Author(s)

Rosemary Kakonzi Mwangangi

Juvenile Justice, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

The overall purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between various family-related factors and crime. The study also attempted to ascertain whether those factors can act as causative agents for “juvenile delinquency”. The study postulated that although there are different factors that impact on the development of child character, the family plays a central role in child development and consequentially impacting on the character of a child. In order to critically analyze the hypothesis of study, the paper reviewed the concepts of juvenile delinquency and family. Although the paper centered on the family factors influencing delinquency, it equally attached premium on the non-family factors influencing levels of juvenile delinquency. The study found out that there are several notable family-related factors that impact on child crime. These include parental attitudes, the degree of family cohesion, physical violence, and uninvolved parenting. There are also non-family factors that impact on juvenile delinquency, which include the failure of the juvenile justice system, poverty, a lack of access to education, drug abuse and genetic problems.

Juvenile Delinquency, Family, Family Structures, Character Change, Child Development, Social Cohesiveness, Emotional Skills, Marriage, Criminal Acts, Antisocial Behaviour

Mwangangi, R. (2019) The Role of Family in Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 52-63. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.73004.