文献信息
文献标题：Poverty and delinquency: A qualitative study on selected juvenile offenders in Malaysia（贫穷与犯罪：对马来西亚部分青少年犯的定性研究）
文献作者：Tai Soo Shong，Siti Hajar Abu Bakar，M Rezaul Islam
文献出处：《International Social Work》,2018:1-15.
字数统计：英文3110单词，16842字符；中文5223汉字
外文文献
Poverty and delinquency: A qualitative study on selected
juvenile offenders in Malaysia
Abstract This qualitative case study explored the voices of juvenile offenders in Malaysia who were plagued with poverty, and brought to light their plight. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of poverty on the delinquent character and behavioural development of the children on three majo
r crime-enhancing themes – miserable family conditions, school failure and association with deviant peers – to get a broader view of how poverty could influence their life trajectory. The purposive maximum variation sampling method was used in the selection of six young offenders between the ages of 13 and 17 years from Sekolah Tunas Bakti Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A multiple data collection method that included observation, in-depth case study and document analysis was used for data collection. Results showed that three major crime-enhancing themes due to poverty were strongly related to children’s delinquent character and behavioural development. The knowledge gained from this study will further contribute to understanding the real-life experiences of juvenile offenders, particularly those who are experiencing extreme deprivation, and it is hoped that the insight gained could help in the prevention and control of juvenile delinquent behaviour in Malaysia.
documented翻译Keywords: Delinquency, deviant peers, juvenile offenders, Malaysia, miserable family conditions, poverty, school failure
Introduction
The developmental risks associated with poverty and economic disadvantage have been well documented, but the processes that account for the relations between poverty and children’s develop
ment have not been thoroughly explored (Bradley and Corwyn, 2002; McLoyd, 1998; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). Socio-economic status has always been used as a means to provide an explanation for juvenile delinquent behaviour (Bjerk, 2007; Leiber et al., 2009). The literature has shown that poverty and low socio-economic status in childhood are powerful risk factors that have always been associated with substance abuse, crime and delinquency (Bjerk, 2007; D’Onofrio et al., 2009; Galloway and Skardhamar, 2010). In general, one cannot deny the fact that lack of financial resources is one of the greatest reasons why some people turn to illegal means for the sake of survival. Economic hardship often results in spiritual, emotional and material deprivation, all of which could exacerbate antisocial behaviour among children.
Agnew et al. (2008) argued that the relationship between economic problems and delinquency is nonlinear, such that only the experience of economic problems is associated with higher delinquency. They found that the relationship between socio-economic status and economic problems is only moderate in size. The fact that the rich get richer and the poor get prison (Reiman and Leighton, 2013) does have its repercussions, as one cannot deny the painful truth that the moment a child is born into a poor family, he or she may have to face a bleak future. In the process of struggling for existence some may thrive well, but many of them will end up being victims of fate and circumstances. One cann
ot deny the fact that risk factors leading to later damage occur more frequently among children in families that are poor, and still more frequently among families that are persistently poor and live in areas of concentrated poverty (Schorr and Schorr, 1989: 29). Needless to say, children are
more likely to fare badly in life if their parents have a low education level, and/or low occupational status, or are unemployed. However, it should be noted that poverty is not restricted to one dimension, for example income, but it manifests itself in all domains of life, such as housing, education, health (Deleeck and Van den Bosch, 1992: 3) and one’s daily activities.
Literature review
This study underpins three main concepts: poverty, delinquency and juvenile offenders. Poverty transcends the traditional definition of a shortfall in income levels. In other words, income levels are not the only determinant of poverty. Poverty is a multidimensional concept (Akindola, 2009). Peter Townsend, a leading authority on UK poverty, defines poverty as when someone’s ‘resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities’ (Seymour, 2009: 15). According to Booth (cited in Fried and Elman, 1971), the ‘poor’ are those whose means may be adequate, but are barely sufficient f
or a decent independent life; the ‘very poor’ are those whose means are insufficient for this according to the usual standard of life in this country. Delinquency is an act or conduct of a juvenile that is socially undesirable. Juvenile delinquency generally means the failure of children to meet certain obligations expected of them by society. The blame can be placed on factors ranging from a child’s embryonic development to dysfunctional families, dilapidated schools, abject poverty, peer relations, low self-control or any combination of these and other issues (Joshi, 2013). Juvenile delinquent behaviour refers to the behaviour committed by someone below 18 years of age that violates criminal law (Houston and Barton, 2005). These delinquent behaviours can range from less severe behaviours such as abusing the school rules, absenteeism, school truancy, cigarette smoking and vandalism to more severe crimes such as stealing, robbery, substance abuse, rape and weapon possession (Choon et al., 2013). Based on the law in Malaysia, the term juvenile delinquent refers to a young person who has committed a criminal offence and has been given a court order (Maznah, 2007). The
Malaysian Ministry of Education states that delinquency in school includes violation of both the Penal Code and the school norms. In Malaysia, two forms of status offences are recognizable, namely, being beyond the control of parents and being exposed to moral danger (Hussin, 2007). According to the Prison Act 1995, a juvenile or a young offender is defined as ‘a prisoner who is under the age of 21 ye
ars’ (Kassim, 2006). Students may be punished by the school authorities for behavioural misconduct such as vandalism, fighting, smoking and truancy, as well as for minor misbehaviour including disrespect to others, impoliteness, inappropriate or messy school attire or appearance, and bringing to school items that are banned, such as mobile phones (Choon et al., 2013).
Since poverty can lead to various kinds of delinquent activities, one cannot deny the fact that it is directly related to juvenile delinquency (Prochnow and Defronzo, 1997) as it not only leads to stressful living conditions, but also creates situations that are conducive to antisocial activities. Earlier studies of the relationship between socio-economic status and juvenile delinquency have shown that it is mostly a low social class problem. Defined as ‘an act by a juvenile under the age of 18 that if committed by an adult would constitute a crime, a disorderly person offense, a petty disorderly person offense, or a violation of any other penal statute, ordinance or regulation’ (New Jersey Judiciary, 2012), delinquency is inextricably related to poverty in the four primary settings affecting child development, namely, family, school, peer groups and communities.
Previous studies have shown that children who live in persistent or chronic poverty have less favourable cognitive and social development and poorer physical and mental health than those who live in transitory poverty (Costello et al., 2003; McLeod and Nonnemaker, 2000). Many studies have sh
own that poverty-related stress can have serious repercussions on a child’s upbringing and development due to lack of family integration as consequences of inevitable life circumstances such as anxiety, depression, discrimination and hostility (Wadsworth et al., 2008). ‘Family stress caused by problems with the fulfilment of the family economic function, affects the way parents fulfil their parental role’ (Banovcinova et al., 2014), which clearly
explains the reason why parents who encounter serious financial constraints tend to have delinquent children. Parents who feel emotionally insecure themselves often have difficulty coping with the many responsibilities of parenthood, and this is clearly manifested in the way in which they bring up their children. Family conflict, increased irritability, poor supervision, harsh discipline and erratic punishment are but some of the more common occurrences in families threatened with financial crisis (Guajardo et al., 2009). This clearly explains why children who come from poor families are more likely to drop out of school, associate with deviant peers and participate in antisocial activities.
Given the negative impact of poverty on children, this study intended to investigate the consequences of poverty and how it affects the behavioural and character development of children. Since most studies in this field conducted by local researchers are quantitative by nature – that is, they have the tendency to emphasize the statistical relationships between poverty and delinquency – a more in-dept
h analysis through the actual worldviews of the juvenile offenders pertaining to this chronic social phenomenon is necessary, and we aimed to fill this gap in the present study via a holistic qualitative approach as this could provide for a deeper insight into their real-life experiences.
Research objective and methodology
Research objective
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of poverty on the character and behavioural development of the Malaysian children. This study explored these effects on three major crimeenhancing themes that were strongly related to poverty, namely, miserable family conditions, school failure and association with deviant peers.
Methodology
Research approach and research method. The research approach was qualitative. This approach enabled us to gain a deeper insight into the phenomenon under investigation based on the experiences of the juvenile offenders in a natural setting. It

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