Juvenile crimes in Malawi : life-history narratives of male juvenile offenders

Juvenile crime is a growing problem in Malawi. International research has focussed on the causes of this type of crime in an attempt to explain and deal with this phenomenon. This study adds to the scholarly knowledge by exploring the life stories of 22 male juvenile offenders currently incarcerated for various crimes in Malawi. Semi-structured life-history interviews were conducted and results are consistent with the existing literature - specifically on risk factors, control theories and life-course theories. This study showed that several factors in childhood and adolescence contributed to the participants' offending behaviour. Participants also made sense of their behaviour by constructing themselves as victims of life circumstances, spiritual and supernatural forces, and an inequitable justice system. Some of these attributional models are uncommon in criminological literature.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Silungwe, Ndumanene Devlin

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Africa, Adelene

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10773

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10773