INFLUENCE OF PARENTHOOD STATUS ON JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AMONG IN-SCHOOL STUDENT IN SOMOLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE

Abstract

This paper examined the influence of parenthood status on juvenile delinquency among in-school student in Somolu Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State. The descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to randomly select adolescents aged 14-18 who were in SS1 and SS2 from the population of because they have already integrated themselves into the school system and must have displayed one or two delinquent behaviours. Sixty-seven (67) students were randomly selected from six different senior public schools under the Education District II which is 402 students form the selected adolescents of aged
14-18 who were in SS1 and SS2. The instrument title: “Parenthood Status and Juvenile Delinquency Questionnaire (PSJDQ). The number of items developed for the study were 40 and the responses were analyzed using descriptive statistic which involved the use of tables, percentages and weighted. The questionnaire items were validated and the reliability determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. This reliability of the Parenthood Status (PS) was demonstrated by a high Cronbach's alpha of 0.88, indicating excellent internal consistency. Pearson Correlation coefficient, T-test and ANOVA were used in the analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The finding of the result showed that there is a significant influence of parenthood status on property crime among in-school adolescents are improvement in parenthood status that caused corresponding change in cyber delinquency. Also, the result revealed that there is a significant relationship between parenthood status had influence on drug related offences, because null hypothesis was rejected. The study recommended that schools and community organisations should offer workshops and resources to educate parents on effective parenting strategies and the importance of
active engagement, as this has been shown to reduce juvenile delinquency.