Investment-prevention strategies to alleviate juvenile delinquency in Malaysia / Tai Soo Shong

Tai , Soo Shong (2017) Investment-prevention strategies to alleviate juvenile delinquency in Malaysia / Tai Soo Shong. PhD thesis, University of Malaya.

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Abstract

This study is intended to investigate and examine the risk and protective factors affecting juvenile delinquency for the purposes of early intervention and prevention. Since antisocial behaviour has its origins in child development, the present study places great emphasis on human development in context based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecology Systems Theory as its theoretical framework. The holistic qualitative approach was used on multiple case studies in order to trace the underlying causes of juvenile delinquent or non-delinquent behaviour. The respondents of this study comprised of six of my former students and six trainees from Sekolah Tunas Bakti, a rehabilitation institution for delinquent boys. After months of participant observation, interviews, stimulative-recall methodology, and document analysis, the findings of this study show that juvenile delinquency is the outcome of the various social processes in the environment and these include family relationships, school experiences, and peer associations. Parental divorce, family conflict, poor parenting, poverty, poor teacher-student relationship, academic failure, lack of commitment to school, association with deviant peers, and participation in antisocial activities have been found to be some of the most potential factors affecting the character and behavioural development of the children. The findings of this study suggest that school-based after-school programs and extracurricular activities are the most cost effective and easily accessible intervention programs to keep delinquency at bay. Although these programs are nothing new to our country’s education system, there is still much room for improvement due to the inappropriate manner in which they are being carried out in the schools. These programs, if implemented successfully based on my suggestions, can have a lot to contribute towards the intervention and prevention of juvenile delinquent behaviour in Malaysia.

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