Generality, continuity, and change in offending

A number of criminological theories make either implicit or explicit predictions about the empirical relationship between prior and future offending behavior. Some argue that time-stable characteristics such as criminal propensity should account for any positive correlation between past and future criminal behavior for all individuals. Others contend that the positive association between offending behavior at different points in time are partly causal and partly spurious. Still others anticipate that different patterns will emerge for different groups (distinguished by their ciminal propensity) of individuals. Using a longitudinal data set comprised of 848 training school releasees, we test various hypotheses emanating from these different theoretical perspectives. The results indicate that (1) both stability and change have causal implications for one's offending behavior and (2) with but one exception, these effects do not vary between high and low criminal propensity groups.     

The school context as a source of self-control

Researchers investigating Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime primarily concentrated their efforts on the relationship between an individual's self-control and involvement in crime and/or analogous behaviors. Much less research examined the potential sources of an individual's self-control. In this study, an argument was developed for the importance of exploring the contribution of the school context in the development of self-control within individuals. In particular, Gottfredson and Hirschi's position on this front was theoretically elaborated by including school/teacher socialization practices in a larger model of the development of self-control. Using data extracted from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, it was found that the effects of school socialization on self-control were significant net of parental socialization. In addition, the effects of school socialization varied across parenting and neighborhood contexts. The theoretical implications of this research, specifically as they relate to the development of self-control, are discussed.     

Testing moffitt's neuropsychological variation hypothesis for the prediction of life-course persistent offending

Abstract

Although neuropsychological deficits have been linked to antisocial behavior, theories of crime have been slow to develop formal processes and predictions for neuropsychological deficits. One recently articulated theory, however, places emphasis on the influence of neuropsychological variation in the development of antisocial behavior. In her developmental taxonomy. Moffitt outlines a theory of antisocial behavior that rests on the presence of two groups of offenders: life-course persisters and adolescent-limiteds. Both groups occupy distinct etiologies for antisocial involvement and are believed to engage in different antisocial activities. One of the main differences between the two groups is the role that neuropsychological deficits play in the production of antisocial behavior. Moffitt hypothesizes that neuropsychological deficits are predictive of antisocial involvement for life-course persisters but not for adolescent-limiteds. Using data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project, proxy measures of neuropsychological deficits are used to predict four different manifestations of life-course persistent offending. Results support Moffitt's hypothesis about the relationship between poor neuropsychological test scores and life-course persistent styles of offending.     

“No Remorse,No Repent”: Linking Lack of Remorse to Criminal Offending in a Sample of Serious Adolescent Offenders

Linking emotions to offender decision-making has only recently become of theoretical interest to criminologists, but empirical work in this area has not kept pace nor has such research examined the role of emotions to offending in offender-based samples. Recently, Warr outlined regret as one such emotion that may be useful in thinking about offending. Specifically, he argued that regret may be related to discontinuity in offending, or conversely that a lack of remorse may be related to continuity in offending. This paper uses data from a sample of serious adolescent offenders followed for seven years to investigate this hypothesis. Results provide support for Warr’s hypothesis that remorse-resistant adolescents incur a higher number of re-arrests, while remorse-prone adolescents incur fewer re-arrests, even after controlling for other relevant risk factors.     

Sex Differences in Trajectories of Offending Among Puerto Rican Youth

Although sex is one of the strongest correlates of crime, contentions remain regarding the necessity of sex-specific theories of crime. The current study examines delinquent trajectories across sex among Puerto Rican youth socialized in two different cultural contexts (Bronx, United States and San Juan, Puerto Rico). Results indicate: similar substantive offending trajectories across males and females within each cultural context; that males exhibit a higher frequency of offending and higher levels of risk factors for delinquency; and there more similarities than differences in how risk/protective factors relate to patterns of offending across male versus female youth. Study limitations and implications for sex-specific criminological theories are also discussed.     

Predicting Outcomes for Youth Transferred to Adult Court

Extant research regarding juvenile transfer has focused primarily on the negative effects of current policies, with little consistent and rigorous work on the variation among the adolescents transferred to adult court and their later adjustment in the community. Using a sample of 193 transferred youth from Arizona, we consider how certain individual characteristics are related to four post-release outcomes (antisocial activity, re-arrest, re-institutionalization, and gainful activity). We find considerable variability in outcomes, with adjustment significantly and consistently related to certain legal and risk-need factors. These results indicate that some transferred youth may experience negative outcomes, and that refinements to transfer policy may benefit from consideration of these factors in determining which serious adolescent offenders are most appropriate for transfer.     

The Effects of Changes in Dynamic Risk on Reoffending among Serious Juvenile Offenders Returning from Residential Placement

This study examines whether changes in dynamic risk during juvenile justice long-term residential placement affect recidivism. Advancing the work of prior dynamic risk change analyses, we examine a large sample of 11,891 male and 1930 female juvenile offenders while taking methodological steps to ensure successful and non-successful youth (in terms of recidivism) are (statistically) identical at admission. Specifically, we employ propensity score matching on residential placement youth who recidivate post-release and non-recidivists on static risk factors and initial dynamic risk scores assessed at admission to residential placement. Post-matching, changes in dynamic risk factors from initial assessment at admission to exit assessment at release are examined with a focus on whether those changes distinguish recidivists from non-recidivists. Separate analyses are conducted for male and female juveniles. Results indicate that changes in dynamic risk do affect recidivism likelihood, but that different factors matter for males and females. These sex-specific models allow for distinct policy recommendations.     

Studying the correlates of fraud victimization and reporting

Little is known about the correlates of white-collar victimization, and even less is known about white-collar crime reporting. In this article, the extent to which predictors of fraud victimization are the same as the predictors of fraud reporting is examined. Using a national sample of fraud victims, these findings were consistent with prior research in that involvement in risky behaviors and age were found to be important predictors of fraud victimization. Additionally, the specific factors that are influential in predicting fraud victimization appear to vary across offense type. Unfortunately, little was revealed regarding the predictors of the official reporting of fraud victimizations. Future research needs to further unravel the importance of risky behavior in both victimization and reporting, as well as to focus on a broader array of white-collar crimes.     

Testing for the Equality of Maximum-Likelihood Regression Coefficients Between Two Independent Equations

Consider the case where one obtains maximum-likelihood estimates of regression coefficients for the respective populations from which each of two large independent samples is drawn. A question sometimes asked about the results of such an analysis is whether there is a difference between a coefficient in one population, _a, and the same coefficient in another population, _b. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of two test statistics that have been used to address this problem. Our results suggest that one statistic produces valid conclusions, while the other fails.