A survey on deviant behavior and delinquency among teenagers showed that nearly 98 percent of the respondents are concerned about substance abuse, with more than 90 percent also worried about street gangs.
The survey, released yesterday by the Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation last month, asked people aged 20 and above about their experiences with and opinions on teenage delinquency, and showed widespread concern over peer pressure leading teenagers to commit crimes.
While 97.9 percent of the respondents said they were most concerned about substance abuse, street gangs (94.9 percent), self-harm (90.9 percent) and theft (90.4 percent) were also significant concerns to the respondents, the study showed.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Bullying on the Internet was a concern to about 70 percent of the respondents, while 61 percent said that they knew of cases in which teenagers were physically bullied.
Teenagers experiencing negative peer pressure in school, and frustration with coursework and teachers were seen as factors that could lead to teenage delinquency.
The survey showed that 78.3 percent of the respondents saw peer pressure among teenagers as the main factor, while frustration with the coursework (57 percent) and negative experiences with teachers (51 percent) were also seen as potential causes for teenage delinquency.
When asked about behaviors that teenagers could exhibit when they have been experiencing frustrations or failures in schools for a long period of time, 72.5 percent said they could develop emotional problems, whereas 58.4 said they could refuse to go school.
Concerning preventive factors, 86.7 percent of the respondents said that teenagers who like learning and going to school would be less likely to become delinquent, while 10.4 percent disagreed.
Asked which preventive measure schools should take, 76.2 percent of the respondents said that schools should help develop students’ interest in learning.
Nearly 72 percent said that schools should nurture positive attitudes, while 60.3 percent said schools should teach teenagers how to control their emotions.
“Teenagers are in a relatively unstable stage in life in terms of physical and mental health. They are more susceptible to emotional troubles and demonstrate various behavioral issues, from deviant behaviors to crimes. If they become interested in learning and are happy to go to school, it should significantly decrease their deviant behaviors,” foundation chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said.
On the causes of self-harm, respondents cited problems teenagers experience in interpersonal relationships (71.4 percent), pressure from schoolwork (65.4 percent), and mental and physical illness (45.7 percent) as contributing factors.
Internet addiction among teenagers was seen as a serious issue by 92.2 percent of the respondents, while 91 percent also saw overreliance on smartphones as problematic.
Commenting on the survey, Ming Chuan University’s School of Social Sciences dean Frank Huang (黃富源) said that people have previously blamed schools for teenage delinquency, but the survey results showed that there is a change in public perception, allocating greater responsibility to the teenagers.
Citing statistics from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Huang said the number of juvenile delinquents gradually dropped to 8,893 in 2018, the lowest point in the past decade, before it slightly rose to 9,441 last year.
However, 76 percent still saw teenage delinquency as a serious issue, compared with 80 to 90 percent in the past, he said.
The survey collected 1,069 valid samples and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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