This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by JOHNSON, B. R. Articles by McCULLOUGH, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

A Systematic Review of the Religiosity and Delinquency Literature

A Research Note

Vanderbilt University

SPENCER De LI

University of Maryland

DAVID B. LARSON

National Institute for Healthcare Research

MICHAEL McCULLOUGH

National Institute for Healthcare Research

The influence of religion on delinquency has been debated for more than 30 years, and yet, there remains a lack of consensus about the nature of this relationship. In an effort to bring some clarity to this area, this study assesses the religion-delinquency literature by using a methodological approach to reviewing a body of literature that is new to the social sciences—the systematic review (SR). This SR revealed that the literature is not disparate or contradictory, as previous studies have suggested. Religious measures are generally inversely related to deviance, and this is especially true among the most rigorous studies. As criminologists continue to examine the neglected topic of religion or what has been referred to as the forgotten factor, this article is a warning that measurement issues around a complex topic like religion, or even spirituality or forgiveness, is of paramount concern. The findings further indicate that future research on delinquency may gain explanatory power by incorporating religious variables in relevant theoretical models.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. M. Daggett, S. D. Camp, O. Kwon, S. P. Rosenmerkel, and J. Klein-Saffran Faith-Based Correctional Programming in Federal Prisons: Factors Affecting Program Completion Criminal Justice and Behavior, July 1, 2008; 35(7): 848 - 862. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. M. Ferguson, Q. Wu, D. Spruijt-Metz, and G. Dyrness Outcomes Evaluation in Faith-Based Social Services: Are We Evaluating Faith Accurately? Research on Social Work Practice, March 1, 2007; 17(2): 264 - 276. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. A. Cretacci Religion and Social Control: An Application of a Modified Social Bond on Violence Criminal Justice Review, September 1, 2003; 28(2): 254 - 277. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. C. WELSH and D. P. FARRINGTON Toward an Evidence-Based Approach to Preventing Crime The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, November 1, 2001; 578(1): 158 - 173. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. R. JOHNSON, S. J. JANG, D. B. LARSON, and S. DE LI Does Adolescent Religious Commitment Matter? A Reexamination of the Effects of Religiosity on Delinquency Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, February 1, 2001; 38(1): 22 - 44. [Abstract] [PDF]