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                            Library & Multimedia
 "Nerve" and violent encounters: An assessment of fearlessness in the face of danger
NCJ Number
              302749
Journal

*Criminology* Dated: 2019
Author(s)
          C. Melde;
                        et al
Date Published

2019
Annotation
              This study operationalized the concept of nerve, which findings from criminological studies indicate is an important mechanism for protecting adolescents from victimization.
Abstract
              The findings from a large body of research on the ecology of violence indicate that individuals demonstrate a willingness to engage in violence to reduce their risk for violent victimization. Scholars have suggested that a reputation for toughness and aggression acts as an informal signal that deters mistreatment. Anderson (1999), in his street code thesis, argued that adherence to the street code functions as a signal that reduces violent victimization risk. Other research findings, however, reveal that the street code leads to an increase in victimization risk; moreover, violent offenders are routinely victimized at high rates given their lifestyle and routine activities. The evidence, therefore, does not show support the position that a reputation for toughness or aggression effectively reduces violent victimization. The current study used data from the second national evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program to test this operationalization of nerve to determine whether the concept is associated with later violent offending and violent victimization in ways consistent with theory and research on the ecology of youth violence. Study results provide support for the notion that nerve is positively associated with violent offending; whereas those at the highest levels of this construct experience fewer violent victimizations. (publisher abstract modified)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2006-JV-FX-0011


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Award
        Process and Outcome Evaluation of G.R.E.A.T.
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2019
    
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