Malaysian Stereotypes on Adolescents Involved in Delinquency: Acquaintances vs Close Friends

Abstract

There are several stereotypes on adolescents involved in delinquency (e.g., dislike academic studies, lazy, aggressive, rebellious). Looking into this point, literature regarding the factors contributing to delinquent behaviours in adolescents involved in delinquency indicates that parental neglect, peer pressure, low trust in teachers, lack of self-esteem, attention-seeking and risk-taking might be possible stereotypes upon adolescents involved in delinquency. This study proposes that close friends and acquaintances of delinquent adolescents might have different perspectives in terms of stereotyping adolescents involved in delinquency. With that, this study examined the differences in stereotypes on adolescents involved in delinquency, considering the factors established by literature regarding delinquent behaviors. The study aims to investigate the perspectives on this topic between close friends to delinquent adolescents (versus acquaintances) in the Malaysian context. 160 participants (Malaysian close friends versus acquaintances) were recruited to complete an online survey. Independent sample t-test was conducted to analyse the collected data. Findings show that acquaintances to delinquent adolescents have significant higher stereotypes on the factors peer pressure and risk-taking in the Malaysian context. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.