Page | 46 Vol. 10 Issue 2 (Ver 1.0) July 2010 Global Journal of Human Social Science GJHSS Classification - C (FOR) 170102,170105,170110 Influence of Family Relationship, Parenting Style And Self-Esteem On Delinquent Behaviour Among Juveniles in Remand Homes S.K. Balogun 1 M Chukwumezie 2 I. INTRODUCTION ocal and international news is replete with reports of crime. At least once in ever (liranl@post.tau.ac.)ily week a Nigerian tabloid would have on its pages some reports of one form of crime or the other, committed either against individuals or against corporate bodies (Ribadu, 2007). A developing and even more disturbing phenomenon is the number of children, young persons and youths getting involved in crimes. According to the FBI report, although fewer crimes are being committed in the USA, the juvenile arrest rate has grown by 20% since 1991 and about 2.7 million juveniles were arrested in 1995, making it about 18% of all arrests. Additionally, in 1994 more than 1.5 million delinquency cases were processed in juvenile courts in the United States representing a 41% increase in cases since 1985 (Butts, 1996). Juvenile delinquent behaviour is one of the important issues faced by most nations of the world today. Juvenile delinquency appears to be on the rise despite the social awareness of the ills of crime. Psychologists, sociologists and criminologists the world over have long debated the various causes of delinquency. The causes of such behavior, like those of crime in general, are found in a complex of psychological, social, and economic factors. Clinical studies point to emotional maladjustments in many delinquents, usually arising from disorganized family situations, as a factor in delinquency. Scott (1982) saw delinquency as typical responses to family stress, and motivated by one of the following: escape from home situations, avoidance of stress through excitement, hostility, loyalty testing and compensation. Recent research and theory has focused on the processes by which family poverty leads to violence and delinquency in individuals who live in public housing and lower-income neighborhoods (Aber, Seidman, Allen, Mitchell, & Garfinkel, 1992; Gonzales, Cauce, Friedman, and Mason, 1996). Gender (Moffitt et al, 2001); peer influences (Garnefski & Okma, 2002), race/ethnicity (Walker-Barnes & Mason, 2001), self-esteem (Rosenberg et al, 1989) and the presence of trauma, abuse and/or violence (Fox, 1996), in a child or youth‘s life are all factors implicated in the studies on the causes of juvenile delinquency. Some other theorists argue that just like in other criminal behaviours, there is no one single explanation _______________________________ Author 1&2 -Department of Psychology,University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.(e-mail 1 -shyngle612yahoo.com) of delinquency. Adopting an ecclectic approach to understanding the causes of delinquency may appear to be better because studies have shown that many of these factors overlap. A young person who laked appropriate parental control may also have low self-esteem and face many barriers in life at a very young age. Whatever the cause may be, however, researchers seem to agree that delinquent behavior is very complex and there is no one reason why some children or young people commit delinquent acts while others are able to marshal their resources and live a positive life. There is no formal definition of juvenile delinquency or delinquent behaviour. However, it would be imperative to first understand who a juvenile is before attempting to define juvenile delinquent behaviour. In most States a juvenile is defined as a person under the age of 18 (O‘Connor, 2004). In Nigeria, the definition of a juvenile is implied from the provisions of the 1946 Children and Young persons Act, as a person above the age of 14 but under 17 (Okonkwo & Naish, 1990). Also according to Section 68 of the Criminal justice Act, 1991, children (i.e. those under 14 year, and young persons, (i.e. those 14 and under 17 years (18 years for some purposes) ), are referred to as juveniles. Developmentally, a juvenile is a person at the adolescent stage of development, which according to Erikson (1950,1968) in his theory of development is between the ages of ten and twenty. The term juvenile delinquency has a broad definition; while some emphasize the legal aspect such as the violation of the law, others emphasize the characteritic problems of delinquency. During the 18th Century, the definition of juvenile delinquency shifted from ―a form of misbehavior common to all children‖ to a euphemism for the conditions and behaviors of poor children (Roberts 2004). Juvenile delinquency, which is used interchangeably as juvenile delinquent behaviour is defined as any illegal actions committed by a juvenile in which there is an apprehension and court proceeding. Defining who is a delinquent and who is not, is determined by the norms and culture of the society in which the juvenile lives. What may be deemed a delinquent behaviour in Nigeria may be an acceptable behavior in another part of the world. However, when a juvenile commits an offence, contrary to the laws or norms of the society, such as acts of rape, vandalism, theft, drug related activity, arson or other anti-social behavior, he/she is then considered a juvenile delinquent. A delinquent is L