An Emprical Application of Routin Activities Theory in the Study of Students’ Deviant Behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess deviant behaviors among Mazandaran University students by Routine Activities theory and to examine the applicability of Routine Activities theory to deviant behaviors and individual offending. Although routine activities theory known as one of the most important theories in study of deviant behaviors, but most routine activities studies rely on victimization and thus far relatively little attention has been given to the applicability of routine activities theory for studying individual offending and deviant behaviors. Unlike most studies that have used routine activities theory to explain victims and victimization, in this study the routine activities theory is used to explain individual offending and deviant behaviors of students. Data used in this research were collected from a survey of 393 students of Mazandaran University in 2015. The findingsindicates that there is significant differences between males and females in the incidence of deviant behaviors, so that deviant behaviors among male students is more than deviant behaviors among females. The findings also indicates that variables of routine activities theory can explain deviant behaviors among students well. The result of regression analysis showed that variables have been able to assess 44 percent of changes in deviant behaviors among students. Among all variables that entered in regression model, “intensity attachment to delinquent friends” and “unstructured activities” have a significant positive impression on deviant behaviors and “presence of authority figures” has a significant negative impression on deviant behaviors. Also “intensity attachment to delinquent friends” is the most important variable to explain the deviant behaviors.

Keywords

• Deviant Behaviors
• Routine Activities theory
• intensity attachment to delinquent friends
• Family Time