Relationship Between Social Support And Resilience Among Juvenile Delinquents In Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Social supports are critical in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents which could boost their resilience and help the juveniles endure a variety of challenging circumstances in life. This study investigated the relationship between social support and resilience among juvenile delinquents in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kiambu County Kenya. The study addressed three specific objectives: to asses the levels of social support among juvenile delinquents, to examine the levels of resilience among juvenile delinquents, and to establish the relationship between social support and resilience among juvenile delinquents at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kiambu County Kenya. Materials and Methods: The study was informed by the social support theory and resilience theory. The target population were juveniles between the ages of 13-17 years. The participants of the study were 100 juvenile delinquents. The study adopted a census sampling technique. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage, and inferential statistics such as the Pearson coefficient correlation were employed.

Results: Findings revealed that 40.3% (n = 39) of the juvenile delinquents, were at moderate level of social support, 33.4% (n = 33) had high social support, while 26.3% (n= 26) of the juvenile scored low level of social support. The study found that that 41.3% (n = 42) of the juvenile delinquents scored high level of resilience, 34.4% (n = 30) of the juvenile delinquents had low level of resilience, while 24.3% (n= 26) of the juvenile, were at moderate level of resilience.

Conclusion: The study established that there was a positive relationship (r= .353, p= .004 ≤ 0.05) between social support and resilience among juvenile delinquents at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kiambu County Kenya. The study recommended that the juvenile delinquents at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, who were at low level of resilience and low level of social support be helped in counseling and psychological assessments in order to possibly identify issues that could be responsible for the low levels