Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Monash South Africa, Monash University (Melbourne), Private Bag X60, Roodepoort, VIC 1725, South Africa
Peacock, R., Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Monash South Africa, Monash University (Melbourne), Private Bag X60, Roodepoort, VIC 1725, South Africa
The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between discrimination and identity development using a sample of 83 incarcerated male adolescents, aged 15 to 18 years in South Africa. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents were black, 96 percent were in prison for the first time, and the majority (49.4%) were in prison for aggressive offenses, such as murder and robbery. The findings indicate a linear relationship between a lower level of identity development and experiences of discrimination on the basis of physical appearance and behavior of the parental figures and siblings during the critical developmental stage of adolescence. The study concludes that the offending behavior of the incarcerated adolescents could be viewed as a tool of self-destruction due to the negative impact of experiences of discrimination on their level of identity development. © 2008 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.