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Makasalanan 0 Kapus-Palad: A Phenomenological Study
of Children in Conffict with the Law
Rosalea Cornelia Araneta-de Leon
Ateneo de Manila University
Using a multiple case-multiplemeasuresapproach, this study
focused on understanding the world of children in conflict
with the law (CIL). Eight boys ages 14 to 17 were given the
clinical assessment battery composed of an in-depth
interview, projective techniques and adult behavioral
observations. The experiences of the children in their outer
world and inner world were sought. The results point towards
a longing for a nurturing family. The association of bonding
and attachment on conscience development was explored.
Stages of conscience erosion were formulated indicating a
need for early intervention to help the CIL. Strategies for
intervention and suggestions for further research are
discussed.
Everyday we encounter different forms of crimes committed by
minors. Movies, television and print news reports portray these
incidents in great detail. For instance, Alviar (1995) wrote about a
grandfather and two teenagers who raped and murdered a 10-yearold girl while under the influence of prohibited drugs. Un son (1995)
further reported the alleged gang rape of a 13-year-old girl by 7
teenagers now charged with seven counts of rape in the local court.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number
of crimes committed by juveniles and children. In 1986 to 1992, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported
4,038 cases of various offenses committed by juveniles in Metro
Manila alone. This figure does not even include unreported cases.
Data, from the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 1994 revealed
that these children are between 13 to 17 years of age who usually
come from poor families who live in the slums. The types of crimes
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Philippine Journal ofPsychology Vol. 33 No. I (2000):92-110.
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they commit include murder or homicide, illegal possession of
firearms, drug-related offenses, trespassing and vagrancy. With
juvenile delinquency being apparent in society, interest in this area
of study is evident with the overwhelming amount of literature
focusing on criminal behavior among children and adolescents.
At present, there are several theories that offer different factors
that may influence juvenile delinquency. These theories may be
categorized into two main themes: nature theories and nurture
theories.
The Nature Theories. The nature theories rely mainly on
biochemical and gender factors to explain juvenile delinquency. The
biochemical perspective holds that there is something inside the
physical or genetic make-up of the person that makes him engage in
criminal acts. Siblings adopted into different homes showed similar
conviction rates and these rates rise if the shared biological father
has a criminal record. In terms of gender, more men or boys are
among the criminals in jails or juvenile halls. Although there are
also girls or women in the criminal world, statistical reports (e.g.,
Teh, 1996) show that it is still boys/men who dominate the field.
The Nurture Theories. The following factors are included in the
nurture theories ofjuvenile delinquency: (a) lack offormal education,
(b) media, (c) drug abuse, (d) peers, (e) law enforcers, (f) family
factors, (g) histories of abuse, and (h) lack of bonding or attachment.
Lack offormal education. In a local study, Teh (1996) discovered
that a typical Filipino delinquent is usually a male between 14 to 17
years of age who is out-of-school at the commission of the offense
although he has achieved some level of elementary education but he
is commonly-a repeater due to truancy. In terms of his family life,
he usually comes from either a broken home or has one or both
parents deceased. His parents, who usually achieved elementary
education, are engaged in unskilled or semi-skilled labor. Finally,
delinquents usually live in the slums with other poor families. This
is consistent with the DSWD in 1995 where they found that of those
confined in the Regional Rehabilitation Centers for the Youth
(RRCY) in October 1991,72% received elementary education, 4%
reached high school while 12% received no formal education at all.
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Media. The American Psychological Association (1996) reports
that an average American child has seen 8,000 televised murders
and 100,000 other acts of TV violence before finishing elementary
school. In the Philippines,TV shows are not much better. Imported
Japanese cartoons with Tagalog dialogues often have violent themes.
Carandang (personal communication, 1996) comments that the
Filipino concept of "ganti" (i.e. revenge) IS often exploited to justify
the amount of violence a film will have in order to rate well or sell
or both. There is an alarming concern for television violence and the
reason behind this is that most violence is learned (Bandura and
Walter, 1963).
Drug abuse. Johnson (1984) reports that an average heroin user
commits 1,000 crimes per year. Furthermore, it was found that
alcoholics who started drinking alcohol before their twenties are more
likely to experience clinical depression, attempt suicide and spend
time injail for crimes involving physical violence.
Peers. Mckinney et. al. (1982) maintains that a child who comes
from an unpleasant home situation may tum to peers who are involved
in delinquency and develop such a lifestyle himself. Individuals learn
maladaptive or illegal behavior by imitating the behavior of their
peers.
Law enforcers. Law enforcers in the Philippines are notorious
for using torture on captured delinquents and youth offenders.
Caparas (1995) cites several incidents of children's heads being
wrapped in towels or plastic bags or being submerged in water
supposedly to get confessions or to teach them a lesson. .It is not
far-reaching to say that the circumstances children in conflict with.
the law face actually fail to rehabilitate them but may even add to
their deterioration as human beings.
Family factors. Of the many social factors mentioned in
connection with delinquency, none take center stage as much as
family factors. The kind of family environment the child has is
directly related to the presence or absence of delinquent behavior,
even the way he/she responds to peer pressure. Mckinney et. al.
(1982) list some reasons for delinquency. Some families derive
vicarious satisfaction from seeing a family member "act out." Other
members are used as scapegoats in an already disturbed family
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system. These scapegoats are what family therapists call the
identified patient or the IP.
Histories ofabuse. Carandang (1994) has spoken quite strongly
against using violent means as a way of instilling discipline on
children and other members of the family. For the most part these
ways just traumatize children instead of correcting the negative
behaviors. However, with all the experts voicing their opinions
against any form of battering, there are still parents who believe
this is their only means of ensuring obedience.
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Lack of bonding or attachment. The "bonding theories" came
into focus with the publication of the book High Risk: Children
Without a Conscience by Magid and Mckelvey in 1987. This work
documents the lives of children who committed heinous crimes such
as murder without concern, guilt and are even "enjoying" the attention
they got from their acts. It is a known fact that children have to
experience emotional security at home in order to grow as confident,
trusting, trustworthy individuals. This is primarily true of their
relationship with their mothers. Bowlby (1949) expressed that there
are psychopathic or "affectionless" women who cannot form close
relationships with their children. Wilson (1964) relates other reasons
such as emotional immaturity, preoccupation with personai emotional
problems, and mental retardation which may inhibit parents from
understanding the demands of their children. Bowlby (1944)
compared a group of juvenile thieves with a control group of
maladjusted children. He found that prolonged mother-child
separation in the first five years bears an etiological relationship to
certain forms of persistent stealing.
Delinquency may also be traced to the lack of attachment a child
feels. Fraiberg (1977) wrote that: "the distinguishing characteristic
of the diseases of non-attachment is the incapacity of the person to
form human bonds." Encounters with individuals who lack
attachment allows one to perceive a feeling of intervening space, of
remoteness and having no connection. Fraiberg claims many of these
people are in mental hospitals but more are in prison. One warden
says that a full 90% of the convicts under his care are psychopaths.
The study was part of a larger research conducted by the
Greenhills Creative Center Research Team for UNICEF (Carandang,
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1996). The aim of the larger research was to uncover the etiology
of criminal behavior among children and adolescents. -Within that
context, the goal of this study was to map and understand the inner
world of the child and adolescent criminals. Basically, this study
aims to describe the unique life circumstances, thought processes,
feelings, emotions and perceptions of Children in Conflict with the
Law (CIL);
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Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework utilized for this study is Carandang's
(1981) Rubies Cube Approach. This approach perceives the child
in four dimensions including: (1) the child as a total person, (2) the
developmental dimension, (3) the contextual dimension and (4) the
phenomenological dimension.
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The First Dimension: The Child as a Total Person. The
"horizontal" dimensionviews the child from a total perspective, that
is, as a personhaving physical, intellectual or cognitive, socioemotional, and moral or spiritual facets Of development.
The Second Dimension: The Developmental Perspective. The
"vertical" dimension understands where the child is at in terms of
his developmental stage. It injects an element of hope because it
helps map out strategies that can propel the child toward the next
stage of growth.
The Third Dimension: The Child in Context. This dimension
view's the child within the context of the family, community and
culture. The child's "context" in this study include important
background information such as quality of family life, peers, street
life, rehabilitation experiences, and will.
The Fourth Dimension: The Phenomenological Dimension. The
final dimension forms the underlying basic concept in the clinicalphenomenological approach. This dimension looks into the child's
point of view and how he-sees his world.
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Method
Research Design. This study uses the multiple-case study
approach specifically using multiple cases and multiple methods in
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gathering data. This design is the most appropriate given the study's
goals. The nuances and intricacies of each child's unique experience
are given importance as viewed from the context of his family,
community and culture. The data were articulated from the viewpoint
of the child.
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Participants. The children were purposively selected by the
Project Coordinator in conjunction with the cooperating agencies
based on the following guidelines: (a) the child should be between
11 to 17 years of age and (b) the child should be able to understand
interview questions and clearly articulate his responses. Eight boys
between 11 to 17 years of age participated in the study. Boys instead
of girls were chosen in order to remain true to the statistics that
point towards a predominantly male population among juvenile
delinquents.
Instruments. Several instruments were utilized to gather data
for this study. The clinical assessment battery used by Carandang
et. al. (1993) and Nisperos (1994) were adapted for the study.
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The package included the in-depth clinical interview guide,
projective assessment techniques designed to give a view of the
child's inner world and measures of intellectual functioning to
appraise the child's intellectual level. The in-depth clinical interview
guide was a semi-structured interview designed to look into all the
four dimensions of the child's world. These easy-to-answer questions
helped to build rapport between child and interviewer. The projective
assessment techniques, on the other hand, aimed to elicit information
that ascertains the child's deeper or unconscious issues.
The r e
were two instruments that made up the projective test battery.
Projective stories from selected cards of the Thematic Apperception
Test (TAT) and the Philippine Children Apperception Test (peAT)
as well as a Sentence Completion Test (SCT) adapted and modified
from completion tests such as Sack's and Forer's were utilized. For
the intellectual test battery, a non-verbal intelligence battery was
included to have a general view of the children's level of intellectual
functioning. These included all the performance sub tests of the
WISC-R (Weschler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised) plus
the arithmetic and digit span to measure their ability to compute
and remember digits in the short term. The Bender-Gestalt Visual
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Motor Test (BGVMT) was also included to measure possible brain
injury.
Other sources of information included: (a) the children's files
which included their case records and reports of the social worker,
and (b) behavioral checklists which elicited information about the
child's observed behavior at the center. The first behavioral checklist
was a modified version of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale
translated to Filipino and converted into a checklist format. This
was given to measure the child's social functioning and practical
intelligence. The second behavioral checklist elicited background
information regarding the child's behavioral functioning as perceived
by the adult observers.
Procedure. Interview schedules were made with the children and
the agencies were informed about the interviews, the children to be
interviewed and other requirements. The two behavioral checklists
were sent ahead of time to give the staff time to confer amongst
themselves as they completed the forms. The interviewers conducted
one-on-one interviews with as much privacy as possible. A rapport
building session was held on the first visit of the interviewers. The
atmosphere of the session was casual and relaxed so that the children
would be encouraged to talk about themselves and ask questions
about the research. During the interview proper, the interviewer
assured· the child of confidentiality. If at any point during the
interview, the interviewer felt that there was a need for therapeutic
interventions, he/she first tried to finish the battery of tests before
giving the necessary intervention. The team was careful not to leave,
any child without making sure that some form of closure occurred.
When necessary, the researcher came back for another session with
the child. Six therapists-researchers completed the in-depth
interviews and assessment for this study. They were psychotherapists
who extensively trained under a renowned clinical psychotherapist.
Furthermore, they were experienced in interacting with, and doing
therapy with troubled children. They were likewise adept in
conducting clinical and psychological assessment and integrating
test responses, behavioral observations and clinical judgment into
comprehensive psychological reports. They were either holders of a
Master's degree in psychology or were candidates for such a degree.
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Data analysis. A qualitative and clinical analysis was used to
analyze the data. A case report was prepared for each participant
which included the following three aspects: demographic data, the
"outer world" data and the "inner world" data. Demographic data
included the children's age, scholastic attainment and birth order.
The children's family composition, significant life events, and
experiences of being in conflict with the law were outlined in the
"outer world" division of the analysis. The "inner world" aspect
included the children's worldview, predominant feelings, selfconcept, perception of family and peers and morality. The themes
that arose from the data were noted and their frequencies were
tabulated. Themes may consist of emotions, feelings, situations and
others that arose from the participant's responses and projectivedata,
A summarized individual report highlighting the child's predominant
cognitive, socio-emotional and moral-spiritual functioning was also
prepared for the benefit of the centers.
Results
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Demographic profile of the GIL. The children's mean age was
15.5. They ranged from 14 years old to 17 years old. Of the eight
children, three were first born, three were last born, one was an
only child; and one was a middle child. As for their scholastic
attainment, seven out of eight reached only the elementary level.
One reached high school.
Outer world: Family composition. Six of the CIL came from
"broken homes" whose parents were either separated or remarried.
One child considered his family as "broken" because his parents
work abroad and only come home once a year. One child came from
an intact family. Most of the children did not have any stepsiblings
(6 out of 8). Only one child had an extended family member living
with them (the aunt who is entrusted with their care). Three children
were abandoned by their mothers; one child was abandoned by the
father; and one child felt abandoned by both parents because he was
left under the care of an aunt.
Outer world: Family life. Five children experienced physical abuse,
three from female relatives (mother, aunt) and two from their fathers.
There were no violent deaths in the families of all the eight children.
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All their fathers also had jobs - mostly blue collar work such as:
kalesa driver, construction worker, street sweeper, vendor, and jeep
dispatcher:'
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The mothers, on the other hand, worked as labandera (laundry
woman), sold newspapers and worked overseas. Two were plain
housewives.
Outer world: History ofcaretakers: All the children were under
the care of their biological parents until they left home, except for
one who was under the care of his paternal aunt.
Outer world: Running away. The mean age of the children when
they left home was 11.~ years old. The ages ranged from as young
as 6 years old to 15 years old: Most of the children left home because
of an unhappy home life characterized by constant parental
disagreements. Physical abuse is also one reason why theY'ffirraw·ay.
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Almost all of them went directly to the streets from their houses.
In the streets, they met other street children who rescued them and
taught them how to survive. These friends or "barkada" almost
always were the ones who taught them how to use drugs and get into
a life of crime. Their criminal life eventually got them arrested and
placed in reception centers like MYRC or MOLA VE. This is where
they stay while they wait for the resolution of their cases.
Outer world: Significant life events. Most of the children had
similar life stories. They stayed with their parents until a major
family change occurred such as the death of a parent and the
remarriage of the surviving parent: Another reason why they left
home was their inability to contend with disharmonious family life,
specifically unstable parental relationship and overly strict relatives.
Other reasons for leaving home inchided having done something
"shameful" such as stealing from .an employer or getting caught in
possession of drugs.
Outer world: Street life and drugs. As mentioned earlier, the
streets and their peers offer the children the haven they were seeking
away from. their· disharmonious. families. However, it is also the
streets that introduced them to a life of crime, violence and drugs.
A life of crime was viewed as necessary if one is to live in the streets.
After all, it is the stealing, snatching, and others that provide for
food and drugs as well as their. social needs.
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One factor which helps them survive in the streets is their
"barkada" or peer group. These friends provide them with
companionship, "alaga" or care, food and even the bail money when
they are arrested. In simple terms, their barkada is their "family."
The drugs and illegal substances, on the other hand, are first
taken to give them courage or "lakas ng loob" to commit the crimes
and forget their unhappy family life and present situation. However,
after some time, they get addicted and the cycle of drugs and crime
is established.
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Solvent or rugby was usually the stepping stone substance,
followed by marijuana or tsongke, cough syrup or Pedol, turok or
injections, tablets like Pinoy Ekes (a pill) and shabu (methamphetamine). Shabu is probably at the end of the line because of its
cost - as one child said "minsan lang kasi mahal yon e" (we only
take it sometimes because it is expensive).
Outer world: Working. The CIL included in this study were all
working children. Their jobs included selling things, helping in a
sari-sari store, driving small vehicles like tricycles or pedicabs,
"pahinante ng truck," dishwasher, delivery boy, and wire fixers.
Some children also listed "stealing" as one of their "jobs."
Outer world: Significant persons. None of the children were able
to identify any positive significant adult in their lives either at home
or in the streets. Only one child was able to name significant adults
who incidentally were members of the reception center's personnel.
Instead, most of the children mentioned their peers as the most
significant persons in their lives.
Outer World: Experience of being in conflict with the law.
Almost all the children (seven out of eight) were involved in some
form of theft like stealing, snatching, hold-up, shoplifting, and akyat
bahay/bakod (climbing houses/fences for the purpose of stealing).
The only other case was multiple rape .
Half of the children reasoned that they stole to have money to
buy drugs or illegal substances and food. Two children claimed to
be a part of a syndicate that forced children to steal to pay for their
drugs. The syndicate also provided the children with food and
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protection. However, this "protection" quickly turned to threats and
beatings if the children did not carry out the wishes of the leader.
Other reasons given for stealing included: (a) revenge against
those who stole from them and those who doubted their honesty in
doing an honest trade, (b) to provide for their family, (c) because of
"tampo sa magulang" (i.e. felt badly towards the parents), and (d)
to get money to medicate oneself. Other crimes they were involved
in but were not apprehended for include stabbing for revenge and
"trobol" or gang wars that involved throwing pillboxes at the enemy
and at times, murder.
Outer world: Experience ofpolice brutality. The Cll, all recall
being beaten or tortured by the police. The torture may take the
form ofa simple "bugbog" (hit) to "tadyak sa tagiliran" (kicked on
the sides), "ginawang ashtray yung mukha" (face was turned into
an ashtray), "tinubig" (water poured into the nose), "kinuryente"
(immersed in water and electrocuted), hit by the butt of a gun, and
"salvage" (summary execution although they just witnessed this one).
The purpose of the torture was always to make the children admit
to the crimes they were accused of. All of the children eventually
admitted the crimes to stop the torture. However, the brutality caused
most children to feel angry and resentful. Some children used this
anger and resentment to justify the commission of more crimes.
In the children's file there was always a note from the "medico
legal" that read: "no signs of physical injury" at the time the children
are admitted to the reception centers. As a researcher, I wondered if
this note meant that all the children lied about the police brutality;
or whether their bruises had healed inasmuch as it usually takes a
few days after the arrest before they are brought to the centers. It is
also possible that they were hit on parts of the body where injuries
do not show during medical examinations.
Outer world: Media violence. Aside from the violence the
children experience from policemen, they were also exposed to
"glamorized" violence on television and movies. Their screen idols
usually commit violent acts for revenge or "paghihiganti," The
manner the children speak about violence often mimicked the way
movie actors talk: "Di ho ako nananakit na walang atraso sa akin"
(I do not hurt anyone who has not offended me).
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Outer world: Effect of crime on CIL's life. Half of the children
saw the negative effects of crimes in their lives. They expressed that
crime is "masama" or bad. Furthermore, they perceived that living
a life of crime was "dagdag problema" (adds to your problems).
They revealed that during their "criminal" days, they could not sleep
and were deeply sad. Nonetheless, two of the CIL saw crime as a
source of bonding among friends as well as an easy way out of
poverty.
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Outer world: Rehabilitation experience. Half of the children have
stayed more than five months at the centers while the rest have only
been there for a month. Pending cases was the common reason for
their stay. The cases sometimes dragged on because of the failure of
the complainant to show up, or the unavailability of the judge, or
simply biding time hoping for the complainant to forgive the child.
All in all, the children expressed positive experiences from the'
rehabilitation centers. Most of their positive experiences had to do
with the regularity of routines. They ate on time, had roles/chores
to do, prayed or heard mass regularly, and had academic lessons.
Other experiences considered positive included "laging nakalabas"
(being able to leave the cell), having time to sing, dance and have
fun telling stories, "di pinapabayaan" (not neglected), the place being
clean, and the staff giving in to their wishes.
Outer world: Comments of the social workers. In general, the
social workers described the children as sociable. They expressed
that they were: "marunong makisama" (got along well with others),
"nangangaral ng iba" (mentored other children) and outgoing.
However, they also observed some negative behaviors such as: "di
open" (lack of openness), "mapag-isa" (loner), "tahimik walang
kibo" (does not say a word) and "mahiyain" (shy).
Outer world: Changes most important to the chi/d. Half the
children liked being taught to pray. This seems to be a source of
strength since God is seen as an ally for change. The CIL also noticed
experiencing the following changes: "iwas bisyo" (avoid vices),
stopped stealing, stopped irritating older people, ability to control
hot-headedness, "maibigin sa kapwa" (loves fellow man),
"matulungin" (helpful), "mapagkumbaba" (humble), and reading.
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Inner world:Selj-concept. In general, the children had a negative
view of themselves. Most saw themselves as abandoned and
neglected. Furthermore, they perceived this abandonment and neglect
as the cause for their being "bad" or "masama." As one boy said,
"Okay lang magnakaw tambay naman ako e, walang nag-aaruga,
walang nagbabawal" (It is okay to steal, I am from the streets and
there is nobody who cares for me, nobody who forbids me .tp). The
second phrase ("walang nagbabawal") conveys their need for
structure and guidance or in their own words "kailangan ituwid"
(literally "straightened" meaning corrected or structured) and "dapat .
ilagay sa tama" (literally "corrected"). The CIL also felt that they
were "nabubulok (rotting), nalalagas (falling apart), nalalanta
(withering) and mababali" (broken). One child expressed that "yung
Molave ...gumagapos sa akin ...pag nawala yan, magiging demonyo
na naman ako" (this Molave-the center-ties me up, if it disappears,
I will be a demon again).
Inner world: Predominant feelings. The most predominant
feeling among the CIL was sadness or "malungkot. "They felt this
way due to several reasons such as: (a) being abandoned and
neglected, (b) not knowing how to deal with life problems and (c)
missing happy times with their family. Aside from feeling sad, the
children also felt pain and anger or "masakit sa loob" (emotional
pain), "nagalit" (angry) or "galit na galit" (very angry). The children
felt a certain amount of irritation towards their parents. These
feelings arise from the unhappy relationship with their parents and
the fact that they were separated from their loved ones. Feelings of
remorse and neglect were also present. They felt "nakokonsyensiya"
(troubled by their conscience) and "nagsisisi" (regretful) over their
crimes. Furthermore, the children expressed several accounts of their
crimes and sorrow for committing them. Happiness for them was
being with their families again. It is interesting to note that happiness
was more of a wish than a personal account of an actual experience.
Inner world: World view. All the children saw the world as
difficult to live in, full of hardships, dangerous and full of separation
from loved ones. Nevertheless, there were those who felt hopeful
because there were people who cared for their plight. They also saw
God as a source of help and guidance.
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Inner world: Perception offamily members. The CIL perceived
their parents in a negative light. They described their parents as
fighting constantly, abandoning, away at work, and unable to agree
on parenting practices. Mothers were described as neglecting and
abandoning. Most of the CIL wished that their mothers were more
caring, sacrificing and less abusive. With regard to how they view
children, the CIL see children as needing guidance from their parents,
especially their mother. However, the CIL also view children as
stowaways who steal to survive in the streets.
Inner world: The longing for a happy, harmonious family life.
All the children expressed a wish for a family whose parents are
nurturing and caring for each other. Since they felt themselves
deteriorating or becoming "bad," they longed for a family who would
be able to provide emotional and psychological support to every
member. In relation to this, they yearned to have a mother who could
provide emotional and psychological nurturance.
Inner world: The absence of positive significant adults and
extended family members. The CIL's families were disharmonious
and they did not have extended family members or positive significant
adults to take care of them.
Inner world: Perception of women. The CIL viewed women as
sex objects: "parausan" (used to relieve sexual urges), "talik tap os
iiwan no" (used for sex then abandoned), victims of rape, "nilalaspag
ng asawa," weak, nervous, and a martyr such that she may even
marry the man who raped her. Aside from the above mentioned view,
they also believed that women sometimes take advantage of the
goodness of their husbands. They might stay in bed while the man
goes to work or leave home even if it saddens everybody.
Inner world: View of God. God was viewed as the One who
forgives or "tinutubos ang kasalanan" (saved from sins). Most of
the children are confident of being forgiven. However, there were some
who were uncertain due to the sheer number of crimes they had
committed. One doubted the power of God because his prayers remain
unanswered. They also saw God as "maganda" or beautiful and
"nagbibigay ng kapayapaan" or giver of peace. When the CIL pray,
they ask for forgiveness, for help to be good, to take away thoughts
of crime and to be freed. The CIL view God as an ally in their quest
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for change: a quest that begins with their belief of being forgiven
and progresses to the faith that God will facilitate their
transformation.
Inner world: Perception of crime, sense ofjustice and guilt.
Most of the children blamed their peers for encouraging and leading
them into a life of crime. Most also blamed their neglecting parents
who led them to.the. streets and into crime. The children had varying
degrees of guilt for their crimes. Four levels of conscience erosion
were identified.' First was knowing that what they did was wrong,
feeling sorry for what they have done and taking some steps to change
for the better. Second was knowing that what they have done was
bad but enjoying what the crime provided such as money, food and
drugs. Third was feeling numb about their crimes or have no feelings
about it. Fourth was believing that crime is right, the hassle is only
in getting caught. It was observed that it was mainly the older
children who felt numb about their crimes and were able to justify
their crimes as right. This observation has clear implications to the
importance of early intervention for these children.
•
Discussion
Empathy, the ability to.feel with others, is an important deterrent
in committing crimes. Goleman (1995) states that "the inability to
feel their victim's pain allows perpetrators to tell themselves lies
that encourage their crime."
Empathy leads to altruism. When we feel for people, we want to
act on their behalf - protect them from harm, ease their suffering
and make them happy (Schulman and Mekler, 1985). Bowlby (1969)
and Ainsworth (1962) theorize that the development of empathy stems
from bonding with the parents.
These above statements gain importance when seen in the light
of the research findings. Before entering the centers, the Cll, did
not have a significant adult who had a positive contribution in their
lives. Furthermore, most of the children had strong feelings of
parental abandonment and neglect.
•
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The connection between having a positive significant person and
committing a crime becomes more important when we consider that
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the only person who did not specify any positive significant person
(even in the center) was the only one accused of a crime against
persons-rape. He was also the one who did not feel sorry for his
crime. There was one child with no positive significant person who
felt guilty only for his crime against property (stealing) but fantasizes
about stabbing someone for the fun of it. These anecdotes clearly
point toward the importance of attachment or bonding in the
development of conscience in children. As Bowlby (1969) reiterates,
"there is a strong causal relationship between an individual's
experience with his parents and his later capacity to make affectional
bonds." This means that having an affectionate relationship with
the parents would teach the child to be affectionate with others as
well. Consequently, a negative emotional experience with parents
would affect the child's ability to form emotional bonds. Fahlberg
(1979) makes a positive connection between being attached and the
development of a conscience. In line with this attachment and
conscience development viewpoint, a child who comes from an
unhappy family and whose unhappiness is caused by continued
disharmony among his parents may become unattached or unbonded
and thus, fail to be develop a healthy conscience.
In our culture, when parents fail, we have the extended family
members who may take over the caring for the children. However,
in the case of the CIL, there were no extended family members who
cared enough to parent them. Neither were there any significant adults
who positively influenced them.
Suggested Intervention Strategies
•
•
In an interview for the Philippine Star (1995), Carandang
expressed that children, whether they are from the slums or from the
affluent families, almost always have family-related reasons for
developing psychological problems. Whether they stay in the home
or go to the streets, their reason for leaving or staying had to do
with how happy they are with their families. More concretely, a child
who enjoys a harmonious family life is less likely to leave home,
while a child (like the CIL) fed up with his parents' constant
quarreling will go somewhere (maybe the streets) to look for a more
tolerable life.
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Hence, a long term goal for any intervention strategy for these
children would be to help their families by educating the parents so
that they will be aware of the importance of bonding in conscience
development and to understand the development of their child. It is
important to remind them of the effects their marital relationship
has on their children and the use of alternative forms of-discipline
rather than abusive forms.
The children in conflict with the law point to their peers as being
the most significant part of their iives. Hence, they have to be taught
constructive and more meaningful interactions with these persons
through peer group projects and peer counseling.
.
Law enforcers with their harsh ways of dealing with children
serve as motivation for the CIL to continue their crimes. It is
important that the police are taught alternative ways of interrogating
children. The lack of sensitivity of policemen is also a flaw in the
justice system. With the abolition of the family courts, there are no
courts specifically attuned to the needs ofjuveniles.
.The reception centers that most of the time act as rehabilitation
centers because of the length of stay of the children waiting for case
resolutions should have the following characteristics: first, a
nurturing family-like environment with surrogate parents who are
supportive of the children's desire to change; second, the center needs
well-trained staff members who understand how to deal with special
types of children and are able to implement effective ways of conflict
resolution; and third, spiritual instruction as an effective way of
encouraging the children to change. Nonetheless, it has also been a
source of disappointment to those who do not fully comprehend its
complexity. It is suggested that the same instructions be provided
but taking into account the comprehension level of the children and
their specific situations.
Again the need for early intervention could not be stressed enough
for these children, because the longer they stay in the streets and'
commit crimes the more likely the erosion of their conscienc~.
•
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References
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