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Social Control Theory and the Connection with Ideological Offenders Among Israeli Youth During the Gaza Disengagement Period

NCJ Number
223548
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 454-473
Author(s)
Mally Shechory; Avital Laufer
Date Published
August 2008
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examined the legal and illegal behavior patterns of Israeli adolescents who actively participated in protest activities during the Gaza disengagement period.
Abstract
The findings indicate that the model presented provided a partial explanation for ideological delinquency. It was found that involvement with friends and the absence of belief in the formal legal system were associated with illegal ideology activity. Attachment to friends and parents and involvement with parents had no effect on youth's participation in illegal ideological activities. The present study examined whether social control theory was capable of explaining youth's law violations in instances of conflict between the ideological religious worldview and the laws of the country in which they resided. Differences in the control factors (commitment, belief, attachment, and involvement) were examined among Israeli adolescents who took part in legal activity and illegal activity during the resistance to the Gaza evacuation. The study involved 262 adolescent participants from 56 settlements in Judea and Samaria, consisting of 88 males and 174 females. The sample was divided into 2 groups, 1 of 163 adolescents who participated in illegal activities, and 1 group of 99 who took part in legal activity; the majority was Israeli-born, religious, and had no significant differences in their backgrounds. Tables, appendixes, references