RT - Journal Article T1 - A Study on Citizens’ Approach to Beggars in Tehran JF - jspi YR - 2018 JO - jspi VO - 8 IS - 2 UR - http://jspi.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2804-en.html SP - 29 EP - 54 K1 - Begging K1 - Beggar K1 - Attitude K1 - Tendency towards Beggar. AB - Symbolizing social exclusion in modern society, “begging” is often associated with various reproducing factors such as government, people and beggars. Due to citizens’ role in reproduction of begging, current research studies citizens’ approach to begging and its typology in three dimensions of attitudes, tendency and action. Present study was conducted using a survey method and a questionnaire instrument was distributed among 600 male and female citizens, aged 15 to 65 years old, in Tehran city who were selected through multi-stage cluster of systematic random and simple random sampling methods. The results showed that in terms of helping beggars, four types of citizens are recognizable, including mighty helpers, ordinary helpers, neutral and indifferent helpers, and non-helpers and relative majority of them are among ordinary helpers. Also, there is a relationship between “citizens helping beggars” and attitude towards begging action, tendency towards helping beggars, belief in prevalence of poverty in community, belief in role of people in expanding begging and the sense of duty toward helping beggars. Results also indicate that although the general flow of citizens' attitudes towards begging action is negative and identify begging as immoral, non-professional, rooted in individual reasons, lacking positive effect for helpers and so on, but approach of a group of respondents is somewhat paradoxical. This group, while believing that helping beggars results in expansion and deepening of this phenomenon in society and ultimately hurts individuals and society, they still believe that the beggars need some kind of pity and help, and helping them is a human and religious duty and therefore obligatory. LA eng UL http://jspi.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2804-en.html M3 ER -