| Popis: |
Adolescents in conflict with the law is a concern to parents, policy makers and researchers, including social workers. Although there are efforts to reintegrate such adolescents, the role of the family, which is the bedrock of the society remains limited in the process. This study sought to examine the role of family attitudes in the social re-integration of adolescent offenders in Kinshasa city. The study was grounded on strain theory as proposed by Merton (1957). Mixed methods research approach focusing on explanatory sequential design was adopted. The study’s target population was 2628 adolescent offenders in Mont Amba District of Kinshasa City, where a sample size of 367 was selected using stratified sampling technique and purposive sampling. Questionnaires, FGDs, and interviews were used in the collection of data. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS while thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. From the findings, on the aspect of adolescents being loved by their families, it was revealed that 16.1% (n=53) of adolescents strongly disagreed being loved by their families, 27.3% (n=90) disagreed with this view and majority, 50.9% (n=168) agreed that their family loved them with a smaller percentage 5.7% (n=19) strongly agreeing with the same. From the findings, the ANOVA tests revealed that, family attitude F = 3.628, (p= 0.000) has statistically significant influence on social reintegration of adolescent offenders. The study concludes that, poor family attitude characterized by limited attention, love and harsh treatment of adolescent offenders negatively influence the re-integration process of adolescent offenders. The study recommends that, families of reintegrated adolescents should develop a positive attitude towards adolescents. |
