Am I Okay? The Development of Self-Esteem of children in Conflict with the Law in Molave Youth Home, Quezon City

Abstract

The passage of R.A. 9344 greatly improved the legal and judicial protection of the children. Children were no longer sent to prison. Instead they were sent to the institution and rehabilitated. This study aims to identify the development of self-esteem of the CICL inspite of being labelledas delinquents. The respondents are fifteen (15) CICL ages 15-19 years old under the custody of Molave Youth Home (MYH), Quezon City. It focuses on the different activities that were accorded to the participants that contributed to the development of their self-esteem. However, the study delimits the offenses that the participants committed and the duration of their stay in the institution. Data was obtained through the constructed and approved questionnaire formulated by the researcher. The researcher utilised the qualitative phenomenological method, and utilised the purposive and non-probability sampling technique. Results showed that majority of the participants have high self-esteem. The different activities contributed to the development of their self-esteem, including singing/dancing competitions, hosting and facilitating events, and livelihood and life skills training. Results also showed that activities helped them enhance and develop their self-esteem, self-confidence, self-trust and increased knowledge.