Showing papers in "American Sociological Review in 1981"
1,301 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an opportunity theory of criminal victimization is proposed, focusing on the mediating role played by five risk factors: exposure, guardianship, proximity to potential offenders, attractiveness of potential targets, and definitional properties of specific crimes themselves.
Abstract: This study systematically tests a formal theory of how certain dimensions of social stratification--income, race, and age--relate to risk of predatory criminal victimization. An opportunity theory of criminal victimization is proposed, focusing on the mediating role played by five risk factors: exposure, guardianship, proximity to potential offenders, attractiveness of potential targets, and definitional properties of specific crimes themselves. Propositions are derived pertaining to the bivariate and multivariate-partial (main) effects expected from the theory and tested in analyses based on a representative sample of the U.S. population for the crimes of assault, burglary, and personal larceny. These data indicate that the relationship between the dimensions of social stratification and the offenses studied here is complex, and that, other things being equal, those usually thought to be most vulnerable economically and socially--the poor, the nonwhite, the old--are not the most likely victims of crime. Race has little direct effect on victimization risk, while age is inversely related to each type of crime at both the bivariate and multivariate levels of analyses. The findings are largely consistent with the proposed theory. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) Victimization Causes Crime Victim Violence Victim Racial Factors Age Factors Socioeconomic Factors Victimization Risk Factors 07-02
661 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of parental socioeconomic characteristics on highest grade offormal school completed are stable over cohorts born during the first half of the twentieth century and the coefficients are weighted sums of the associations between socioeconomic background and school continuation decisions where the weights are functions of the school continuation probabilities.
Abstract: The effects of parental socioeconomic characteristics on highest grade offormal school completed are stable over cohorts born during the first half of the twentieth century. Mathematical analysis and empirical findings based on the 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation Survey show that linear models of the educational attainment process are stable over cohorts because their coefficients depend upon quantities which vary over time in offsetting directions. The coefficients are weighted sums of the associations between socioeconomic background and school continuation decisions where the weights are functions of the school continuation probabilities. Intercohort increases in school continuation rates by themselves imply declining background effects on educational attainment, but, over cohorts, the associations between background and continuation increase to offset the dampening effect of the changing marginal distribution of schooling. Stable linear model effects are the result.
630 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and tested multivariate models of social control theory which simultaneously considered how the four bond elements operate in relation to delinquency, including attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.
Abstract: Hirschi's social control theory proposes that delinquents fail to form or maintain a bond to society consisting of attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Using data from the Youth in Transition Study, the present report develops and tests multivariate models of social control theory which simultaneously consider how the four bond elements operate in relation to delinquency. Factor analysis and communality analysis examine the uniqueness of the four bond elements, and revised and additional measures are suggested. Background factors-measures of social class and ability-are added to the model, and a revised formulation of social control is suggested. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Offender Delinquency Causes Social Control Theory Social Bonding Social Attachment 07-02
429 citations
TL;DR: Reevaluation of published research on racial bias in criminal sentencing and of data on execution rates by race from 1930 to 1967 and on death-sentencing rates from 1967 to 1978 indicates that, except in the South, black homicide offenders have been less likely than whites to receive a death sentence or be executed as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Reevaluation of published research on racial bias in criminal sentencing and of data on execution rates by race from 1930 to 1967 and on death-sentencing rates from 1967 to 1978 indicates that, except in the South, black homicide offenders have been less likely than whites to receive a death sentence or be executed. For the 11% of executions imposed for rape, discrimination against black defendants who had raped white victims was substantial, but only in the South. Evidence for noncapital sentencing also largely contradicts a hypothesis of overt discrimination against black defendants. Although black offender--white victim crimes are generally punished more severely than crimes involving other racial combinations, this appears to be due to legally relevant factors related to such offenses. Crimes with black victims, however, are less likely than those with white victims to result in imposition of the death penalty. The devalued status of black crime victims is one of several hypothetical explanations of the more lenient sentencing of black defendants. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) VioLit keywords: Racial Differences Racial Factors Racial Discrimination Correctional Decision Making Sentencing Criminal Justice System Capital Punishment Death Penalty Black-White Comparison Caucasian Adult Caucasian Offender Caucasian Violence African American Adult African American Offender African American Violence 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
385 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed simulated data and examined differences in the correlation between two normally distributed continuous variables and the same two variables collapsed into a small number of categories, and found that the correlation coefficients and their standard deviations for collapsed and continuous variables are very close.
Abstract: Errors can be introduced into scientific research when continuous concepts are measured on scales that rank the concepts into a few categories. This presents a potential problem because measures of association between two variables may differ depending on whether continuous or collapsed measures are used. We analyzed simulated data and examined differences in the correlation between two normally distributed continuous variables and the same two variables collapsed into a small number of categories. In general, the differences in correlation coefficients computed on continuous variables and the same variables collapsed into a few categories are small. The greatest differences in the correlations between the two types of variable occur when the continuous variables' correlation is high and only a few categories are used for the collapsed variables. When as few as five categories are used to approximate the continuous variables, the correlation coefficients and their standard deviations for the collapsed and continuous variables are very close. These findings suggest that under certain conditions it may be justifiable to analyze categorical data as if it were continuous.
328 citations
298 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that the chances of obtaining employment in a particular context are not strongly affected by productivity and that once employment is obtained in a specific context, individual levels of productivity soon conform to characteristics of that context.
Abstract: An earlier study found that while a scientist's productivity does not affect the prestige of the academic position obtained, the prestige of the position does affect later productivity. In this paper consideration of contextual effects is broadened to include differing organizational contexts of scientific employment. Chances of obtaining employment in a particular context are not strongly affected by productivity. Once employment is obtained in a specific context, individual levels of productivity soon conform to characteristics of that context. These results do not support the "idea that scientists are allocated to organizational contexts on the basis of their scientific contributions. Past research indicating that the most productive scientists are recruited to academic locations may have confused the cause of a scientist working in a given context with the effect of working in that context.
275 citations
TL;DR: In this article, three variables suggested by conflict theory -the racial composition of the city, the level of black mobilization activity, and the frequency of riots in the 1960s--were used as independent predictors of municipal policing expenditures in 1971.
Abstract: Three variables suggested by conflict theory--the racial composition of the city, the level of black mobilization activity, and the frequency of riots in the 1960s--are used as independent predictors of municipal policing expenditures in 1971. A simultaneous model which recognizes the interdependence of the police expenditure function with the crime and total city revenue functions is tested using data for a sample of 90 U.S. cities. Racial composition and the level of black mobilization activity were significant predictors of municipal policing expenditures. Race-related variables appear to have had a greater effect on police capital expenditures than on expenditures for salaries and operations. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) Conflict Theory 1960s 1970s Racial Factors Police Response Police Intervention Law Enforcement Intervention Crime Intervention African American Crime African American Offender Racial Discrimination Riot 07-02
259 citations
TL;DR: The authors evaluated four recent contributions to ASR on the relationship between social class and criminality and concluded that class is one of the very few correlates of criminality which can be taken, on balance, as persuasively supported by a large body of empirical evidence.
Abstract: Four recent contributions to ASR on the relationship between social class and criminality are evaluated against a more comprehensive review of the evidence. It is concluded that class is one of the very few correlates of criminality which can be taken, on balance, as persuasively supported by a large body of empirical evidence. Self-report studies, however, fail to provide consistent support for a class-crime relationship. Yet even here more studies show significant class differences than would be expected on the basis of chance. Studies of official records consistently show notable class differences in criminality. While there is a considerable literature which has failed to demonstrate widespread class biases in official records, there is neglected evidence which suggests that self-reports exaggerate the proportion of delinquency committed by the middle class. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) Social Class Class Factors Sociocultural Factors Socioeconomic Factors Crime Causes Delinquency Causes Juvenile Crime Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Offender Adult Crime Adult Offender 07-02
246 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used data from the National Crime Survey (NCS) for 1973-1977, conducted by the U. S. Bureau of the Census, to study the incidence rates of offending in personal crimes (rape, robbery, assault, and personal larceny).
Abstract: Incidence rates--rates of offending in personal crimes (rape, robbery, assault, and personal larceny)--are studied using data from the National Crime Survey (NCS) for 1973-1977, conducted by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. The NCS data reveal that victims' reports of offenders' sex, race, and age are strongly related to incidence rates of offending. The highest incidence rate in personal crimes is for male, black, 18 to 20 year olds. Arrest data at the national level for robbery yield comparable results. Household crimes--burglary, household larceny, and vehicle theft--in which the victims saw and were able to report offenders' sex, race, and age constituted about 5% of all household crimes. The patterns in incidence rates of offending in these household crimes closely parallel those for personal crimes. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) 1970s Racial Factors Age Factors Adult Offender Adult Violence Adult Crime Juvenile Crime Juvenile Offender Juvenile Violence Crime Rates Violence Rates Arrest Rates Rape Offender Rape Rates Sexual Assault Offender Sexual Assault Rates Physical Assault Offender Physical Assault Rates Robbery Offender Robbery Rates Burglary Offender Burglary Rates Violence Against Women 07-02
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that people are more likely to interact with people than with machines when they are dealing with people, and that the complexity of functioning with people is greater than that of interacting with machines.
Abstract: and creative vs. routine, concrete activities .68 MVC Measurable or verifiable criteria .64 CLERICAL Clerical perception .64 SPATIAL Spatial perceptions .55 PEOPLE Complexity of functioning with people' .47 FORM Form perceptions .46 TALK Talking .44 DCP Direction, control, and planning .43 VARCH Variety and change .42 DATACOM Communication of data vs. activities with things .41 Factor 2: MOTOR SKILLS 22.6% FINGDEX Finger dexterity .69 MOTOR Motor coordination .68 MANDEX Manual dexterity .67 THINGS Complexity of functioning with things .66 FORM Form perceptions .52 SPATIAL Spatial perceptions .47 SEE eeing .43 REACH Reaching .42 STS Set limits, tolerances, or standards .37 MACHINE Activities involving processes, machines vs. social welfare .33 Factor 3: PHYSICAL DEMANDS 9.9% LOCATION Outside working conditions .67 STOOP Stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling .53 EYEHAND Eye-hand-foot coordination .52 CLIMB Climbing, balancing .49 STRENGTH Lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing .48 Factor 4: MANAGEMENT 5.4% DEPL Dealing with people .78 DCP Direction, control, planning .74 PEOPLE Complexity of functioning with people .70
TL;DR: Specification analyses show that the increased labor-force participation of women has been responsible for part of this trend, but there appear to be no relationships between the decline in psychophysiological symptoms and changes in educational attainment, rates of marriage, marital dissolution, or childbearing.
Abstract: In recent years a great deal of interest has developed in the "sex role hypothesis" as a way of understanding the high rates of psychological distress among women in our society. Although this work has been almost entirely cross-sectional, the underlying hypothesis predicts that the relationship between sex and distress should decline as sex roles become more comparable. Basing our analysis on three national surveys and two community surveys spanning the years 1957 to 1976 -a period of rapid changes in the roles of women-we document a reduction in the relationship between sex and one indicator of distress, a screening scale of psychophysiological symptoms. Specification analyses show that the increased labor-force participation of women has been responsible for part of this trend. However, there appear to be no relationships between the decline in psychophysiological symptoms and changes in educational attainment, rates of marriage, marital dissolution, or childbearing.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used data on interlocking directorates to test three theories of corporate organization: managerialism, coalition theory, and the theory of finance capital, finding that the modern corporation is not an autonomous unit as suggested by managerialism.
Abstract: This paper uses data on interlocking directorates to test three theories of corporate organization: managerialism, coalition theory, and the theory of finance capital. Findings suggest that the modern corporation is not an autonomous unit as suggested by managerialism, that firms do not form flexible alliances which pursue mutual interests as implied by coalition theory, and that the interest groups of traditional finance capital theory do not characterize the interlock network of the 1960s. Instead, the system is dominated by a handful of interconnected major New York commercial banks and insurance companies which form the center of an integrated national network.
TL;DR: In this article, a new class of models (diagonal mobility models) for the analysis of mobility effects which are demonstrably grounded in sociological theory is proposed, and estimation of these models is discussed.
Abstract: Designs for the analysis of mobility effects are flawed by the manner in which the effects of origins and destinations are parametrized. Consequently, suggestions that mobility experiences do not affect attitudes and behaviors are inconclusive. A new class of models (diagonal mobility models) for the analysis of mobility effects which are demonstrably grounded in sociological theory is proposed, and estimation of these models is discussed. To illustrate the use of these models, a reanalysis of the relationship between fertility and intergenerational mobility is presented, using data from the 1962 Occupational Changes in a Generation (OCG-1) survey. The effects of origin and destination on fertility do not depend upon particular origin or destination classes; the effect of destination on fertility appears to be stronger than the effect of origin; and there is only weak evidence of mobility effects.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the question of whether death penalty statutes passed after the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia successfully eliminate racial disparities in capital cases and found that whites are more likely to be sentenced to death than those accused of murdering blacks.
Abstract: This paper explores the question of whether death penalty statutes passed after the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia successfully eliminate racial disparities in capital cases. Over 600 homicide indictments in twenty Florida counties in 1976 and 1977 were examined, focusing on homicides between strangers (nonprimary homicides). Those accused of murdering whites are more likely to be sentenced to death than those accused of murdering blacks. This trend is due primarily to the higher probability for those accused of murdering whites to be indicted for first degree murder. When controlling for race of the victim, the data do not clearly support the hypothesis that race of the defendant is strongly associated with the probability of a first degree murder indictment or the imposition of the death penalty. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1981. Copyright © 1981 by the American Sociological Association) Racial Differences Racial Factors Racial Discrimination Correctional Decision Making Sentencing Criminal Justice System Capital Punishment Death Penalty Black-White Comparison Caucasian Adult Caucasian Offender Caucasian Violence African American Adult African American Offender African American Violence Homicide Offender 1970s 07-02
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between the dismissal of corporate chiefs and various structural variables (including five measures of manager/owner control) for 286 of the 300 largest industrial firms in 1964 and found that profit performance most affects the probability that the chief will be fired, and type of control has little effect.
Abstract: The key assumption of managerial revolution theory-that ownership is separated from control in large corporations-has important consequences for theories of class structure and economic development. If managers do not act in the interest of proprietors, theories based on property ownership are obsolete. Furthermore, the growth patterns of capitalist societies would be altered if large corporations protect managerial interests rather than owner interests. We examined managerial revolution theory by studying the relationship between the dismissal of corporate chiefs and various structural variables (including five measures of manager/owner control) for 286 of the 300 largest industrial firms in 1964. Our results do not support managerial revolution theory. Profit performance most affects the probability that the chief will be fired, and type of control has little effect. Profit performance appears to be an effective constraint on the behavior of both managerially-controlled and owner-controlledfirms.
TL;DR: In this article, three components of the politydecentralization, communication, and total influence are analyzed for their impact on members of 32 noneconomic voluntary associations in Indianapolis, using a contextual-effects model.
Abstract: Membership commitment to and detachment from voluntary associations is hypothesized to be affected by the degree to which the organization's political structure facilitates social control by members, in the sense of mutual self-regulation. Three components of the polity-decentralization, communication, and total influence-are analyzedfor their impact on members of 32 noneconomic voluntary associations in Indianapolis. Using a contextual-effects model, communication and participation in decisions are found to increase commitment and to reduce detachment net of other organizational and individual factors. An interaction between communication and decision participation suggests that communication can compensate for lack of direct involvement in making decisions in strengthening member support for the collectivity.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test whether Bollen's index of political democracy is bidimensional or unidimensional, and reveal that political liberty and popular sovereignty are not empirically separable.
Abstract: We test whether Bollen's (1980) index of political democracy is bidimensional or unidimensional. Theoretical considerations suggest that political liberty and popular sovereignty are distinct dimensions, but our confirmatory factor analysis reveals that they are not empirically separable. Regression analysis also supports this conclusion, and at the same time provides evidence on the controversial relationship between democracy and inequality.
TL;DR: This paper examined differences in attitude structure as a function of political involvement using a structural equation procedure with latent variables and found that the less involved are less likely to express political attitudes and when they do their expressions contain more residual variance or error.
Abstract: Differences in attitude structure as a function of political involvement are examined using a structural equation procedure with latent variables. In addition, criticisms of an earlier Judd and Milburn (1980) paper are examined. Findings suggest that the less involved are less likely to express political attitudes and that when they do their expressions contain more residual variance or error. At the same time, the attitudes of both the involved and uninvolved show evidence of a single underlying ideology that is remarkably stable in all groups. In arriving at these conclusions, a number of points are made concerning the procedures to be followed in comparing latent variable models between groups.
TL;DR: This article used items replicated on 22 surveys from 1954 to 1978 to assess white people's attitudes toward racial desegregation of the public schools, and found that white people have different levels of tolerance of school segregation regardless of the racial mix.
Abstract: White people's attitudes toward racial desegregation of the public schools are assessed by using items replicated on 22 surveys from 1954 to 1978. Myrdal's statement that racial tolerance reflects adherence to a general principle (equal access to educational opportunity) is compared to Blumer's thesis that racial tolerance varies as a function of the perceived position of groups in a racially stratified system. Depending on the racial mixture implied, whites have different levels of tolerance of school desegregation; but regardless of the racial mix, regional differences in tolerance decrease over time. Where differences in tolerance exist among other demographic subgroups of whites, those differences remain relatively constant.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared self-reported arrests for two interview conditions (randomized response and direct question) with corresponding true scores appearing in police arrest files, and found that the randomized response outperformed the more traditional direct-question method.
Abstract: Randomized response is a survey technique for reducing response bias arising from respondent concern over revealing sensitive information. There has been some question whether bias reduction earned through the randomized response approach is sufficient to compensate for its inefficiency. By comparing self-reported arrests for two interview conditions (randomized response and direct question) with corresponding true scores appearing in police arrest files, a field-validation of a quantitative randomized response model was attempted. Overall, randomized response outperformed the more traditional direct-question method. Not only was there substantial reduction in mean response error, but the response error operative in the randomized response condition appeared to be random rather than systematic. A mean squared error comparison of the two conditions appears to assuage the concern over its relative inefficiency.
TL;DR: This paper explored a series of hypotheses from the modernization and world-system perspectives regarding the causes of changes in national political structure and found that per capita gross national product, population, and ethnic diversity affect overall rates of political change.
Abstract: In exploring a series of hypotheses from the modernization and world-system perspectives regarding the causes of changes in national political structure, we depart from the static tradition of cross-national research and apply event-history methods to records on 90 countries over the 1950-1975 period. Like previous investigators, we find that per capita gross national product, population, and ethnic diversity affect overall rates of political change. However, our results also suggest that the effects are more complex than earlier quantitative research has shown.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of individual attributes, neighborhood context, and neighborhood social comparison on self-reported life satisfaction were examined for a sample of United States residents, and the results agree with past research that age, education, health, and marital status affect satisfaction.
Abstract: The effects of individual attributes, neighborhood context, and neighborhood social comparison on self-reported life satisfaction are examinedfor a sample of United States residents. We hypothesize that neighborhoods are important social contexts within which individuals draw satisfaction from life. In the individual-level model of life satisfaction, the results agree with past research that age, education, health, and marital status affect satisfaction. The effects of neighborhood context and social-comparison processes show that rural dwellers are more satisfied than city dwellers, while persons living in neighborhoods with a high cost of living are less satisfied. People whose incomes are below the neighborhood average may be less satisfied.
TL;DR: The results clearly suggest that previously well-established correlations between undesirable events and distress may have been inflated due to the operational confounding of health-related items on the independent and dependent variable scales.
Abstract: I examine the extent to which health-related events account for the well-established relationship between undesirable life events and psychophysiological distress. Employed in the analysis is a distress scale similar to others often used in previous research. This scale, the Macmillan Health Opinion Survey index, relies heavily on psychosomatic symptoms as indicators of distress. The analysis clearly indicates that when health-related events are controlled, other undesirable events have small and nonsignificant effects upon psychophysiological distress. Further, the analysis also shows that health-problem events are more strongly related to physiological than to psychological items on the distress scale. The results clearly suggest that previously well-established correlations between undesirable events and distress may have been inflated due to the operational confounding of health-related items on the independent and dependent variable scales. The implications of these findings for research in the Holmes-Rahe tradition-andfor life-events research in general-are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper showed that urbanism is not associated with distrust of neighbors but is correlated with distrust on the part of "other people" in the wider community, but does not affect private social worlds.
Abstract: The classical theory that urbanism produces interpersonal estrangement is supported by evidence that urbanism is associated with less public helpfulness and more social conflict. This theory is challenged, however, by evidence that urbanism is not associated with residents' having any fewer social ties or suffering higher psychological stress. An alternative theory contends that urbanism produces fear and distrust of "foreign" groups in the public sphere, but does not affect private social worlds. This new survey study supports the latter explanation by reconfirming earlier findings and showing that urbanism is not correlated with distrust of neighbors but is correlated with distrust of "other people" in the wider community.
TL;DR: In this article, Yago et al. compare corporate power and urban transportation: a comparison of public transit's decline in the United States and Germany and conclude that corporate ownership and control: the large corporation and the capitalist class.
Abstract: Relations. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Yago, Glenn 1980 "Corporate power and urban transportation: a comparison of public transit's decline in the United States and Germany." Pp. 296-323 in M. Zeitlin (ed.) Classes, Class Conflict and the State. Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop Publishers. Zeitlin, Maurice 1974 "Corporate ownership and control: the large corporation and the capitalist class." American Journal of Sociology 79:1073119.
TL;DR: This paper reported replacements for the results of logistic equations that were in the article "Firearms ownership for sport and protection" (doi: 10.2307/2095123).
Abstract: Reports replacements for the results of logistic equations that were in the article "Firearms ownership for sport and protection" (doi: 10.2307/2095123). The authors state that the republication was necessary because analysis in their original report was based on only 200 cases, not the 714 cases reported earlier.