In A General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi propose that low self-control, in interaction with criminal opportunity, is the major cause of crime. The research reported in this article attempts to test this argument while closely following the nominal definitions presented by Gottfredson and Hirschi. A factor analysis of items designed to measure low self-control is consistent with their contention that the trait is unidimensional. Further, the proposed interaction effect is found for self-reported acts of both fraud and force (their definition of crime). Inconsistent with the theory are (a) the finding that criminal opportunity has a significant main effect, beyond its interaction with low self-control, on self-reported crime and (b) the substantial proportion of variance in crime left unexplained by the theoretical variables. Suggestions are offered for modifying and expanding the theory.

Testing the Core Empirical Implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime:

In this innovative approach to the practice of social science, Charles Ragin explores the use of fuzzy sets to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods. Paradoxically, the fuzzy set is a powerful tool because it replaces an unwieldy, "fuzzy" instrument—the variable, which establishes only the positions of cases relative to each other, with a precise one—degree of membership in a well-defined set. Ragin argues that fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible. They let quantitative researchers abandon "homogenizing assumptions" about cases and causes, they extend diversity-oriented research strategies, and they provide a powerful connection between theory and data analysis. Most important, fuzzy sets can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry. This book will revolutionize research methods not only in sociology, political science, and anthropology but in any field of inquiry dealing with complex patterns of causation.

Fuzzy-Set Social Science

Highlighting resource inequality, social processes, and spatial interdependence, this study combines structural characteristics from the 1990 census with a survey of 8,872 Chicago residents in 1995 to predict homicide variations in 1996–1998 across 343 neighborhoods. Spatial proximity to homicide is strongly related to increased homicide rates, adjusting for internal neighborhood characteristics and prior homicide. Concentrated disadvantage and low collective efficacy—defined as the linkage of social control and cohesion—also independently predict increased homicide. Local organizations, voluntary associations, and friend/kinship networks appear to be important only insofar as they promote the collective efficacy of residents in achieving social control and cohesion. Spatial dynamics coupled with neighborhood inequalities in social and economic capacity are therefore consequential for explaining urban violence.

/pdf/neighborhood-inequality-collective-efficacy-and-the-spatial-e7jmmatq9f.pdf

Neighborhood inequality, collective efficacy, and the spatial dynamics of urban violence

Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

General strain theory (GST) is usually tested by examining the effect of strain on crime. Researchers, however, have little guidance when it comes to selecting among the many hundreds of types of strain and have trouble explaining why only some of them are related to crime. This article builds on GST by describing the characteristics of strainful events and conditions that influence their relationship to crime. Strains are said to be most likely to result in crime when they (1) are seen as unjust, (2) are seen as high in magnitude, (3) are associated with low social control, and (4) create some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping. Drawing on these characteristics, it is predicted that some types of strain will not be related to crime, including types that have dominated the research on strain theory, and that others will be related to crime, including types that have been neglected by empirical researchers.

/pdf/building-on-the-foundation-of-general-strain-theory-2rdfoxk5vl.pdf

Building on the Foundation of General Strain Theory: Specifying the Types of Strain Most Likely to Lead to Crime and Delinquency:

The present article examines the key concepts underlying victimization theories (i.e., exposure, proximity, target attractiveness, guardianship). Measures of each concept are developed and evaluated in terms of their ability to explain individuals' risks of residential burglary, personal theft, and personal violence. Using data from 5,271 respondents in the British Crime Survey, mixed empirical support is found for the structural-choice model underlying current victimization theories. Specifically, the structural components of these theories (proximity and exposure) are more consistently related to victimization experiences than the target-selection or choice components (attractiveness and guardianship). Multiplicative models that test for interaction among these major variables also produce results that are contrary to theoretical productions. The authors conclude that present theories do not adequately describe individuals' risks of victimization and discuss some alternative directions for future resear...

Opportunity, Choice, and Criminal Victimization: A Test of a Theoretical Model

Crime and its social context : toward an integrated theory of offenders, victims, and situations

Based on nationwide data the authors collected on whistle-blowers and on silent observers, this article reports, that (a) whistle-blowing is more frequent in the public sector than in the private; ...

Whistle-Blower Disclosures and Management Retaliation The Battle to Control Information about Organization Corruption

Contextual analysis is widely endorsed as a research tool to bridge the macro-micro gap in studies of social phenomena. Using a multistage sample of 5,098 Seattle residents, we extend previous work by examining how individuals' risks of criminal victimization are influenced by their personal life-styles and by the characteristics of their neighborhood. Although several types of contextual effects were observed, a major.finding is that lower levels of guardianship and higher target attractiveness strongly increased the risks of burglary for residents of more affluent areas, whereas these factors had little net impact on the burglary risks of residents of more socially disorganized areas. There were no major differences in the predictors of violent victimization across different neighborhood contexts. We conclude with a discussion of the results as they relate to future research on theoretical integration and crime control policy.

Contextual Effects in Models of Criminal Victimization

Current theories of victimization have generated a sizable body of empirical research, mostly within the last two decades. The two most widely known perspectives, lifestyle-exposure and routine activities theories, have been the object of much current thinking and empirical testing, but their maturation has been hampered by many of the same problems impeding theories of criminality. These include inadequate attention to variation by type of crime, compartmentalized thinking, poor links between theory and data, inadequate measures of key concepts, and failure to specify clearly functional relationships between sets of variables. Many of these problems can be addressed by closer examination of the interrelationships among victims, offenders, and criminal situations. Victimization theories should be incorporated into comprehensive integrated theories of crime.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1147556.pdf

Terance D. Miethe

Papers

Opportunity, Choice, and Criminal Victimization: A Test of a Theoretical Model

Crime and its social context : toward an integrated theory of offenders, victims, and situations

Whistle-Blower Disclosures and Management Retaliation The Battle to Control Information about Organization Corruption

Contextual Effects in Models of Criminal Victimization

Understanding Theories of Criminal Victimization