Religiosity of Muslim Adolescents from Single Parent Families Living in Government-Subsidised Settlement

Adolescence is a phase of emotionl turmoil and stress. If not balanced with religious practice, it may cause adolescents to fall into moral and social problems such as breach of school discipline, delinquency, drug addiction and sexual permissiveness. Religiosity is one way for adolescents to deal with challenges in life thereby avoiding immoral activities. This is because religiosity may help to balance adolescent emotional, cognitive and social developments.The purpose of this study is to identify the behaviour and level of religiosity among 30 adolescents from single parents families who settle in government-subsidised area of residence, namely known as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). The area is located in the state of Pahang, situated on the eastern part of Malaysia. These adolescents have been selected as research respondents. This research was conducted as a survey using questionnaire as the research instrument. It was constructed based on the guidelines of Islamic Practice Instrument (IPI) (Fariza, 2012) and has already been verified in terms of its validity and reliability. The data analysis has adopted the method of descriptive statistics explained in table form. The research results have found that religiosity or religious behaviour that the adolescents most frequently abide by are staying away from gambling, having good thoughts and expectations of Allah, feeling awed and fear of Allah’s power (taqwa), staying away from fornication (zina) and supplication (doa) to Allah facing the direction of Qibla. The level of religiosity is medium for most adolescents. This factor explains why not many respondents are involved in moral and disciplinary problems at school. This research finds that generally, religiosity protects adolescents from being involved in immoral activities and other vices