Welcome to Francis Academic Press

Frontiers in Educational Research, 2026, 9(8); doi: 10.25236/FER.2026.090815.

Prosocial Reintegration of Justice-Involved Youth in Yibin, China

Author(s)

Daxia Lei, Xiangfeng Xu

Corresponding Author:
Daxia Lei
Affiliation(s)

School of Law and Public Administration, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, China

Abstract

The support and education of justice-involved youth in China is shifting from episodic correction and administrative control toward graded intervention, specialized services, and collaborative governance. However, local practice continues to face excessive dependence on judicial agencies, uneven professional capacity, fragmented service delivery, weak educational and family continuity, and evaluation systems focused mainly on procedural compliance. This article develops a prosocial-behavior-oriented framework for constructing an integrated support and education system in Yibin, Sichuan Province. It combines historical-institutional analysis, policy and document review, theoretical synthesis, and a city-level analysis of publicly reported local practice. Rather than presenting named bases or individual cases, the study integrates Yibin's initiatives into six functional categories: grassroots education and correction, professional social work, vocational education and skills development, rural and experiential learning, public-interest and community participation, and interregional coordination. The analysis identifies four broad stages in the development of China's approach to justice-involved youth: correction-centered management, institutionalized education and rescue, rights-based diversion and specialized procedure, and graded professional intervention under collaborative governance. Drawing on social learning theory, ecological systems theory, the social development model, developmental criminology, risk-need-responsivity, and prosocial development research, the article treats prosocial behavior as both a mechanism of change and a multidimensional outcome. It proposes a five-domain intervention framework and a seven-stage service process linking referral, assessment, planning, intervention, review, transition, and follow-up. The resulting model moves beyond passive compliance toward durable reintegration in family, school, work, and community life. It also clarifies the institutional roles, ethical safeguards, and evaluation requirements needed to turn a set of local platforms into a coherent citywide system.

Keywords

justice-involved youth; prosocial behavior; juvenile justice; judicial social work; social reintegration; Yibin

Cite This Paper

Daxia Lei, Xiangfeng Xu. Prosocial Reintegration of Justice-Involved Youth in Yibin, China. Frontiers in Educational Research (2026), Vol. 9, Issue 8: 111-120. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2026.090815.

References

[1] Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2017). The psychology of criminal conduct (6th ed.). Routledge.

[2] Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.

[3] Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

[4] Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (1996). The social development model: A theory of antisocial behavior. In J. D. Hawkins (Ed.), Delinquency and crime: Current theories (pp. 149–197). Cambridge University Press.

[5] Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Knafo-Noam, A. (2015). Prosocial development. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy315

[6] Lipsey, M. W. (2009). The primary factors that characterize effective interventions with juvenile offenders: A meta-analytic overview. Victims & Offenders, 4(2), 124–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564880802612573

[7] Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.4.674

[8] National People's Congress Standing Committee. (2020a). Law of the People's Republic of China on the protection of minors (2020 revision) [in Chinese]. https://www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgw/jgsz/jgszzsdw/zsdwflyzzx/flyzzxzcxx/zcxxzcfg/zcfgfl/202010/t20201023_188560.html

[9] National People's Congress Standing Committee. (2020b). Law of the People's Republic of China on the prevention of juvenile delinquency (2020 revision) [in Chinese]. https://www.npc.gov.cn/c2/c30834/202012/t20201226_309441.html

[10] Sichuan Legal Daily. (2025a, April 9). Yibin's first juvenile education and correction center inaugurated in Xuzhou District [in Chinese]. https://www.scfzbs.com/sz/202504/82942470.html

[11] Sichuan Legal Daily. (2025b, June 6). Yibin holds an open-day symposium on joint care and protection for minors [in Chinese]. https://www.scfzbs.com/sz/202506/83059645.html

[12] Sichuan Legal Daily. (2025c, September 9). Report on Yibin's citywide graded observation and support mechanism for justice-involved youth [in Chinese]. Anju Chang'an Network. https://www.aj.suiningpeace.gov.cn/wxts/20250909/3003176.html

[13] Supreme People's Procuratorate, & Central Social Work Department. (2025, May 30). Typical cases on strengthening social work services in juvenile procuratorial work [in Chinese]. https://www.spp.gov.cn/xwfbh/wsfbt/202505/t20250530_696959.shtml

[14] Teng, H., Guo, J., Sheng, H., & Li, Y. (2026). The influence of self-concept on prosocial behavior in delinquent juveniles: A chain mediation analysis involving belief in a just world and self-control. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1775490. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1775490

[15] United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2019). General comment No. 24 (2019) on children's rights in the child justice system (CRC/C/GC/24). United Nations. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3899429

[16] Wilson, H. A., & Hoge, R. D. (2013). The effect of youth diversion programs on recidivism: A meta-analytic review. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40(5), 497–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812451089

[17] Wong, J. S., Bouchard, J., Gravel, J., Bouchard, M., & Morselli, C. (2016). Can at-risk youth be diverted from crime? A meta-analysis of restorative diversion programs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(10), 1310–1329. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854816640835