Juvenile delinquency: Examining the impact of family structure, violence committed against youth, and violence committed by youth living in Haiti

In Haiti, many street children engage in illegal activities, and armed gangs recruit these youth to join them. To date, limited research has examined the lived experiences of these youth. This investigation focused on delinquency, family issues, and the impact of viewing violence among Haitian youth. The study used ideas drawn from sociological theory and social learning theory, and applied a qualitative method of phenomenological inquiry to attain a better understanding of the personal lived experiences of 16 individuals. The participation criteria included non-incarcerated adults between the ages of 18 to 40 years old who were former street children/juvenile delinquents living in Haiti. Data were collected via in-depth interviews in the participants' preferred language, Creole. Their responses were tape-recorded and transcribed for data analysis. Using Moustakas' framework, the data were organized to identify and develop the themes. These excerpts and themes were used to develop a description of the participants' experience of the phenomenon. Findings indicated that poverty was the most significant factor of delinquency, followed by physical and emotional abuse, lack of family support, and violence. These data will provide the Haitian community with vital information on the participants' perspective on family issues, lack of parental attachment, and the impact of violence. The implications for positive social change included more research in the areas of delinquency and criminal behavior, promoting positive parent--child relationships, and providing needed services to street children, such as in educational and vocational programs, and local shelters.