Social Capital and Delinquency in Bagcilar, Turkey

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567720950425
• Author: Mahmoud Sadri,Daniel G. Rodeheaver,Suat Cubukcu,James L. Williams,Morsheda Akhter
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Date: 01 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Original Articles

Original Article

Social Capital and Delinquency in

Bagcilar, Turkey

James L. Williams

1

, Suat Cubukcu

2

, Mahmoud Sadri

1

,

Daniel G. Rodeheaver

3

, and Morsheda Akhter

1

Abstract

There is a growing literature on social capital and delinquency. Most research has been done in

Western industrial countries, has used limited measures of delinquency, and has employed surveys

developed locally as opposed to using internationally validated instruments. Using data from the

European Youth Survey, this study addresses these limitations by examining the relationship

between social capital and self-reported delinquency among Turkish juveniles. The data were col-

lected from a sample of tenth graders in 2007 in Bagcilar neighborhood of Istanbul. Self-reported

delinquency was divided into two categories, major and minor, based on the Turkish Penal Code.

Social capital was measured by assessing adolescents’ reports of their direct interactions with

parents, peers and community. To predict the likelihood of major and minor delinquency inde-

pendently, two different subsets (n¼1,879 and n¼1,837) of the data were used. Findings indicate

that the presence of family social capital and community social capital had significant negative

relationships with both major and minor delinquency. The presence of delinquent peers was sig-

nificantly associated with both increases in major and minor delinquency. Overall, our findings

suggest that social capital was negatively related to Turkish juveniles’ self-reported involvement in

major and minor delinquent activities.

Keywords

social capital, Turkey, delinquency, delinquent peers, crime/delinquency theory

The association between social relationships and crime has emerged as an important aspect of the

literature addressing social capital (Coleman, 1988, 1990; Sampson et al., 1999). In criminological

research, social capital theory has provided a broad and more comprehensive perspective by inte-

grating different criminological theories (Hagan & McCarthy, 1997; McCarthy et al., 2002). How-

ever, the number of empirical studies examining the relationship between social capital and crime

remains somewhat limited especially in non-Western societies (Nakhaie & Sacco, 2009; Rosenfeld

1

Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX, USA

2

American University, Washington, DC, USA

3

University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

James L. Williams, Texas Woman’s University, 304 Administration Dr., Denton, TX 76204, USA.

Email: jwilliams2@twu.edu

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DOI: 10.1177/1057567720950425

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et al., 2001; Salmi & Kivivuori, 2006; Wright et al., 2001). Sociological and criminological theories,

particularly those developed in Western societies, may be of limited use in understanding crime and

delinquency in different social structures. For that reason, the theories used to understand the

existence of crime and delinquency in Western societies need substantial cross-national testing to

examine their applicability in developing, culturally diverse societies (Eker, 2010).

To address these limitations in the literature, this study examines the relationship between social

capital and self-reported delinquency among juveniles in the Bagcilar neighborhood in Istanbul,

Turkey. Located at the sociopolitical intersection of Western and Middle Eastern societies, Turkey

has a unique cultural and geographical position compared to both Western and non-Western soci-

eties. It is one of the few societies in the Islamic world whose constitution is explicitly secular and its

legal system reflects secular principles of jurisprudence, while its population remains overwhel-

mingly (over 95%) Muslim.

Due to Turkey’s dissimilarity to previously investigated, primarily Western societies, testing

social capital theory in Turkey offers an important opportunity to examine the theory’s empirical

validity and generalizability to a non-Western society with very different religious and cultural

traditions.

Data are drawn from the first wave of the European Youth Survey. The data used in this study

were collected from high school students in 2007 in the Bagcilar district of Istanbul. The dependent

variables are self-reported major and minor delinquency. Major delinquency was measured using an

index constructed with five offenses that, according to the Turkish Penal Code, require criminal

investigation. Minor delinquency was measured by four items, which are considered less severe than

major delinquencies and which do not require any criminal investigation. Social capital was mea-

sured by assessing adolescents’ reports of interactions with their parents and their social environ-

ment. The latter refers to friends, school, neighborhood, and participation in social activities

including sports and religious functions.

Related Literature

Social Capital and Delinquency

Since Pierre Bourdieu first coined the term “social capital” (Bourdieu, 1977), its multifarious

interpretations and elaborations in the subsequent literature have prevented the emergence of a lucid

and internally consistent formulation (Adler & Kwon, 2002). As a result, the literature has become

“clouded with different definitions” (Moore & Recker, 2013). A useful and frequently employed

definition belongs to Putnam (2000) who defines social capital as “connections among individuals-

social networks and norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them (p. 19)” Social

capital theory has contributed considerably to the understanding of a variety of social and economic

outcomes (Moore & Recker, 2013, 2016). Past research has established that increased levels of

social capital are associated with positive outcomes in a variety of areas including health (Putnam,

2000), suicide rates (Helliwell, 2007), education (Putnam, 2000), and crime (Rosenfeld et al., 2001).

Other research further suggests the efficacy of social capital for reducing various aspects of crime

such as victimization (Hawdon & Ryan 2009) and even fear of crime (Kruger et al., 2007).

Research on social capital suggests that it is important to dis tinguish between micro, meso,

and macro measures of social capital. Micro-level measures of social capital have included general-

ized trust (Krishna & Uphoff, 1999; Narayan & Pritchett, 1999). Meso-level measures have included

participation in voluntary organizations (Narayan & Pritchett, 1999) and civic participation (Brehm

& Rahn, 1997; Grootaert, 1999). Macro-level measures have included trust in government (Rose,

1999), and decentralization (Paldam & Svendsen, 2001). Beugelsdijk (2009) has suggested that

there are two key elements that exist in nearly all of the research on social capital-trust and networks.

226 International Criminal Justice Review 32(2)