Parental Supervision and Juvenile Delinquency in Pakistan

A UNICEF report (2006) says the global number of children deprived of liberty as a result of conflict with the law is estimated to be not less than one million. The root social causes that bring children into conflict with the law include poverty, broken homes, and lack of education and employment opportunities, migration, drug or substance misuse, peer pressure, lack of parental guidance, violence, abuse and exploitation. The purpose of this study to investigate the influence of family unit structure on juvenile delinquency in Pakistan.

The specific objectives of the study was to study the relationship between Juvenile delinquency and intact family structure, a single parent family structure(mother only/father only), a family structure with a step parent, a child brought in a children home and for children brought up by grandparents. The findings for this research found that there was a strong correlation between murder and a child having come from an intact family but there was a weak correlation between substance abuse and children from an intact family. For a single parent family parenthood, there was a strong correlation between street life, sex and defilement offences. During the past century, significant changes in family arrangements have occurred modern family structures vary widely and include many one-parent households as well as extended family arrangements. Differing family structures may directly impact the stability of the family home and the functioning of children and adolescents.

One of the major social problems throughout the years is the growing number of youth who are considered to be juvenile delinquents. One of the countries which experience the issue of juvenile delinquency is Pakistan. Families are one of the strongest socializing forces in life. They teach children to control unacceptable behavior, to delay gratification, and to respect the rights of others. Conversely, families can teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior (Wright & Wright 1994). Juveniles are more likely to become juvenile delinquents if there is little structure provided for them in their families. A family may influence a person’s behavior either negatively or positively both at childhood and even at adulthood.

An intact family can be said to be a functioning union between a mother and a father, so when a break up exist, this may affect a child to a greater extent. A functioning family is beneficial to a child than a dysfunctional one. According to Wright and Wright the family is the foundation of human society. Children who are rejected by their parents, who grow up in homes with considerable conflict, or who are inadequately supervised are at the greatest risk of becoming delinquent. Family separation was a great contributor of children for example running to the streets from their homes. The root social causes that bring children into conflict with the law include poverty, broken homes, and lack of education and employment opportunities, migration, drug or substance misuse, peer pressure, lack of parental guidance, violence, abuse and exploitation. Family structure and dynamics are causal variables in discussing delinquency due to their critical role in the socialization and control of children. The absence of a male parent significantly affects the behavior of juveniles, especially males. They may indulge themselves in, Cannabis, marijuana usage and sexual activity. Juvenile crime and delinquency are serious problems all over the world.

Their intensity and gravity depend mostly on the social, economic and cultural conditions in each country. There is evidence, however, of an apparent worldwide increase in juvenile criminality combined with economic recession, especially in marginal sectors of urban centers. In many cases, youth offenders are "street children" who have been exposed to violence in their immediate social environment, either as observers or as victims. Their basic education, when they have it, is poor; their primary socialization from the family is too often inadequate; and their socio-economic environment is shaped by poverty and destitution. This research only seeks to focus on the parental and its contribution to delinquency. There are various reasons such as poor marriages, lack of parental controls, ineffective parental behavior and failure to provide a natural and loving environment at homes.

A family has a greater effect on individual's trait and development. Emile Durkhiem’s two concepts integration and regulation, if there is less integration among parent and child or stronger regulations both brings destruction and leads towards juvenile dlinquency.