to partially determine the probationer's criminal behaviour. The instrument was validated on a second sample (including juveniles); and statistical analyses were carried out to relate the environmental assessment to personality factors and to 3 different criteria of success on probation. The thesis concludes with a brief discussion of the methodological and theoretical issues arising out of the research instrument.