NCJ Number
144233
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 416-435
Date Published
1993
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article examines the effect of religiosity on delinquent behavior in Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese, and Dutch boys and proposes that religion can be considered as an element of the social bond.
Abstract
Data were obtained from a more extensive study about different ethnic groups in the Netherlands. Three samples containing 182 Moroccan, 196 Turkish, and 206 Surinamese boys between 12 and 17 years of age were interviewed in 1984. Self-report delinquency measures were based on 16 questions about delinquent activities that were asked at the end of interviews. The respondent was asked to specify if he had ever committed delinquent acts and how often during the previous year. The scale of religiosity was based on questions about praying and attending church. Indexes constructed to measure family bonds included direct controls, family arguments, emotional bonds, importance of school, general family life, and family violence. The results demonstrated a modest relation between religiosity and delinquent behavior in some boys, but the distinction between moral and secular communities did not explain this relation. Moral communities did not have lower crime rates than secular communities. Socioeconomic background variables appeared to be unrelated to religiosity; particularly, religiosity was unrelated to level of family integration. The authors conclude that additional information on community social networks is needed to adequately explain the link between religiosity and delinquency in different cultures. An appendix contains questions used in the study. 30 references, 19 footnotes, 6 tables, and 1 figure