Different Points of a Continuum? Cross Sectional Comparison of the Current and Pre-contact Psychosocial Problems among the Different Categories of Adolescents in Institutional Care in Nigeria

Abstract

BackgroundThe combination of adverse social indicators and a predominantly youthful population puts Nigeria, and indeed many countries of sub-Sahara Africa, at the risk of explosion in the number of youth coming in contact with the juvenile justice system. Despite this risk, custodial childcare systems in the region are still poorly developed with both juvenile offenders and neglected adolescents coming in contact with the systems being kept in the same incarcerating facility. The needs of these different groups of adolescents may be different. Knowing their common and unique needs can inform common prevention strategies and ensure that specific service-needs of different categories of adolescents in institutional custody are met.MethodsData on the family background, pre-contact social circumstance, neurological and anthropometric profiles, and certain aspects of mental health of adolescents drawn from two juvenile justice institutions in Nigeria were obtained. The results for the adolescents on ‘criminal code’ and those admitted as a case of child neglect were compared using chi-square and odd ratios.ResultsParticipants were 211 adolescents comprising of 158 on ‘criminal code’ and 53 declared as ‘neglected’. A lot of similarities were found. For instance, the prevalence of parental separation, family transition, experience of street-life and lifetime exposure to traumatic events and posttraumatic stress was equally high among the two groups of adolescents. The adolescents on ‘criminal code’ however had significantly higher prevalence of conduct and alcohol/substance use disorders while the child neglect group had poorer anthropometric profiles and higher prevalence of neurological disorders.ConclusionsChild neglect and juvenile delinquency in Nigeria may truly be different points of a continuum. There are however fundamental differences that can warrant specific prevention strategies and tailor-made service provision while in custodial care.

Psychopathic traits in young offenders vs. non-offenders in similar socioeconomic condition

“…[10][11][12][13] The relevance of environmental factors has also been proposed by many authors who studied children and adolescents with antisocial behaviors. [14][15][16] Curto et al, for example, found that severe physical punishment and having an absent father/substitute at home were significantly associated with adolescent antisocial behavior in a low-income community in Brazil. 17 In spite of these findings, it still unclear which aspects of personality --constitutional or psychosocial --differentiate young offenders from non-offenders with a similar socioeconomic background.…”

Where Lies the Risk? An Ecological Approach to Understanding Child Mental Health Risk and Vulnerabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Large-scale studies from the developed countries have found a higher prevalence of mental health problems among children in single-parent families [40]. Similar large-scale studies are yet to be conducted in subSaharan Africa but small-scale studies have established links between family-life deficits and adverse social and mental health outcomes for children [41,42].…”

“…Unfortunately, despite a high need for juvenile justice and child social-welfare services in many parts of subSaharan Africa, these systems are still poorly developed in the region [42,94,95]. The care of children in contact with social welfare and juvenile justice institution in the region is still hinged largely on punitive incarceration or institutional seclusion without much framework for true reformation or addressing their social and mental health needs [42,96].…”

Juvenile/Youth Justice Management in Nigeria: Making a Case for Diversion Programmes

“…For instance, a study among young 'offenders' in Abeokuta Borstal home revealed that being deemed 'beyond parental control' and/or being involved in non-violent theft constituted 90 per cent of the 'offences' committed by the child prisoners (Atilola, 2012a). Ajiboye et al (2009) borstal home in Ilorin.…”