Bata, bata, ba’t la nagkasala?: A Descriptive Study on Juvenile Delinquency of Youth in Metro Manila

Abstract

This research explores the concept of juvenile delinquency under interwoven psychological, sociological and anthropological milieu. A profile of the juvenile delinquents was constructed. It also investigated on the dynamics of psychological variables such as temperament, frustration and moral functioning, sociological variables such as family dynamics, peer association, social support and cultural variables such as norms, beliefs, and practices influence that influence juvenile delinquency. Two types of approaches were used in this study: quantitative and qualitative. For the quantitative part, a questionnaire was administered to the respondents who composed 20% of the population. The 56 participants, who were randomly chosen came from the Manila Youth Reception Center and Molave Youth home-two of three main youth detention centers in Metro Manila. The instrument employed was Sampang's Juvenile Delinquency Strain Measure 2010 (SJDSM 2010)- an instrument that the author has devised himself using exhaustive consultation to related literature. The instrument was pretested. Validity and reliability were duly established prior to instrument administration. It was also certified by the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino in UP Manila. For the quantitative part, in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion ensued with purposively chosen respondents using themes observed from data analysis of the quantitative results. Data analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Science version 17 (SPSS I 7) involved computation of frequencies and measures of central tendencies of the socio-demographic and strain variables. Bivariate correlations using Pearson r was also utilized for further analysis. Resulting themes from the qualitative data were also probed and scrutinized. The consequential profile garnered and the correlations and strains scored obtained point to poverty as a main determinant for delinquency. Peer group affiliation was seen as the main reason for delinquency. Family functioning and family violence were probable determinants of association with delinquent peers. Also, neighborhood structure and vices proved to be correlated with delinquency. All of these strains have been observed to cast pressure on the youth's psyche through stigma. With all these findings, this research concludes, and in the process verifies its hypothesis, that juvenile delinquency is influenced by the interplay of psychological, social and cultural variables.