The Role of Peer Influence on Juvenile Delinquency Among Adolescents in The Government Remand Homes, Lagos State Nigeria

Abstract

Abstracts The study aims to examine the role of peer influence on juvenile delinquency among adolescents with delinquent behaviour in government remand homes Lagos, Nigeria. It was discovered that due to the economic activities of parent and lack of support and guidance, adolescents seek emotional support and guidance from their peer, which was found as one of the major causes of delinquent behaviour. These factors have also been associated with juvenile delinquency and the need for institutional care. Based on the sample size determination, the sample size for the study was 170 juveniles. Simple random sampling was used in the selection of the sample. A standard self-administered questionnaire was employed to gather data among the selected juveniles. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation at p≤.05 level of significance. The result revealed that there is a negative and significant correlation r = -.161; p < .036 between peer influence and juvenile delinquency among adolescents, thereby suggesting that peer influence encourages delinquent behaviour among adolescents. As a result of this, adolescents should be educated by the community, counselling psychologists and other related stakeholders on the benefit of a choice of right friends.