Investigating the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Juvenile Delinquent Behaviour

Parenting style is very important in influencing students’ juvenile delinquent behaviour so that it will not go against the norm of society and rules regulated. Therefore, this study examined on parenting styles and its relationship to juvenile delinquent behaviour using mixed method design. Surveys were distributed to 187 students and interview sessions were conducted to five students to explore the relationship between parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive) and delinquent behaviours (verbal, physical, sexual, anti-social). Study result shows that there is a significant relation between authoritarian parenting style and juvenile delinquent behaviour. However, authoritative and permissive parenting styles do not show any significant relationship. This means that parents who like to control and restrict the freedom of their children influence the behavior of juvenile students. Data collected from the interview shows that authoritarian type of parents have a lot more influence towards juvenile delinquent behaviour. This is because authoritarian parenting style prioritizes a high control level to make the children listen to them in making decisions causing the children to feel conflicted, less communicative and lost their trust in parents. Therefore, this study will explain on how parents play an important role in having faith in their children so that they will be responsible and smart in limiting and preserving their behaviour.