Home Employment and Identity Development: Pathways to Desistance for Juvenile Offenders
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Employment and Identity Development: Pathways to Desistance for Juvenile Offenders

  • Waqas Ahmed ORCID logo , Chengbin Liu ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Rabia Mahmood ORCID logo and Rao Muhammad Faisal Suleman
Published/Copyright: May 22, 2025
Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform
From the journal Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform Volume 108 Issue 2

Abstract

This study examines the role of employment in the identity development and desistance from crime among juvenile offenders in Pakistan. Focused on 30 juveniles aged 13–17 participating in an eight-month paid employment program by the Social Welfare Organization (SWO) in Punjab, the research explores how structured tasks and mentorship foster societal reintegration. Through narrative analysis of interviews, observations, and probation officer reports, the study reveals that employment significantly supported the development of a prosocial identity. Participants distanced themselves from past offenses, envisioning a positive future, with enhanced skills, a sense of purpose, and improved self-perception. Community support and stronger familial bonds further reinforced these changes. However, challenges such as societal stigma and unstable post-program employment led some to reoffend. The study underscores the importance of structured employment in juvenile desistance and calls for further research on long-term impacts and strategies to sustain these transformations.

Keywords: Juvenile offenders; Employment; Identity development; Desistance; Community-based Rehabilitation; Probationers

  1. Data Availability Statement

  2. The data supporting the findings of this study are based on interviews with juvenile offenders. Due to confidentiality and ethical considerations involving minors, the data cannot be made publicly available. However, requests for access to the data may be considered upon approval from the relevant ethics committees and the corresponding author.

  3. Author Contribution Declaration

  4. Waqas Ahmed conceptualized the study, designed the research methodology, and drafted the manuscript. Dr. Chenbin Liu provided guidance on the study design and data analysis. Rabia Mahmood and Rao Muhammad Faisal Suleman contributed to data collection and analysis. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

  5. Declaration of interest statement

  6. There is no competing interest to declare.

  7. Funding

  8. No funds were provided to conduct this study.

  9. Informed Consent

  10. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Online erschienen: 2025-05-22
Erschienen im Druck: 2025-07-30

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  1. Frontmatter
  2. Artikel
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  4. Das letzte Mittel staatlicher Gewalt: Juristische Rahmenbedingungen, Prävalenz und Forschungsstand zum polizeilichen Schusswaffengebrauch
  5. Cyberbullying and Peer Influences in Online and Offline Contexts
  6. Employment and Identity Development: Pathways to Desistance for Juvenile Offenders
  7. Bericht
  8. Criminology goes East. How and what we research in Romania
  9. Mitteilungen
  10. Hans-Dieter Schwind: Nachruf auf einen großartigen Kollegen und Gründer des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen
https://doi.org/10.1515/mks-2025-0004
Keywords for this article
Juvenile offenders; Employment; Identity development; Desistance; Community-based Rehabilitation; Probationers

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Artikel
  3. Überwachen auf Straßen – Polizeiliche Kontrollpraktiken im Straßenverkehr
  4. Das letzte Mittel staatlicher Gewalt: Juristische Rahmenbedingungen, Prävalenz und Forschungsstand zum polizeilichen Schusswaffengebrauch
  5. Cyberbullying and Peer Influences in Online and Offline Contexts
  6. Employment and Identity Development: Pathways to Desistance for Juvenile Offenders
  7. Bericht
  8. Criminology goes East. How and what we research in Romania
  9. Mitteilungen
  10. Hans-Dieter Schwind: Nachruf auf einen großartigen Kollegen und Gründer des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen
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