Factors impacting Delinquency in Jamaican and African-American Adolescents

This study examines the factors associated with juvenile delinquency in Jamaican adolescents; secondly, the researchers seek to compare Jamaican and African-American delinquents. The factors being examined are education, unemployment, frustration, self-esteem, parent-child attachment, and exposure to violence. Participants included 116 Jamaican and 100 African-American adolescents ages 14-18. The delinquent participants were selected from several remand centres in Jamaica and the Division of Delinquency Prevention Program in America, while the non-delinquent participants were selected from several local inner-city high schools. All participants completed the HARE Self-Esteem Scale, the Family Relationship Scale, The Violent Victimization Survey, The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study, and a demographic questionnaire. Chi square, Analysis of variance, and Logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Significant differences were found between and within delinquent and non-delinquent Jamaicans and AfricanAmericans.