An investigation into home and school correlates of alienation among a sample of Jamaican youth

Abstract

This study sought to identify some of the outstanding features in the life history of the Jamaican youth that are significantly associated with alienation, and which may lead to potential delinquency. The method used involved comparing the responses of a sample of 190 youth, 15-19 years of age, consisting of two extreme groups--one still within the school system (120) and the other within correctional institutions (70)--to scales designed to measure selected Home and School factors. Results of the data analysis revealed that: 1) School Leaving Stage, Age, Family Size, School Opinion, Alienation, Discipline, and SES together distinguished significantly between the in-school and in-prison samples; 2) high Alienation was related to a variety of individual and social variables that distinguished between the in-prison and in-school samples; 3) the major predictors of alienation were Low School Opinion, Low Socio-Economic Status, and Poor School Attendance; and 4) examination of sex differences showed significant differences for Parent Contact, Family Size, Socio-Economic Status, Discipline, School Leaving Stage, and Peer Group Influence