Socio-Economic Determinants of Drug Recidivism in District Gujranwala: A Quantitative Criminological Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-v.282Keywords:
Drug Recidivism, Socio-Economic Factors, Criminology, RehabilitationAbstract
Drug recidivism constitutes one of the most persistent and complex challenges confronting criminal justice systems worldwide, particularly in developing nations where socio-economic vulnerabilities intersect with institutional deficiencies to perpetuate cycles of reoffending. This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study that explores the statistical correlation between poverty, unemployment, lack of education, family dysfunction and reoffending patterns among drug offenders in District Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. The study used a structured questionnaire to gather responses from 238 participants recruited from drug offenders, rehabilitation professionals, and people in the criminal justice system, and was based on the three theories: Strain Theory, Social Disorganization Theory and Labeling Theory. The data were analyzed using SPSS with descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Findings identify poverty (β = 0.47, p < .001) and unemployment (β = 0.39, p < .001) as the strongest predictors of recidivism, followed by educational deprivation (β = −0.33, p < .05), family dysfunction (β = 0.28, p < .01), and rehabilitation inaccessibility (β = −0.29, p < .001). The five hypotheses were confirmed. The study concludes with evidence-based policy recommendations tailored to the socio-economic realities of Gujranwala, including targeted economic empowerment programmes, educational reforms within correctional facilities, and institutional restructuring of the rehabilitation framework to interrupt the cycle of drug recidivism.
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