COUNSELING SERVICES AND JUVENILE DELINQUENT BEHAVIORS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, IN ST. KIZITO HIGH SCHOOL NAMUGONGO, WAKISO- UGANDA.

Abstract

Background: The study was carried out on “Counseling Services and Juvenile Delinquent Behaviors among Secondary School Students, in St. Kizito High School.” Specific study objectives were; to establish the level of counseling services, to determine the level of juvenile delinquent behavior among students, and to examine the relationship between guidance/counseling services and juvenile delinquent behavior among students in St. Kizito High School. Methodology: Descriptive and correlation research designs guided by both quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches were used. Data was gathered randomly from 133 (100% response rate) students of St. Kizito High School through a questionnaire and 2 (key informants with an interview guide. Results: Generally, objective one results indicate a moderate aggregate mean of 3.22 and standard deviation of 0.799 which imply that there is a moderate level of counseling services in St. Kizito High School. Generally, objective two results indicate a high grand mean of 3.43 and standard deviation of 0.74 which imply that there is a high level of juvenile delinquent behavior among students of St. Kizito High School. Generally, the results indicate that there is a significant relationship between peer counseling and juvenile delinquent behavior among students in St. Kizito High School ((r (133) = (b = 0.556, p = 0.000<0.05). Conclusion: There is no significant relationship between school guidance counseling (r (132) = (b = 0.107, p = 0.165> 0.05), family therapy counseling (r (133) = (b = -.073, p = 0.324> 0.05) and juvenile delinquent behavior among students in St Kizito High School. Recommendation : The government should ensure that each school has a qualified counselor or counselors to provide guidance and counseling services to students at school. Parents of high school students should spend more time with their children and always offer family therapy counseling.