Investigating the impact of cultural factors on the incidence of delinquency (with emphasis on cultural poverty)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of environmental factors including socio-cultural, physical, economic and institutional dimensions in the incidence of delinquency with an emphasis on the marginal neighborhoods of Islamabad and the slaughterhouse of Urmia city. The research method of this study was quantitative and descriptive-analytical, which was conducted through a survey and documentary analysis. The statistical population included all residents of the Islamabad-Slaughterhouse neighborhood of Urmia with a population of about 45,250 people, of whom 381 were selected using cluster sampling based on the Cochran formula. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, which was analyzed by descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling using SPSS-21 and LISREL software. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis showed that all the dimensions under study including socio-cultural, physical, economic and institutional factors have a significant effect on the incidence of delinquency with direct and positive coefficients of 0.99 (significance level of 0.021). Also, the skewness and elongation indices of the research variables were in the range (-2, 2), which indicated the normality of the data distribution and the validity of the statistical analyses. The results of the present study emphasize that crime in marginalized neighborhoods is caused by a combination of different environmental factors, and planning to reduce crime requires simultaneous attention to improving socio-cultural conditions, upgrading physical infrastructure, improving the economic situation, and making responsible institutions more efficient in these areas.