Factors Affecting Acceptance of the People in Bangkok about Ex-Prisoner Returning into the Communities

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to: 1) examine the attitudes and acceptance of individuals in Bangkok towards the released prisoners; 2) compare the variations in the acceptance of ex-prisoners among Bangkok residents based on their personal factors; and 3) investigate the relationship between the perceptions of Bangkok residents and their acceptance of former prisoners. Data were collected from 400 participants in Bangkok area. The statistical analysis consisted of percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, f-test and Chi-square test with statistical significance level of 0.05.
The results showed that most of the participants had positive attitudes towards the released prisoners. They believed that ex-prisoners could live with people in a community (x̅ = 3.34). However, certain control measures should be enforced for ex-prisoners with a history of severe crimes (x̅ = 4.60). The findings also revealed that released prisoners should have equal rights as those of ordinary people (x̅ = 4.03). In addition, the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the government should provide assistance to enable individuals to live happily (x̅ = 3.96). In terms of the hypothesis test, it was found that the factors affecting Bangkok residents’ acceptance towards ex-prisoners returning to community included age, occupation, and channels of obtaining prisoner’s information. These personal factors were found to be in accordance with the hypothesis at the statistical significance level of 0.05.