Vägen ut ur kriminalitet : En kvalitativ studie om möjliggörande och försvårande faktorer i barn och ungas förändringsprocess

Sammanfattning

Children and young people who are involved in, or at risk of being involved in, crime represent a significant social challenge. To support young people in leaving a criminal lifestyle, more knowledge is needed about the factors that may enable or hinder this process. In light of this, the aim of this qualitative study is to examine how professionals working within social intervention groups perceive the process of change for children and young people who are supported in leaving a criminal lifestyle. The study focuses on the factors that professionals perceive as enabling for change, as well as the circumstances that may complicate this process. The empirical material consists of semi-structured interviews with professionals working with professionals in social intervention groups who have experience working with children and young people involved in or close to crime. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that the change process is perceived as long, uneven, and dependent on several interacting factors. Key enabling factors include the young person´s own motivation, family involvement, supportive adults, good collaboration between different actors, and opportunities to build new social contexts and future prospects. At the same time, several hindering factors are highlighted, as strong ties to criminal environments, lack of insight within the family, weak prosocial contexts, unequal living conditions, and difficulties for society in offering attractive alternatives to crime. The results were discussed using desistance theory and social bond theory. The study shows that supporting children and young people who want to leave crime should be understood as a long term and relation-based process. Social interventions groups may play an important role by bringing actors together around the young persons, strengthening prosocial bonds, and creating conditions for turning points in the change process.