POWRE: Assessing Validity of Self-Reported Antisocial Behaviors and Delinquency Among a Sample of Filipino Youth

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

The growth of knowledge about crime and criminality has focused generally on Western societies, particularly the United States. Theories and techniques used in these societies to understand violence, crime and criminality have seldom been assessed in non-Western settings. In this POWRE project, a program of research and educational activities is presented to develop methods and research protocols that will help produce useful and valid information about antisocial behaviors and delinquency in Filipino society. This project builds upon a pilot study that developed an instrument and tested the feasibility of conducting a self-report survey of grade school children in the Philippines. The proposed project builds upon this study by: (a) conducting a follow-up survey of a sample of youth who responded to the pilot study; (b) conducting interviews of the youth's parents and teachers to validate self-reported behaviors; (c) conducting focus groups on selected teachers, parents, and community stakeholders (such as the police and baranggay officials) to provide cultural context and better understanding of survey results and inform future studies; and, (d) conducting educational seminars to promote the exchange of ideas and growth among project staff . The seminars will also involve interested students, scholars, and community stakeholders. This will provide an avenue for the investigator to disseminate current knowledge about delinquency theories and the empirical development of this field in Western societies, and also learn about the relevance of these theories in Filipino society through discussions with participants in the seminar. At least one of these seminars will discuss results of the completed pilot study. Re-interviewing a sample of youth from the pilot study allows a realistic assessment of workable tracking methods, attrition, and the feasibility of conducting a panel study of youth in the Philippines. Because studies of delinquency in non-Western countries are few and far between and because methodologies employed in these studies have often been based on convenient techniques, the information that will be derived from the systematic follow-up of youth in this study provides relevant methodological groundwork that can be used in future studies of different samples in the same or different populations. Likewise, testing the utility of using informants like teachers and parents to assess the veracity of self-reported antisocial/delinquent behaviors adds to the body of knowledge on how these techniques are received in different cultures and how they can be employed. The preparatory nature of the project is appropriate as a POWRE proposal and is consistent with previous projects funded through POWRE. Results of this study will build a more definitive structure and information on how studies of a similar nature may be conducted in the Philippines, and generally in non-Western settings. POWRE support will also augment the investigator's knowledge and skills to conduct research in settings outside of the United States and will provide her with the competence and competitiveness necessary to obtain external funding to conduct further studies on crime and criminality in non-Western settings.