Fahmi, Nor Azmi
(2006)
A study of religiosity and juvenile delinquency in Malaysia.
Other.
Universiti Sains Malaysia.
(Submitted)
Abstract
Juvenile offending has been a nationally recognized persistent social
problem. Current interventions are still distant from comprehensive and holistic
resolutions in preventing and decreasing delinquent behaviors. One critical limitation
of the existing intervention strategies for decreasing juvenile delinquency is the
exclusion of religious factors. For the present study, religion is defined as an
integration of four aspects: ( 1) a belief in a transcendent being that provides
principles of behavior, purposes of existence, and the meaning of death, (2) a moral
system providing principles and ideals of behavior, (3) religious practices based on
the belief, and (4) an involvement in and attachment to conventional religious
institutions. Some researchers believe that religion is unrelated to delinquency
(Hirschi and Stark, 1969; Sutherland and Cressey, 1978). In particular, Hirschi and
Stark's finding of the "hellfire and delinquency'' hypothesis, which suggests that
religion has no effects on delinquency, has been regarded as an incontrovertible fact
for a long time. However, a number of scholars remain confident about the potential
beneficial effect that religion has on reducing various types of delinquent behavior
(Johnson, 2001; Sloan and Potvin, 1986). Even though there is increasing
agreement that religion is an inhibitor of delinquency rather than a contributor, the
strength of a religious effect is unclear related to different offense types and religious
contexts. According to Bynum and Thompson (1992), in its simplified definition
juvenile delinquency is defined as illegal behavior committed by a minor, whilst
delinquent behavior is a relative concept, it has meaning only in relation to the laws
that apply to a given population at a specific point in time. The present research was designed to investigate the relationship between religiosity and juvenile delinquency.
In addition, this study was implemented to analyze the research and literature
pertaining to relationship between religiosity and juvenile delinquency. A sample of
150 juveniles were randomly selected by the Prison Officer from Henry Gurney
School, Malacca. The juveniles were in range of 15 years to 18 years old. All the
respondents were males. The "Religiosity Questionnaires" and the "Self-reported
Questionnaires" were used in this study. The hypothesis was tested by the Pearson
product moment correlation and t-test analysis using the SPSS/PC + package for
statistical analysis. The result of this study indicated a non-significant correlation
between religiosity and delinquency. Based on the results, there is no correlation
between religious behavior and delinquency, and religious belief and delinquency.
The t-test analysis indicated that there is a significant mean difference between 'age
group" and religious belief. In addition, there is a significant mean difference
between 'number of time enter Youth Rehabilitation Centre' and religious behavior.
The result also shows a significant mean difference between 'involvement in gang'
and delinquency.
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