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Patterns And Causes Of Juvenile Delinquency As Expressed By Secondary School Students
[A CASE STUDY OF IBARAPA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE]
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In reality, children vary in a great many ways in the types of delinquent behaviour in which they engage and in the relative frequency, regularity, and versatility of such behaviour. In other words, there are different patterns of delinquent behaviour and different degrees of involvement in them. Social scientists are interested both in processes accounting for the development of the behaviour of youngsters and in the manner in which behaviour comes to be defined as delinquent (Halsey & White, 2013). However, there some patterns of delinquents behaviours among secondary school students in Ibarapa Local Government Area, in Oyo State. According to Aloka (2012) and Halsey & White (2013) listed some patterns of delinquents’ behaviours among students, they include:
• Violation of any law or ordinance.
• Immoral or indecent conduct.
• Immoral conduct around school.
• Knowing associating with vicious or immoral persons.
• Growing up in idleness crime.
• Knowing entering or visiting houses of ill repute.
• Paroling, visiting policy shop or gaming place.
• Paroling saloon, dram shop where liquor is sold.
• Wandering in street in night not on lawful business.
• Habitually wandering about road, yards and Tracks.
• Jumping on to train on entering cars or engines without authority.
• Habitually remaining truant from school.
• Habitually using vile, obscene or vulgar language in school and public places.
• Absenting oneself from home without permission.
• Loitering and seeping in alleys.
• Smoking cigarettes (at schools and public places).
• Stealing things from their colleagues.
• Bullying on other students.
• Attempting rape or sexual acts with the opposite sex.
• Begging or receiving alms from their co-students and other people (Aloka, 2012); Halsey & White, 2013).
Causes of juvenile delinquency among students
Juvenile delinquency takes place in various forms and very in degree, frequency, duration and seriousness and involves different forms of specialization like drug addiction, sex offences, predatory acts to mention a few among students (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). Delinquency like other social behaviour has complex roots. It is most often a transitory phenomenon. The future criminals can certainly be reduced by preventing the children of going astray (Farrington, 2002). The students are regarded as the future of the nation should be given atmosphere conducive to his being a responsible and sensible citizen. If the child is brought up in an unwholesome environment, he assimilates wrong norms and values and at later stage of life it becomes difficult to bring him to the right path. It is now matter of common knowledge that a good number adult criminals committed first offence in their childhood, long before their first conviction as adult offender. They being child managed to escape notice of their first offence which encouraged them to commit further offences till they were apprehended, tried and convicted (Bartol & Bartol, 2009).
However unless causes of delinquency are known and identified the problem of delinquency cannot be prevented. Delinquency as a social disease cannot be treated without knowing about its causes. There is no single cause of Juvenile delinquency but there are many and varied causes (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). According to Bartol and Bartol (2009) the following are the causes of Juvenile delinquency which include:
1. Family: Family plays a huge part in the development of an adolescent, both positive and negative. Adolescents learn what is and is not acceptable by the surrounding environments, which is dominated by the family life. Studies show that students who receive adequate parental supervision are less likely to engage in criminal activities in school. Dysfunctional family settings-characterized by conflict, inadequate parental control, weak internal linkages and integration, and premature autonomy-are closely associated with juvenile delinquency. The family as a social institution is currently undergoing substantial changes; its form is diversifying with, for example, the increase in one-parent families and non-marital unions. The absence of fathers in many low-income families can lead boys to seek patterns of masculinity in delinquent groups of peers. These groups in many respects substitute for the family, define male roles, and contribute to the acquisition of such attributes as cruelty, strength, excitability and anxiety. The importance of family well-being is becoming increasingly recognized. Success in school depends greatly on whether parents have the capacity to provide their children with “starting†opportunities (including the resources to buy books and manuals and pay for studies). Adolescents from low-income families often feel excluded. To raise their self-esteem and improve their status they may choose to join a juvenile delinquent group. These groups provide equal opportunities to everyone, favourably distinguishing themselves from school and family, where positions of authority are occupied by adults. The “criminalization†of the family also has an impact on the choice of delinquent trajectories. A study carried out in prisons in the United States reveals that families involved in criminal activities tend to push their younger members towards violating the law. More than two-thirds of those interviewed had relatives who were incarcerated; for 25 percent it was a father and for another 25 percent a brother or sister (Bartol & Bartol, 2009).
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]ABSTRACTThe challenges of adolescents are enormous simply because of diverse growth and development that characterized this stage, this lead many adolescents into delinquent behaviours. This study thus investigated the patterns and causes of delinquent behaviours as expressed by secondary school students in Ibarapa Local Government Area, Oyo State. The study also examined the influence of variables such as gender, age and residential area on respondents’ expressions. Descriptive survey de ... Continue reading---
APPENDIX A - [ Total Page(s): 2 ]SECTION C: Causes of Juvenile DelinquencyDirection: Kindly put a tick ( ) in the column that you consider as most applicable to you. There is no right or wrong responses. Please respond to all items as honestly as possible using the rating scales: SA - Strongly Agree; A - Agree; D – Disagree and SD - Strongly Disagree. ... Continue reading---
LIST OF TABLES - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]LIST OF TABLES Title 1. Demographic characteristics of respondents 2. Mean and rank order of patterns of juvenile delinquency among students 3. Mean and rank order of causes of juvenile delinquency 4. Mean, SD and t-test results comparing respondents’ expression on patterns of juvenile delinquency based on gender 5. Mean, SD and t-test results comparing respondents’ expression o ... Continue reading---
TABLE OF CONTENTS - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]TABLE OF CONTENTSContent Title page Certification Dedication Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Tables Abstract CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONBackground to the Study Statement of the Problem Research Questions Research Hypotheses Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Operational Definition of Terms Scope of the Study CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATUREConcept of Adolescence Concept of Juvenile Delinquency Theories of Juvenile Delinquency Age and Juvenile Delinquen ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER ONE - [ Total Page(s): 4 ]Studies have been conducted on juvenile delinquency, for instance, Hoeve, Dubas, Eichelsheim, Laan, and Jan (2009) carried out a meta-analysis study on the relationship between parenting and delinquency. The study found strong link among parental monitoring, psychological control and negative aspects of support such as rejection and hostility, accounting for up to eleven percent of the variance in delinquency. Ekpo and Ajake (2013) studied family socio-economic status and delinquency among senio ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER THREE - [ Total Page(s): 2 ]Psychometric Properties of the Instrument The psychometric analysis of the instrument was based on the validity and reliability measure. The properties are presented thus;Validity: Adewumi (1998) noted that a measuring instrument is described as valid when it measures truly and accurately the quality it is meant to measure. Validity is one of the most crucial psychometric properties of measurement and it is concerned with whether a test or scale really measures what it purports to measure. ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FOUR - [ Total Page(s): 7 ]Research Question 2: What are the causes of juvenile delinquency among secondary school students in Ibarapa Local Government Area?Table 3 depicts the mean and rank order of respondents’ responses on causes of juvenile delinquency. The table shows that the respondents agreed to all the identified items as causes of juvenile delinquencies as the response scores are above average mean score of 2.5. However, items 1, 4, 12, 5 and 3 were ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th with mean scores of 3. ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FIVE - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]RecommendationsThe following recommendations were made based on the findings of the study:1. Parents and the society should provide for the needs of adolescents (most especially the basic needs) so that they can be prevented from engaging in delinquent behaviours that may negatively influence their future.2. The school authorities should monitor students’ activities and encourage them on the needs to associate with peers that help them improve in their academic pursuits and mo ... Continue reading---
REFRENCES - [ Total Page(s): 4 ]Smetana, J. G., Campione,-Barr, N. & Metzger, A. (2006). Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 255-284.Snyder, H, N. & Sickmund, M. (2006). Juvenile offenders and victims. 2006 national report. Washington DC, US department of Justice, Office of Justice programmes office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Steinberg, L. & Monahan, K. C. (2007). Age differences in resistance to peer influence. Development Psychology 43(6): 1531- ... Continue reading---
