CHILDREN BEYOND PARENTAL CONTROL : A FOLLOW-UP STUDY

Abstract

The present study is a follow-up research on the effects of statutory supervision on refractory youths who were former clients of the Singapore Children's Society (SCS). The statutory supervision is a form of non-institutional, communitybased supervision carried out by an approved agency ordered by the court on children beyond parental control (BPC). At present, the SCS is the only social service agency in charge of providing such a service. This study hopes to shed light on the main contributing factors on recidivism of refractory behaviour which may eventually lead to delinquency. It looks at the family, the school and peer influence as three important determinants of the development of delinquency. A questionnaire designed to tap into ( 1) demographics, (2) family structure and family life, (3) school or work life, ( 4) leisure actitivities, ( 5) type of peer group in association with, ( 6) kinds of problems encountered, (7) behaviour before and after supervision, (8) nature of supervision, (9) overall relationship with social worker and ( 10) perceived usefulness of supervision was administered during interviews with the former BPC clients who have successfully completed statutory supervision with SCS.

The results suggest that an important distinction between those who do not subsequently commit offenses (non-delinquents) and those who do (delinquents) is association with delinquent peers. It is also found that non-delinquents are able to relate better with their social workers than their delinquent counterparts. Findings on the effects and usefulness of statutory supervision are discussed. Suggestions for fine-tuning the supervisory procedures are also made in this report. It is hoped that the study will contribute to the existing services for refractory youths.