Peer victimization, prison climate, resilience and psychological distress of incarcerated juvenile offenders in Ghana: A serial mediation examination.

Most Ghanaian research in the area of victimization among children has focused on the school setting. Little research has been done in an attempt to understand inmate-on-inmate victimization within the juvenile correctional facilities in Ghana. This study, therefore, investigated the extent to which peer victimization influences psychological distress among juvenile offenders in the Senior Correctional Center of Ghana. A cross-sectional design was used to purposively sample 115 juvenile offenders for the study. Following mediation analysis performed in PROCESS, the results revealed that prison climate and resilience serially mediated the relationship between peer victimization and psychological distress. Independently, both prison climate and resilience mediated the relationship between peer victimization and psychological distress. It was recommended that anti-bullying programs ought to be institutionalized to create mental health awareness within the correctional facilities. Also, support systems such as the Listener Scheme need to be deployed within the correctional facilities.

Patterns of victimization in Ghana's Senior Correctional Center: The experiences of juvenile offenders.

Victimization is considered a serious issue which affects children across the globe and this is particularly accentuated in the prison environment Research on prison victimization and psychological health however, has primarily focused on adult prisoners. There is little documentation on how victimization impacts the psychological health of juvenile offenders in correctional facilities. This article therefore explores the experiences of victimization among juvenile offenders in the Senior Correctional Center, Ghana. A total of 20 juvenile offenders were purposively sampled from Ghana's Senior Correction Center. Using thematic analysis, three themes were generated and discussed: forms of victimization, causes of victimization and impacts of victimization. It was revealed that, besides taking the form of either direct and or indirect physical assault, victimization also manifested in the form of verbal assault. Moreover, victimization was found to usually occur when young offenders direct their built-up frustrations at others or when victims possess specific attributes that make them targets. The various forms of victimization experienced by these young offenders impacts their well-being physically, psychologically and socially. It is recommended that stakeholders should practice stress management exercises, and establish a buddy system for juvenile offenders in the correctional facility.

Home-Based Sexuality Education in Ghana: The Perspectives of Adolescents and Parents.

The extant literature has explored sexuality education from the perspectives of the adolescents, but the views of parents are largely neglected. The few studies that have examined the views of both parents and adolescents are selective in scope, coverage, and assessment. There is thus, a dearth of data on the type of topics discussed and the frequency of parent-adolescent sexual communication. The present study sought to explore adolescents' lived experiences of sexuality education and its impact on their sexual and reproductive health. To achieve this, a qualitative research design with a semi-structured interview was employed to gather data from thirty parents and adolescents in Ablekuma South Metropolis. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in analyzing the data with each theme showing divergence categories of experiences of sexuality education although the views of both parents and adolescents on each category were similar. Parent-adolescent sex communication showed frequently discussed topics and the less discussed ones. Perceptions of sexuality education revealed both positive and negative perceptions. Perceived impact of sexuality education also brought to light both positive and negative impacts. It is recommended that stakeholders ought to institutionalize diverse behavior change interventions such as interpersonal communication and skills training aimed at empowering both parents and adolescents to communicate explicitly about sexuality rather than using euphemisms and timing techniques.