Latent classes of delinquent behaviour associated with criminal social identity among juvenile offenders in Pakistan
| Date | 11 May 2015 |
| Published date | 11 May 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-08-2014-0026 |
| Pages | 117-126 |
| Author | Sonia Shagufta,Daniel Boduszek,Katie Dhingra,Derrol Kola-Palmer |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Forensic practice |
Latent classes of delinquent behaviour
associated with criminal social identity
among juvenile offenders in Pakistan
Sonia Shagufta, Daniel Boduszek, Katie Dhingra and Derrol Kola-Palmer
Sonia Shaguftais a Doctoral
Student in Criminal Psychology,
Universityof Huddersfield,
Huddersfield, UK.
Dr Daniel Boduszek is Reader
in Criminal Psychology and
Director of Quantitative
Research Methods Training
Unit at the University
of Huddersfield,
Huddersfield, UK.
Dr Katie Dhingra is Lecturer in
Psychology at the Manchester
Metropolitan University,
Manchester, UK.
Dr Derrol Kola-Palmer is
Head of the Division at the
Division of Counselling and
Psychology, University of
Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the number and nature of latent classes of delinquency
that exist among male juvenile offenders incarcerated in prisons in Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach –The sample consisted of 415 young male offenders incarcerated in
prisons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan. Latent class analysis was employed to determine the
number and nature of delinquency latent classes. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate
the associations between latent classes and the three factors of criminal social identity (cognitive centrality,
in-group affect, and in-group ties) whilst controlling for criminal friends, period of confinement, addiction, age,
and location.
Findings –The best fitting latent class model was a three-class solution. The classes were labelled: “minor
delinquents”(thebaseline/normativeclass; Class 3), “majordelinquents”(Class 1), and “moderatedelinquents”
(Class 2). Class membership was predicted by differing external variables. Specifically, Class 1 membership
was related to havingmore criminal friends; while Class2 membership was related to lower levelsof in-group
affect and higherlevels of in-group ties.
Practical implications –Findings are discussed in relation to refining current taxonomic arguments
regarding the structure of delinquency and implications for prevention of juvenile delinquent behaviour.
Originality/value –First, most previous studies have focused on school children, whereas, this paper
focuses on incarcerated juvenile offenders. Second, this research includes delinquents from Pakistan,
whereas, most previous research has examined delinquent behaviour in western cultures.
Keywords Pakistan, Prison, Juvenile offenders, Criminal social identity, Delinquency, Latent class analysis
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
With strong associations with later violent crime, alcoholism, substance misuse, mental health
difficulties, psychosocial impairment, and unemployment (e.g. Farrington, 1994), delinquent
behaviour among youth is highly problematic both individually and socially. Although figures
are unavailable for youth in Pakistan, nearly 1.2 million Americans under the age of 18 were
arrested for crimes ranging from curfew and loitering violations, to rape and murder in 2008
(US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). Given the high prevalence
and detrimental consequences of delinquent acts, further research into the nature of these
behaviours, as well as and the development of an accurate classification system is required.
Previous research has largely taken a categorical approach to classifying delinquent acts
(Simourd and Andrews, 1994), and in doing so has assumed equal valence (i.e. taken a “one size
fits all approach”; Odgers et al., 2007). Consequently, little is known about the different profiles
or mixes of behavioural problems that may exist (Fergusson et al., 1994). In other words, we
have limited knowledge about the dependence between minor forms of antisocial behaviour
Received 18 August 2014
Revised 4 November 2014
Accepted 17 December 2014
DOI 10.1108/JFP-08-2014-0026 VOL. 17 NO. 2 2015, pp. 117-126, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794
j
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
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PAG E 11 7
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