Psychological and criminogenic factors underlying gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia from the perspective of ex-gangsters and police personnel
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Durairaja, Shankar
Mat Saat, Geshina Ayu
Kamaluddin, Mohammad Rahim
Abstract / Description
In recent years, gangsterism and gang related activities among Indians are perplexing and alarming. Although this issue is considered as an old phenomenon, researches related to underlying factors for gangsterism are still lacking. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore psychological and criminogenic factors behind gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia. This study utilized a non-experimental research design. This study is a qualitative research (semi-structured, face-to-face individual interview guide) that makes use of the inductive approach based on a combination of subjectivism and interpretivist philosophies. Six ex-gangsters and four police personnel were interviewed; and their experiences of gangsterism were used to gain a reality-based understanding regarding the factors underlying gangsterism. The thematic analyses generated three psychological factors (negative emotional responses, low self-control, and high impulsivity) and three criminogenic factors (substance abuse, having antisocial peers, and dysfunctional families). One new theme emerged: monetary gain, with three sub-themes (ease of obtaining money, amount and immediacy, and benefits derived from illegal monetary gains). The outcome of this explorative research provides insight to the growing body of knowledge on gangsterism in Malaysia and is useful for community leaders and law enforcement agencies to strategize appropriate intervention, prevention, and suppression efforts to combat gangsterism.
Keyword(s)
criminogenic factors ex-gangsters gangsterism police personnel psychological factors thematic analysisPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2019-04-30
Journal title
Psychological Thought
Volume
12
Issue
1
Page numbers
74–92
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Durairaja, S., Mat Saat, G. A., & Kamaluddin, M. R. (2019). Psychological and criminogenic factors underlying gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia from the perspective of ex-gangsters and police personnel. Psychological Thought, 12(1), 74–92. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v12i1.316
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psyct.v12i1.316.pdfAdobe PDF - 256.61KBMD5: d886c665db5c1548976bcd63b4a5d72c
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Durairaja, Shankar
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Mat Saat, Geshina Ayu
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Kamaluddin, Mohammad Rahim
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2020-01-16T14:40:32Z
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Made available on2020-01-16T14:40:32Z
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Date of first publication2019-04-30
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Abstract / DescriptionIn recent years, gangsterism and gang related activities among Indians are perplexing and alarming. Although this issue is considered as an old phenomenon, researches related to underlying factors for gangsterism are still lacking. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore psychological and criminogenic factors behind gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia. This study utilized a non-experimental research design. This study is a qualitative research (semi-structured, face-to-face individual interview guide) that makes use of the inductive approach based on a combination of subjectivism and interpretivist philosophies. Six ex-gangsters and four police personnel were interviewed; and their experiences of gangsterism were used to gain a reality-based understanding regarding the factors underlying gangsterism. The thematic analyses generated three psychological factors (negative emotional responses, low self-control, and high impulsivity) and three criminogenic factors (substance abuse, having antisocial peers, and dysfunctional families). One new theme emerged: monetary gain, with three sub-themes (ease of obtaining money, amount and immediacy, and benefits derived from illegal monetary gains). The outcome of this explorative research provides insight to the growing body of knowledge on gangsterism in Malaysia and is useful for community leaders and law enforcement agencies to strategize appropriate intervention, prevention, and suppression efforts to combat gangsterism.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationDurairaja, S., Mat Saat, G. A., & Kamaluddin, M. R. (2019). Psychological and criminogenic factors underlying gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia from the perspective of ex-gangsters and police personnel. Psychological Thought, 12(1), 74–92. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v12i1.316en_US
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ISSN2193-7281
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/2312
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2698
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v12i1.316
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Keyword(s)criminogenic factorsen_US
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Keyword(s)ex-gangstersen_US
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Keyword(s)gangsterismen_US
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Keyword(s)police personnelen_US
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Keyword(s)psychological factorsen_US
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Keyword(s)thematic analysisen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitlePsychological and criminogenic factors underlying gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia from the perspective of ex-gangsters and police personnelen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titlePsychological Thought
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Page numbers74–92
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Volume12
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record