Showing papers in "Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency in 2004"

Family Structure, Family Processes, and Adolescent Delinquency: The Significance of Parental Absence Versus Parental Gender

Abstract: One third of all children are born to unmarried mothers and over one half of children will spend some time in a single-parent family. In fact, single-father families are the fastest growing family form. Using data from the 1995 National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, the authors extend prior research that has investigated the effects of growing up in a two-parent versus single-mother family by examining adolescent delinquency in single-father families, too. This strategy helps us to identify the mechanisms through which living with a single parent increases delinquency, notably, whether the effect is predominantly a function of parental absence (i.e., one versus two parents) or parental gender (i.e., single mother versus single father). The results indicate that adolescents in single-parent families are significantly more delinquent than their counterparts residing with two biological, married parents, although these differences are reduced once the authors account for various family processes....

Parental Socialization and Community Context: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Structural Sources of Low Self-Control

Abstract: Several empirical studies have attempted to estimate the effect of low self-control on criminal and “analogous” behaviors. Most of these studies have shown that low self-control is an important feature of the cause(s) of crime. Although research is beginning to emerge that targets more specifically the “roots” of self-control via parental socialization (the most salient factor in the development of self-control according to Hirschi and Gottfredson), researchers have yet to explore the degree to which the structural characteristics of communities may influence patterns of parental socialization and, in turn, individual levels of self-control. To address this question, the authors employ longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine community-level influences on parental socialization and self-control. The results indicate (1) self-control was predicted both cross-sectionally and longitudinally by both parental socialization and adverse neighborhood conditions, (2) the t...

Does the Perceived Risk of Punishment Deter Criminally Prone Individuals? Rational Choice, Self-Control, and Crime:

Abstract: Society’s efforts to deter crime with punishment may be ineffective because those individuals most prone to commit crime often act impulsively, with little thought for the future, and so they may be unmoved by the threat of later punishment. Deterrence messages they receive, therefore, may fall on deaf ears. This article examines this issue by testing the relationship between criminal propensity, perceived risks and costs of punishment, and criminal behavior. The authors analyzed data from the Dunedin (New Zealand) Study, a longitudinal study of individuals from birth through age26(N = 1,002). They found that in fact, deterrence perceptions had their greatest impact on criminally prone study members.

A Multilevel Multivariate Analysis of Factors Affecting Homicide Clearances

Abstract: There exist two competing perspectives regarding the factors affecting homicide clearances. Black’s theory of law (1976) argues that police may use some discretion in clearing homicide cases based on the social characteristics of victims and the areas in which the crime occurs. Conversely, Marvin Wolfgang (1958), Gottfredson and Hindelang (1979), and David Klinger (1997) argue that homicide is the most serious crime and all police work equally diligently to clear every case, regardless of who the victim is or where the crime occurs. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) of multilevel Chicago data from 1989 to 1991 are used to test the competing hypotheses. Consistent with previous research, results indicate a lack of support for Black’s theory of law in the context of homicide clearances, with a few noticeable exceptions. Cases with Latino victims are less likely to be cleared by arrest than those with White victims and cases are more likely to be cleared in communities with higher homeowner rat...

Measures of Gun Ownership Levels for Macro-Level Crime and Violence Research

Abstract: Valid measures of macro-level gun levels are essential to assessing the impact of gun levels on crime and violence rates, yet almost all prior research on this topic uses proxies that are either invalid or whose validity has been assumed rather than demonstrated. The present study uses city, state, cross-national, and time series data to assess the criterion validity of over two dozen gun indicators. The criterion measures used are primarily direct survey measures of household gun prevalence. The results indicate that (1) most measures used in past research have poor validity, making past findings uninterpretable, (2) the best measure for cross-sectional research is the percentage of suicides committed with guns, and (3) there are no known measures that are valid indicators of trends in gun levels, making credible longitudinal research on the subject impossible at present.

A Test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime in African American Adolescents.

Abstract: Considerable empirical support exists for The General Theory of Crime. However, little work has been completed on members of minority populations in the United States. The current investigation examined whether low self-control predicted deviance in a sample of African American adolescents (n = 661; 55.1 percent female; mean age = 15.7 years). Confirmatory Factor Analyses provided evidence that the low self-control measure was a valid and reliable multidimensional scale in this sample, for both males and females. In addition, low self-control explained between 8.4 percent and 13.0 percent of the variance in male deviance measures and between 4.0 percent and 8.4 percent in female deviance. Follow-up z-tests by sex indicated fewdifferences in the relationships between low self-control and deviance. In addition, comparative analyses by race between African American and Caucasian adolescent males provided evidence of similarity in the importance of self-control. Findings support the cross-cultural validity of...

What, me ashamed? Shame management and school bullying

Abstract: This study focuses on the prediction of self-initiated bullying from family, school, personality, and shame management variables. Reintegrative shaming theory provided a theoretical framework for data gathered from students (n = 1,401) and their parents (n = 978). To test the importance of shame management in relation to bullying, the MOSS-SASD instrument (Management Of Shame State-Shame Acknowledgment and Shame Displacement) was developed. Bullying was related to a child’s unacknowledged shame and its displacement to other-directed blame and anger. The results of path analysis indicated that shame management partially mediated the effects of family, school, and personality variables on bullying. The implications of these findings for creating a safer school environment are discussed.

Liberation and Economic Marginalization: A Reformulation and Test of (Formerly?) Competing Models

Abstract: This study reconceptualizes and tests liberation and economic marginality hypotheses as complementary explanations for female offending patterns Both explanations are relevant in explaining female crime, but need to be reframed as interacting forces not opposing theories It is suggested that economic marginality is in part a consequence of liberation, where the expectation of women’s independence may not be consistent with their actual social circumstances This study also assesses the explanatory power of this model for both male and female conviction rates Results from a pooled time series, least squares with dummy variables, cross-national analysis supports this reformulated model Although this model is a good predictor of female conviction rates, it does not appear to be good a predictor of male conviction rates Female conviction rates are significantly affected by male employment status, indicating that social conditions that are linked to female crime are a function of the economic and social position of both sexes

A Typology of Street Criminal Retaliation

Abstract: Criminologists have long recognized that retaliatory violence diffuses outward from discrete conflicts, often in contagion-like fashion. No understanding of the source of this spread is possible without first documenting the modalities that fuel it. Retaliation has variation, and it is important to catalog that variation if the concept of crime as social control is to be more effectively understood. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 33 street offenders, and using qualitative techniques of analytic induction, constant comparison, and domain analysis, this article offers a typology of retaliation to refine understanding of a process that at present, remains only loosely developed.

Studying the Characteristics of Arrest Frequency among Paroled Youthful Offenders

Abstract: In recent years, much attention has been devoted to developing appropriate analytical methods to model criminal careers. Largely ignored in this methodological debate is the study of how the criminal behavior patterns of active offenders are related to individual characteristics. This article presents an analysis of the postrelease offending patterns of two cohorts of male youth released by the California Youth Authority in 1981 to 1982 and 1986 to 1987. The focus of the analysis is the frequency of arrest during the first three years following release. Negative binomial models are used to examine the relationship between a variety of factors that have been linked theoretically and empirically to the frequency of offending. Results suggest that measures of individual and geographic characteristics can be used to predict the average arrest frequencies and their variation among paroled youthful offenders. These findings suggest that there may be useful distinctions to be made among offending populations.

Investigating the Connections Between Race, Illicit Drug Markets, and Lethal Violence, 1984-1997

Abstract: Many scholars have speculated that the dramatic rise of homicide rates in the late 1980s and their subsequent decline in the 1990s was driven by the expansion and contraction of illegal drug markets and/or law enforcement attempts to regulate these markets. However, the empirical evidence to this end is limited in important ways. This analysis extends prior research and provides evidence of the following: (1) Change in drug market indicators are positively associated with change in both Black and White homicide rates in large U.S. cities between 1984 and 1997. (2) This relationship is substantially stronger for Blacks than for Whites. (3) The socioeconomic moderators of the drug-market/violence link vary by race, with racial inequality being especially important for Blacks and resource deprivation being especially important for Whites. The main implications of the analysis are that the drug-market/ lethal violence connection is much more complex than previously thought, and that simplistic theoretical acc...

State Failure, Economic Failure, and Predatory Organized Crime: A Comparative Analysis:

Abstract: Organized crime research has regained momentum in the post-Cold War era, yet the field remains dominated by single-society studies of low generalizability. This study reports findings from comparative analysis of perceptions of predatory organized crime conducted in 59 countries. Two hypotheses of predatory organized crime were evaluated. The state failure hypothesis argues that the failure of the state to deliver key political goods such as security, justice, and stability encourages criminal groups to perform state functions. The economic failure hypothesis holds that poor economic outcomes such as high unemployment, low standards of living, and a reliance on an underground economy stimulates the growth of criminal syndicates as suppliers of demanded goods, services, and jobs. Analytical results provided general support to both hypotheses. Judicial independence and black market activities were the strongest political and economic correlates of predatory organized crime. Policy implications for organized...

“Getting High and Getting By”: Dimensions of Drug Selling Behaviors among American Mexican Gang Members in South Texas

Abstract: This article discerns the role that Mexican American gang members play in drug markets, and the relationship between gang members’drug use and drug selling in South Texas. A four-part typology based on the two dimensions of gang type and gang member emerged from this qualitative analysis of 160 male gang members: Homeboys, Hustlers, Slangers, and Ballers. Major findings include the following: (1) many gang members are user/sellers and are not profit-oriented dealers, (2) gangs commonly do extend “protection” to drug-selling members, and (3) proximity to Mexican drug markets, adult prison gangs, and criminal family members may play important roles in whether these gang members have access and the profit potential to actually deal drugs. This research contributes to our complex intersections between gangs, drug using, and drug selling.

Crime and Coercion: A Test of Core Theoretical Propositions

Abstract: In his recent Crime and Coercion, Colvin contends that individuals exposed to coercive environments develop social-psychological deficits that enhance their probability of engaging in criminal behavior. Using a sample of 2,472 students from six middle schools, the authors test core propositions of Colvin’s differential coercion theory. Thus, they assess whether delinquent involvement is related to four coercive environments: parental coercion, peer coercion, a coercive school environment, and a coercive neighborhood environment. The authors also assess whether the influence of these coercive environments on delinquency is mediated by four social-psychological deficits: coercive ideation, anger, school social bonds, and parental social bonds. The analysis revealed fairly consistent support for the core propositions of differential coercion theory. Thus, they found that students exposed to coercive environments develop social-psychological deficits and therefore engage in relatively serious delinquent behavior.

Reintegrative Shaming and Predatory Delinquency

Abstract: This study represents an attempt to test Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming with an operationalization scheme of two variables—disapproval of delinquent behavior (shaming) and forgiveness of the transgressor (reintegration) by parents and peers. The study combines measures of delinquency disapproval and forgiveness of the transgressor by parents and peers to capture the concept of reintegrative shaming. Using data collected from the first two waves of the National Youth Survey, the study finds no effect of either parental reintegrative shaming or peer reintegrative shaming on predatory delinquency in either wave when the effects of other important variables are held constant. However, the data reveal that parental forgiveness and peer shaming alone have significant and negative effects on the likelihood of being involved in predatory offenses in both waves. In contrast, peer forgiveness shows a significant and positive effect on predatory offense involvement in the first wave. The findings prov...

Where Have all the Hot Goods Gone? The Role of Pawnshops

Abstract: Recent research argues that because markets for stolen goods act as incentives to steal, police and criminologists should shift attention from thieves to methods of disrupting demand for the goods. The underlying research, however, is too thin to support this advice. Effective policy requires considerably more investigation. Analysis of pawn transaction data from Texas supports this assessment. It suggests that proposals to disrupt demand are unlikely to succeed, partly because similar actions already applied to pawnshops have shown limited effect, mainly because hot goods are invisible in the daily flow of secondhand merchandise through the general retail market. Police and criminologists should remain focused on thieves and their apprehension, and on pursuing ways to do this more efficiently, such as through improved tracking of pawn transactions. There may be other intervention possibilities as well, but much more empirical research is required to identify them.

Still Excluded? An Update on the Status of African American Scholars in the Discipline of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Abstract: This article reexamines the exclusion of African Americans in the discipline of criminology and criminal justice. Young and Sulton raised this issue in their important article that focused on the role of African American scholars in various aspects of the field. The article revisits several areas investigated in the original article, including the integration of African American scholarship in assorted scholarly outlets, race of editorial board members of the major criminal justice journals, race of grant recipients, use of African American criminologists as experts for media stories, and as consultants in the policymaking process. In addition, the authors’ analysis examines criminology and criminal justice programs at historically Black colleges and universities. The results from these analyses show moderate progress within the past decade. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that in the next decade, much more needs to be accomplished in many of the areas examined to facilitate the integration of African ...