ANALYZING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KOGI STATE: A GUIDANCE PERSPECTIVE

This study examined the Factors, Consequences and Control of Juvenile Delinquency among Senior Secondary School Students in Kogi State; Implication for Guidance. The research adopted a descriptive research design, the population of the study is 2,544 senior secondary school students spread across the six educational zone of Kogi State. A sample of 254 students was selected for the study through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. A questionnaire consisting 42 items was used as instrument for data collection. The reliability of the instrument was calculated using Split-half. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC) was adopted to determine the reliability of the instrument. The result of the pilot test produced an index value of 0.78. Percentages, frequency counts, mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyze demographical data and research questions, while t-test was employed in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The research discovered that, peer group influence and environmental factors among others are the major factors responsible for juvenile delinquency among secondary school students. Lack of respect for elders and poor students’ academic performance among others are the major consequences of juvenile delinquency on students. Provision of professional teachers and creation of conducive learning environment among others are the control measures of juvenile delinquency in senior secondary schools in Kogi State. The study concluded among others that, the problem of juvenile delinquency among students can be resolved through proper guidance of the students. Recommendations were made by the study which includes: students that do not get involved in juvenile delinquency acts should be commended while those caught misbehaving should be given appropriate punishment to serve as deterrence to others.