Youth hate crime offending: the role of strain,social control and self-control theories

Much of the existing research on hate crime focuses on the perspective of victims, while relatively little is known of the offenders. This study examines the prevalence of hate-motivated offending in the form of assaults and bullying, and variables that may explain some of the influences for such behaviour. It compares hate-motivated offenders to both non-offenders and offenders committing non-hate-motivated acts. Our data are based on a nationally representative youth survey collected in 2012 (n = 4,855) from Finnish students attending ninth grade (ages 15–16). It relies on three central theories in criminology: strain, social control and self-control theories. Frequent parental fighting, low parental supervision, low social control and male gender were significant factors in explaining hate crime offending. Our results suggest that the three criminological theories are relevant in the analysis of hate crime offending among Finnish youth.     

The relationship between injustice and crime: A general strain theory approach

Purpose

Connect General Strain Theory (GST) and the organizational justice literature by examining how different types and combinations of major forms of injustice (distributive, procedural, and interactional), and resultant anger, may increase the likelihood that individuals respond to strain with crime.

Method

Logit and OLS regressions are used to analyze survey data obtained from a vignette that was randomly assigned to a sample of undergraduates. The vignette presented a distributive injustice and manipulated the additional presence of procedural and interactional injustice. Respondents rated their likelihood of intending to engage in a violent act and a non-violent deviant act.

Results

As expected, multiple types of injustice foster the intention of responding to injustice with crime. In addition to a distributive injustice, the presence of procedural injustice predicts violence, while interactional injustice predicts excessive drinking. Moreover, anger mediates the injustice-crime relationship, although this effect is more substantial for the association between procedural injustice and violence.

Conclusions

The relationship between injustice and crime is complex. Different forms of injustice can affect the propensity for crime through anger. Further research is encouraged to identify the criminogenic potential of certain types of combinations of injustice on the experience of negative emotions and crime.     

Social capital and crime: A cross-national multilevel study

Numerous studies have repeatedly supported the negative influence of social capital upon crime rates. Although the relationship between social capital and crime is theoretically persuasive and empirically robust, only a handful of studies have looked into its cross-national variation. Furthermore, no research in social capital has yet applied a multilevel approach to take into account both macro- and micro-level determinants of crime. In an attempt to fill in this research gap, we conducted multilevel analyses of country-level and individual-level factors of criminal victimization. Following the lead of previous studies, it was hypothesized that social capital—estimated as generalized trust, social norms, and civic engagement—reduces criminal victimization, net of individual-level determinants, and other well-established country-level factors. The results revealed that while a higher level of social capital was found to reduce the likelihood of robbery victimization, no significant impact was observed on burglary victimization. With regard to the three dimensions of social capital, generalized trust and social norms exerted significant effects on robbery victimization in the expected direction.     

The economics of crime and criminal law: An antithesis to sociological theories?

The relationship between sociology and economics of crime has been dominated by mutual prejudice and misunderstanding. This paper tries to contribute to a change of this stale of affairs by showing that, on the one hand, the economics of crime does not as a method imply politically conservative policy recommendations and, on the other hand, that insights of the sociology of crime may enrich the economic approach considerably. This is done via a brief survey of the economics of enforcement, the literature on the relation of income distribution and unemployment on crime, and the literature relating sociological theories of crime to methodological individualism.     

Causal theories of crime and their effect upon expert parole decisions

Law and Human Behavior - Criminal justice experts and laypeople seek to understand the causes of criminal behavior in order to promote social programs and individualized treatments that can reduce...     

US savings and loan fraud: Implications for general and criminal culture theories of crime

Both the general theory of crime andcriminal culture theories offer manyexpectations and assumptions regarding thecauses of crime and the characteristics ofoffenders. The former asserts that crimeis associated with low self-control. Thelatter, that cultural norms developthat are criminogenic. This paperchallenged three assumptions of thosetheories by examining 481 fraudoffenders. Results demonstrated: (1)individuals higher in the occupationalhierarchy are more likely to commit fraud, (2) offenders are more likely to operatealone and (3) when accomplices areinvolved, they are less likely to beinternal to the institution. The firstfinding contradicts the general theory ofcrime, whilst the second and thirdcontradicts criminal culture theories. Ourfindings suggest that a unitary theory maynot be able to account for such offences. The implications of this study may helpinfluence policing and policy regarding theway in which fraud is approached andunderstood.     

The stability of risk-seeking from adolescence to emerging adulthood

Purpose

The current study examines the stability of the risk-seeking component of self-control using a second-order latent class growth model.

Methods

Longitudinal data from 962 respondents from the NLSY79-Child and Young Adult sample are used to examine the stability of the risk-seeking component of self-control from ages 14 to 23.

Results

Data reveal three trajectories of risk-seeking (low, moderate, and high) that maintain strong relative stability from adolescence through early adulthood. Further, two trajectories of risk-seeking (moderate and high) maintain absolute stability, whereas the low risk-seeking group exhibits statistically significant decreases in risk-seeking over time.

Conclusions

The SOLCGA may provide a stricter test of the stability hypothesis since it accounts for measurement error in the construct prior to estimating the developmental trajectories. The results from the SOLCGA support Gottfredson and Hirschi's hypotheses that self-control will remain stable from adolescence into emerging adulthood.     

Street youth, strain theory, and crime

Utilizing a sample of homeless street youth, the study examined a more complete model of the classic strain perspective whereby relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction, monetary goals, and objective structural factors lead to crime. It also explored the interactions between these factors and the conditioning effects of peers, beliefs, and attributions. The results revealed that relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction, monetary goals, homelessness, and unemployment were related to crime. Further, monetary dissatisfaction and relative deprivation were conditioned by objective economic situations in their relationship with a number of illegal behaviors and interactions between monetary goals and monetary expectations and achievements were associated with crime. The results are discussed in light of the classic strain theories and suggestions are offered for future research.     

Protective processes: the function of young people's implicit theories of crime in offending behaviour

Abstract

Despite development in high-risk environments, many youths are resilient and do not engage in antisocial behaviour and crime. Research on human traits such as intelligence and morality, suggest that the implicit theories (ITs) people have about the controllability of their behaviour, as either fixed (entity beliefs) or malleable (incremental beliefs) may play a part in successful behavioural outcomes. Using this as a framework, the function of ITs about crime in successful adolescent development was investigated among 422 ‘at-risk’ youths. Incremental ITs of criminality were found to significantly predict less self-reported involvement in youth offending, controlling for academic attainment. Entity ITs, conversely, were associated with an increased rate of participation in deviant behaviour. Further analysis revealed that incremental ITs of criminality moderated the negative effects of associating with delinquent peers on adolescent behaviour. The results demonstrate the direct and indirect protective function of incremental ITs of criminality for youths at risk and highlight the value of investigating further the protective processes that are involved in preventing youth crime.     

Combating crime and citizen attitudes: A study of the corresponding reality

The effectiveness of crime deterrence projects such as increased street lighting in ghetto environments has been questioned. The present study not only examines whether increased street lighting in fact reduces crime, but also investigates the attitudes towards local government of citizens who live within that particular environment. The findings illustrate that it would be advisable for governments to address citizen attitudes before undertaking certain crime prevention projects.     

Foster youth and crime: Employing general strain theory to promote understanding

Purpose

Despite the growing research evidence into vulnerability, disadvantage, and poor outcomes for young people leaving foster care, relatively little attention has been paid to our understanding of criminal engagement. The present study contributes to our understanding of this process by drawing on general strain theory (GST) to examine how specific forms of strain may lead to crime among foster youth.

Methods

Data from a national study of post-care foster youth in England are examined using robust logistic regression analysis, and a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews. Logistic regression was applied to conduct a simultaneous analysis of main and interaction effects of strains and conditioning variables on crime involvement among foster youth. Thematic analysis was utilised to explore themes for explaining the quantitative findings.

Results

Strains such as unemployment, school exclusion, length of time in care and instability of placement were significant predictors for involvement in criminal activity among foster youth. Conditioning factors, namely self-esteem and life skills acquired prior to leaving care, tend to mediate the relationship between these strains and criminal involvement. In-depth qualitative evidence further reinforced the effects of strains and conditional nature of the strains-crime relationship among foster youth.

Conclusions

The findings demonstrate the utility of employing GST in studies of foster youth, and they suggest implications for youth services and other foster youth programmes.     

Adult-onset antisocial behavior trajectories: associations with adolescent family processes and emerging adulthood functioning

Guided by conceptual and empirical work on emerging adulthood, this study investigated the role of closeness to mother and father and behavioral autonomy during adolescence on the development of adult-onset antisocial behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we identified four aggressive (abstainer, adolescent-limited, adult-onset, chronic) and three nonaggressive (adolescent-limited, adult-onset, chronic) trajectories. Members of the aggressive adult-onset trajectory reported higher levels of paternal closeness during adolescence compared to the members of the aggressive chronic trajectory. Maternal closeness and behavioral autonomy did not differentially predict trajectory membership. In addition, members of the adult-onset trajectories were less likely to be employed or in a romantic relationship and reported decreased physical health during emerging adulthood compared to members of all other trajectories.     

A general theory of crime and computer crime: An empirical test

Computer crime has become a global issue and continues to rapidly grow; however, few studies had examined the applicability of a general theory of crime in explaining computer deviance. Using a panel of 2,751 Korean youths, the current study examined whether low self-control theory can be useful as a theoretical framework for explaining computer crime. The results indicated the applicability of low self-control theory in explaining both illegal download of software and illegal use of others’ personal identification online. Consistent with the theory's prediction, opportunity variables, especially hours of computer use, were found to be significant predictors of computer crime. The shortcomings of the current research and the directions for future research were discussed.     

A new horizon on organised crime: re-locating organised crime in America

Beginning in 1974, the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline Railway (BAM) dominated public life in the Soviet Union for the next decade. Declared complete in 1984, BAM was arguably the greatest and most costly construction feat in post-war Soviet history. Officially, the mainline was to serve as the “path toward communism” that would unite all Soviet citizens. This article explores the crime and corruption that surrounded the propaganda-driven world of the BAM. Although the railway led to few concrete accomplishments in either the industrial or social development of the USSR, the sociological and criminological consequences of BAM were profound. The highly visible presence of both petty and hard-core criminals on the railway revealed that life on the rails was not as progressive or futuristic as the state claimed. Instead, the dynamics of crime and control that intersected during the BAM's ten years of prominence revealed that the peculiarities of human nature, not what the state termed “communist morality,” defined those who worked on the project.     

Can general strain theory explain white-collar crime? A preliminary investigation of the relationship between strain and select white-collar offenses

Agnew's (1992) general strain theory (GST) had been tested across a wide range of populations and on numerous criminal and analogous behaviors. The ability of GST to predict white-collar offending, however, had yet to be explored. Using data from convicted white-collar offenders, this research examined the ability of GST to explain white-collar offenses. The results revealed that GST was useful for predicting a select group of white-collar offenses, but might not be generalizable to individuals committing corporate-type crimes. Additionally, the findings suggested that the types of strain and negative emotion at work for white-collar offenders might vary from those found in other criminal populations. Implications for white-collar crime studies are discussed and ideas for future research are presented.     

Niche crime: The Columbus gangs study

Even though researchers have studied gangs for many years now, very little is known about the criminal activity of gang leaders. The purpose of this study is to examine the types of criminal activities in which gang leaders participate. Analysis of the criminal histories of 83 gang leaders from Columbus, Ohio, suggests that gangs there specialize in certain types of crime. These data imply that gang suppression policies might be more effective if they target specific niches of the crime market. The Office of Criminal Justice Services of the State of Ohio funded this research under Grant No. 91-JJ-C010682. The author wishes to thank Dr. Michael R. Sutton of Nottingham Trent University for his contributions to this article.