The development and evaluation of a life skills programme for young adult prisoners
| dc.contributor.advisor | Beukes, R. B. | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Esterhuyse, K. G. F. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Jordaan, Jacques | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-12T12:59:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-12T12:59:39Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: The purpose of this research project was to develop, implement and evaluate a Life Skills programme for young adult male long-term offenders with the aim of improving their life skills that, in turn, could enable them to adjust more effectively in the correctional environment. This programme is developed based on the principles of psycho-education, the cybernetic cycle, and cognitive behavioural therapy. CBT is chosen, as studies had shown that it successfully improved the life skills, psychological well-being, and institutional behaviour of offenders. The game of chess is used as a vehicle of change to enable the offenders to learn new life skills or to improve their existing life skills. Chess, like CBT, trains individuals to think before making a move (acting), generate alternative moves (solutions), evaluate possible risks (consequences), and make decisions about appropriate moves (behaviour). Experimental research is used to investigate the effectiveness of the programme. In this study, 96 literate young male adult offenders between the ages of 21 and 25 years, with long sentences, were selected randomly. The participants were assigned randomly into an experimental and a control group. The Solomon four-group design (Braver & Braver, 1988; Huysamen, 1998; Lusk et al., 1999) is utilized to control for the effect of pretest sensitisation. The experimental groups attended the structured Life Skills programme for a period of six months, while the control groups participated in the normal daily activities of the correctional centre. The effectiveness of the programme was tested by obtaining measurements on the four domains (problem solving, decision-making, anger management, and coping with emotions). These measures were conducted before the programme commenced, directly (short term) after, three months (medium term) after and six months (long term) after. The effectiveness of the programme was thus investigated over various terms. A semantic differential scale was also used to identify the offenders’ perceptions of the programme. The offenders indicated that the programme and its contents were meaningful and beneficial, while the findings indicate that the programme had limited success in equipping them with the necessary skills crucial to their survival in a correctional centre. The programme did have significant effects, especially on problem solving and anger management in the short and medium term. These improvements were not long lived. The results of this study thus show that the programme had limited success and it did not positively influence their life skills in the long term that would have enabled them to deal with the challenges of a correctional environment. It is necessary to refine and adjust or even redevelop this programme. However, the fact remains that programmes must be developed for offenders to improve their adjustment in correctional centres as well as for their release into communities. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie navorsingsprojek was om ҆n Lewensvaardighede-program vir jong volwasse manlike langtermyn gevangenes te ontwikkel, implementeer en evalueer, met die doel om hulle lewensvaardighede te verbeter sodat hulle instaat sal wees om in die korrektiewe omgewing meer effektief aan te pas. Hierdie program is ontwikkel op die grondslag van die beginsels van psigo-opvoeding, die kubernetiese siklus, en kognitiewe gedragsterapie. Kognitiewe gedragsterapie is gekies, aangesien studies aantoon dat dit die lewensvaardighede, sielkundige welstand en institusionele gedrag van gevangenes suksesvol bevorder. Die spel van skaak is gebruik as ҆n middel om verandering te bewerkstellig sodat gevangenes instaat gestel kon word om nuwe of verbeterde lewensvaardighede aan te leer. Soos kognitiewe gedragsterapie, leer skaak individue om te dink voordat hulle ҆n skuif maak (optrede), alternatiewe skuiwe te genereer (oplossings), moontlike risikos te evalueer (gevolge) en besluite oor toepaslike skuiwe (gedrag) te neem. Eksperimentele navorsing is gebruik om die effektiwiteit van die program te ondersoek. In hierdie studie is 96 geletterde jong, volwasse manlike gevangenes tussen die ouderdomme van 21 en 25 jaar, met lang vonnisse, ewekansig geselekteer. Die proefpersone is ewekansig aan ҆n eksperimentele en ҆n kontrolegroep toegewys. Die Solomon viergroepontwerp (Braver & Braver, 1988; Huysamen, 1998; Lusk et al., 1999) is gebruik om vir die effek van voortoetssensitisering te kontroleer. Die eksperimentele groepe het die gestruktureerde Lewensvaardighede-program vir ҆n tydperk van ses maande bygewoon, terwyl die kontrolegroepe aan die normale daaglikse aktiwiteite van die korrektiewe sentrum deelgeneem het. Om die effektiwiteit van die program te toets, is metings ten opsigte van vier domeine (probleem oplossing, besluitneming, woede hantering en hantering van emosies) verkry. Hierdie metings is voor die aanvang van die program, direk (korttermyn) daarna, drie maande (medium-termyn) later asook ses maande (langtermyn) later gedoen. Op hierdie wyse is die program se effektiwiteit oor verskeie termyne ondersoek. ҆n Semantiese differensiële skaal is ook gebruik om die gevangenes se persepsies oor die program te identifiseer. Die gevangenes het aangedui dat die program en die inhoud daarvan betekenisvol en voordelig was, terwyl die resultate aantoon dat die program beperkte sukses behaal het in die toerusting van die gevangenes met die noodsaaklike vaardighede wat krities vir hulle oorlewing in ҆n korrektiewe sentrum is. Die program het wel betekenisvolle effekte op veral probleem oplossing en woede hantering in die kort- en medium-termyn gehad. Hierdie verbetering was egter nie langdurig nie. Die resultate van die studie toon dus dat die program beperkte sukses behaal het en veral nie oor die langtermyn daarin kon slaag om die lewensvaardighede sodanig positief te beinvloed dat hulle die uitdagings van ‘n korrektiewe omgewing beter kan hanteer nie. Daar word voorgestel dat hierdie program verder verfyn en aangepas of selfs herontwikkel word. Dit bly noodsaaklik om programme vir gevangenes te ontwikkel ten einde hulle aanpassing binne korrektiewe sentrums asook na hulle vrylating in gemeenskappe te verbeter. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/832 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Life skills | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2014 | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Decision making | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Problem solving | en_ZA |
| dc.title | The development and evaluation of a life skills programme for young adult prisoners | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |