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Child delinquency in communal conflict areas in southwestern Nigeria
Author(s) -
Adeleke Fatai Gbadebo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22153
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , hatred , criminology , psychology , social conflict , informal social control , social control , social psychology , sociology , political science , law , social science , politics
Abstract This study examines the influence of persistent communal conflicts on child delinquency. Within psychosociological models, the study investigates child delinquency in conflict areas in southwestern Nigeria. Triangulation of sampling techniques and methods of data collection were adopted (questionnaire, focus group discussions, in‐depth interview, records, journals, and publications). The records showed that there were more child delinquents in the communal conflict areas and the factors responsible were as follows: a gap in family communication, regulation and control mechanism deficiency, institutional and social lapses, excessive drugs abuse, persistent economic hardship and social disorganization, long communal hatred, and negative social variables. There was a significant relationship between the variables of communal conflicts and child delinquency. The study concludes that social control failed because of children learning violence acts from birth and the environment. There is a need for more cemented social ties among neighboring towns, for perpetrators of conflict to face the wrath of law, and for security agents to not overstay in conflict areas.