Juvenile Delinquency in Ghana: A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experiences of Young Offenders in Accra

Abstract

In this study, I explored the perceived circumstances which make adolescents become involved in juvenile delinquency. The meanings which they make out of their delinquent behaviours were also of great interest. Using a semi-structured interview guide, the lived experiences of six (6) young offenders were collected. Following a Narrative Analysis of the young offenders lived experiences, six (6) main themes emerged as the circumstances which made them become involved in delinquency: religiosity and morality, deviant peer association, substance use and delinquency, the functioning of the nuclear family, Inadequate extended family support, apathy in schooling and lastly labeling by neighbours. As a meaning making platform, the participants saw their delinquent behaviours as a means to an end. Another construed meaning of delinquency in this study was that, proceeds from ill gotten gains amounted to ‘bitter’ money. The training process through which the young offenders who premeditated their acts went through was observed to be an apprenticeship model where each trainee (young offender) had a ‘big-man’ (a master) and a mentor (trainer). These finding were interspersed with relevant theories and literatures for a thorough discussion, with their implications for intervention and future research clearly emphasized.