Influence of parenting styles on delinquency among juveniles in rehabilitation centres in Nakuru town, Kenya

Abstract

Families are one of the strongest socializing forces in life. They teach children to control unacceptable behaviour, to delay gratification, and to respect the rights of others. Conversely, families can teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behaviour. The study aimed at determining the influence of parenting styles on delinquency among juveniles in rehabilitation centres in Nakuru town, Kenya. The ex post facto research design was applied since the Juveniles have already left their homes. The study was conducted in the Juvenile Institutions in Nakuru town, Kenya. Nakuru town has three juvenile delinquent institutions composed of 209 juveniles. The sample size of 161 juveniles aged between ten to nineteen years was drawn from the three institutions. Purposive sampling method was used in selecting these Juvenile Institutions. The researcher administered questionnaire to the juvenile delinquents in order to collect information on their previous parental experiences. Validity of the instruments was verified using expert opinion while the reliability was measured using a pilot study at Molo Probation and Aftercare Centre. Cronbach’s Alpha method was applied to test internal consistency of the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.707 was realised. Descriptive statistics frequency tables and percentages were used to analyse data with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 for windows. Results revealed that parenting styles influence juvenile delinquency. Parents need to adopt authoritative parenting style, high in warmth and high in control, in order to reduce juvenile delinquency trends. Parents need to spend more time with their children and encourage interpersonal communication. The findings from the researcher suggest further research on the influence of modern society on juvenile delinquency.