SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PARENTS AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The paper examines the relationship between parent’s socio-economic status and juvenile delinquency in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State. Delinquency has been variously portrayed as a condition of drift, maladjustment, pathology, disturbance moral depravity and unruly behaviour and socio-economic factors play prominent roles in determining  behaviours of children in the society. Functionalism was adopted as the theoretical framework study adopted concurrent mixed method research design. Multi-stage sampling procedure which incorporated cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to draw a sample of 200 respondents from the total population. Questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data while In-Depth Interview (IDI) Guide was used to elicit qualitative data from interviewees. Quantitative data were processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Manual content analysis anchored on the thematic method was used in the analysis of qualitative data. The findings revealed that parent’s level of income, level of occupation and level of education have strong nexus with children’s involvement in delinquent acts. The study therefore recommends that parents should always monitor the activities of their children both at home and in schools through their teachers. Again, parents should endeavour not to overlook their children’s anti-social behaviours, such behaviours should be corrected immediately.