Exploring Psychosocial Factors of Delinquency in Juveniles: A Survey Investigation

Abstract

Owing to its peculiar indigenous socio-cultural, economic and legal conditions, juvenile delinquency in Pakistan is bound to have a unique complex facet. Our study aimed to explore the psychosocial factors that contributed to the development of delinquency in juveniles. Through the non-probability purposive sampling technique, a sample of (N= 40) late adolescent juvenile boys with an age range of (16-18) years, (M = 17, SD = .78) were recruited from the District Camp Jail of Lahore city. By applying a Sociodemographic Information Sheet, a Self-constructed Survey Questionnaire on Psychosocial Causes of Delinquency, the Parenting Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991), and Urdu translated Psychopathic Deviation Scale (Mirza, 1977), the data were collected and further analyzed through SPSS. Results showed the significance of sociodemographic characteristics including education, family dynamics, peer relations, substance abuse, parental education and family income. Moreover, the majority of the participants reported the authoritarian parenting style for both parents while their psychopathic deviation scores were also found to be above the cutoff score. These findings have eclectic and interdisciplinary implications that are not limited to intra-psychology fields of forensic, clinical and counselling settings, with a focus on adolescent development and behaviour, but can add value addition to the research scholarship to quite a few fields of social sciences, primarily sociology, social work and development studies. Moreover, these findings will further provide awareness and insight to law enforcement agencies, legislatures and public or private sector-based policymakers regarding the issues of delinquency.