Philippine E-Journals

Exploring Parental Struggles and Challenges of Juvenile Reoffenders

Catherine Reyes

Discipline: social work

 

Abstract:

Juvenile reoffending remains a pressing social issue that affects families, communities, and the justice system. Parents of juvenile offenders often experience emotional, social, and financial difficulties while attempting to guide their children toward rehabilitation. While existing studies have largely focused on risk factors and youth behavior, limited attention has been given to parents' lived experiences as a basis for designing family-centered interventions. This study explored the parental struggles and challenges in dealing with juvenile reoffenders in Albay from 2019 to 2023 and proposes a strategic development plan informed by these lived experiences. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, data were collected through interviews with parents and guardians and analyzed using Giorgi's method. Findings revealed that most juvenile reoffenders were male out-of-school youth, with theft as the most common offense. Risk factors included peer influence, socioeconomic difficulties, and lack of supervision, while protective factors involved parental guidance and family support. Parents reported emotional distress, financial strain, and difficulty managing their children's behavior. Anchored on these findings, the study proposes a Strategic Development Plan, "Strengthening Families," which outlines targeted, multi-sectoral interventions such as parenting education, counseling support, youth skills development, and strengthened community collaboration to enhance parental capacity and reduce reoffending. The study concludes that strengthening parental involvement and family-centered interventions can help reduce juvenile reoffending. Overall, it contributes to the literature by linking phenomenological insights with a context-specific, practice-oriented intervention framework.