The role of the parent in the family is to prepare children for adulthood through setting rules and disciplining, thereby playing a vital role in the socialization of children and adolescents. It is a role that cannot be abdicated to the school or other institutions. As children mature into adulthood, whatever the parents have impacted on them is reflected in their lives and may be more profound than any other influence.Parenting involves bringing up and looking after children, which may be done by either the biological or surrogate parents. It plays major roles in the overall development of a child and includes the social, educational and other adaptive behaviours that prepare the child for future life. Different parents carry out this function differently, owing to their diverse personalities and exposure, giving rise to different parenting styles and influences on the children they bring up.A parenting style is the environment in which families operate and where child-upbringing behaviour of parents or other key caretakers manifest. Kelland (2007) observes that where a model parenting style is used in the home the children are disciplined, but where it is lacking cases of indiscipline often arise.Deviant behaviour is defined as a violation of social values, community norms and a society's rules (Nyamoko&Ongole, 2014). Deviance in schools takes the form of truancy, habitual lateness, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, inappropriate cross-gender relationships, skipping class, riots, vandalizing school properties, fighting, disrespect for authority, negative attitude and arrogance, and resistance to change (Nabiswa, Misigo&Makhanu, 2016). There is a tendency for deviant individuals to indulge in different forms of anti-social behaviour Unchecked, deviance at school can be contagious and reach dangerous levels. The cultural transmission theory argues that like other behaviours, deviance is learnt. The Differential-Association theory holds that deviance can be learnt in the same way that conformity is, through interaction with deviant individuals. It therefore calls for deliberate efforts to tackle deviance when it manifests.Cases of deviant behaviour leading to tragedy have been recorded in several countries. In Minnesota, United States, on the morning of March 21 st 20005, a sixteen year-old killed nine people in a shooting spree, seven of whom were fellow students at the Red Lake Senior High School. In Kenya 67 students died at the Kyanguli High School on 24 th March 2001 following arson by fellow students (Malayi, 2013). Loeber, Farrington andPetechuk (2008), in a study in the United States, observed that delinquent children increased by a third between 1990 and 2000.The current study focused on deviant behaviour among secondary school students in Kandara Sub-county, Murang'a County, Kenya, which has been on an upswing.
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