جامعه شناسی کاربردی (Jul 2013)
A Comparison of the Relationship between Cultural Factors and Responsibility among Youths of Ghorveh and Baneh Cities
Abstract
Introduction Studies show that responsibility in every society regulates social and humanitarian relations and increases empathy and altruism among people. It can be effective in improvement of social security, social functions, academic success, mental health, self-esteem and also self-actualization. In addition, reinforcing responsibility leads to a decrease in social deviance, delinquency, crime and society’s behavioral problems. Given the important role of social responsibility, enhancing it among citizens of society is of crucial importance. In this regard, it is necessary to identify the factors associated with this concept. So the question is what factors are associated with individual responsibility? Since responsibility is a part of acquired characteristics, the role of cultural factors in relation to its context cannot be ignored. Thus, in order to answer this question, the present study focuses on cultural factors influencing responsibility. This paper tries to study and compare the relationship between cultural factors and the level of responsibility among teenagers of Bane and Qorveh cities, assessing the degree of youth responsibility and the importance of explanation of cultural factors in relation to this variable. Materials & Methods The survey method has been used, and the data has been collected by questionnaire. Research sample included all 18-14 year adolescents who were living in Ghorveh and Bane cities. Considering the population and an error of 4%, a sample size of 598 respondents was obtained, of whom 339 belonged to Bane and 258 lived in Ghorveh. Sampling method was stratified cluster sampling. In this study, the dependent variable is responsibility rate which was measured by Neo (1992) questionnaire. In order to measure religiosity, Gluck and Stark (1965) religiosity questionnaire was utilized in which various dimensions of religiosity (including ideological, empirical, practical, and outcomes) are measured. Also different types of media usage including TV (network of provincial and national networks), radio (internal, external), newspapers and magazines, satellite, internet by respondents has been asked. To assess the reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient scale was used. Discussion of Results & Conclusions Comparison of responsibility between Bane and Ghorveh cities indicate that responsibility mean in Bane is more than Ghorveh. It seems that in terms of ethnicity and religion Bane is more uniform than Ghorveh. Due to shared characteristics and common features among themselves, Bane citizens have stronger feelings of empathy, closeness and belonging to a group. In such circumstances, people are more responsible for the well-being of society in which they live and also for each other. But in comparison with Bane, in Ghorveh, because of the lack of ethnic and religious homogeneity, there may exist a weak separation and division. Comparison of responsibility between Kurdish and the other tribes and between Sunni and Shiite indicate high level of mean among kurdish and sunni respondents. Because shiites and non-kurds in other cities of Kurdistan belong themselves to the larger group (society), they feel less responsible, whereas the sunnies and the kurds in Kurdistan province have more responsibility and feel belonged to their city and province. Yet further studies are needed to confirm this issue which is beyond the scope of this study. The average difference among the sexes in the responsibility variable indicates that there is no difference between men and women. In terms of the relationship between parental education and responsibility of the juvenile, results indicate that in both cities, there is no significant relationship between fathers’ education and respondents’ responsibility, but the level of responsibility is related to the rate of mothers’ education in Ghorveh. Another cultural variable examined in this study, was the degree of religiosity of adolescents. This variable, along with its four dimensions (religious, experimental, practices, and outcomes) in both cities have a significant relationship with the dependent variable. It seems that in our society, religious beliefs and values play an important role, and act as a monitoring force which control the behavior of people. The results show that those who have higher levels of religiosity are more responsible. Results show that among the mass media and new media and information and communication technology, the mass media in both cities have significant relationship with juvenile responsibility. Results of multivariate analysis are focused on the role of religion and the media in juveniles’ responsibility. According to Bandura, in modern societies, mass media plays an important role in shaping social behaviors and attitudes. In terms of effectiveness in the face of widespread public and media patterns, it can be said that many behaviors are learned through the television and other media. The authorities in charge of mass media should pay more attention to the issue of social responsibility, with proper planning for using capabilities of the national media. Considering the fact that environmental factors play an important role in forming and modifying behaviors such as responsibility, it is suggested that in addition to conducting extensive research in this field, factors associated with increasing responsibility will be identified and strengthened.
