Abstract:
There is a growing concern with the growth and prevalence of Juvenile
delinquents (JD) in rehabilitation centres in Kenya. Juvenile delinquency has
become an intricate social problem that significantly influences all members
and processes of a social structure. In January 2016, Eldoret Juvenile Remand
Home alone had 155 juveniles which is its full capacity. It is against this
background that this study examined psychotherapeutic interventions in
behaviour modification of JD and recommended measures that would increase
the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions in rehabilitation centers
of JDs in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of
counseling on behaviour modification of JD in Eldoret and Kakamega rehabs.
The area of study was Eldoret and Kakamega rehabs. The study adopted
Merton Functional Theory of Juvenile Delinquency as the theoretical
framework. The study adopted the descriptive and explanatory research survey
designs. The target population was comprised of delinquents in Kakamega and
Eldoret Rehabs, administrators, trainers and counselors in the rehabs and
probation officers. A sample size of 149 respondents comprising of 127 JD,
13 trainers, 5 probation officers, 2 counselors and 2 administrators of the
Eldoret and Kakamega rehabs participated in the study. Saturated sampling
catered for the delinquents, probation officers, rehab administrators and
trainers. Research instruments that were used in this study included
questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. A Pilot study was
carried out to ascertain validity and reliability of the instruments and
reliability coefficient of 0.7 was deemed acceptable. Descriptive statistical
tools and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Study findings
showed that counseling had a significant effect on behaviour modification.
This implies that counseling is an important tool in bringing discipline among
juvenile delinquents and for overall rehabilitation programmes which can
enhance behaviour modification. There is therefore need for
psychotherapeutic intervention at both individual and group level for
delinquents so that they can change their behaviour.
