| dc.description.abstract | The major hypothesis tested in this study was whether a
significant relationship exists between specific family environments
and the level of delinquent behaviour of ad olescents.
Most of the studies on Juvenile delinquent behaviour have
tended to use officially termed delinquents as their respondents.
By using such respondents, these studies have not drawn their
samples from representative portions of ,the juvenile population.
In order to overcome this, the present study drew its respondents from
a section of the juvenile population without regard to their known
or unknown delinquent behaviour tendencies.
The research design involved a survey of a sample of form I
students selected randomly from six secondary schools in Nyeri
district of Central Province of Kenya. The schools were themselves
selected randomly to include three for boys and three for girls.
The survey was undertaken in such a manner that its findings would
add to the efforts being made to prevent adolescents in engaging
in delinquent behaviour. The basic tools for data collection were a
self-adminstered questionnaire,completed by the respondents, and
unstructured questions for the headteachers and staff, and available
data.
The major findings of the study were that adolescents in secondary
schools do engage in juvenile delinquent behaviour, and that the
family environments which these children come from, as measured by
family size, family stability, level of education attained by
the parents, the socio economic status of the family, the frequency
of visits by absent parents, and the religious commitment of the
family, predispose these children towards juvenile delinquent
behaviour.
As anticipated in the three theoretical approches which formed the
framework for this study, the process of socialization is crucial
to the formation of proper and socially adjusted personalities.
Inadequate socialization was found to be a major reason why these
children engaged in delinquent behaviour. Those children who had
engaged in a high level of delinquent behaviour came from large
families, from fprr1liies in which the parents had attained a low
level of education, from low socio-economic status families, from
families in which parents rarely vis1ted their children, and from
families which had a low level of religious commitment.
It was concluded that a relationship does exist between these
family environments and the delinquent behaviour of the children.
This relationship has two major implications towards juvenile
delinquency prevention efforts. These are:
(1) That there is a need to look at delinient behaviour from a wider
perspective than is presently the case. This wider perspective
should include offering guidance and counselling to the family
since it is the first agent of socialization. This is in view of
the fact that most children engage in delinquent behaviour due to
inadequate socialization. Yet, at present, treatment is only
offered to the delinquent children.
(2) That the study of delinquency should not confine itself to
dealing with only officially known delinquents. It should draw
samples fyem the entire juvenile pppulation. This is in view of
the fact that a lot of delinquency goes undetected. | en |
