Criminology 48(2)

SILENCE AND MEMORY IN CRIMINOLOGY—THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY 2009 SUTHERLAND ADDRESS
NICOLE RAFTER

Two recent American Society of Criminology presidential addresses have identified as a key problem the fact that criminology lacks a history. In this address, I ask why criminology (in contrast to closely related fields) has generated so few studies of its past; I also identify some results of this failure and discuss why intellectual fields need a sense of their origins and development. History molds individual and collective identities; it lays a foundation for sociologies of knowledge; it encourages reflexivity, teaches us where our ideas came from, and gives us a sense of where we are going. To encourage historical work, I propose an overall framework for understanding the evolution of criminology, reaching back to the late eighteenth century and continuing into the present. My overall framework is that of scientific modernism, within which I identify the following three primary phases: exploratory modernism, confident modernism, and agonistic modernism. In conclusion, I suggest ways to stimulate histories of science in the field of criminology.

USING RANDOM JUDGE ASSIGNMENTS TO ESTIMATE THE EFFECTS OF INCARCERATION AND PROBATION ON RECIDIVISM AMONG DRUG OFFENDERS
DONALD P. GREEN, DANIEL WINIK

Most prior studies of recidivism have used observational data to estimate the causal effect of imprisonment or probation on the probability that a convicted individual is rearrested after release. Few studies have taken advantage of the fact that, in some jurisdictions, defendants are assigned randomly to judges who vary in sentencing tendencies. This study investigates whether defendants who are assigned randomly to more punitive judges have different recidivism probabilities than defendants who are assigned to relatively lenient judges. We track 1,003 defendants charged with drug-related offenses who were assigned randomly to nine judicial calendars between June 1, 2002 and May 9, 2003. Judges on these calendars meted out sentences that varied substantially in terms of prison and probation time. We tracked defendants using court records across a 4-year period after the disposition of their cases to determine whether they subsequently were rearrested. Our results indicate that randomly assigned variations in prison and probation time have no detectable effect on rates of rearrest. The findings suggest that, at least among those facing drug-related charges, incarceration and supervision seem not to deter subsequent criminal behavior.

A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY TO CRIME: EFFECTS OF RESIDENTIAL HISTORY ON CRIME LOCATION CHOICE
WIM BERNASCO

Many offenses take place close to where the offender lives. Anecdotal evidence suggests that offenders also might commit crimes near their former homes. Building on crime pattern theory and combining information from police records and other sources, this study confirms that offenders who commit robberies, residential burglaries, thefts from vehicles, and assaults are more likely to target their current and former residential areas than similar areas they never lived in. In support of the argument that spatial awareness mediates the effects of past and current residence, it also is shown that areas of past and present residence are more likely to be targeted if the offender lived in the area for a long time instead of briefly and if the offender has moved away from the area only recently rather than a long time ago. The theoretical implications of these findings and their use for investigative purposes are discussed, and suggestions for future inquiry are made.

DETERRENCE AND DETERRABILITY
BRUCE A. JACOBS

The first forays into Western criminological theory came in the language of deterrence (Beccaria, 1963 [1764]). The paradigm itself is simple and straightforward, offering an explanation for crime that doubles as a solution (Pratt et al., 2006). Crime occurs when the expected rewards outweigh the anticipated risks, so increasing the risks, at least theoretically, will prevent most crimes in most circumstances. If deterrence describes the perceptual process by which would-be offenders calculate risks and rewards prior to offending, then deterrability refers to the offender's capacity and/or willingness to perform this calculation. The distinction between deterrence and deterrability is critical to understanding criminality from a utilitarian perspective. However, by attempting to answer "big picture" questions about the likelihood of offending relative to sanction threats, precious little scholarship has attended to the situated meaning of deterrability. This article draws attention to this lacuna in hopes of sensitizing criminology to an area of inquiry that, at present, remains only loosely developed.

UNSTRUCTURED SOCIALIZING, COLLECTIVE EFFICACY, AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AMONG URBAN YOUTH
DAVID MAIMON, CHRISTOPHER R. BROWNING

Relying on extensions of routine activities and social disorganization theories, we examine whether 1) neighborhood social characteristics shape opportunities for the development of unstructured socializing with peers among adolescents, 2) whether unstructured socializing leads to an increase in violent behavior within urban communities, and 3) whether neighborhood collective efficacy modifies the impact of unstructured socializing on violence. The study outlined in this article uses three waves of data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Community Survey and Longitudinal Cohort Study. Results from multilevel linear models suggest that neighborhood collective efficacy supports the development of unstructured socializing with peers. Multilevel Rasch models of violent behavior indicate that, consistent with previous research, unstructured socializing is a powerful predictor of violence. Collective efficacy exerts an independent influence on violent behavior and attenuates the effect of unstructured socializing on this outcome.

RESIDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CRIME AND DISORDER: HOW MUCH IS "BIAS", AND HOW MUCH IS SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT DIFFERENCES?
JOHN R. HIPP

This study attempted to disentangle the extent to which residents are systematically biased when reporting on the level of crime or disorder in their neighborhood. By using a unique sample of households nested in household clusters, this study teased out the degree of systematic bias on the part of respondents when perceiving crime and disorder. The findings are generally consistent with theoretical expectations of which types of residents will perceive more crime or disorder and contrast with the generally mixed results of prior studies that used an inappropriate aggregate unit when assuming that residents live in the same social context of crime or disorder. Estimating ancillary models on a sample of respondents nested in tracts produced mixed results that mirror the existing literature. This article shows that Whites consistently perceive more crime or disorder than their neighbors. It also shows that females, those with children, and those with longer residence in the neighborhood perceive more crime or disorder than their neighbors.

POVERTY, INFANT MORTALITY, AND HOMICIDE RATES IN CROSS-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ASSESSMENTS OF CRITERION AND CONSTRUCT VALIDITY
STEVEN F. MESSNER, LAWRENCE E. RAFFALOVICH, GRETCHEN M. SUTTON

This article assesses the extent to which the infant mortality rate might be treated as a "proxy" for poverty in research on cross-national variation in homicide rates. We have assembled a pooled, cross-sectional time-series data set for 16 advanced nations from the 1993–2000 period that includes standard measures of infant mortality and homicide and contains information on the following commonly used "income-based" poverty measures: a measure intended to reflect "absolute" deprivation and a measure intended to reflect "relative" deprivation. With these data, we assess the criterion validity of the infant mortality rate with reference to the two income-based poverty measures. Also, we estimate the effects of the various indicators of disadvantage on homicide rates in regression models, thereby assessing construct validity. The results reveal that the infant mortality rate is correlated more strongly with "relative poverty" than with "absolute poverty," although much unexplained variance remains. In the regression models shown here, the measure of infant mortality and the relative poverty measure yield significant positive effects on homicide rates, whereas the absolute poverty measure does not exhibit any significant effects. The results of our analyses suggest that it would be premature to dismiss relative deprivation in cross-national research on homicide, and that disadvantage is conceptualized and measured best as a multidimensional construct.

JUDGES' UNEQUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXTRALEGAL DISPARITIES IN IMPRISONMENT
JOHN WOOLDREDGE

How do judges in the same court system contribute differentially to extralegal disparities in sentencing? Analyses of felony sentencing in an urban Ohio trial court uncovered two distinct but equal-sized groups of judges that differed in the magnitude of extralegal correlates to imprisonment. Within the group of judges reflecting substantive extralegal correlates to prison sentences, demographic correlates (based on defendants' race, sex, age, and the interaction between them) were more pervasive across judges relative to social demographic correlates (based on education, residence length, and means of financial support). The directions of significant relationships involving a defendant's race, age, and means of support also were inconsistent across judges. These interjudge differences suggest that analyses of cases pooled across judges at either the jurisdiction or the state level might over- or understate the relevance of particular attribution theories of sentencing disparities.

RACE, CODE OF THE STREET, AND VIOLENT DELINQUENCY: A MULTILEVEL INVESTIGATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD STREET CULTURE AND INDIVIDUAL NORMS OF VIOLENCE
ERIC A. STEWART, RONALD L. SIMONS

The study outlined in this article drew on Elijah Anderson's (1999) code of the street perspective to examine the impact of neighborhood street culture on violent delinquency. Using data from more than 700 African American adolescents, we examined 1) whether neighborhood street culture predicts adolescent violence above and beyond an adolescent's own street code values and 2) whether neighborhood street culture moderates individual-level street code values on adolescent violence. Consistent with Anderson's hypotheses, neighborhood street culture significantly predicts violent delinquency independent of individual-level street code effects. Additionally, neighborhood street culture moderates individual-level street code values on violence in neighborhoods where the street culture is widespread. In particular, the effect of street code values on violence is enhanced in neighborhoods where the street culture is endorsed widely.

PARTICIPATION AND FREQUENCY DURING CRIMINAL CAREERS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
HANNO PETRAS, PAUL NIEUWBEERTA, ALEX R. PIQUERO

Recent advances and debates surrounding general and developmental as well as static and dynamic theories of crime can be traced to the 1986 National Academy of Science's Report on criminal careers and the discussion it generated. A key point of contention has been regarding the interpretation of the age–crime curve. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi (1986), the decline in the age–crime curve in early adulthood reflects decreasing individual offending frequency (?) after the peak. Blumstein et al. (1986) claimed that the decline in the aggregate age–crime curve also could be attributable to the termination of criminal careers, and the average value of l could stay constant (or increase with age) for those offenders who remain active after that peak. Using data from the Criminal Career and Life Course Study—including information on criminal convictions across 60 years of almost 5,000 persons convicted in the Netherlands—and applying a two-part growth model that explicitly distinguishes between participation and frequency, the study outlined in this article assessed the participation–frequency debate. Results suggest that the decline in the age–crime curve in early adulthood reflects both decreasing individual offending participation and frequency after the peak, that the probabilities of participation and frequency are significantly related at the individual level, and that sex and marriage influence both participation and frequency.

Criminology, May 2010: Volume 48, Issue 2

Social Forces 88(3)

Varieties of Sociological Experience

“If I had lots of money… I’d have a body makeover:”: Managing the Aging Body
Kathleen F. Slevin

This article uses a feminist framework to explore embodied aging by analyzing indepth formal interviews with 57 men and women in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Emphasizing intersectionality, I focus on the interpretations and strategies these men and women use to make sense of their aging bodies. Their aging corporeal experiences allow me to examine ageist notions about aging and being old and to explore how this thinking, which valorizes youthfulness, shapes their aging experiences.

Behavior, Expectations and Status
Murray Webster Jr., Lisa Slattery Rashotte

We predict effects of behavior patterns and status on performance expectations and group inequality using an integrated theory developed by Fisek, Berger and Norman (1991). We next test those predictions using new experimental techniques we developed to control behavior patterns as independent variables. In a 10-condition experiment, predictions accounted for about 72 percent of variance in the data, with closer fit for women than for men. The gender difference may be related to features of the experiment, especially to the experimental design that counters cultural gender prescriptions in some conditions. We suggest ways to improve the experiment by more precisely separating behavior from inferred performance competence in later research. Applications include using behavior to reduce undesirable effects of status generalization.

Innovation and Selection: Symphony Orchestras and the Construction of the Musical Canon in the United States (1879–1959)
Pierre-Antoine Kremp

This article analyzes the determinants of innovation and success of innovation in the field of U.S. symphony orchestras from 1879 through 1959: why did major orchestras (N = 27) innovate by introducing works of new composers to the repertoire instead of sticking to canonical pieces? Can organizational processes account for the selection and the popularization of new composers in the repertoire? By integrating field theory and organizational theory, this analysis shows that orchestra and musical director consecration and local elite cohesiveness favored innovative programming. Composers introduced by consecrated actors and entering the repertoire at a time of low competition with established composers and high field-level innovation were more likely to survive in the repertoire and have their works performed frequently. These effects became magnified throughout composers’ careers.

Declining Dixie: Regional Identification in the Modern American South
Christopher A. Cooper, H. Gibbs Knotts

We replicate and extend John Shelton Reed’s classic work on regional identification by examining and modeling the prevalence of the words “Dixie” and “Southern” in business names across 100 cities and four decades. We find that the instances of “Dixie” have dropped precipitously, although identification with the word “Southern” has remained more constant, providing evidence of a trend we term re-southernization. We also find that the relative number of blacks in the population provides the most consistent explanation of regional identity. Population density has also emerged as a significant predictor of regional identification in more recent time periods. These findings contribute to the literature on regional identification, the politics of naming and the sociology of the South.

Unpacking the Unspoken: Silence in Collective Memory and Forgetting
Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi, Chana Teeger

Collective memory quite naturally brings to mind notions of mnemonic speech and representation. In this article, however, we propose that collective silences be thought of as a rich and promising arena through which to understand how groups deal with their collective pasts. In so doing, we explore two types of silence: overt silence and covert silence, and suggest that each may be used to enhance either memory or forgetting. We illustrate our conceptual scheme using data on the commemoration of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Global Development & Cultural Change

World-System Mobility and Economic Growth, 1980–2000
Rob Clark

World-system scholars have traditionally emphasized the stability of the core/periphery hierarchy. However, prior network studies employing both categorical and continuous measures of world-system position reveal substantial mobility across time, whereby a number of developing states have become more integrated in the world economy over the past several decades. The developmental impact generated by such mobility remains unexplored. Using data on all commodities in the world trade network, I examine the presence and economic impact of world-system mobility across 110 states during the 1980–2000 period. First, I show that the continued upward mobility of “middle-tier” states from East Asia and the semiperiphery no longer contributes to the long-term trend of trade convergence, but began producing divergence during the final decades of the 20th century. Second, using difference models that control for lagged values, I find that world-system mobility positively affects economic growth, net of initial world-system position, capital and labor inputs, and other regional and economic characteristics. In fact, the magnitude of mobility’s effect is substantially larger than that of initial world-system position and second only to initial human capital. These findings support a range of perspectives that are collectively useful for understanding the rapid economic growth of emerging states.

Globalization and Industrialization in 64 Developing Countries, 1980–2003
Yunus Kaya

This study investigates the effect of the latest wave of economic globalization on manufacturing employment in developing countries. It revisits the classic debate on the effect of internal and external influences on industrialization, and extends this debate to contemporary developing countries. In the process, it assesses the evidence for development/productivity, world systems/dependency and globalization explanations, and uses a comprehensive dataset on 64 developing countries from 1980 through 2003. The results generally show that manufacturing employment increased in most developing countries. First, this study finds that the level of economic development measured by gross domestic product per capita is the most important factor influencing the size of manufacturing employment. Second, economic globalization also influences manufacturing employment in developing countries, but mainly through trade. The size of exports and low-technology exports have a significant positive effect on manufacturing employment in developing countries. Finally, the analysis provides limited support for world systems/dependency theories. Raw materials exports do not significantly influence manufacturing employment while foreign direct investment has a negative impact in some models. This study concludes that the latest wave of economic globalization contributed to the expansion of manufacturing employment in developing countries, although it is not the most significant factor shaping the size of manufacturing employment in these countries.

For Export Only: Diffusion Professionals and Population Policy
Deborah Barrett, Charles Kurzman, Suzanne Shanahan

Export-only diffusion occurs when innovators do not adopt an innovation themselves, but rather promote it to others for adoption. Potential adopters do not take their cues from early adopters, but rather from diffusion professionals who make it their job to spread a practice or institution. The global spread of national-level, population-control policies during the Cold War is one such instance: developed and promoted by wealthy countries that did not themselves adopt such policies, they came to be widespread among poorer countries, thanks in large part to the mobilization of diffusion professionals. This article offers an analytical account of this diffusion, as well as an event-history analysis of 163 countries over the period 1950–1990 demonstrating the importance of linkages between policy adopters and the non-adopting institutions of diffusion professionals.

Anomie & Corruption

Social Change and Anomie: A Cross-National Study
Ruohui Zhao, Liqun Cao

We apply Durkheim’s social transitional theory to explain the variation of anomie in 30 nations in the world. Combining data from two sources – the 1995 World Values Survey and the United Nations University’s World Income Inequality Database or WIID – we test the hypothesis that rapid sociopolitical change at the structural level disrupts social integration and regulation, and increases the level of anomie among individuals in a society. Using the multilevel approach that permits the decomposition of variance within and between nations, the results of the analyses confirm that rapid sociopolitical change at the macro level, such as the political transition from totalitarianism to democracy, produces a higher level of anomie among individuals in a society. In addition, we find a cross-level effect of confidence in authority on anomie. Findings at the individual level are largely consistent with Merton’s theory of anomie and with the extant literature that anomie is inversely related to an individual’s social and economic position in a society.

Incubating Innovation or Cultivating Corruption?: The Developmental State and the Life Sciences in Asia
Cheol-Sung Lee, Andrew Schrank

A substantial body of literature purports to document the growth of scientific misconduct in Northeast Asia. This article traces the apparent growth of research fraud and falsification to two distinct features of the national innovation systems common to the region: liberal research regimes adopted by developmental states and marked by freedom from government oversight, and illiberal laboratory cultures imported from Germany and marked by all-powerful lab directors and their vulnerable underlings. Based on comparative, qualitative case studies of pioneering countries in bio-medical research, as well as cross-national quantitative analyses of the permissiveness of national stem-cell research policies, we argue that Asia’s scientific pathologies are the products of two institutional factors: funding and freedom offered to scientists by developmental states, and the lack of informal control prevalent in the German model of higher education. We conclude that, while Northeast Asian officials offer their biomedical researchers funding and freedom to take advantage of opportunities that rarely exist in the West, their scientists stifle open debate and criticism, and thereby hinder the growth of informal as well as formal control mechanisms that are critical for deterring and detecting scientific fraud.

Why Do People Engage in Corruption?: The Case of Estonia
Margit Tavits

This study uses survey data for 2004 on the general public (N = 788) and public officials (N = 791) in the young post-communist democracy of Estonia to examine individual-level determinants of corruption. The results indicate that both public officials and citizens are more likely to engage in corruption when they do not define corruption as wrong, and when they perceive that corrupt behavior is widespread among their peers. This social learning effect becomes statistically insignificant for those citizens who are extorted. The results provide no support for the most common argument on corruption and compliance–that people are more likely to engage in corruption when they are distrustful of their fellow citizens or of government.

Three From Sweden

Social Insurance as a Collective Resource: Unemployment Benefits, Job Insecurity and Subjective Well-being in a Comparative Perspective
Ola Sjöberg

This article argues that unemployment benefits are providing a crucial but often overlooked function by reducing the insecurity associated with modern labor markets. Because job insecurity is associated with concerns about future financial security, economic support during unemployment may lessen the negative effects of job insecurity on employed individuals’ well-being. Using data from the European Social Survey, this article shows that the generosity of unemployment benefits makes a difference to the subjective well-being of employed individuals, especially those with limited economic resources and an insecure position in the labor market. These results indicate that unemployment benefits may be viewed as a collective resource with important external benefits, i.e., benefits to society over and above those to the unemployed who directly utilize such benefits.

Ethnic Environment During Childhood and the Educational Attainment of Immigrant Children in Sweden
Magnus Bygren, Ryszard Szulkin

We ask whether ethnic residential segregation influences the future educational careers of children of immigrants in Sweden. We use a dataset comprising a cohort of children who finished compulsory school in 1995 (n = 6,560). We follow these children retrospectively to 1990 to measure neighborhood characteristics during late childhood, and prospectively through 2003 to measure the number of years of education attained thus far. The largest immigrant groups came from Finland, Turkey, former Yugoslavia, Iran and Chile. Our empirical analysis reveals that immigrant children who grow up in neighborhoods with many young coethnics who have limited educational resources, obtain relatively low average grades from compulsory school, and on average, do not attain the same levels of education as do immigrant children who grow up elsewhere. For a minority of immigrant children who lived in neighborhoods with educationally successful young coethnics, we find a positive effect of growing up in an ethnic enclave. Also in this case, the effect of the ethnic environment on future educational attainment is mediated by school results in compulsory school.

Neighborhood Social Influence and Welfare Receipt in Sweden: A Panel Data Analysis
Carina Mood

This article places the choice to claim welfare benefits in a social context by studying how neighborhood welfare receipt affects welfare receipt among couples in Stockholm, Sweden. It is expected that the propensity to claim welfare should increase with welfare use in the neighborhood, primarily through stigma reduction and increasing availability of information. I use individual-level panel data (N = 1,595,843) for the Stockholm County population during the 1990s, data that contain a wide range of information and allow extensive controls for observed and unobserved confounding factors. The results from pooled and fixed-effects logistic regressions suggest that welfare receipt among people in the same neighborhood substantially increases the number of households entering the welfare system (inflow), but the effects on outflow are negligible.

Social Processes in Spatial Contexts

Gun Cultures or Honor Cultures?: Explaining Regional and Race Differences in Weapon Carrying
Richard B. Felson, Paul-Philippe Pare

We use the National Violence against Women (and Men) Survey to examine the effects of region and race on the tendency to carry weapons for protection. We find that Southern and Western whites are much more likely than Northern whites to carry guns for self-protection, controlling for their risk of victimization. The difference between Southern and Northern whites is particularly strong for women. We do not find much evidence for regional/race differences in carrying knives or mace. These findings provide support for the idea that regional differences in weapon carrying reflect a gun culture rather than an honor culture. We see more evidence of an honor culture among blacks: they are more likely than whites to carry knives as well as guns, controlling for their risk of victimization.

The Effect of Minimum Wage Rates on High School Completion
John Robert Warren, Caitlin Hamrock

Does increasing the minimum wage reduce the high school completion rate? Previous research has suffered from (1. narrow time horizons, (2. potentially inadequate measures of states’ high school completion rates, and (3. potentially inadequate measures of minimum wage rates. Overcoming each of these limitations, we analyze the impact of changes in state and federal minimum wage rates on state high school completion rates for the graduating classes of 1982 through 2005. Our state-level analyses, which consist of a series of state and year fixed-effects models with controls for state-year time-varying covariates, provide no support for the argument that increasing the minimum wage reduces rates of high school completion.

Latino Employment and Black Violence: The Unintended Consequence of U.S. Immigration Policy
Edward S. Shihadeh, Raymond E. Barranco

U.S. immigration policies after 1965 fueled a rise in the Latino population and, thus, increased the competition for low-skill jobs. We examine whether Latino immigration and Latino dominance of low-skill industries increases black urban violence. Using city-level data for the year 2000, we find that (1. Latino immigration is positively linked to urban black violence, (2. the link is most prevalent where blacks lost ground to Latinos in low-skill markets, (3. not all low-skill sectors operate in unison; black violence rises only when jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and construction are in short supply and, (4. Latino immigration raises black violence by first increasing black unemployment. We discuss the implications of these findings.

Hispanic Population Growth and Rural Income Inequality
Emilio A. Parrado, William A. Kandel

We analyze the relationship between Hispanic population growth and changes in U.S. rural income inequality from 1990 through 2000. Applying comparative approaches used for urban areas we disentangle Hispanic population growth’s contribution to inequality by comparing and statistically modeling changes in the family income Gini coefficient across four rural county types: established Hispanic, rapidly growing Hispanic, rapidly growing non-Hispanic, and slow-growth or declining counties. Results support perspectives that stress growing social heterogeneity for understanding the contribution of minority population growth to inequality, including changes in human capital and industrial restructuring. We find remarkably similar inequality growth across rapidly growing Hispanic and non-Hispanic counties. This suggests that growing rural inequality stems largely from economic expansion and population growth rather than changing Hispanic composition.

Health & Risk

Risk Groups in Exposure to Terror: The Case of Israel’s Citizens
Yariv Feniger, Ephraim Yuchtman-Yaar

This research addresses a largely ignored question in the study of terror: who are its likely victims? An answer was sought through analysis of comprehensive data on civilian victims of terror in Israel from 1993 through 2003. The chances of being killed in seemingly random terror attacks were found unequally distributed in Israeli society, but the weaker sectors were not the most vulnerable. This pattern may be attributed to the perpetration of most terror attacks in public places, where members of underprivileged groups are less likely to be. Paradoxically, ethnic segregation, gender and other forms of social exclusion and inequality may have helped to protect marginalized social groups from the risk of terror victimization.

Clocking In: The Organization of Work Time and Health in the United States
Sibyl Kleiner, Eliza K. Pavalko

This article assesses the health implications of emerging patterns in the organization of work time. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we examine general mental and physical health (SF-12 scores), psychological distress (CESD score), clinical levels of obesity, and the presence of medical conditions, at age 40. Overall, we find that health varies more across work hours than across types of shifts, and part-time workers report worse physical and emotional health than full-time workers. However, controlling for individual, family and job characteristics explains the poorer health observed among part-time workers. Those who are satisfied with their jobs, have more education, or have an employed spouse, report better health, while women and those with a prior health limitation report worse health. After taking these factors into account, we find a curvilinear relationship between work hours and health, with those working between 40 and 59 hours per week reporting worse mental and physical health than those working 40 hours per week. We also find that obesity differs from current health problems in its relationship to work time. Those who work part-time or fixed-hour schedules are less likely to be obese, suggesting that long-term health risks operating through obesity, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, are affected by time availability.

Social Forces, March 2010: Volume 88, Issue 3

The Annals of the AAPSS 629

Reconsidering Culture and Poverty

Reconsidering Culture and Poverty
Mario Luis Small, David J. Harding, and Michèle Lamont

A Test of Sincerity: How Black and Latino Service Workers Make Decisions about Making Referrals
Sandra Susan Smith

New Life for an Old Concept: Frame Analysis and the Reinvigoration of Studies in Culture and Poverty
Alford A. Young, Jr

What People Want: Rethinking Poverty, Culture, and Educational Attainment
Stephen Vaisey

Viewing Low-Income Fathers’ Ties to Families through a Cultural Lens: Insights for Research and Policy
Maureen R. Waller

The Repertoire of Infidelity among Low-Income Men: Doubt, Duty, and Destiny
Nathan Edward Fosse

Dignity through Discourse: Poverty and the Culture of Deliberation in Indian Village Democracies
Vijayendra Rao and Paromita Sanyal

Beyond Deservingness: Congressional Discourse on Poverty, 1964—1996
Joshua Guetzkow

Why Both Social Structure and Culture Matter in a Holistic Analysis of Inner-City Poverty
William Julius Wilson

Culture, Poverty, and Effective Social Policy
Lynn Woolsey

From Culture of Poverty to Lasting Stability and Security
Raúl M. Grijalva

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March 2010: Volume 629

The Annals of the AAPSS 628

Field Experiments in Comparative Politics and Policy

Field Experiments in Comparative Politics and Policy
Donald P. Green and Peter John

Parable of Two Agencies, One of Which Randomizes
Dominic Pearson, David Torgerson, Cynthia McDougall, and Roger Bowles

Democracy, Governance, and Randomized Development Assistance
Devra C. Moehler

Translating Experiments into Policy
Gerry Stoker

The Promising Integration of Qualitative Methods and Field Experiments
Elizabeth Levy Paluck

The Future of Field Experiments in International Relations
Susan D. Hyde

Why Can’t a Student Be More Like an Average Person?: Sampling and Attrition Effects in Social Science Field and Laboratory Experiments
Marc Hooghe, Dietlind Stolle, Valérie-Anne Mahéo, and Sara Vissers

Points of Intersection between Randomized Experiments and Quasi-Experiments
Jane Green

Reporting Methodological Items in Randomized Experiments in Political Science
Isabelle Boutron, Peter John, and David J. Torgerson

Theory, External Validity, and Experimental Inference: Some Conjectures
Fernando Martel Garcia and Leonard Wantchekon

Expanding the Use of Experiments on Civic Behavior: Experiments with Local Government as a Research Partner
Sarah Cotterill and Liz Richardson

Help Me Help You: Conducting Field Experiments with Political Elites
Peter John Loewen, Daniel Rubenson, and Leonard Wantchekon

Conceptual, Design, and Statistical Complications Associated with Participant Preference
Hannah R. Ainsworth, David J. Torgerson, and Arthur R. Kang 'Ombe

Strategies for Dealing with the Problem of Non-overlapping Units of Assignment and Outcome Measurement in Field Experiments
Ana L. De La O and Daniel Rubenson

Enough Already about "Black Box" Experiments: Studying Mediation Is More Difficult than Most Scholars Suppose
Donald P. Green, Shang E. Ha, and John G. Bullock


The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March 2010: Volume 628

Crime & Delinquency 56(3)

Sex Differences in Trajectories of Offending Among Puerto Rican Youth
Wesley G. Jennings, Mildred M. Maldonado-Molina, Alex R. Piquero, Candice L. Odgers, Hector Bird, and Glorisa Canino

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 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.

Risky Relationships?: Assortative Mating and Women?s Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence
Kristin Carbone-Lopez and Candace Kruttschnitt

Research indicates that female offenders are far more likely to have experienced intimate partner violence than women in the general population. Despite extensive research on women’s pathways into offending, very little is known about why these women are at increased risk for partner violence. The authors use data from a sample of incarcerated women to explore various explanations for this association, paying particular attention to assortative mating patterns and the role of lifestyle. Findings indicate that, net of other risk factors, relationships with criminally involved partners increase women’s risks of victimization. Such findings have implications for assortative mating theory, the study of female offenders, and studies of the community-level impact of incarceration.

Examining Charging Agreement Between Police and Prosecutors in Rape Cases
David Holleran, Dawn Beichner, and Cassia Spohn

Although prior research has contributed to understanding of the factors that influence sexual assault case processing, it has primarily been viewed through the prosecutorial lens. The authors assert that a prosecutor’s charging decision involves not only a decision to file or reject the charge but, assuming that the case is not rejected, also a decision regarding the charge that should be filed. Accordingly, they examined the congruence between the charge filed by police at arrest with the charge filed by the prosecutor. The results indicate that charging agreement between police and prosecutors in rape cases is governed by a legal sufficiency framework in Philadelphia, where a specialized charging unit receives cases after decisions to charge have been made, and a trial sufficiency framework in Kansas City, Missouri, where a specialized unit makes the decision to charge and uses vertical prosecution from screening through disposition.

Evaluating Awareness of Registered Sex Offenders in the Neighborhood
Sarah W. Craun

The goal of sex offender registration is to protect residents from recidivistic sexual offenders by providing public information about local offenders. This study determines what percentage of residents living near registered sex offenders are aware of the offenders and the predictors of awareness. The investigational group includes randomly selected residents, who completed surveys, living within one-tenth of a mile of registered sex offenders. A control group—those without sex offenders nearby—is included to see if residents believe offenders to be in every neighborhood. Significantly more investigational group respondents report that a sex offender lives in the neighborhood (31% vs. 2%). Hierarchical linear modeling confirms both individual and neighborhood predictors of awareness.

Prosecuting Child Sexual Abuse: The Importance of Evidence Type
Wendy A. Walsh, Lisa M. Jones, Theodore P. Cross, and Tonya Lippert

Corroborating evidence has been associated with a decrease in children’s distress during the court process, yet few studies have empirically examined the impact of evidence type on prosecution rates. This study examined the types of evidence and whether charges were filed in a sample of child sexual abuse cases (n = 329). Cases with a child disclosure, a corroborating witness, an offender confession, or an additional report against the offender were more likely to have charges filed, controlling for case characteristics. When cases were lacking strong evidence (confession, physical evidence, eyewitness), cases with a corroborating witness were nearly twice as likely to be charged. Charged cases tended to have at least two types of evidence, regardless of whether there was a child disclosure or not.

Sexual Harassment Victimization During Emerging Adulthood: A Test of Routine Activities Theory and a General Theory of Crime
Tammatha A. Clodfelter, Michael G. Turner, Jennifer L. Hartman, and Joseph B. Kuhns

Sexual harassment of college students may lead to more serious forms of sexual assault. Few studies have investigated sexual harassment predictors framed within competing theoretical perspectives. In this study, the literature is extended by examining (a) three types of sexual harassment on a college campus, (b) the nature of reporting, and (c) whether routine activities and self-control theories effectively explain sexual harassment. Findings indicate that one fourth of the participants in the sample were sexually harassed, assaulted students are extremely unlikely to officially report incidents, and measures of routine activities theory are important predictors of sexual harassment. Prevention and education policies should focus on increased reporting to university authorities and helping students understand the situational contexts in which these behaviors are likely to occur.

Crime & Delinquency, July 2010: Volume 56, Issue 3

Justice Quarterly Forthcoming

Gender, Identity, and Accounts: How White Collar Offenders Do Gender When Making Sense of Their Crimes
Paul M. Klenowski; Heith Copes; Christopher W. Mullins

Risk Terrain Modeling: Brokering Criminological Theory and GIS Methods for Crime Forecasting
Joel M. Caplan; Leslie W. Kennedy; Joel Miller

Community In-Reach Through Jail Reentry: Findings from a Quasi-Experimental Design
Holly Ventura Miller; J. Mitchell Miller

Policies and Imprisonment: The Impact of Structured Sentencing and Determinate Sentencing on State Incarceration Rates, 1978–2004
Don Stemen; Andres F. Rengifo

More articles forthcoming in Justice Quarterly

Journal of Criminal Justice 38(3)

The effect of self-control on victimization in the cyberworld
Adam M. Bossler, Thomas J. Holt

In light of the differences between traditional forms of victimization and cybercrime victimization, this study examined whether the expansion of self-control theory to the field of victimization could help explain cybercrime victimization as well. This study found that self-control had a weak relationship with multiple forms of cybercrime victimization, but it did not have a direct effect on victimization after controlling for offending measures. Considering that this was incongruent with previous victimization research, these findings raise theoretical and empirical questions for the entire field of victimization regarding the importance of self-control when controlling for relevant peer offending.

The expression of low self-control as problematic drinking in adolescents: An integrated control perspective
Joseph O. Baker

In the past two decades, Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory was widely tested, with ample empirical support that individual levels of self-control predict delinquency. The current study focused on social factors that condition the expression of self-control as delinquency—with specific attention given to the role of an adolescent's level of social attachments to adults. Concerning the type of delinquency, this study focused on applying established criminological theories to the issue of problematic drinking among adolescents. Using the Add Health survey of American adolescents, empirical tests supported the hypothesized conditioning effect of social attachments regarding the influence of self-control on problematic drinking. These findings suggest that theoretically and empirically addressing how social factors influence the expression of individual propensities could offer insight into the relationship between self-control and delinquency.

Social disorganization theory and the college campus
Michael S. Barton, Bonnie Lynne Jensen, Joanne M. Kaufman

Researchers and the mass media have focused increasing attention on campus crime in light of a few high-profile incidents. While rare, these incidents are important because college students are less likely to attend, spend time on, or participate in social activities on high crime campuses. The current study contributed to research on campus crime by exploring the generalizability of the updated social disorganization model to campus communities by using data collected from Peterson's Guide to Four-Year Colleges and the Uniform Crime Report for the year 2000. While social structural features of campus populations are clearly associated with rates of campus property crime, the role of social organization is less certain. These results have implications for future research and crime prevention planning on college campuses.

Untangling race and class effects on juvenile arrests
Michael Tapia

This study employed a synthesis of conflict and labeling theory to reexamine the often observed links between race, social class, and arrest. Using longitudinal data on a representative sample of U.S. teens, random effects negative binomial regressions detected direct and indirect effects of race and class on arrest. In support of main effects hypotheses, racial minority status and low SES increased arrests, controlling for demographic and legal items. Consistent with research on “out of place” effects for minority youth in high SES contexts, and counter to expectations, interactions showed that racial minority status increased arrest risk for high SES youth significantly more than it did for low SES youth. Somewhat reminiscent of research on the “Latino paradox,” the effect of minority status on arrest at low-income levels did not exert the same interactive effect for Hispanics as it did for Blacks. Implications for theory, policy, and future research are discussed.

Budgetary support for police services in U.S. municipalities: Comparing political culture, socioeconomic characteristics and incrementalism as rival explanations for budget share allocation to police
Jihong Zhao, Ling Ren, Nicholas P. Lovrich

Only limited research was available on the important question of the likely determinants of changes in budgetary allocations to municipal police agencies over time. Within that rather limited set of studies, three distinct perspectives on hypothesized key determinants of funding levels for police could be identified—namely, the local political culture, the nature of socioeconomic conditions, and the prevalence of incremental budget decision-making processes. This study employed a longitudinal data set derived from municipal clerk surveys administered in four waves to the same cross-section of U.S. cities in 1993, 1996, 2000, and 2003. The authors examined the relative utility of these three hypothesized determinants through the use of a two-way random-effects panel model. The findings for 188 U.S. municipal governments suggested that the incremental budgeting aspect of annual budgeting in municipal governments largely explained the variation in share of allocation to police agencies in these cities, with political culture and socioeconomic conditions demonstrating only weak effects at best.

Electronic supervision for sex offenders: Implications for work load, supervision goals, versatility, and policymaking
Brian K. Payne, Matthew T. DeMichele

Electronic monitoring strategies are being used increasingly for sex offenders across the United States. Despite this increased use, few researchers have considered the broader implications for probation and parole officers when these tools are used. In this study, attention was given to how the use of electronic monitoring for sex offenders is related to supervision goals, work load, the use of other supervision strategies, and state level policies. Findings showed significant differences in several areas. The conclusion focuses on community corrections policy implications.

Look who's stalking: Obsessive pursuit and attachment theory
Christina L. Patton, Matt R. Nobles, Kathleen A. Fox

Few criminological theories have been applied to the study of stalking perpetration, and even fewer address the presence of underlying psychological mechanisms. Attachment theory describes the ways in which an individual with a chaotic family environment in childhood may develop feelings of insecurity that may lead to increased aggression and violent behavior in adolescence and adulthood. In this study, a sample of college students (N = 2,783) were queried on self-reported stalking behaviors and the revised Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) measure of adult attachment. Stalkers scored significantly higher on the insecure-anxious scale of attachment and lower on insecure-avoidant scale. Other psychological variables (major/minor psychiatric diagnoses, depression, and anger-related issues) were also examined, with a history of anger-related diagnosis or treatment positively and significantly associated with stalking perpetration. Implications for theory development in stalking and future research directions are discussed.

Parole release decisions: Impact of victim input on a representative sample of inmates
Joel M. Caplan

Positive and negative input, in both verbal and written forms, was studied for a representative sample of 820 parole-eligible adult inmates in New Jersey to determine the extent to which victim participation and the provisions of victim input policies affect contemporary parole release practices. Victim input was not found to be a significant predictor of parole release. Measures of institutional behavior, crime severity, and criminal history were significant. Verbal input had a greater affect than written input. In the short-term, parole administrators should develop guidelines to clarify procedures and create a more uniform and transparent application of victim input. In the long-term, the receipt of victim input should be used to identify victims who have not yet found closure so that appropriate support services can be provided prior to most inmates’ eventual releases from prison.

Criminal victimization in South Korea: A multilevel approach
Sunghoon Roh, Eunyoung Kim, Minwoo Yun

A growing number of studies in criminal victimization had integrated the individual model and the context model to examine the dynamics of influences from the predictors at different levels. Only a few studies, however, had explored the impact of multilevel factors upon criminal victimization outside the U.S. context. Using the survey data gathered in Seoul, South Korea, the current study tested the applicability of the multilevel approach in criminal victimization to the Korean context. The results were mixed. At the macro level, poverty and community cohesion were positively associated with victimization by street crime and residential crime, respectively. Inconsistent with the findings in the U.S. studies, however, community cohesion increased the chance of residential crime victimization, and residential mobility was not significantly associated with criminal victimization. At the micro level, avoidance behaviors and target hardening efforts were associated with more criminal victimization, contrary to the proposition by opportunity theory. These unexpected findings could be explained by the unique social and cultural characteristics of Korean society. The unique contexts of modern Korean society as well as the limitation of the current study are discussed.

Critical incident preparedness and response on post-secondary campuses
Joseph A. Schafer, Eric Heiple, Matthew J. Giblin, George W. Burruss Jr.

Campus-based critical incidents received renewed focus in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings. Legislative bodies, task forces, and professional associations sought to provide campus public safety departments with a range of recommended strategies to prevent and mitigate accidental and intentional critical events. Using data from a national sample of colleges and universities, this study examined the status of critical incident preparedness and response in the spring of 2008. Results indicated a solid base of prevention and response capacity; at the same time, respondents highlighted areas lagging behind recommended practices and barriers limiting achieved changes.

An empirical assessment of the process of restorative justice
Shih-Ya Kuo, Dennis Longmire, Steven J. Cuvelier

This study involved an empirical assessment of restorative justice processes with an application of a theoretical model proposed by Presser and Van Voorhis (2002). Their model identified three common procedural activities associated with restorative justice: dialogue, relationship building, and communication of moral values. This study utilized secondary data, consisting of observation and interview data, originally obtained by Sherman, Braithwaite, Strang, and Barnes (1999) for their Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE) in Australia, 1995-1999, to test the theoretical model. The results generally supported the hypothesis that the restorative justice program engaged offenders in dialogue, relationship building, and moral communication to a greater degree than traditional court proceedings. An unexpected result emerged in the interview data showing that violent offenders in the restorative justice program did not report a greater sense of relationship building than those in court proceedings. Possible explanations accounting for the anomaly are provided. Implications for policy and future studies derived from the findings are also discussed.

Resiliency against victimization: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Leah E. Daigle, Kevin M. Beaver, Michael G. Turner

Investigating the causes of why individuals desist from, or are resilient to, delinquency, crime, and other problem behaviors has captured the interests of scholars. Within the context of criminology, much of this research focused on resiliency against offending; that is, understanding how and why some individuals within high-risk environments do not engage in serious criminal offenses. The extant scholarship, however, has not fully explored the effects protective factors might have on fostering resiliency against victimization. Using a sample of respondents drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study investigated how individual protective factors and the accumulation of protective factors contribute to the explanation of resiliency against victimization. Analysis of the data revealed that commitment to school was the only statistically significant independent predictor of resiliency for at risk-individuals. Additional analyses indicated that a protective factor index measuring the accumulation of protection was significant across multiple measures of resiliency. The policy and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Journal of Criminal Justice, May 2010: Volume 38, Issue 3

Journal of Quantitative Criminology 26(2)

Project Safe Neighborhoods and Violent Crime Trends in US Cities: Assessing Violent Crime Impact
Edmund F. McGarrell, Nicholas Corsaro, Natalie Kroovand Hipple and Timothy S. Bynum

Since the mid-1990s, a number of initiatives intended to address gang, gun and drug-related violence have arisen and demonstrated promise in reducing levels of violent crime. These initiatives have employed some combination of focused deterrence and problem-solving processes. These strategies formed the basis for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national program implemented by the Department of Justice and coordinated by US Attorneys’ Offices. This paper is an initial attempt to assess the potential impact of the nationally implemented PSN initiative through an analysis of violent crime trends in all US cities with a population of 100,000 or above. While a number of site specific studies exist examining the potential impact of locally implemented PSN programs, to date no national-level study has examined whether PSN may have had an impact on violent crime trends. Cities included in the current study are distinguished on the basis of whether they were considered a treatment city by the PSN task force and by the level of implementation dosage of the PSN program. This allowed a comparison of 82 treatment cities and 170 non-treatment cities as well as a variable of dosage level. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models (HGLM) were developed that controlled for other factors that may have affected the level of violent crime across the sample of cities. The results suggested that PSN treatment cities in higher dosage contexts experienced statistically significant, though modest, declines in violent crime whereas non-target cities and low dosage contexts experienced no significant changes in violent crime during the same period. The limitations of this initial analysis are noted but the evidence seems to suggest that the multi-agency, focused deterrence, problem solving approach holds promise for reducing levels of violent crime. At a minimum, these findings call for continued programmatic experimentation with data-driven, highly focused, deterrence-based violence reduction strategies.

A Multilevel Test of Minority Threat Effects on Sentencing
Xia Wang and Daniel P. Mears

Prior studies of criminal sanctioning have focused almost exclusively on individual-level predictors of sentencing outcomes. However, in recent years, scholars have begun to include social context in their research. Building off of this work—and heeding calls for testing the racial and ethnic minority threat perspective within a multilevel framework and for separating prison and jail sentences as distinct outcomes—this paper examines different dimensions of minority threat and explores whether they exert differential effects on prison versus jail sentences. The findings provide support for the racial threat perspective, and less support for the ethnic threat perspective. They also underscore the importance of testing for non-linear threat effects and for separating jail and prison sentences as distinct outcomes. We discuss the findings and their implications for theory, research, and policy.

Statistical Inference After Model Selection
Richard Berk, Lawrence Brown and Linda Zhao

Conventional statistical inference requires that a model of how the data were generated be known before the data are analyzed. Yet in criminology, and in the social sciences more broadly, a variety of model selection procedures are routinely undertaken followed by statistical tests and confidence intervals computed for a “final” model. In this paper, we examine such practices and show how they are typically misguided. The parameters being estimated are no longer well defined, and post-model-selection sampling distributions are mixtures with properties that are very different from what is conventionally assumed. Confidence intervals and statistical tests do not perform as they should. We examine in some detail the specific mechanisms responsible. We also offer some suggestions for better practice and show though a criminal justice example using real data how proper statistical inference in principle may be obtained.

The Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Residential Segregation on Black and Hispanic Homicide Victimization
Min Xie

Past research examining the association between residential segregation and homicide victimization has often considered only one dimension of segregation, and the literature that does use a multidimensional approach has not presented a uniform set of findings. The majority of the studies have focused on the experiences of Blacks, while overlooking the possibility that the differences between the structure of Black and Hispanic communities may alter the conclusions for Hispanics. In this study, we argue that in order to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of segregation on homicide, we need to understand the multidimensional structure of Black and Hispanic segregation, and examine whether the relationship between segregation and homicide differs for Blacks and Hispanics. Using 2000 census data and homicide data from the National Vital Statistics System (1999–2001) for U.S. metropolitan areas, we identify two empirically distinct superdimensions of segregation (group separateness and centralized concentration), both of which have a substantial positive and statistically significant impact on homicide victimization for both Blacks and Hispanics.

The Impact of Imprisonment on Marriage and Divorce: A Risk Set Matching Approach
Robert Apel, Arjan A. J. Blokland, Paul Nieuwbeerta and Marieke van Schellen

Marriage has a prominent place in criminological theory and research as one institution that has the potential to genuinely foster desistance from a criminal career. Mass imprisonment policies in the United States and elsewhere, therefore, pose a potential threat of increased crime if they impede the ability of ex-prisoners to reintegrate into society by stigmatizing them and limiting their chances in the marriage market. We use a long-term study of a conviction cohort in The Netherlands to ascertain the effect that first-time imprisonment has on the likelihood of marriage and divorce. The results suggest that the effect of imprisonment on the likelihood of marriage (among unmarried offenders) is largely a selection artifact, although there is very weak evidence for a short-lived impact that does not persist past the first year post-release. This is interpreted as a residual incapacitation effect. On the other hand, the results strongly suggest that the experience of incarceration leads to a substantially higher divorce risk among offenders who are married when they enter prison.

Journal of Quantitative Criminology, June 2010: Volume 26, Issue 2

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 47(2)

Trajectories of Offending and Their Relation to Life Failure in Late Middle Age: Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development
Alex R. Piquero, David P. Farrington, Daniel S. Nagin, and Terrie E. Moffitt

Researchers have hypothesized that over the life course, criminal offending varies with problems in other domains, including life failure and physical and mental health.To examine this issue, the authors use data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 South London males first studied at age 8 in 1961. Developmental trajectories of criminal activity were defined on the basis of conviction records through age 40, and these were used to predict self-report measures of life failure at age 48 obtained during personal interviews. Results indicate that offending in the first 40 years of life relates to life failure, that childhood risk factors are also implicated in adult life outcomes, and that differences emerge in how offender trajectories predict life failure after controlling for individual and environmental risk factors. This is the first longitudinal investigation to show that chronic offending is associated with life failure into the late 40s, an age period not previously reported, and it also shows that different offending trajectories have different outcomes in late middle age.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Low Self-control
Brian B. Boutwell and Kevin M. Beaver

There is a vast line of literature showing that antisocial behaviors and personality traits are transmitted across generational lines. Given the ascendancy of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime, it is somewhat surprising that no research has examined whether levels of self-control are passed from parent to child. The authors examine this possibility by analyzing data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The results of the analysis revealed that maternal levels of self-control and paternal levels of self-control were predictive of the child’s levels of self-control. Supplemental analysis revealed that these effects were not mediated by key criminogenic risk factors. Moreover, there was also evidence indicating that people mate assortatively on a range of antisocial characteristics, including low self-control. Implications of the study are noted and discussed.

The Validity of Self-reported Prevalence, Frequency, and Timing of Arrest: An Evaluation of Data Collected Using a Life Event Calendar
Nancy A. Morris and Lee Ann Slocum

Heightened scholarly interest in stability and change in criminal behavior has increased the demand for longitudinal data. One method that may enhance the quality of retrospective self-reported data, especially reports of timing, is the life event calendar (LEC). Using a sample of incarcerated women, we assess the validity of LEC measures of self-reported prevalence, frequency and timing of arrests over a three-year period.We also examine the validity of self—reported frequency and timing of arrest data by respondent and arrest characteristics. Results suggest that the LEC elicits valid data on prevalence and frequency of arrests, while self-reported timing of arrests is recalled with less accuracy. Saliency appears more relevant for the accuracy of self-reported frequency, as compared to timing, and substance use has no effect on validity. We discuss future research using the LEC, especially with regard to improving the recall of the timing and sequencing of criminal events.

A Cost-Benefit Study of a Breaking the Cycle Program for Juveniles
Alexander J. Cowell, Pamela K. Lattimore, and Christopher P. Krebs

The authors present a cost-benefit analysis of a Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) program in Oregon designed to provide juvenile justice system monitoring and coordinated treatment and services to youth who are assessed as at high risk for recidivism and substance use. Detailed cost analyses are presented for youth in the JBTC program and a comparison group. Multivariate models for all costs combined indicate that the costs per JBTC youth are much higher than for the comparison group 6 to 12 months after intake. Twelve to 18 months after intake, the difference in juvenile justice costs between the two groups is negligible. These findings suggest that decision makers should not expect any additional case management and treatment costs to be offset immediately by reductions in juvenile justice costs. However, evidence suggests that juvenile justice costs may eventually be at least equivalent to usual care.

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, May 2010: Volume 47, Issue 2

Critical Criminology 18(2)

The Brazilian Landless Movement, Resistance, and Violence
Erin C. Heil

Throughout Brazil, landless resisters are being violently victimized at the discretion of large landowners. The main goals of this article are to (1) Explain the historical and current conditions that have facilitated the violent oppression experienced by the landless movement, (2) illustrate the mass violence experienced by the landless population, (3) provide a review of the existing research regarding the relationship between land reform, violence, and state strength, (4) introduce a new explanation of decentralized state power in relationship to the persistence of violence against the landless movement. I explore the Brazilian landless movement through content analyses, fieldwork, and a review of existing data. The approach used to study and understand the powers associated with the landless movement is unique to the existing literature of the Brazilian landless movement in that it moves beyond advocacy towards a criminological and political analysis.

Mad Men, Meth Moms, Moral Panic: Gendering Meth Crimes in the Midwest
Travis Linnemann

This research examines the content of a sample of newspaper articles from the Midwestern states. The analyses find highly gendered accounts of methamphetamine related crimes. Media depictions suggest women use meth for reasons drawn from conventional notions of motherhood, sexuality, and subordination. Alternately, motives of men appear constructed around dominant notions of male criminal virility and the viability of the drug trade. The findings offer a contextual framework to consider how this sort of mediated dichotomy emerges from and reinforces popular notions of gendered crime and drug users in non-urban spaces.

Injustice for All: A State Crime of Omission Beneath the Steps of the United States Capitol
Patrick M. Gerkin, Lauren A. Teal and Linda H. Reinstein

This research examines a state crime of omission by members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. These crimes were perpetrated against a group of employees charged with maintaining the underground utility tunnels beneath the United States Capitol. Through a secondary analysis of congressional testimony; citations and documents issued by the Office of Compliance; medical records; and various media accounts of the events, this research seeks to examine the perpetrators’ actions as a state crime of omission and offer a theoretical explanation. Our findings suggest the actions and inactions of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, over a period of years, embody the definition of a state crime. Our theoretical explanation examines the conditions that combined to foster an environment in which occupational exposure to asbestos continued for years, placing the life and health of the tunnel crew in serious jeopardy.

Exporting Gender Injustice: The Impact of the U.S. War on Drugs on Ecuadorian Women
Maureen Norton-Hawk

Numerous researchers have documented the gendered impact of the United States’ domestic war against drugs. Women incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses are the fastest growing segment of America’s prison population because of the harsh penalties for using, selling and transporting illegal substances. The impact of U.S. drug policy on women in other countries, in contrast, has been overlooked. This paper argues that the greatly increased imprisonment of women in Ecuador for drug-related offenses is collateral damage of the U.S. war on drugs. The impact of the expansion of women’s imprisonment in Ecuador appears to be particularly damaging to the inmate’s children who frequently join their mother in prison. U.S. policy should not be exported to other countries before having a clear picture of the unintended negative consequences.

Critical Criminology, June 2010: Volume 18, Issue 2

Social Psychology Quarterly 73(2)

Openings

In Search of Craft
Michael Schwalbe

Just-so Stories: Vaccines, Autism, and the Single-bullet Disorder
Peter Bearman
 
Cooley-Mead Award 2009

Introduction of Linda D. Molm: 2009 Recipient of the Cooley-Mead Award
Cecilia L. Ridgeway

The Structure of Reciprocity
Linda D. Molm

Two on Talk

Marking the Turn: Obligation, Engagement, and Alienation in Group Discussions
David R. Gibson

Making Way and Making Sense: Including Newcomers in Interaction
Danielle Pillet-Shore

Social Psychology Quarterly, June 2010: Volume 73, Issue 2