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.     

On the measurement of low self-control in Add Health and NLSY79

Limited attention has been devoted to the dimensionality of the low self-control scales commonly constructed in two nationally representative datasets routinely used to test self-control theory (SCT) – Add Health and NLSY79. We assess the measurement properties of the low self-control scales by comparing a series of exploratory and confirmatory models that are appropriate for the categorical nature of the observed items, including unidimensional, correlated factors, second-order factor, and bifactor models. Additionally, based on these results we explore the predictive validity of the respective scales on adolescents’ delinquent behavior. The results indicate that the low self-control scales in these data have acceptable levels of internal consistency but do not represent unidimensional latent factors. Rather, scales are best represented by a second-order factor structure. When measured this way, our Add Health scale is associated with delinquency in a cross-sectional context and our NLSY79 scale predicts delinquency longitudinally. This study reveals that low self-control is best conceptualized as a multidimensional construct within these data. The results of this study provide guidance to researchers measuring low self-control in either dataset (or other data sources) and inform the larger SCT measurement literature.     

The historical variability of the age-crime relationship

Methodological problems arising in fitting nonlinear regressions to a dataset are identified in context of research on the age-crime relationship. A modified chisquare distribution is fit to the age distribution of the seven Index crimes for the years 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, and 1988 to assess the historical invariance of the distribution. Problematic features of Britt's (J. Quant. Criminol. 8, 175–187, 1992) analysis of the same data are highlighted.Britt states no rationale for the choice of these two functions, but his statement that his findings provide support for Greenberg's (1991) use of the Poisson gamma density to model individual offending patterns and questions Rowe and co-workers' (1990) use of the lognormal density as an appropriate model of individual violent offending suggests that this earlier work motivated his choice. Actually, this earlier work is not relevant to Britt's project. Greenberg (1991) and Roweet al. (1990) were concerned with the distribution of criminal propensities across individuals of a given age, not with the distribution of prevalence or participation rates across the ages, and changes therein over time.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF‐CONTROL: EXAMINING SELF‐CONTROL THEORY'S STABILITY THESIS*

Research on self‐control theory consistently supports its central prediction that low self‐control significantly affects crime. The theory includes other predictions, however, that have received far less scrutiny. Among these is the argument that self‐control is developed early in childhood and that individual differences emerging then persist over time. The purpose of this study is to provide a rigorous test of the stability thesis. First, we examine the extent of stability and change in self‐control for a national sample of U.S. children age 7 to age 15. Second, we consider whether parenting continues to affect self‐control during adolescence—a period after the point at which self‐control differences should be fixed. The analysis revealed strong absolute and relative stability of self‐control for more than 80 percent of the sample, and this stability emerged in large part as early as age 7. Contradicting the theory was a smaller portion of respondents (roughly 16 percent) who experienced substantial absolute and relative changes in self‐control even after the age of 10. Moreover, parental socialization continued to affect self‐control during adolescence, even after accounting for both prior self‐control and exposure to parental socialization.     

Low self-control,gender, race,and offending in late life

Self-control theory has been one of the most scrutinized general frameworks of crime for over 20 years. A majority of evidence pertaining to the theory, however, is derived from samples of teenagers and young adults. Relatively little information exists regarding whether self-control explains offending among people in late adulthood. As such, the generality of the framework has yet to be fully examined. This study uses a representative sample of people aged 60 years and older from interviews conducted in Arizona and Florida. The current study tests two key propositions regarding the generality of the theory: (1) the extent to which self-control accounts for the relationship between demographic variables and criminal offending, and (2) the invariance thesis which stipulates that self-control will have a uniform effect on offending across social groups. The analyses reveal two findings regarding theoretical generality: (1) low self-control explains late-life criminal behavior but does not account for the relationship between offending and gender, and (2) low self-control has an invariant effect on offending across gender and race when measured behaviorally. Taken together, the analyses address important elements of the supposed generality of self-control theory and extend the framework's scope to the explanation of offending in late life.     

青少年犯罪成因心理学研究新进展

青少年犯罪问题及其成因是各国普遍关注的焦点,也是犯罪成因研究的主要领域.青少年犯罪的成因相当复杂,已经广泛涉及到了生物神经科学、心理学、社会学、经济学以及政策等层面,迄今还没有令各方一致满意的定论.作为犯罪行为产生的最直接的因素--心理层面的理论研究则是青少年犯罪成因研究中非常有特色的领域.近年来,青少年犯罪成因理论研究逐渐采取了科际整合的观点,结合各领域各个学科的研究对各类青少年犯罪进行研究.青少年危险模式包括了社区、家庭和个人等因素,提供了多元化的取向.我国的学者长期囿于传统的横断研究,鲜有对青少年犯罪进行纵贯研究者,需要进行青少年犯罪纵贯研究的尝试与探索.     

中西文化中的犯罪异同论——我国犯罪相关理论研究的出路

文化作为上层建筑的组成部分,对犯罪研究的影响极为深远。中西方的文化迥异,导致犯罪研究的背景及途径各有特色。本文试图从文化的角度解析犯罪,并通过对中西方文化发展轨迹异同的研究,阐明其研究对法律制定、犯罪控制、学科建设等相关领域的影响,进而增强学术研究的忧患意识,最终为我国的犯罪研究提供新的视角及建议。     

Self-control Depletion and the General Theory of Crime

Criminological research on self-control focuses mainly on self-control failure. Such research has not, however, investigated the consequences of exercising self-control for the individual doing so. The present study investigates this issue within the framework of both criminological self-control theory and research on self-control depletion from social psychology, which depicts self-control as akin to a “muscle” that is “depletable” by prior use [Muraven and Baumeister (2000) Psycholog Bull 126:247–259]. Results are presented from a laboratory experiment in which students have the opportunity to cheat. Both “trait self-control,” as measured by the Grasmick et al. [(1993) J Res Crime Delinq 30:5–29] self-control inventory, and “self-control depletion” independently predicted cheating. The implications of these findings are explored for criminological perspectives on self-control and offender decision-making.

GENERAL STRAIN,STREET YOUTH AND CRIME: A TEST OF AGNEW'S REVISED THEORY*

Using a sample of homeless street youth, this research examines how specific forms of strain–emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, homelessness and being a victim of robbery, violence or theft, relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction and unemployment–lead to crime and drug use. It also explores how strain is conditioned by deviant peers, deviant attitudes, external attributions, self‐esteem and self‐efficacy. The results reveal that all ten types of strain examined can lead to criminal behavior either as main effects or when interacting with conditioning variables. The results are discussed in light of general strain theory and suggestions are offered for future research on this topic.     

Toward a control theory of white-collar offending

In this study, Hirschi's control theory was conceptually developed and empirically tested as a rationale for white-collar offending. The data were gathered from a sample of 435 executives who were employees of a multinational automobile manufacturer. Results suggest that factors within the corporation such as managerial attachments, work commitment and involvement, and belief in corporate rules significantly affect individual rates of executive self-reported offending. In particular, those executives who possessed the strongest bond to their manager, their co-workers, and the corporation itself were least likely to report having engaged in a white-collar crime. Theoretical implications of these findings and how they relate to extant theories of white-collar criminality are discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Montreal, November 16, 1987.     

Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization,rival theories,and adult criminality

Recently a revisionist view of strain theory's empirical adequacy has emerged which holds that the theory's explanatory power depends on how it is operationalized. With an adult community sample, we empirically assess three separate measures of strain to explain self-reported crime: the gap between aspirations and expectations, blocked opportunities, and relative deprivation. The findings reveal that the aspirations-expectations measure is not related to criminal involvement, while perceived blocked opportunities and feelings of relative deprivation significantly affect adult offending. These relationships, however, fail to persist after measures from competing theories (i.e., low self-control, differential association, and social bond) are introduced as controls in the regression equations. Thus, measures from rival theories offer a more fruitful approach to explaining self-reported adult offending.A version of this paper was presented at the 1993 American Society of Criminology meetings, Phoenix, Arizona.     

Using an expanded measure of self-control to predict delinquency

Abstract

Self-control theory claims that the tendency to pursue short-term, immediate pleasure, called low self-control, is the only important intrapersonal correlate of crime and delinquency. Low self-control is considered a general tendency comprising several subsidiary traits. The question is whether the subsidiary traits traditionally considered to constitute the individual elements of low self-control – impulsivity, risk-seeking, shortsightedness, low frustration tolerance, self-centeredness, and a preference for physical activities – accurately reflect the essence of self-control theory. The present paper provides theoretical and empirical support for the incorporation of two additional characteristics – diligence and the tendency to neutralize one's guilt for wrongdoing – into the overall self-control construct. Empirical support is provided by the results of two studies in which diligence and neutralization significantly and substantially improve the ability of traditional low self-control to account for variance in offending. A third additional trait, deception, did not enhance the explanatory power of traditional low self-control.     

Strain,Crime, and Contingencies

Hypotheses from General Strain theory are addressed using data from a random sample of adults in Raleigh, NC. Analyses examine three issues: (1) whether strain predicts self‐projected criminal behavior; controlling for past self‐reported crime; (2) whether negative emotions mediate the relationship between strain and projected crime; and (3) whether social support and criminal peers serve as contingencies or mediators for strain in predicting criminality. Results are generally consistent with previous studies focusing on youth. Three of four measures of strain are found to predict the crime measures. However, that relationship is not mediated by negative emotion and the measures of social support and criminal peers do not act as contingencies or mediators. The results suggest that strain may not operate through negative emotions and that theoretical refinement is needed to identify which potential contingencies are likely to be operating under various circumstances.     

Binge drinking and negative alcohol-related behaviors: A test of self-control theory

Binge drinking and alcohol-related behaviors have been viewed as major concerns on college campuses. Although national studies were conducted to describe these behaviors, less research attempted to explain them. Self-control theory is extended as a theoretical framework to explain both while considering other known risk factors. Using a sample of college students (n = 268) from a university in the southern United States, the additive and interactive effects of self-control were modeled to predict binge drinking and negative alcohol-related behaviors. A series of multivariate regression models showed that low self-control had effects on binge drinking and related behaviors. Binge drinking's effect on negative alcohol-related behaviors varied across levels of self-control.     

文化模式与犯罪构成模式赵秉志

中国文化模式属于机体宇宙论，与“天人合一”的自本体观和直觉体悟的认识论相关联；西方文化模式属于机械宇宙论，与“征服自然”的他本体观和逻辑分析的认识论相关联。中国的犯罪构成是机体的犯罪构成，体现的诉讼规则是综合规则；西方的犯罪构成是机器的犯罪构成，体现的诉讼规则是可废除规则。在提高司法效率与实现司法公正方面，机体的犯罪构成与机器的犯罪构成均能实现各自均衡。机体的犯罪构成更利于贯彻无罪推定原则和实现刑法的人权保障机能，但在控制犯罪和实现刑法的社会秩序维护机能方面相对弱化；机器的犯罪构成更利于控制犯罪和实现刑法的社会秩序维护机能，但在贯彻无罪推定原则和刑法的人权保障机能方面相对弱化。     

Predicting perceptions of crime seriousness among Native American Indians: a research note

Strongly held cultural values may lead to development of pro-social behaviors and subsequently values against committing crime among people belonging to targeted racial or ethnic groups. In this study, the author examines measures of Native American Indian cultural values and measures of collective efficacy to determine which set of values best predict perceptions of crime seriousness from within a population of Native American Indians. The author uses data collected from 312 Indians and 355 non-Indians during the Southern Ute Indian Community Safety Survey to determine which set of values are more closely aligned with perceptions of crime seriousness. This study found that those who held stronger Native American Indian cultural values also had stronger perceptions of crime seriousness. In the past, little scientific work has been done to associate specific cultural values to those held by cultural groups other than Euro-Americans. Findings from this work suggest that strengthening cultural values specific to a targeted group may be a promising method in the effort to reduce victimization among minority group members if said members view crime as serious and report it as such.     

Constancy and change in the U.S. age distribution of crime: A test of the “invariance hypothesis”

The recent controversy over the age relationship with criminal behavior can be traced to Hirschi and Gottfredson's (Am. J. Sociol. 89, 552–584, 1983) failure to define invariance. In this paper, I distinguish two types of invariance—parametric andmathematical form— that explains both the pattern of stability claimed by Hirschi and Gottfredson and the pattern of variability observed in more recent research. I then directly test for each type of invariance using age-specific arrest data for index offenses in the United States from 1952 to 1987. The results are largely consistent with recent research showing variability in the characteristics (i.e., parameters) of the age distribution of crime, but at the same time, the results provide evidence for a persistent, underlying mathematical form to the age distribution of crime, regardless of year or offense type.