Examining the Relationship Between Religiosity and Self-Control as Predictors of Prison Deviance

Abstract

The relationship between religiosity and crime has been the subject of much empirical debate and testing over the past 40 years. Some investigators have argued that observed relationships between religion and crime may be spurious because of self-control, arousal, or social control factors. The present study offers the first investigation of religiosity, self-control, and deviant behavior in the prison context. We use survey data from a sample of 208 recently paroled male inmates to test the impact of religiosity and self-control on prison deviance. The results indicate that two of the three measures of religiosity may be spurious predictors of prison deviance after accounting fovr self-control. Participation in religious services is the only measure of religiosity to significantly reduce the incidence of prison deviance when controlling for demographic factors, criminal history, and self-control. We conclude with implications for future studies of religiosity, self-control, and deviance in the prison context.

Assessing the Relationship Between Religiosity and Recidivism Among Adult Probationers in Pakistan

“…Moreover, the relationship was independent of education and marital status. These results were consistent with the broad pattern of the conclusions reported by previous research on a religion–crime relationship across age, gender, and jurisdictions (Baier & Wright, 2001; Benda et al, 2003; Evans et al, 1995; Kerley et al, 2010; Sinha et al, 2007). They also support the general notion that faith/religion may contribute to reductions in criminal activities worldwide among varying economic, social, and cultural settings, including developed and developing countries.…”

“…However, these findings tend to support the general notion that the external or behavioral aspects of religion (e.g., involvement in religious activities including church attendance or provision of religious services or participation in religious gatherings) have been consistently related to various criminal outcomes in samples of offender populations (inmates or community offenders) of different ages, gender, and jurisdictional settings (Baier & Wright, 2001; Evans et al, 1995; Johnson et al, 2000; Kerley et al, 2010; Sinha et al, 2007; Tittle & Welch, 1983; Ullrich & Coid, 2011). One plausible explanation of this finding is that major religions/faiths (e.g., Christianity, Islam) command their followers to perform religious activities in a group setting (Clear & Myhre, 1995).…”

“…Since 1969, an impressive quantity of literature, including individual studies, meta-analytic investigations, and research reviews, have produced findings supporting the notion that religiosity and its various dimensions (e.g., church attendance, perception of God or religious salience, participation in religious activities) often have an inverse relationship with antisocial behavior (e.g., delinquency, substance use, violence, or parole/probation violations) among various samples, including inmates (Benda, 1995; Benda et al, 2003), community offenders (Bhutta & Wormith, 2016; Jensen & Gibbons, 2002; Tittle & Welch, 1983), youth (Johnson et al, 2001; Johnson et al, 2000; Kerley, Copes, Tewksbury, & Dabney, 2010; Sinha et al, 2007), and adults (Evans et al, 1995). In addition, there are several research studies and reviews investigating the link between religiosity and delinquency or violence among youth and adolescent populations (Baier & Wright, 2001; Salas-Wright, Vaughn, Hodge, & Perron, 2012; Sinha et al, 2007; Yeung, Chan, & Lee, 2009).…”

“…This community aspect supports religiosity among followers through socialization, practice, and the reinforcement of religious doctrine, rituals, and values. It is important to note that behavioral dimensions/aspects of religiosity have been frequently examined and validated in preceding research and have been found to have a negative association between religion-related behavior and criminal behavior (Kerley et al, 2010). Based on the correlational findings of the religious beliefs–recidivism relationship in our research, we contend that attitudinal aspects of religion require further investigation in relation to a broad range of criminal actions.…”

Criminogenic and Desistance-Promoting Processes Behind Bars and Postrelease Supervision: New Evidence From Federal Offenders

“…Earlier starting offenders were more likely to have their conditions modified, accumulated more incidents of noncompliance while on supervision, and were more likely to be chronically noncompliant evidenced by being in the 90th percentile of noncompliance. This is consistent with prior research that found significant inverse effects between arrest onset and various forms of institutional misconduct (Kerley, Copes, Tewksbury, & Dabney, 2011; Reidy et al, 2018; Reidy et al, 2012; Trulson et al, 2010) and postrelease noncompliance or recidivism (Amirault & Lussier, 2011; Baglivio, Jackowski, Greenwald, & Howell, 2014; Baglivio, Wolff, Piquero, DeLisi, & Vaughn, 2018; Morris, Barnes, Worrall, & Orrick, 2016; Trulson, Haerle, Caudill, & DeLisi, 2016). Similarly, federal criminal history rank was positively associated with noncompliance incident counts in the negative binomial models indicating that in many respects, the supervised release period was an extension of an already extensive criminal career.…”