Profile Problem Behavior Among Adolescent Girls Committed at Kirigiti Rehabilitation Center, Kiambu County

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Date

2014-06

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences

Abstract

Children who start offending early are likely to continue the habit into adulthood and further develop a criminal career. This situation is complicated when children have mental health problems or use psychoactive substances. Various studies have shown a link between mental health problems, substance abuse and youth offending. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess psychological problems in girl offenders and establish linkage between mental health and substance use in this population as well as how the latter two contribute to problem behavior. The study sample was drawn from girls committed at Kirigiti Rehabilitation Center situated in Kiambu County. This study adopted a descriptive research design and used both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data through use of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Eleven respondents were also selected from the study sample through simple random sampling to participate in the interview process. The questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, possible problem behaviors, substance abuse and posttraumatic stress symptoms. In depth interviews were used for a deeper understanding of the problem behavior by the respondents. The data collected was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively using SPSS software. The study found out that majority of girls entering the juvenile justice system had problem behaviors comorbid with other mental health problems. The findings also established that psychological problems were comorbid with substance use disorders where 36% had more than 5 disorders. Therefore, this shows that it is prudent that the impact of placement of such children in rehabilitation schools is evaluated and as a result of co-existing mental health problems and substance use, that alternative methods of rehabilitation be considered.

Description

MASTER OF ARTS in Counselling Psychology

Keywords

mental health, psychoactive substances, Rehabilitation Center

Citation

Kiptoo, P. S. (2014). Profile Problem Behavior Among Adolescent Girls Committed at Kirigiti Rehabilitation Center, Kiambu County. Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences