جامعه شناسی کاربردی (Aug 2016)

A Study of Tendency toward Law-Breaking and its Relationship to Social Participation and Social Control in Yasouj

  • Asghar Mirfardi,
  • Forugh Faraji

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22108/jas.2016.20493
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 2
pp. 93 – 110

Abstract

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Introduction: Being legal is one of human social life traits. Using rules and law systems, human beings live together, without any interruption in social system formation by individual law- breaking tendencies. As laws are originated from general will, and recognized as social convention in a territory, are sanctioned by all citizens. Meanwhile, all people do not coordinate with formal laws, equally and some of them attempt to deviate from law-regularities, directly and indirectly, latently and obviously. Thus, a repertoire of behaviors including legal and illegal behaviors are being done in society. Legalism in each society caused to consistency in social relations and establishment of security feeling. Law-breaking as order-escaping which caused to dissatisfaction to self right, offending toward others right, ignoring duties, escaping from responsibilities, which in turn, could threaten social and psychological health. Urbanization increase, caused to various social deviances. Ignoring citizenship rights, caused to social disorder and anarchy. During recent years, an increasing trend of some crimes such as robbing, traffic deviances, mass conflict and changes in statistics of all crimes are indicate the growth of law-breaking in Yasouj. Reviewing the trends of crimes show their increase level and high rate of law-breaking during the last years. However, this paper aimed to study the relationship between variables such as social control and social participation, from one side, and the tendency to law-breaking, from another side, in Yasouj city. Material & Method: using survey method, Statistics society had been 18-45 years old persons in Yasouj city; that were determined 381 persons via Lin table (1976) as a sample and they be selected with use of classical-multi stage random sampling method. The collection instrument was researcher -made questionnaire. Face validity and factor analysis were used for validity evaluation and Cronbach's alpha was used for evaluation of reliability. During face validity, questionnaire was reviewed and evaluated by some expert researchers and sociologists. Factor analysis coefficients were acceptable. The Cronbach's alpha for law-breaking variable was 0.86 and for social participation variable was 0.73 and for social control variable was 0.75. Discussion of Results & Conclusions: The findings showed that there is significant indirect relationship between social participation and tendency towards law-breaking. There is significant relationship between the use of the mass media and the tendency to law- breaking. Men and singles have more tendencies to law - breaking than women and married. Independent variables, can explained 23.4 percents of dependent variable’s variance. Results showed that more social participation; lead to less law-breaking and vice versa. This finding is compatible with results of theoretical framework which being used in this study. There was no significant relationship between the degree of social control and tendency towards law-breaking, while their weak relationship was indirect. This finding was not compatible with Hirsch’s theory. This finding is not implying that social control, as one of social supervision’ means has not enough efficiency for decreasing criminal and law-breaking behaviors.  Evaluating the relationship between use of mass media such as TV and satellite and tendency to law-breaking showed that there was significant relationship between the degree of mass media use and tendency to law-breaking. In terms of relationship of research results with Yasouj’s social conditions, can be argued that this city is one of less developed regions of Iran, which according its new urban ecology, have considerable traits of traditional structures. This structure is ongoing to passing duration from traditional to modern condition, via extension of urbanization and migration of nomadic and rural people to urban areas. Yasouj, as the center of Kohgilouyeh & BoyerAhmad province, in the process of becoming province and change in human ecology of its region, have been the magnet for migrants from its different regions. These migrations, from one side, had not lead to decrease in traditional bonding and governing the nomadic and tribal culture has been lead to behave based on their tribal and nomadic traditions and customs, in spite of legal commitment, and in other side, fast growth of population which, mainly, originated from migrations have less attentions to social regularities and systems and lead to law-breaking.

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