To Alleviate the Plight of At-Risk Boys and Young Men as a Result of Absentee Fathers

This study confronts the "relational void" left by paternal absence among ten at-risk adolescent males (aged 10–17) navigating the urban complexities of Wortmanville and Werk-en-Rust, Guyana. Drawing on a multi-theoretical framework—anchored in Bowlby’s Attachment Theory, Agnew’s General Strain Theory, and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory—I analyze how a Male Spiritual Strategic Mentorship Program functions as a decisive protective factor. Rather than viewing delinquency as a mere behavioral failure, I examine it as a survival response to the profound emotional strain of father-absence.

My findings reveal that the mentorship process facilitates what I term "Corrective Attachment," a catalyst for a deep-seated reorientation of identity. Data from the participants show a remarkable 80% shift toward forgiveness and self-regulation, demonstrating the redemptive power of spiritual fatherhood. However, I uncovered a critical "Consistency Challenge”, a 40% gap in behavioral initiative, which I traced to the rapid extinction of prosocial habits once formal reinforcement schedules end. I contend that while spiritual mentorship ignites personal change, sustaining that fire requires a structural transition toward long-term intermittent reinforcement and vocational pathways. I conclude that achieving Shalom for Guyanese youth demands more than a temporary intervention; it necessitates a continuous, protective community capable of bridging the "Horizon Gap" between their current trauma and a purposeful future.