bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ORGANIZATIONAL OFFENDING AND NEOCLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY: CHALLENGING THE REACH OF A GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME*
Authors: REED GARY E. , YEAGER PETER CLEARY
Published: March 2006

This article examines and critiques Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime, with particular respect to its applicability to organizational offending. We question their views that the theory is adequately general and that typologies of crime are therefore unnecessary for criminological theory. Gottfredson and Hirschi have employed the case of white‐collar crime to support their arguments, but they have con strained the test of their theory by focusing on the white‐collar offenses that most resemble conventional crime. When organizational offending is included in white‐collar crime, empirical and theoretical limitations of their project emerge. These limitations include the matters of defining and counting the phenomena of interest, the nature of the interest that commonly underlies them, and the role of opportunity in them. A satisfactory theory of organizational offending requires an adequate account of all these matters and will look substantially different from Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory of crime.
CRACK DEALERS AND RESTRICTIVE DETERRENCE: IDENTIFYING NARCS*
Authors: JACOBS BRUCE A.
Published: March 2006

Data drawn from semistructured interviews with 40 active street‐level crack dealers are used to illustrate, apply, and expand the concept of restrictive deterrence. The article focuses on the perceptual shorthand dealers use to determine whether buyers in question are “narcs.” In presenting this shorthand, the article seeks to demonstrate how interactions among marketplace democratization (i.e., the idea of selling to as many different customers as possible to maximize profits), marketplace volatility, transactional brevity, and threats from law enforcement affect its complexity and refinement. Respondents operated out of a medium‐sized, midwestern metropolitan area (population: 2.2 million) within a central city of 390,000.
CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTISM AND THE PERCEIVED WRONGFULNESS OF CRIMES: A RESEARCH NOTE*
Authors: CURRY THEODORE R.
Published: March 2006

This research addresses the relationship between conservative Protestantism and the perceived wrongfulness of crimes. In a recent study, Warr (1989) identified “nondiscriminators”—people who perceived a wide range of crimes to be equally morally wrong. Although lacking measures of religion, Warr hypothesized, based on their written comments, that the respondents used religious beliefs to assess wrongfulness. Since Protestant theology tends to view morality categorically, with no gradations between the extremes, those individuals who most strongly adhere to this doctrine may be the nondiscriminators. This study tests and finds strong support for this hypothesis, which has important implications for the recent shift toward increased punitiveness in sentencing, research concerning public perceptions of crime, and studies of religion.
WOMEN IN THE STREET‐LEVEL DRUG ECONOMY: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE?*
Authors: MAHER LISA , DALY KATHLEEN
Published: March 2006

Images of women in the contemporary drug economy are highly mixed. Most scholars emphasize change in women's roles, some emphasize continuity, and others suggest that both change and continuity are evident. At issue is whether an increased share of women were involved in selling and higher‐level distribution roles in the crack cocaine markets of the late 1980s and early 1990s, compared to the heroin markets of the 1960s and 1970s. We present the results of an ethnographic study of women drug users conducted during 1989–92 in a New York City neighborhood. Contrary to those who suggest that crack cocaine markets have provided “new opportunities” for women, we find that such opportunities were realized by men. At the same time, the conditions of street‐level sex work, which has traditionally provided women drug users with a relatively stable source of income, have deteriorated.
SELF‐REPORTED DELINQUENCY AND A COMBINED DELINQUENCY SERIOUSNESS SCALE BASED ON BOYS, MOTHERS, AND TEACHERS: CONCURRENT AND PREDICTIVE VALIDITY FOR AFRICAN‐AMERICANS AND CAUCASIANS*
Authors: FARRINGTON DAVID P. , LOEBER ROLF , STOUTHAMER‐LOEBER MAGDA , VAN KAMMEN WELMOET B. , SCHMIDT LAURA
Published: March 2006

The Pittsburgh Youth Study is a prospective longitudinal survey of three samples of Pittsburgh boys (each containing about 500 boys) initially studied in first, fourth, and seventh grades. The first two data collection waves yielded self‐reported delinquency and combined delinquency seriousness scores (the combined scores based on information from boy, mother, and teacher) for the middle sample (up to an average age of 10.7 years) and oldest sample (up to an average age of 13.9 years). These scores were compared with records of petitions to the Allegheny County Juvenile Court for delinquency offenses before and up to six years after the assessments. The area under the ROC curve was used as a measure of validity. Concurrent validity was higher than predictive validity. The combined scale had similar concurrent validity but greater predictive validity than the self‐report scale, and the combined scale also identified a greater number of boys as serious delinquents. Concurrent validity for admitting offenses was higher for Caucasians, but concurrent validity for admitting arrests was higher for African‐Americans. There were no consistent ethnic differences in predictive validity. There was an increase in predictive validity, for both African‐Americans and Caucasians, by combining self‐report data with information from other sources. Afrer controlling for delinquency measures, African‐Americans were more likely than Caucasians to be petitioned in the future, but not in the past. In this research, ethnic differences in official delinquency were partly attributable to ethnic differences in delinquent behavior and were not attributable to differential ethnic attrition or differential ethnic validity of measures of delinquent behavior.
TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL? LETHAL OUTCOMES IN INJURIOUS ATTACKS*
Authors: FELSON RICHARD B. , MESSNER STEVEN F.
Published: March 2006

This research explores the utility of the notion of lethal intent for understanding the outcomes of injurious attacks. We suggest that assailants sometimes kill rather than merely injure victims to avoid either retaliation or criminal prosecution. We hypothesize that, for these tactical reasons, offenders will be more likely to kill when they have no accomplices, when their victims are male or black, and when the victim can identify them. These hypotheses are tested with a merged data set containing information on homicides and nonlethal victimizations involving robbery, rape, and pure assault. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses are largely consistent with theoretical expectations.
CRIMINAL PROPENSITIES, DISCRETE GROUPS OF OFFENDERS, AND PERSISTENCE IN CRIME*
Authors: DEAN CHARLES W. , BRAME ROBERT , PIQUERO ALEX R.
Published: March 2006

Criminal propensity theorists argue that the causes of variation in offending behavior can be traced to variation in one or more causal traits. Other theorists contend that there is actually more than one type of offender and that more than one causal mechanism operates to explain offending behavior. In this article, some of the implications of these two positions are considered. Then, their congruence with recidivism data from a cohort of post‐age‐16 North Carolina institutional releasees (N = 848) is assessed, The analysis focuses specifically on whether the correlates of offending persistence are similar across two categories of individuals: those who experienced their first adjudication at an early age and those who were first adjudicated at a later age. In support of both positions, some similarities and some differences in the correlates of persistence were discovered. The differences, however, were only evident when the threshold for late first adjudication was set to age 12. When this threshold was raised to higher ages, the differences disappeared.
A META‐ANALYSIS OF THE PREDICTORS OF ADULT OFFENDER RECIDIVISM: WHAT WORKS!*
Authors: GENDREAU PAUL , LITTLE TRACY , GOGGIN CLAIRE
Published: March 2006

Meta‐analytic techniques were used to determine which predictor domains and actuarial assessment instruments were the best predictors of adult offender recidivism. One hundred and thirty‐one studies produced 1,141 correlations with recidivism. The strongest predictor domains were criminogenic needs, criminal history/history of antisocial behavior, social achievement, age/gender/race, and family factors. Less robust predictors included intellectual functioning, personal distress factors, and socioeconomic status in the family of origin. Dynamic predictor domains performed at least as well as the static domains. The LSI‐R was identified as the most useful actuarial measure. Recommendations for developing sound assessment practices in corrections are provided.
SPECIFICATION PROBLEMS, POLICE LEVELS, AND CRIME RATES*
Authors: MARVELL THOMAS B. , MOODY CARLISLE E.
Published: March 2006

Research on the relationship between police and crime, like many criminological topics, is subject to uncertain causal direction and omitted controls. We recommend procedures that mitigate these problems: the Granger causality test, proxies for missing variables, robustness checks, and making data available to other researchers. Because specification problems are common in the social sciences, this strategy has applicability beyond the issue of police and crime. We analyze yearly police data and UCR crime rates, at the state and city levels, pooled over two decades. We find Granger causation in both directions. The impact of crime on the number of police is slight, but the impact of police on most crime types is substantial. The latter result is more robust at the city level.
IS AGE IMPORTANT? TESTING A GENERAL VERSUS A DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR*
Authors: BARTUSCH DAWN R. JEGLUM , LYNAM DONALD R. , MOFFITT TERRIE E. , SILVA PHIL A.
Published: March 2006

We tested competing hypotheses derived from Gottfredson and Hirschis (1990) general theory and Moffitt's (1993a) developmental theory of antisocial behavior. The developmental theory argues that different factors give rise to antisocial behavior at different points in the life course. In contrast, the general theory maintains that the factor underlying antisocial behavior (i.e., criminal propensity) is the same at all ages. To test these competing predictions, we used longitudinal data spanning from age 5 to age 18 for the male subjects in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Using reports from three sources (parents, teachers, and the boys themselves), we estimated second‐order confirmatory factor models of antisocial behavior. These models provided consistent support for the developmental theory, showing that separate latent factors underlie childhood and adolescent antisocial behavior. Moreover, we found that these childhood and adolescent factors related in ways predicted by Moffitt's developmental theory to four correlates of antisocial behavior: Childhood antisocial behavior was related more strongly than adolescent antisocial behavior to low verbal ability, by per activity, and negative/impulsive personality, whereas adolescent antisocial behavior was related more strongly than childhood antisocial behavior to peer delinquency. The two underlying latent factors also showed the predicted differential relations to later criminal convictions: Childhood antisocial behavior was significantly more strongly associated with convictions for violence, while adolescent antisocial behavior was significantly more strongly associated with convictions for nonviolent offenses.
RACIAL COMPOSITION OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND FEAR OF CRIME*
Authors: CHIRICOS TED , HOGAN MICHAEL , GERTZ MARC
Published: March 2006

A relationship between fear of crime and the racial composition of place has been widely assumed but seldom tested. Interviews conducted with a random sample of adults residing in a major state capital in the early months of 1994‐at the height of a media‐driven panic about violent crime‐are used to test the proposition that as the percentage of blacks in one's neighborhood increases, so too will the fear of crime. We use objective and perceptual measures of racial composition, and we examine the effects of racial composition and minority status on fear of crime for black and white respondents. We distinguish between perceived safety or risk of victimization and fear, with the former used as an intervening variable in path models of fear of crime. Results show that actual racial composition has no consequence for the fear of crime when other relevant factors are controlled. Perceived racial composition is significant for fear among whites, but not among African‐Americans. In particular, the perception that one is in the racial minority in one's neighborhood elevates fear among whites but not among blacks. All effects of perceived racial composition on fear are indirect and mediated by the perception of risk of crime.
THE FAMILIAL TRANSMISSION OF CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS*
Authors: ROWE DAVID C. , FARRINGTON DAVID P.
Published: March 2006

This article examines the familial transmission of criminal convictions in families in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Our main analyses focus on the 344 families in the Cambridge Study with two or more children. Criminal convictions were highly familial because convictions in a parent increased the risk of convictions in a child. Correlations between siblings were stronger in same‐sex siblings (.45 to .50) than in opposite‐sex ones (.27). Sibling correlations did not vary by birth order. Convictions of mothers and father correlated .55. Parent‐child correlations were about the same as within‐generation correlations between siblings. LISREL models were used to assess whether the effect of parental convictions on child convictions was direct or mediated through the quality of the family environment (i.e., supervision. child rearing, and family size). The best fitting LISREL models suggested a direct effect of parental convictions on child convictions, without any mediation by family environment. These data on fill biological siblings, however, did not permit separate estimation of family environmental versus genetic effects. One environmental effect appeared, however—a socialization effect among siblings; in families with three sons, there appeared to be mutual influence of one sibling on another. Also, regression models based on the boys suggested that family environmental variables did add to parental criminality.
A PROACTIVE RESPONSE TO FAMILY VIOLENCE: THE RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENT
Authors: DAVIS ROBERT C. , TAYLOR BRUCE G.
Published: March 2006

Recent British work has focused attention on preventing repeat victimization as part of an overall crime prevention strategy. Because domestic violence victims are among those most likely to suffer multiple victimizations, they are logical candidates for programs targeted at reducing repeat victimization.

This article reports on a joint law enforcement‐social services approach to reduce the incidence of repeat domestic violence. The research design randomly assigned households reporting domestic incidents within two public housing police service areas in New York to receive or not receive a follow‐up to the initial patrol response. (The follow‐up visit was conducted by a police officer and a social worker.) In addition, housing projects in the same area were randomly assigned to receive or not receive public education about domestic violence.

Neither treatment produced a reduction in violence. However, households in projects that had received public education and households that received the follow‐up visits were both more likely to report new violence to the police than households that did not receive the treatments. Moreover, the effect of the follow‐up visit was most pronounced among households with more serious histories of violence. The results suggest that the interventions increased citizens’ confidence in the ability of the police to handle domestic situations.
A TEST OF THE BLACK SUBCULTURE OF VIOLENCE THESIS: A RESEARCH NOTE*
Authors: CaO LIQUN , ADAMS ANTHONY , JENSEN VICKIE J.
Published: March 2006

We use data from the General Social Survey (1983 to 1991) to test Wolfgang and Ferracuti's hypothesis that violent values are widespread among African‐Americans. Contrary to the expectations of the black subculture of violence thesis, our analyses indicate that white males are significantly more likely than blacks to express violent tendencies in defensive situations and that there is no significant difference between white and black males in offensive situations, ceteris paribus. Thus, we have rejected, within the limitations of our data, the hypothesis that a unique subculture of violence exists among the general population of African‐Americans in the United States.
THE DECLINE OF ELITE HOMICIDE
Authors: COONEY MARK
Published: March 2006

Criminological research consistently shows that interpersonal homicide is largely confined to low‐status people. Yet, anthropological and historical materials reveal that in earlier and simpler societies homicide was found throughout the status hierarchy. Using theory developed by Donald Black, I argue that a critical factor in the decline of lethal conflict among social elites is the increased availability of legal means of handling conflict. An implication is that since a focus on modern societies and their developed legal systems yields a limited and even distorted empirical picture of lethal violence, criminologists should strive to formulate theories that are cross‐cultural and historical in scope.
ATTRIBUTIONS, AFFECT, AND CRIME: STREET YOUTHS' REACTIONS TO UNEMPLOYMENT*
Authors: BARON STEPHEN W. , HARTNAGEL TIMOTHY F.
Published: March 2006

This research examines the role familial, school, labor market, and street factors play in the criminality of 200 homeless male street youths. Of particular interest is the way these youths interpret their labor market experiences and how together these experiences and interpretations influence criminal behavior. Findings reveal that familial and school factors have minimal influence on current criminal behavior. Instead, criminal behavior is influenced by such immediate factors as homelessness, drug and alcohol use, and criminal peers who engage in illegal activities. Further, criminal behavior is influenced by a lack of income, job experiences, and perceptions of a blocked opportunity structure. While labor market conditions and reactions to those conditions have some effect on crime, the findings also suggest that lengthy unemployment, job experiences, and a lack of income work in tandem with anger and external attributions to increase street youths' criminal activities.
HOMICIDE FOLLOWED BY SUICIDE: AN ANALYSIS OF CHICAGO DATA
Authors: STACK STEVEN
Published: March 2006

Homicide followed by suicide has been a neglected area in criminological theory and research. The work that exists is marked by a series of methodological limitations, such as small samples and lack of systematic multivariate analysis. This study tests the thesis that the closer the ties between the offender and victim in a homicide, the greater the ensuing guilt and the greater the likelihood of suicide. Data on 16,245 homicides in Chicago are analyzed. A multivariate logistic regression analysis largely confirms the hypothesis. Controlling for sociodemographic variables, killing an ex‐spouse/lover increased the risk of suicide the most, 12.68 times. The odds of suicide are increased 10.28 times for killing a child, 8.00 times for killing a spouse, 6.11 times for killing a girlfriend or boyfriend, and 1.88 times for killing a friend. The act of homicide‐suicide is conceptualized as stemming from a frustrated intimate relationship and a blend of self‐ and other‐blame in one's attribution style.
DIFFERENTIAL POLICE TREATMENT OF MALE‐ON‐FEMALE SPOUSAL VIOLENCE*
Authors: Fyfe James J. , Klinger David A. , Flavin Jeanne M.
Published: March 2006

Recent studies of police response to violence in which men attack women with whom they have a history of shared intimacy have not addressed the issue that inspired research in the first place: the “leniency thesis” that police treat men who beat their spouses less punitively than other violent offenders. In addition, research examining the deterrent effects of various police treatments of misdemeanor domestic violence is not responsive to complaints that abused women are denied protection of law when they have been victims of serious, felony‐grade, abuse by their spouses. This research analyzes the response of the Chester, Pennsylvania, police to 392 consecutively reported felony‐grade assaults by persons whose identities were known to victims and police. Results confirm the leniency thesis. Tabular analysis demonstrates that arrests occurred in 13% of male‐on‐female spousal assaults and 28% of other assaults. Logit analysis indicates that this difference in police response is not attributable to other variables that might be expected to result in differential treatment. We conclude that the practices and results reported by research conducted in progressive police jurisdictions that volunteer to participate in studies of police response to violence against women may not be generalizable to the great majority of U.S. police agencies that have not welcomed such study.
VARIATION IN AFRICAN‐AMERICAN HOMICIDE RATES: AN ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS*
Authors: PHILLIPS JULIE A.
Published: March 2006

Using 1990 data for 222 metropolitan areas, this study extends the traditional variables examined in models of homicide and uses regression analysis to test the viability of three alternative theories that may explain high rates of African‐American homicide victimization. The first approach examines the extent to which weak forms of social control have contributed to high homicide rates. The second approach tests the notion that discrimination and inequality have increased levels of absolute and relative deprivation for blacks, which in turn engender frustration and contribute to higher levels of violence. The third approach posits that engagement in violent activity may be a rational act for young African‐American males faced with the reality of highly limited economic opportunities. While all three approaches contribute to explaining high African‐American homicide, this study shows the greatest support for the social control explanation.
SURVIVAL ANALYSIS AND SPECIFIC DETERRENCE: INTEGRATING THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL MODELS OF RECIDIVISM*
Authors: DEJONG CHRISTINA
Published: March 2006

This study uses survival analysis to test propositions from specific deterrence theory. It examines the effect of a custodial sentence on time until rearrest, generally and under various conditions. Results suggest that for those with few ties to conventional society and for first‐time arrestees, a sentence of incarceration increases the probability of rearrest. However, for arrestees with few ties and for experienced offenders, longer incarceration predicts longer time until rearrest.
LEVELS AND PREDICTORS OF RECIDIVISM: THE MALTA EXPERIENCE*
Authors: BAUMER ERIC
Published: March 2006

Research on recidivism has been confined primarily to a few highly industrialized Western nations (e.g., United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia) in which the data and resources needed for such research are readily available. The restriction of recidivism research to such a small number of nations begs the question: Do these results reflect patterns of offending and products of the criminal justice systems unique to these nations, or do they describe patterns of recidivism across a much wider range of social and cultural contexts? In this study I extend the scope of recidivism research by examining levels and patterns of recidivism in the Republic of Malta, a small Mediterranean island that differs considerably from the typical context in which recidivism is studied. Specifically, I examine the likelihood of recidivism among persons released from Malta's only prison between 1976 and 1994. In addition, I examine factors shown in previous research to be strong predictors of recidivism to assess their value as predictors of recidivism among Maltese prisoners. Proportional hazards regression models reveal that levels and predictors of recidivism in Malta approximate those observed in societies that are socially and culturally quite different. The findings suggest that the role of social institutions in reintegrating offenders into society may be more complex than commonly believed.
SOCIAL INTERACTION AND COMMUNITY CRIME: EXAMINING THE IMPORTANCE OF NEIGHBOR NETWORKS
Authors: BELLAIR PAUL E.
Published: March 2006

The social disorganization perspective assumes that social interaction among neighbors is a central element in the control of community crime. Moreover, social interaction among neighbors that occurs frequently, such as every day, is assumed to be most effective. This analysis tests that assumption by exploring the consequences of frequent and infrequent interaction. I construct 10 alternative measures of social interaction and separately examine the effect of each on the rates of three serious crimes across 60 urban neighborhoods. Findings suggest that type of interaction matters. Getting together once a year or more with neighbors has the most consistent and generally strongest effect on burglary, motor vehicle theft, and robbery. Further this form of interaction mediates a significant proportion of the effect of ecological characteristics on community crime. Implications for community crime research are discussed.
UP IT UP: GENDER AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF STREET ROBBERY*
Authors: MILLER JODY
Published: March 2006

Attempts to understand women's participation in violence have been plagued by a tendency either to overemphasize gender differences or to downplay the significance of gender. The goal of this research is to reconcile these approaches through an examination of the experiences of female and male street robbers in an urban setting. Based on in‐depth interviews with active offenders, the study compares women's and men's accounts of why they commit robbery, as well as how gender organizes the commission of the crime. The research suggests that while women and men articulate similar motives for robbery, their enactment of the crime is strikingly different—a reflection, in part, of practical choices women make in the context of a gender‐stratified street setting.
SOCIAL‐DEMOGRAPHIC ATTITUDES AND VIOLENCE*
Authors: MARKOWITZ FRED E. , FELSON RICHARD B.
Published: March 2006

In this study, we examine the relationships among social‐demographic characteristics, attitudes, and violence, drawing on cultural theories. Structural equation modeling techniques are employed to examine data from a representative sample of the general population and a sample of ex‐offenders. The findings indicate that age, gender, and SES are related to attitudes toward retribution and courage and to disputatiousness. Further, attitudes toward courage and retribution have significant effects on disputatiousness and violence, which explains a substantial portion of SES effects. The results suggest that lower‐class persons are more likely to engage in violence to a large extent because they are more punitive and place greater emphasis on showing courage in conflicts.
CROSS‐NATIONAL VARIATION IN HOMICIDES: IS RACE A FACTOR?
Authors: NEAPOLITAN JEROME L.
Published: March 2006

J. P. Rushton has done research indicating that predominantly black nations have higher rates of violent crime than predominantly white nations, which have higher rates than predominantly Asian nations. He attributes these differences to constitutional, inheritable factors on which the races vary. This article discusses the numerous problems with Rushton's use of international crime data and analysis, foremost of which are his use of one‐way analysis of variance and lack of consideration of other causes of variation. Regression analysis‐including dummy race variables and other relevant explanatory variables‐indicates no significant association between race and cross‐national homicide rates, the best and probably only valid indicator of cross‐national variation in violent crime. This is the case whether reanalyzing Rush‐ton's data or analyzing properly adjusted, inspected, and selected homicide rates.
LIFE‐COURSE TRANSITIONS AND DESISTANCE FROM CRIME*
Authors: WARR MARK
Published: March 2006

Sampson and Laub (1993) provided a major contribution to the study of criminal careers by linking criminal behavior to life‐course transitions, such as marriage, employment, and entry into the military. To interpret their findings, these investigators relied exclusively on control theory. In a sharp departure from that position, this study offers evidence that life‐course transitions affect criminal behavior by altering relations with delinquent peers. Focusing on marriage, the analysis shows that the transition to marriage is followed by a dramatic decline in time spent with friends as well as reduced exposure to delinquent peers, and that these factors largely explain the association between marital status and delinquent behavior. The findings suggest that changing patterns of peer relations over the life course are essential for understanding criminal life‐course trajectories.
A TEST OF LATENT TRAIT VERSUS LIFECOURSE PERSPECTIVES ON THE STABILITY OF ADOLESCENT ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR*
Authors: SIMONS RONALD L. , JOHNSON CHRISTINE , CONGER RAND D. , ELDER GLEN
Published: March 2006

Latent trait and life‐course theories provide contrasting interpretations of the well‐established finding that childhood antisocial behavior often precedes adolescent conduct problems and adult crime. Longitudinal data from 179 boys and their parents were used to test hypotheses derived from the two theoretical perspectives. The findings largely supported the life‐course view. Oppositional behavior during late childhood predicted reductions in quality of parenting and school commitment and increased affiliation with deviant peers. These changes, in turn, predicted conduct problems during early adolescence. Although there was a moderately strong bivariate correlation between childhood antisocial behavior and adolescent conduct problems, there was no longer an association between these constructs when the effects of parenting, school, and peers were taken into account. Further, there was evidence that improved parenting, increased school commitment, or reduced affiliation with deviant peers lowered the probability that boys who were oppositional during childhood would graduate to delinquency and drug use during adolescence. Together, these findings suggest that the correlation between childhood and adolescent deviant behavior reflects a developmental process rather than a latent antisocial trait.
DOES PRESCHOOL HELP PREVENT DELINQUENCY IN BOYS WITH A HISTORY OF PERINATAL COMPLICATIONS?*
Authors: PAGANI LINDA , TREMBLAY RICHARD E. , VITARO FRANK , PARENT SOPHIE
Published: March 2006

We examined whether a preschool intervention program moderates the effects of perinatal complications with a sample of boys from the most disadvantaged areas of Montreal (Canada). Some boys experienced the preschool program and some did not, which allowed us to test whether the program had any effects on the boys' risk for early adolescent delinquency given their perinatal histories. We hypothesized that perinatal complications would place boys at significantly greater risk for antisocial behavior during early adolescence and that participation in a preventive preschool program might circumvent this risk. Independent of maternal sociodemographic characteristics, boys with a history of perinatal complications showed no greater risk of reporting delinquency during early adolescence than their same‐sex peers without a history of perinatal complications. Surprisingly, the program showed a beneficial effect on boys with no history of serious perinatal complications. Such boys were less at risk for delinquency. In the presence of a serious medical condition after birth, the benefits of the program decreased significantly to the point that it placed the boys at risk.
THE DYNAMICS OF DELINQUENT PEERS AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR*
Authors: MATSUEDA ROSS L. , ANDERSON KATHLEEN
Published: March 2006

This analysis examines the dynamic reciprocal relationship between delinquent peer associations and delinquent behavior. It tests the hypothesis, derived from learning and interactional theories, that delinquent peers and delinquent behavior are reciprocally related—delinquent peer associations foster future delinquency, and delinquency increases the likelihood of associating with delinquent peers. It also tests the competing hypothesis, derived from control theories, that delinquent peers do not cause delinquency, but instead, the relationship is (1) spurious due to individual criminal propensity, (2) a result of the effects of delinquent behavior on future associations with delinquent peers, or (3) an artifact of problems of measuring delinquent peers. To test these propositions, we use data from the National Youth Survey and estimate a cross‐lagged panel model that corrects for measurement error in indicators of delinquent peers and delinquent behavior. The model species a covariance structure model for ordinal measures. Parameters are estimated by (1) estimating a threshold model relating ordinal measures to continuous latent variables; (2) estimating a matrix of polychoric correlations relating observed variables, and (3) using an asymptotic distribution‐free estimator to estimate structural parameters. The results suggest that delinquent peer associations and delinquent behavior are reciprocally related, but the effect of delinquency on peer associations is larger than that of peer associations on delinquency.
SUBTERRANEAN SOURCES OF SUBCULTURAL DELINQUENCY BEYOND THE AMERICAN DREAM*
Authors: HAGAN JOHN , HEFLER GERD , CLASSEN GABRIELE , BOEHNKE KLAUS , MERKENS HANS
Published: March 2006

Are subcultural forms of crime and delinquency wholesale rejections or distorted reflections of core values of market‐oriented societies? Current evidence casts doubt on the former position, while contemporary theory suggests the possibility that a culture of competition encourages hierarchic forms of self‐interest, leading to the acceptance of inequality and anomic amorality and, ultimately, to group‐related delinquency. Oddly, the effects of this culture of competition and hierarchic self‐interest have not previously been documented empirically in sociological or criminological research, even though this step is fundamental and crucial to the argument that subcultural crime and delinquency derive from market‐driven values. We analyze data from four sites in East and West Germany to identify the strands of a subterranean causal web that link core values of market society to subcultural delinquency.
POLICE SUBCULTURE RECONSIDERED
Authors: HERBERT STEVE
Published: March 2006

Most comprehensive discussions of the police acknowledge the inability of legal and bureaucratic regulations to determine officer behavior. Attention is turned instead toward the informal norms developed within the police subculture. These discussions, however, tend to overstress the chasm between the formal and informal. They also provide inadequate tools for understanding differentiation, conflict, and change within police departments. I address these shortcomings here by mobilizing a particular conceptualization of the term “normative order”—as a set of rules and practices oriented around a central value. Six such orders are crucial to policing: law, bureaucratic control, adventure/machismo, safety, competence, and morality. I illustrate the importance of each by drawing upon ethnographic observations of the Los Angeles Police Department, and explain how my conceputalization offers a comprehensive yet flexible means to understand the social world of policing.
CONTROLLING DRUG AND DISORDER PROBLEMS: THE ROLE OF PLACE MANAGERS*
Authors: MAZEROLLE LORRAINE GREEN , KADLECK COLLEEN , ROEHL JAN
Published: March 2006

This article explores the role of place managers in controlling drug and disorder problems on 100 street blocks in Oakland, California. We use self‐reports from a sample of place managers to explore their role in changing the social and physical conditions of street‐block activity within the context of a randomized field trial in Oakland. On‐site observations of the changes in the social and physical conditions of 100 street blocks were conducted and used as our outcome measures. Our results suggest that street blocks where place managers engaged in collective crime control activities had significantly fewer signs of disorder and greater levels of civil behavior. Our results also show that community cohesiveness on a street block was associated with fewer males selling drugs
DISENTANGLING THE EFFECTS OF GENDER AND INTIMACY ON VICTIM PRECIPITATION IN HOMICIDE*
Authors: FELSON RICHARD B. , MESSNER STEVEN F.
Published: March 2006

Research indicates that incidents in which women kill their husbands are more likely to involve victim precipitation than incidents in which men kill their wives. Formulating a causal interpretation of this finding, however, is complicated because the observed pattern may reflect gender differences in violence rather than any special dynamics between husbands and wives. In this research, we introduce and illustrate a framework for disentangling the effects of intimacy and gender on violence. We examine the additive and multiplicative effects of the gender of the offender, the gender of the victim, and the relationship between the offender and victim on victim precipitation. For the most part, the pattern of victim precipitation in homicide reflects the fact that males tend to be more violent than females. However, we find some evidence of special dynamics for intimate partner homicides: Men who are killed by their partners tend to have more violent records than men who are killed in other circumstances.
INCARCERATION, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND CRIME: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY*
Authors: ROSE DINA R. , CLEAR TODD R.
Published: March 2006

This study is a theoretical exploration of the impact of public social control on the functioning of local social controls. Set within the framework of social disorganization and systemic theory, the study argues that an overreliance on incarceration as a formal control may hinder the ability of some communities to foster other forms of control because they weaken family and community structures. At the ecological level, the side effects of policies intended to fight crime by controlling individual behavior may exacerbate the problems they are intended to address. Thus, these communities may experience more, not less, social disorganization.
THE IMPACT OF OUT‐OF‐STATE PRISON POPULATION ON STATE HOMICIDE RATES: DISPLACEMENT AND FREE‐RIDER EFFECTS*
Authors: MARVELL THOMAS B. , MOODY CARLISLE E.
Published: March 2006

Past studies of the impact of prison population on homicide rates have produced widely divergent results. Those using state‐level data find small impacts, but those using national data find very large ones. We use displacement/free‐rider theory to explore the difference between these results. Displacement, in the current context, refers to a criminal's movement away from states with higher imprisonment rates. Free riding occurs when a state benefits from criminals being incarcerated in other states. If the displacement effect holds, a state's prison population has a stronger impact on crime within the state than would be accomplished by deterrence and incapacitation alone. If the free‐rider effect holds, higher prison populations outside the state reduce homicide in the state because criminals are incapacitated elsewhere. Using vital statistics data for 1929 to 1992, we conduct separate homicide regressions for each state using both in‐state and out‐of‐state prison population as independent variables. We find that the out‐of‐state variable has a much larger (negative) association with homicide, indicating substantial free riding. We also find evidence of a small displacement impact.
THE STRUCTURAL SIMILARITY OF PROCESSES GENERATING CRIMINAL AND ANALOGOUS BEHAVIORS*
Authors: PATERNOSTER RAYMOND , BRAME ROBERT
Published: March 2006

It is possible to distinguish between broad‐domain theories that offer an explanation for all phenomena of interest to a discipline and narrow‐domain theories that attempt to explain a subset of those phenomena. In criminology, this distinction has prompted theorists and researchers to confront the question of whether the same etiological process can explain variation in all types of criminal offending behavior or whether it will be necessary to adopt different theories to explain variation in different kinds of criminal behavior. One broad‐domain theory, advanced by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), contends that a variable called “self‐control” can account for variation in all kinds of criminal conduct as well as variation in many acts that are “analogous” to crime in some ways but are not actually criminal. Analogous behaviors include, among other things, smoking, drinking, involvement in accidents, gambling, and loitering. Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (N = 369 males), we attempt to define operationally the concept of self‐control with a set of variables measured at ages 8–9. We then examine the empirical association between this self‐control measure and self‐reported involvement in a variety of criminal and analogous acts during adolescence. In support of Gottfredson and Hirschi's position, our results indicate that self‐control is associated with both outcomes and that the strength of the association is approximately equal. Contrary to the expectations of their theory, however, was our finding that the covariance between criminal and analogous behaviors could not be explained entirely by variations in self‐control. This finding suggests that factors other than time‐stable differences in criminal propensity do matter for criminal and legal, but, risky behaviors.
CRIME IN THE IVORY TOWER: THE LEVEL AND SOURCES OF STUDENT VICTIMIZATION*
Authors: FISHER BONNIE S. , SLOAN JOHN J. , CULLEN FRANCIS T. , LU CHUNMENG
Published: March 2006

Contrary to the image of college campuses as “ivory towers,” the victimization of college students recently has been portrayed as a serious problem deserving policy intervention. Based on interviews designed after the National Crime Victimization Survey, which were conducted with 3,472 randomly selected students across 12 institutions, we examined both the level and sources of students'victimization. More than one‐third of the sample reported being victims during the 1993–94 academic year. Informed by the lifestyle‐routine activities approach, the analysis revealed that the risk of property victimization was increased by proximity to crime, target attractiveness, exposure, and lack of guardianship. The main predictor of violent victimization was a lifestyle that included high levels of partying on campus at night and the recreational use of drugs.
A MULTISITE EXAMINATION OF YOUTH GANG MEMBERSHIP: DOES GENDER MATTER?*
Authors: ESBENSEN FINN‐AAGE , DESCHENES ELIZABETH PIPER
Published: March 2006

The nature and extent of female involvement in gangs has been a relatively neglected area of criminological inquiry. Even more rare have been investigations of explanations of female gang participation. This neglect can be attributed, in large part, to a perception that the phenomenon is statistically rare and the behavior substantively unimportant. Our objectives in this research are twofold: to describe gang membership in a general survey of eighth‐grade students in a cross section of the United States and to examine differences between boys' and girls' attitudes associated with gang membership
DELINQUENCY, IDENTITY, AND WOMEN'S INVOLVEMENT IN RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE*
Authors: GIORDANO PEGGY C. , MILLHOLLIN TONI J. , CERNKOVICH STEPHEN A. , PUGH M. D. , RUDOLPH JENNIFER L.
Published: March 2006

This study focuses on factors associated with women's self‐reports of relationship violence “perpetration.” We analyzed data derived from personal interviews with 942 respondents who were originally contacted when they were adolescents and then 10 years later as young adults (N=721). Level of delinquency in adolescence was a signicant predictor of adult reports of involvement in relationship violence, for both male and female respondents. In addition, women's scores on the Conflict Tactics scale were related to adolescent and adult identities‐higher scores were found among women who reported that they had been viewed as troublemakers as adolescents and who endorsed statements indexing an angry self‐concept in adulthood. Although male perpetration represents a much more serious social and public health problem, these data do suggest that there may be a social learning basis for female as well as male expressions of violence.
LOW SELF‐CONTROL AND OPPORTUNITY: TESTING THE GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME AS AN EXPLANATION FOR GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DELINQUENCY*
Authors: LAGRANGE TERESA C. , SILVERMAN ROBERT A.
Published: March 2006

This research tests Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime as an explanation for gender differences in the delinquency of approximately 2,000 Canadian secondary school students. Separate psychological factors, including a preference for risk seeking, impulsivity, temper, present oriented, and carelessness, are used as measures of self‐control, and additional measures of the construct are taken from the frequency of self‐reported smoking and drinking. Elements of delinquent opportunity are controlled for by including measures of parental/adult super‐vision. These measures and their interactions are used to predict self‐reported general delinquency, property offenses, violence, and drug offenses. Results provide partial support for the general theory, revealing relationships between measures of self‐control and delinquency that vary by magnitude across genders and for different offense types. Implications for the generality of the theory are discussed.
SCHOOL DISORDER: THE INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND COMMUNITY FACTORS*
Authors: WELSH WAYNE N. , GREENE JACK R. , JENKINS PATRICIA H.
Published: March 2006

Drawing upon control theory, school climate theory, and social disorganization theory, this study examined the relative influence of individual, institutional, and community factors on misconduct in Philadelphia middle schools. Using U.S. census data, school district data, police department data, and school climate survey data obtained from the administration of the Effective School Battery to 7, 583 students in 11 middle schools, we examined the following predictors of student misconduct: community poverty and residential stability; community crime; school size; student perceptions of school climate (school attachment); and individual student characteristics (e.g., age, race, sex, school involvement and effort, belief in rules, positive peer associations). “Community” was conceptualized in two ways: “local” (the census tract around the school), and “imported” (aggregated measures from the census tracts where students actually lived). We used hierarchical linear modeling techniques (HLM) to examine between‐ and within‐school factors. Individual‐level factors accounted for 16% of the explained variance; school and community‐level factors (both local and imported) added only small increments (an additional 4.1–4.5%). We conclude that simplistic assumptions that “bad” communities typically produce “bad” children or “bad” schools are unwarranted.