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Common Factors of Juvenile Delinquent Acts

Conference Paper  in  SSRN Electronic Journal · August 2014

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2191280

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 COMMON FACTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENT ACTS

Dr. Anna C. Bocar

Corresponding Authors * Marde P. Mercado
*Junry R. Macahis
*Neil S. Serad

CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
Rationale of the Study

The foundation of a nation begins with the education of the children since they are
considered one of the most important assets of the nation. Every effort should be made to
promote their welfare and enhance their opportunities for useful and happy life. The
molding of the child’s character starts at the home. Consequently, every member of the
family should strive to make the home a wholesome and harmonious place as its
atmosphere and conditions will greatly influence the child’s development (Villanueva,
2006).
Crime happens anywhere in this world and it excuses no one, whether rich or
poor, adults to youths and juveniles. The general public sees criminals as gruesome
adults. But increasing number of youth getting involved in criminal activities alarms the
society as a whole (“Juvenile Delinquency”, 2009).

Common felonious activities like riots, theft, robbery, carnapping, murder,

homicide, rape, and others are committed by young adults and even mature persons, but
through these days the youth are involved in most of these crimes (“Juvenile
Delinquency”, 2009). This issue is not as big as the economic crisis the society is
experiencing right now; however, this has always been a perennial issue to the
community and to the country as a whole.

According to Villanueva (2006), juvenile delinquency refers to an anti-social act

or a child/minor/youth’s behavior which deviates from the normal pattern of rules and
regulations, custom and culture which the society does not accept.

The prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of crime prevention in

society. Guevara and Bautista (2008) quoted that, “an ounce of prevention is better than a
pound of cure”, this clearly manifests the importance of misbehavior deterrence among
the youth.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2191280

 The peace officers in the country are concerned with all types of youth in a
community but the major portion of work with the youth is more on delinquency and
prevention activities. The youth apprehended by peace officers after the commission of a
crime are directly turned over to the City Social Welfare Development Office since they
are considered as a minor and are not criminally liable. They are under the protection of
Republic Act (R.A) 9344 otherwise known as Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.

The figures from the Philippine National Police showed a total of 2,158 cases
involving underage offenders which were reported to the PNP Women and Children
Protection Center. Half of them have theft cases committed from January to December of
2008. Crimes involving minors rose by 18%. Cases of drug use also rose from 113 in
2007 to 145 in 2008. This means that there is an increase at about 28% (Quismundo,
2009).
According to Laudie Salud A. Raras, Officer-in-charge from Ozamiz City Social
Welfare Development office, that from the year 2007 – 2011 there is a decrease of
reported cases involving the children-in-conflict with the law. The gathered data show
that most of the time majority of the child-in-conflict with the law are males while the
females as law breaker occupy lesser in number. It can be noticed also on the information
obtained that though cases of breaking the law was reported to the office responsible on
the issue regarding the youth, there were only very few formal suit filed against them and
sometimes there is even no case filed. This means that the other offended party is not
interested in filing a case in the proper court to prosecute the youth offenders (Appendix
F).
In order that the youth would become productive elements of the society, they
must be reminded that they have committed mistakes so that the expected reformation
follows. In the cases where there is commission or omission of an act which are criminal
in nature, the arresting officer is duty bound to file the appropriate complaint since there
acts are considered in violation against the state and the people of the Philippines in
which they are deemed to be the representative.

The researchers are future police officers. They will assist persons in authority
and it is possible that they will become arresting officers that will enforce the law. Their
knowledge of the different predictors of juvenile delinquent acts plays significant role.
This will aid them to determine which of the predictors are the common causes of
juvenile delinquent acts as perceived by their respondents. This will serve as their guide
on how to deal with youth that are into delinquent acts and to establish good relationship.
Thus, this study was conducted.

Review of Related Literature

Hossain (2011) claims that juvenile delinquency is almost an outcome of rapid

urbanization and industrialization and has almost become a universal problem in most of
the industrialized countries. No single cause or simple explanation for the development of
delinquent behavior but there are different causes of delinquency namely: family aspect
of delinquency, physical and biological factor.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2191280

 An online article entitled Juvenile Delinquency (2009) exposes that “ A youth, for
the sake of being a part of something that could protect him will join a gang and throw
chaos to the society that reject him; a youth, who just wants to prove something will be a
rebel to his family; a youth, who just wants to escape from his miserable life will do
foolish crimes; and innocent youth yet dangerous; a naïve youth yet mature; a youth
supposed to study at school, expected to be the next leader, an asset turned liability of our
society”.
In addition, another article “Juvenile Delinquency”, (2003) finds that children
who receive adequate parental supervision are less likely to engage in criminal activities.
On the other hand, dysfunctional family settings characterized by conflict, inadequate
parental control, weak internal linkages and integration and premature autonomy are
closely associated with juvenile delinquency. Further, the article elaborates that families
involved in criminal activities tend to push their younger members towards violating the
law. More than two-thirds of those interviewed had relatives who were incarcerated; 25%
was a father and another 25% a brother or sister.

According to Green (2005), the social-science evidence points strongly to the

influence of parents as the chief underlying cause of juvenile crime. A recent survey
found that criminal parents are much more likely to raise criminal offspring; 43% of
prisoners had family members who had been convicted and 35% had a family member
who had been in jail.

The harsh and abusive rearing of the child also contributes to the development of
violent behavior. Maltreated children tend to commit more crime in adulthood compared
to non-maltreated children (Honkatukia & Kivivuori, 2006).

Moreover, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (R.A. 9344, Sec.4, 2006) stated
“child/youth refers to any person under the age of eighteen (18)”. This act deals with
children at risk and children in conflict with the law. This provides child-appropriate
proceeding, including programs and services for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, re-
integration and aftercare to ensure their normal growth and development. Furthermore, in
Sec.6 of this Act states that “a child 15 years old or under at the commission of the
offense shall be exempted from criminal liability. A child above 15 years but below 18
years old is likewise exempted from criminal liability but be subjected to an intervention
program”.

The National Institute of Justice (2005) reports that offenders age 13 and under
are more likely to commit crimes in pairs and groups than 16 and 17 year old offenders.
About 40% of juvenile offenders commit most of their crimes with others. When young
offenders affiliate with offenders who have previously used violence, the result appears
to be an increase in the likelihood that they will subsequently commit a violent crime.

Becroft (2009) has find out that association with anti-social peers become a
training ground for delinquent behavior and increases the chance of the youth to become

3
delinquent. A juvenile gang member considers his group as his family, such associations,
an individual acquires a sense of safety and security (“Juvenile, Delinquency,” 2003).

On the other hand, The National Academies Press (2000) claims that student’s
commitment to school and learning contributes to their academic success. However,
schools operate in a complex social context characterized in many instances by limited
resources. Schools in urban, poor, disorganized communities experience more disorder
than other schools. The availability of drugs, alcohol, or weapons, weak or inattentive
school leadership and poor administration of discipline correlate with school disorder and
a school’s inability to cope with and solve the problem.

On the other hand, Montaldo (1999) finds an analysis from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s National Incident-Based Reporting System data that from 1997-1998 19
% of the victims of nonfatal violent crimes were victimized by a juvenile offender, either
a juvenile acting alone, multiple juvenile, or juvenile and adult offenders acting together.
About two-thirds (62%) of the victims of nonfatal violence committed by juvenile
offenders were themselves younger than 18, and about one-third (38%) were adults. Most
(95%) of the victims of sexual assaults committed by juveniles were younger than 18, as
were 43% of victims of robberies by juveniles, 53% of aggravated assaults, and 61% of
simple assaults.

In the report released by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
(CASA) at Columbia University (2010), four of every five children and teen arrestees in
state juvenile justice system are under the influence of alcohol or drugs while committing
their crimes. In their five year study of Criminal Neglect: Substance Abuse, Juvenile
Justice and The Children Left Behind, they have found that 1.9 million of 2.4 million
juvenile arrests had substance abused and addiction involvement. The findings include
that 92% of arrested juveniles who tested positive for marijuana and 14.4% for cocaine.
The report revealed that drug and alcohol abuse is implicated in 64% of violent offenses,
72% of property offenses and 81% of assaults, vandalism and disorderly conduct.

On the other hand, prohibited drugs are only one of the factors that may influence
the youth’s behavior since Roberts, Christenson, and Gentile (2003), found a positive
correlation between amount of MTV (music television) watching and physical fights
among third to fifth-grade children (as cited in Anderson et al., 2003).

In the article of Soriano (2001), she stipulates that theft and robbery are crimes
against property were most of the crimes today are done by minors. This indicates that
economic difficulties drive them into criminal activities. She further adds that the major
factor that pushes the youth towards delinquency is poverty together with family conflict
and negative peer influence.

In the Philippines, Verwijs (2002) finds that in the final years of the Marcos era,
crime became hardened in the street. Delinquent youth doubled from 3,814 in 1987 to 6,
778 in 1989. The majority (59.1%) apprehended were between 17 and 21 years old, while

4
another 31.8% were between 13 and 16 years old. This situation is based on data given by
the Department of Social Welfare.

Theoretical Background

Juvenile delinquency refers to the anti-social act or behavior which is against the
norm, culture, customs and regulations of the society and is committed by the youths
(Guevara and Bautista, 2008).

According to Villanueva (2006), “Juvenile delinquency is a major problem that a

society suffers from and will continue to suffer until there is a significant social and
economic change taking place”.

Ngale (2009) emphasizes that “monitoring becomes increasingly important as

children move into adolescence and spend less time under the direct supervision of
parents or other adults and more time with peer.” Smith, Tolan, Loeber & Henry (1998)
find that parental conflict and paternal aggressiveness predicted violent offending,
whereas, lack of maternal affection and paternal criminality predicted involvement in
property crimes.

In addition Ngale (2009) says that “juvenile delinquent acts are the direct
consequences of their family’s economic disempowerment, permissive parenting style,
and parent’s heavy job-time overload”. Moreover, Ngale (2009) reveals that in the
absence of moral, psychological and financial viability at home, the children are forced to
seek to “survive” beyond the family context. Juvenile delinquency in this case is an
escape from a family system which is neither empowered nor empowering.

Villanueva (2006) declares the four factors that contribute on juvenile

delinquency. These four factors are:

Family. The first and most basic institution in the society where the child learns
to curb his desires and to accept rules that define the time, place and circumstance.
Child’s personal needs are satisfied in a socially acceptable manner in the family.
However, the child tends to become delinquent as influence by his/her own family due to
(1) faulty development of the child, (2) lack of parental guidance/monitoring, (3) lack of
maternal affection, (4) unfair treatment, and (5) parental rejection and broken home.

Environment. This is where the child is influenced after his/her first highly
formative years. His/her friends in the community may influence him/her to become
delinquent. Eventually, he/she becomes victim of his/her own environment, attitude,
dress, tastes, ambitions, and even behavior which have been already influenced by those
anti-social acts recognized in their environment. Some of the causes are, (1) associations
with criminal groups, (2) alcoholism and drug addiction, (3) crime inducing situation that
causes criminalistics tendencies, and (4) imitated instinct like selfishness, violence and
anti-social wishes.

5
 School. Unlike the family, the school is the public instrument for training young
people. Therefore, schools are more directly accessible to change the youth through the
development of new resources and policies. Schools are the principal institutions for
developing young people to the goals and values of society. The failure of the school in
character development of the children is one of the instances that the school will
contribute to juvenile delinquency. In addition, the use of methods that create the
conditions of failure or frustrations on the part of the students, truancy and lack of
facilities for curricular and extra-curricular activities are also some of the instances that
caused juvenile delinquency.

Other departments or agencies of the government. They also create factors that
influence the youth to become delinquent, such as: (1) political interference of the higher
positions, (2) unfair decisions of the court, (3) police carelessness and unfair treatment,
(4) influence from the newspapers, movies, t.v, radio, comic, and other magazines.

The causes of juvenile crimes are usually found at each level of social culture,
including society as a whole, social institution, groups and organization and interpersonal
relations. Juveniles’ choice of delinquent activities is triggered by different factors like:
economic and social factors, cultural factors, urbanization, family, media, exclusion, and
peer influence (“Juvenile Delinquency”, 2003).

THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem

This paper aimed to investigate the perception of the respondents on the factors of
juvenile delinquent acts. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents as regards their:

1.1 grouping

2. As manifested by the respondents which of the factors of juvenile delinquency namely:

family, environment, school, and other departments or agencies of the government
2.1 push the youth or juvenile to engage in delinquent acts at all times
2.2 never push the youth or juvenile to engage in delinquent acts?

Scope and Limitation

The researchers limited their investigation to the perception of the respondents on

the factors that push the youth to engage in delinquent acts. This study was conducted in
Barangay Maningcol, Carmen Annex and Tinago. The parents (50), full time teachers
(77), students (50) from La Salle University were selected randomly. Police officers (50)
from Ozamiz City Police Station located at the City Hall were also taken as respondents
of this study.

6
Significance of the Study

This study is helpful to the following groups of people: Parents. The result of this
study would be of great help for them so that they would be aware of what leads the
juvenile/youth to become delinquent. This would lead them to supplement the necessary
affection, guidance, monitoring and other needs of the child that they should provide.
Police Officers. They would gain knowledge on what leads the youth to engage in
delinquent acts and be guided in conducting seminars or symposium for public awareness
regarding Juvenile Delinquency as part of their Police Community Relation program.
With the result of this study, law enforcers would be able to deal with prudence not only
the symptoms of criminal acts but also their causes. Local Government. Through this
study, they would be guided in formulating prevention programs designed to address the
issue of juvenile delinquency for which the local government may be of great help in
reducing the cases involving minors. Social Workers. This would serve as a guide for
them in dealing with youth offenders, specifically in counseling and giving them
treatment in order to redirect their minds not to commit crimes. Teachers/Criminology
Professors. They would be able to identify on what causes the youth to become
delinquent and through this study they could extend more guidance not only to their
students but also to their family members and relatives to avoid doing delinquent acts.
Department of Criminal Justice Education. This would serve as a supplement and
would aid the department to resolve matters and issues that deal with juvenile
delinquency. Other Researchers. This study would become a good reference for further
research and would encourage them to examine deeper on the issues which are related to
this study.

CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design of the study, respondents, environment,
instrument, data gathering procedure and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

This study utilized descriptive survey method. The researchers solicited the
perception of the respondents on the predictors that push the youth/juvenile to engage in
delinquent acts.

Research Respondents

The respondents of this study were the fifty (50) Police Officers, seventy seven
(77) full time teachers, fifty (50) students of La Salle University 1st semester of the SY
2012-2013 and fifty (50) parents, chosen through random selection. All of them are from
the City of Ozamiz.

7
Research Setting

Ozamiz is a second class city found in the province of Misamis Occidental in

Region X Northern Mindanao. The parents, as respondents of this study, were selected
from Barangay Maningcol, Carmen Annex, and Tinago. Barangay Maningcol is found on
the southern part of the city and composed of 483.60 hectares, with a population of 7,
217. Carmen Annex on the other hand is found along the Panguil Bay and composed of
247.61 hectares and 6,282 in population. Barangay Tinago is also found along the
Panguil Bay and composed of 31.96 hectares and 9, 668 in population (Philippine
Standard Geographic Code, 2012). These barangays were chosen by the researchers since
they are accessible to them. On the other hand, La Salle University, one of the prestigious
schools in the city, was the venue where the study was conducted. All full time teachers
from the institution as well as the selected students were also the respondents of the
study.

Research Instrument

The self-devised questionnaire on the factors of juvenile delinquent acts with their
predictors was sourced out from the book of Villanueva (2006) and Ngale (2009). They
were utilized as the main tools to gather the data. The research instrument was divided
into two (2) parts. The first part was about the grouping of the respondents ( mentioned at
the respondents section). While the second part was on the predictors of the four factors
of juvenile delinquent acts which were listed as follows:
(1) Family
1.1 Parental Conflict/Conflict between the parents
1.2 Parental aggressiveness
1.3 Coercive parenting
1.4 Permissive parenting style
1.5 Paternal criminality
1.6 Lack of parental guidance
1.7 Lack of maternal affection
1.8 Insufficient parental monitoring
1.9 Parents heavy job-time overload
1.10 Jobless mother
1.11 Low socio economic status of working fathers
1.12 Violence in the family

(2) Environment
2.1 Deviant peer’s influence
2.2 Drug addiction
2.3 Sadistic attitude
2.4 Late night – outings

8
(3) School
3.1 Running from school
3.2 Failure of school in character development
3.3 Failure of school to use methods that avoid conditions of frustrations
3.4 Lack of school facilities for curricular and extra-curricular activities

(4) Other departments or agencies of government

4.1 Police carelessness and unfair treatment
4.2 Political Interference
4.3 Unfair decisions of the court
4.4 Influence from mass media (t.v, magazines, comic, newspaper & etc)

The respondents were asked to check their preferred answers from the scale of
measurement provided by the researchers. To ensure the responses of the parents from
the selected barangays, the predictors listed in the survey questionnaire were translated to
Cebuano for the respondents to have a clarity and better understanding in answering the
questions.

Data Gathering Procedure

In this study the researchers wrote and delivered a letter of permission addressed
to the Chief of Ozamiz City Philippine National Police requesting that they would be
allowed to administer a survey questionnaire to the 50 selected police officers in the city.
For the selected parents, the researchers requested the help of the Health Workers in each
selected barangay to aid them in gathering the data. For the LSU teachers and students,
survey questionnaires were directly administered to them. The answered questionnaires
were collected then. Each item was tallied, tabulated, analyzed and interpreted.

Treatment of Data

For interpretation purposes on the gathered data, the researchers set the scale of
measurement as follows:
Numeric Hypothetical Qualitative Verbal Interpretation
Value Mean Range Description
1 1.0-1.75 Never (N) - means that this predictor
not at all pushes the youth
to engage in delinquent
acts.

2 1.76-2.50 Occasionally (Occ) - means that this predictor

sometimes pushes the
youth to engage in
delinquent acts.

9
 3 2.51-3.25 Often (Oft) - means that this predictor
frequently pushes the youth
to engage in delinquent
acts.

4 3.26-4.00 Always (A) - means that this predictor

is at all times pushes the
youth to engage in
delinquent acts.

Percentage and frequency distribution were also utilized in this study while the
answers of the respondents for every item in the predictors would be interpreted using the
weighted mean with corresponding hypothetical mean range presented above.

CHAPTER 3
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the data collected. The data
pertained the profile of the respondents according to group where they belong and the
predictors of each factor of delinquent acts that pushed the youth to engage in breaking
the law.

Respondents

Table 1 below shows that among the respondents, seventy seven (77) of them
were teachers and the members of the police force, students and parents were of equal in
number which is fifty (50).
Table 1
Grouping of the Respondents
Grouping f %
Police Officers 50 0.22
Teachers 77 0.34
Parents 50 0.22
Students 50 0.22
Total 227 100

The cooperation of the members of the police force, teachers, students, and
parents gave the total number of respondents to two hundred twenty seven (227).

10
 Family
According to Villanueva (2006) family is the first and most basic institution. It is
where the child learns not only the basic aspects in life but also those matters that will
help them grow as a good citizen in the country.

The table 2 reveals the predictors as regards the family as a factor of juvenile
delinquent acts.
Table 2
Family as Factor of Juvenile Delinquent Acts
Police Item
Officer Teachers Students Parents Average
Predictors µ INT µ INT µ INT µ IN µ IN
T T
1. Parental
Conflict/Conflict 3.40 A 2.64 Oft 2.36 Occ 2.44 Occ 2.71 Oft
between the
parents
2.Parental 3.30 A 2.33 Occ 2.26 Occ 2.78 Oft 2.67 Oft
aggressiveness
3. Coercive 3.12 Oft 2.51 Oft 1.92 Occ 2.70 Oft 2.56 Oft
parenting
4. Permissive 3.04 Oft 2.38 Occ 2.20 Occ 2.00 Occ 2.40 Occ
parenting style
5. Paternal 3.06 Oft 2.40 Occ 1.76 Occ 1.68 N 2.22 Occ
criminality
6. Lack of parental 3.22 Oft 2.53 Oft 1.84 Occ 2.08 Occ 2.42 Occ
guidance
7. Lack of maternal 3.00 Oft 2.64 Oft 1.78 Occ 2.20 Occ 2.41 Occ
affection
8. Insufficient 2.88 Oft 2.73 Oft 2.00 Occ 2.10 Occ 2.43 Occ
parental monitoring
9. Parents heavy 2.68 Oft 2.34 Occ 2.28 Occ 2.54 Oft 2.88 Oft
job-time overload
10. Jobless mother 2.36 Occ 1.70 N 1.78 Occ 2.74 Oft 2.15 Occ

11. Low socio

economic status of 2.58 Oft 2.03 Occ 1.94 Occ 2.76 Oft 2.33 Occ
working fathers
12. Violence in the 2.98 Oft 2.75 Oft 1.88 Occ 1.94 Occ 2.39 Occ
family
Factor Average 2.97 Oft 2.42 Occ 2.00 Occ 2.33 Occ 2.46 Occ
Legend:
Never - N µ - Weighted Mean
Occasionally - Occ INT - Interpretation
Often - Oft
Always - A
11
 The factor average showed that three (3) of the four (4) groups of respondents
namely teachers (µ=2.42), students (µ=2.00) and parents (µ=2.33) perceived that family
as a factor of delinquent acts, pushes the youth occasionally (sometimes) to engage in
misbehavior. The perception of the teachers, students and parents agreed with the
statement mentioned in the article entitled, “Juvenile Delinquency”, (2003) which states
that children who receive adequate parental supervision are less likely to engage in
criminal activities. However, police officers identified that parental conflict (µ=3.40) and
aggressiveness (µ=3.30) always push the youth to commit delinquent acts. Their
perception revealed that family often (frequently) set the motion on the youth to commit
wrong doing. This suggests that their observation is in contrary to the above idea.

Moreover, parents (µ=1.68) and teachers (µ=1.70) believed that paternal

criminality and jobless mother are never (not at all) a ground that pushes the youth to
break the law, respectively.

Environment

The first high formative years of the children could be influenced also by their
peers and associates.

Table 3 reveals that students (µ=2.12) and parents (µ=2.21) recognized that
environment as factor of juvenile delinquent acts pushes the youth occasionally
(sometimes) to break the law. However, teachers (µ=2.69) and police officers (µ=3.08)
perceived that environment often (frequently) drives the youth to misbehave and commit
criminal acts.
Table 3
Environment as Factor of Juvenile Delinquency Acts
Police
Officers Teachers Students Parents Item Average

Predictors µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT

1. Deviant peers
influence 3.02 Oft 2.77 Oft 2.28 Occ 2.24 Occ 2.58 Oft
2. Drug addiction 3.32 A 2.96 Oft 2.22 Occ 2.30 Occ 2.70 Oft

3. Sadistic attitude 3.00 Oft 2.58 Oft 2.02 Occ 2.12 Occ 2.43 Occ
4. Late night –
outings 2.96 Oft 2.43 Occ 1.94 Occ 2.16 Occ 2.37 Occ
Factor Average 3.08 Oft 2.69 Oft 2.12 Occ 2.21 Occ 2.54 Oft
Legend:
Never - N µ - Weighted Mean
Occasionally - Occ INT - Interpretation
Often - Oft
Always - A

12
 Specifically, the results showed that drug addiction (µ=3.32) was viewed by the
police officers as predictors that force the youth to commit crime always (at all times).
This confirms to the report released by the National Center on Addiction and Abuse
(2010), that juvenile under arrest is with the influence of alcohol or drugs while
committing the crime. On the other hand, teachers observed that late night-outings
(µ=2.43) push the youth occasionally (sometimes) to engage in delinquent acts.

School
Aside from the informal training of the youth from their parents, academic
institutions guide them through their formal education.

The Table 4 presents the items as regards school as factor of juvenile delinquent
acts. The result revealed that only the group of police officers (µ=2.39) identified that
school often (frequently) drives the youth to delinquency. The other three (3) groups of
respondents namely teachers (µ=2.11), students (µ=1.79) and parents (µ=1.94) observed
that school occasionally (sometimes) induces the youth to break the law.

Table 4
School as Factor of Juvenile Delinquency Acts
Police
Officers Teachers Students Parents Item Average

Predictors µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT

1. Running from school 2.74 Oft 1.87 Occ 1.80 Occ 1.98 Occ 2.10 Occ

2. Failure of school in
character development 2.64 Oft 2.56 Oft 1.84 Occ 1.80 Occ 2.21 Occ

3. Failure of school to
use methods that avoid
conditions of 2.28 Occ 2.05 Occ 1.72 N 1.68 N 1.93 Occ
frustrations
4. Lack of school
facilities for curricular
and extra-curricular 1.88 Occ 1.98 Occ 1.78 Occ 2.28 Occ 1.91 Occ
activities
Factor Average 2.39 Oft 2.11 Occ 1.79 Occ 1.94 Occ 2.04 Occ
Legend:
Never - N µ - Weighted Mean
Occasionally - Occ INT - Interpretation
Often - Oft
Always - A

Specifically, students (µ=1.72) and parents (µ=1.68) considered that failure of

school to use methods that avoid conditions of frustrations as never or not at all the cause
of juvenile delinquency. This result is contrary to the claim of the National Academies
Press (2000) which states that schools in urban, or poor communities experience more

13
disorder than other schools and as such they are not able to solve the problem of the
students who are young at age.

Other Departments or Agencies of the Government

The other departments or agencies of the government could also factors that
influence the youth to become delinquent (“Juvenile Delinquency,” 2003).

Table 5
Other Department or Agencies of the Government as Factors
of Juvenile Delinquency Acts
Police
Officers Teachers Students Parents Item Average
Predictors µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT
1. Police carelessness 1.48 N 2.26 Occ 2.00 Occ 2.40 Occ 2.04 Occ
and unfair treatment
2. Political Interference 1.58 N 2.27 Occ 1.84 Occ 2.00 Occ 1.92 Occ

3. Unfair decisions of 1.64 N 1.39 N 2.06 Occ 2.04 Occ 2.03 Occ
the court
4. Influence from mass
media (t.v, magazines,
comic, newspaper & 2.30 Occ 3.01 Oft 2.66 Oft 2.92 Oft 2.72 Oft
etc)
Factor Average 1.75 N 2.23 Occ 2.14 Occ 2.34 Occ 2.18 Occ
Legend:
Never - N µ - Weighted Mean
Occasionally - Occ INT - Interpretation
Often - Oft
Always - A

The Table 5 above revealed that among the three (3) groups of respondents,
teachers (µ=2.23), students (µ=2.14) and parents (µ=2.34) believed that other department
or agencies of the government as a factor push the youth occasionally (sometimes) to
break the law. However police officers (µ=1.75) believed that it is never or not at all the
ground for the youth to commit crime. The police officers clearly identified that three (3)
of the four (4) predictors under this factor to push the youth to commit delinquent acts
namely police carelessness and unfair treatment, political interference and unfair
decisions of the court were never (not at all) the reasons for the youth to become
delinquent. For the police officers (µ=2.30), they perceived that only the mass media
occasionally (sometimes) influenced the commission of delinquent acts. Specifically, the
teachers (µ=3.01), students (µ=2.66), parents (µ=2.92) perceived that influence from
mass media drives the youth into delinquent acts often (frequently). In addition, as
manifested by the teachers (µ=1.39). This implies that the perception of the teachers
agrees to the statement of Roberts, Christenson, and Gentile (2003) that, children who
watched a lot of MTV (music television) were more relationally and physically
14
aggressive than other children. Moreover, the unfair treatment of the court is never or not
at all the cause for delinquent acts.

Summarized Data

The Table 6 shows the summarized data on the factors of juvenile delinquent acts
as grouped into four (4) namely: family, environment, school, and other department or
agencies of the government.

Table 6
Summarized Data on the Factors of Juvenile Delinquent Acts
Police Factor
Officers Teachers Students Parents Average

Items µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT µ INT

1. Family 2.97 Oft 2.42 Occ 2.00 Occ 2.33 Occ 2.43 Occ

2. Environment 3.08 Oft 2.69 Oft 2.12 Occ 2.21 Occ 2.53 Oft

3. School 2.39 Oft 2.11 Occ 1.79 Occ 1.94 Occ 2.06 Occ
4. Other Departments
or Agencies of the 1.75 N 2.23 Occ 2.14 Occ 2.34 Occ 2.12 Occ
Government
General Average 2.55 Oft 2.36 Occ 2.02 Occ 2..21 Occ 2.29 Occ
Legend:
Never - N µ - Weighted Mean
Occasionally - Occ INT - Interpretation
Often - Oft
Always - A

As illustrated in Table 6, the general average (µ=2.55) of police officers perception

revealed that the four factors often (frequently) push the youth to break the law; however,
the perceptions of the two groups of respondents namely students (µ=2.02) and parents
(µ=2.21) as regards to the four factors that push the youth/juvenile to engage in
delinquent acts signified that these occasionally (sometimes) cause the juvenile to
commit crime.

Specifically, the teachers (µ=2.69) recognized that environmental factor is often

(frequently) the cause of juvenile delinquency. This confirms the statement of Becroft
(2009) that association with anti-social peers becomes a training ground for delinquent
behavior and increases the chance of the youth to become delinquent.

In addition, though both the students (µ=1.79) and parents (µ=1.94) both believed
that school is occasionally (sometimes) as a factor of juvenile delinquent acts still it is the
least factor that contributes to the law breaking acts of the youth.
It is also clear that other departments or agencies in the government were never
(µ=1.75) or not at all factors that push the youth to commit doings in violation of the law.

15
 CHAPTER 4
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter presents the summary of the findings, conclusion and

recommendations of the study.

The study looked into the four factors that contribute on juvenile delinquent acts
namely family, environment, school and other department or agencies of the government.
This investigated also which among the factors pushes at all times or never pushes the
youth to engage in law breaking activities. The two hundred twenty seven respondents’
perception was analyzed through the four qualitative description which are never,
occasionally, often or always for the cause of juvenile delinquent acts.

The researchers made questionnaire was used as the main tool to gather the data.
Statistically, the answers of the respondents for every survey questionnaire were
interpreted using the weighted mean with the corresponding hypothetical mean range. In
addition, percentage and frequency distribution were also utilized in this study.

Findings
The study revealed the following relevant findings:
1. The teachers, students and parents manifested that the family pushes the youth `to
commit delinquent acts OCCASIONALLY (sometimes). However, police officers
manifested that family pushes them OFTEN to become delinquent.
2. The environment was perceived by the police officers and teachers as a factor that
OFTEN (frequently) pushes the young ones to break the law. In addition, students and
parents demonstrated that environment would push the youth to commit wrong doings
OCCASIONALLY.
3. The school was found by the teachers, students and parents as a ground that
OCCASIONALLY pushes the youth to engage in the commission of acts against the law.
However, police officers believed that school is OFTEN (frequently) the factor that
pushes the youth to do erroneous acts.
4. Other departments or agencies of the government were judged by the police officer as
NEVER or not at all predictors that push the youth to commit crime. However, teachers,
students and parents said that they OCCASIONALLY (sometimes) push them to commit
such acts.

Conclusion

After analyzing the data gathered, the researchers concluded that the four groups
of respondents have different perceptions as to what factor pushes the youth to become
delinquent. It can be noted that none of the four factors pushes the youth always to break
the law. The environment is observed that it causes the youth to misbehave often
(frequently). In addition, the family and school occasionally (sometimes) cause the
juvenile to have conflict with law. Furthermore, among the four groups of respondents

16
only the police officers manifested that other departments or agencies of the government
are never (not at all) factors for the youth to commit criminal acts while the three (3)
other groups of respondents declare that they it occasionally (sometimes) encourage the
commission of delinquent acts.

Recommendations

The recommendations that the researchers presented below are based on the
findings disclosed in the study. These are:

1. Parents should avoid quarreling in front of their children because it could lead
them to engage in delinquent acts. Also they must show love to their children
and must not inflict abusive disciplinary actions. The parents should be aware of
the activities that their children are into and they must also know who are the
friends of their children and what they do together.

2. Police officers shall maintain their police visibility throughout day and night so
that crimes could be prevented, especially when young people roam around the
street during late nights.

3. Local government should conduct prevention programs that will divert the
attention of the youth from engaging in delinquent acts to productive ones.

4. Social workers should create appropriate rehabilitation programs for the juvenile
offenders to redirect their minds and avoid the commission of any other crime.

5. Teachers/Professors must be creative in their teaching techniques so that the

students would become interested and attentive in their classes and they would
stay in school until classes end.

6. The Department of Criminal Justice Education should impart more knowledge to

the students on how to prevent juvenile delinquency and to impose routines or
procedures for the students to abide.

7. Future researchers must go deeper in this paper and conduct studies related to this
issue.

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CASA News Release. (2010). Most of juvenile offenders use drugs, alcohol. Retrieved
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