Effects Of Juvenile Delinquency On Students’ Social Adjustments At Secondary School Level In District Lakki Marwat

Abstract

Teenage students easily become delinquent. The researcher focused on the effects of juvenile delinquency on students. The study was a blend of different methods for which convergent parallel design (Quantitative and Qualitative) was applied. All Secondary school students, their parents, and teachers were the population of the study. The main purpose of the study was to probe the causes of juvenile delinquency and its adverse effects on the academic as well as social adjustment of students. For all Secondary School delinquent students (three boys and three girl schools) in Lakki City, their parents and teachers were the populations of the study. The sample of the study for the quantitative phase comprised of all the delinquent students mentioned by the school principals with a total of 72, less than 100. Data was delimited to district Lakki Marwat. For the qualitative phase, the sample included twelve teachers and twelve parents of juvenile delinquents whereas the same sample was taken for non-delinquent students and their parents for comparison. A self-developed questionnaire was used for juvenile delinquent students while open-ended interviews were used for teachers and parents to know their perceptions regarding causes of juvenile delinquency and its effects on students’ academic performance and their social adjustment. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS by using descriptive statistics including percentage, frequency, Arithmetic Mean and Standard Deviation while Logistics Regression was used as inferential statistics by the researcher. Results and conclusions were drawn by revealing that juvenile delinquency had negative effects on students’ academic performance and social adjustment.