CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

            An adolescent is views in different ways by different authors.  To some authors, adolescence period is looked at in terms of transition to adulthood.  The adolescent is seen to have left the childhood behaviours, be more matured and begins to exhibit some other characteristics that will enable him flow into real adulthood. 

            The adolescence period is viewed by some look at this period between ages 10 to 24 while some look at this period as starting from 8 years to 21 years.  Juvenile delinquency refers to the term given to children who have not attained the adult age.  This is normally defined by the court of law.

            Delinquency on the hand can be defined as the engaged in actions considered as being unlawful by the state.  Basically, Juvenile delinquency can mean any crime committed by a minor whether small like not going to school often or robbery and murder.

            Juvenile delinquency is an intractable problem worldwide and has been increasing phenomenally by as much as 30 percent since the 1999 (Sheryln, 2008).  Anti-social behaviours of young people have been posing a lot of problems to the people in Nigeria.  Researchers have agreed that delinquency is rampant among children living in difficult social, economic conditions.  They view the problems as originating mainly from the family as the first socialization agent.  They identified the mina stressor to children as follows: the parent having a criminal record, children under child protection, parents having a semi or no job, high debt levels, drug abuse by the parents, death of the household head, and illiteracy among others.  (Laura, 2007).

1.2       Statement of the Research Problem

            Juvenile delinquency in Nigeria is a major social problem which affects the whole society and constitutes a serious impediment to development (Mohammed et al., 2009). For instance in Port Harcourt municipality today, crime is common among the young people, many of who are caught in one criminal act or the other such as examination malpractice, armed robbery, assault, rape, house breaking, forgery, truancy etc. (Nwankwo, 2010).  Mohammed at al. (2010) have observed that young people in contemporary Nigeria are mostly involved in armed robbery, cultism, kidnapping, drug abuse and other criminal activities.  Drug law enforcement agency (NDLEA) lamented that the young eople the most involved in illicit drugs usage and dealings. (Nkwopara 2011).  The consequences of this malady and other juvenile crimes such as; examination malpractices, alcoholism, forgery rape, etc.  In Nigeria includes; social violence among youths, armed robbery, mental disorder, lack of respect for elders and other numerous socials ills.  I the light of the nauseating problems of juvenile delinquency in Nigeria and Port Harcourt municipality, scholar and concerned citizens have attributed the menace to various factors such as; poverty, pressure, family structure, drugs abuse and so on (Nwankwo et al., 2010).  While recognizing these other causes, this study seeks to focus on the effect of family structure on juvenile delinquency among schools adolescent in Port Harcourt because the family has a crucial role to play in the development of a confronting is delinquent personality.

1.3       Research Question

1.         How does family structure affect juvenile delinquency among adolescents?

2.         What is the significance of teaching and learning of social studies education in secondary school can cube?

3.         What are the impact of other personal characteristics in the promotion of delinquent behaviour to lead to lower academic performances?

4.         What are the workable measures used in minimizing the problems of juvenile delinquency in secondary school?

1.4       Objectives of the Study

1.         To find out how family structure affect juvenile delinquency among adolescents.

2.         to ascertain the extent to which the teaching and learning of social studies education in secondary school can cube.

3.         To find out the impact of other personal characteristics in the promotion of delinquent behavior to lead to lower academic performances

4.         To find workable measures to minimizing the problems of juvenile delinquency in secondary school.

1.5       Research Hypothesis

H₀: There is no significant difference between the academic performances of delinquent student before and after treatment.

H₁:      There is significant difference between the academic performances of delinquent student before and after treatment.

H₀: There is no significance different between the academic performances of delinquent student with parent with parents who is are literate parental background in the experimental group.

H₁:      there is significance different between the academic performances of delinquent student with parents who is are literate parental background the experimental group.

H₀:      There is no significant different in the level of delinquency among students based on age group.