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.     

Can We Blame it on Rio?

The Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games were the last major sporting event in a decade‐long cycle in the Brazilian metropolis. In the years leading up to the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the city's urban planning agenda was captured by the exogenous demands of hosting the quadrennial spectacular. This capture has exacerbated four tendencies that will pertain in Rio de Janeiro for the foreseeable future: consolidation of consumer sovereignty, restructuring of urban circulations, financialisation of urban territories, and securitisation of exception.     

EXAMINING THE “CRIMINAL CAREERS” OF PROSTITUTES WITHIN THE NEXUS OF DRUG USE,DRUG SELLING,AND OTHER ILLICIT ACTIVITIES*

This paper examines the co‐occurrence of prostitution, drug use, drug selling, and involvement in non‐drug crimes among women who have used serious drugs (e.g., crack, heroin). Existing perspectives on the drug use‐prostitution nexus are re‐examined using three dimensions of the criminal career paradigm: prevalence, lambda, and age of onset. Results show that approximately one‐half of the women who reported regular drug use never prostituted, and that, except for use of crack cocaine, use of other drugs was unrelated to the prevalence, frequency, or age of onset into prostitution. The results also show that committing property crime was associated with an increased prevalence and early onset into prostitution, while selling drugs coincided with a decreased prevalence and delayed onset into prostitution.     

GENDER,STREETLIFE AND CRIMINAL RETALIATION*

Recent work in criminology has highlighted the central role of retaliation in shaping criminal violence in America's inner cities. Most of this work, however, has been based on male offenders. It has also failed to consider whether and how gender structures payback in real‐life settings and circumstances. In this paper, we analyze in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews with forty men and twelve women who recently engaged in one or more episodes of retaliatory violence to examine the ways in which gender shapes vengeance. We hope to provide an insider's view of how gender frames the context and dynamics of retaliatory events for both men and women.