Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 52(3)

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, May 2015: Volume 52, Issue 3

The Mediating Role of Heart Rate on the Social Adversity-Antisocial Behavior Relationship: A Social Neurocriminology Perspective
Olivia Choy, Adrian Raine, Jill Portnoy, Anna Rudo-Hutt, Yu Gao, and Liana Soyfer

Objectives: Tests the hypothesis that the social adversity-antisocial behavior relationship is partly mediated by a biological mechanism, low heart rate. Method: 18 indicators of social adversity and heart rate measured at rest and in anticipation of a speech stressor were assessed alongside nine measures of antisocial behavior including delinquency (Youth Self-Report [YSR] and Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]), conduct disorder (Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Questionnaire), and child psychopathy (Antisocial Process Screening Device [APSD]) in a community sample of 388 children aged 11 to 12 years. PROCESS was used to test mediation models. Results: Low heart rate was a partial mediator of the adversity-antisocial behavior relationship, explaining 20.35 percent and 15.40 percent of the effect of social adversity on delinquency and overall antisocial behavior, respectively. Conclusions: Findings are, to the authors’ knowledge, one of the first to establish any biological risk factor as a mediator of the social adversity-antisocial behavior relationship and suggest that social processes alter autonomic functioning in a way to predispose to antisocial behavior. While not definitive, results give rise to a social neurocriminology theory that argues that the social environment influences biological risk factors in a way to predispose to antisocial and criminal behavior.

Developmental Trajectories of Individuals’ Code of the Street Beliefs through Emerging Adulthood
Richard K. Moule, Jr, Callie H. Burt, Eric A. Stewart, and Ronald L. Simons

Objectives: This study seeks to contribute to research on the patterning and stability of code of the street beliefs. We describe trajectories of street code beliefs from late childhood to emerging adulthood and investigate social factors that influence membership in and distinguish between trajectories. Methods: Using six waves of panel data from the Family and Community Health Study, group-based trajectory models were estimated to describe developmental patterns of street code beliefs from age 10 to 26. Correlates of street code beliefs, including racial discrimination, parenting practices, and neighborhood crime, were used to predict trajectory membership. Results: Analyses identified five distinct trajectories of street code beliefs. Four trajectories were largely stable across the study period; however, one group, comprised of 12 percent of the sample, dramatically declined in beliefs. Being male and experiencing racial discrimination significantly distinguish between all of the trajectories. Parental monitoring and perceptions of neighborhood crime differentiate between the declining trajectory and the stable trajectories. Conclusions: Findings provide insights into the developmental patterns and correlates, of street code beliefs. Results suggest beliefs are malleable but remain largely stable and underscore the need for more nuanced, longitudinal approaches to the code of the street.

Configural Behavior Settings of Crime Event Locations: Toward an Alternative Conceptualization of Criminogenic Microenvironments
Timothy C. Hart and Terance D. Miethe

Objectives: The utility of configural behavior settings is explored as an alternative unit of analysis for place-based criminological research. Four research questions are addressed: (1) How do robberies cluster within certain behavior settings? (2) How are conclusions about robbery’s behavior settings influenced by the distance interval used to measure the proximate environment? (3) Are dominant behavior settings homogeneous across patrol districts? and (4) Is there temporal variability among dominant behavior settings? Method: Conjunctive analysis of case configurations is used to construct configural behavior settings around 453 robbery locations in Henderson, Nevada, between 2007 and 2009. Results: The major findings of this study are that (1) the majority of personal robberies occur within a small number of dominant configural behavior settings and (2) the composition of behavior settings and the proportion of incidents for which they account varies by the distance interval used to measure the proximate environment, patrol district, and time of day. Conclusions: Configural behavior settings provide an alternative unit of analysis that can be used in future place-based research to improve our understanding of criminogenic microenvironments. Replication of this study in other cities that vary in urban design would further demonstrate the merits of this approach.

Kids, Groups, and Crime: In Defense of Conventional Wisdom
Franklin E. Zimring and Hannah Laqueur

Objectives: The objective of this analysis is to address the data and conclusions of Lisa Stolzenberg and Stewart D’Alessio in their article “Co-offending and the Age-crime Curve,” published in The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency in 2008. The authors analyze National Incident–based Reporting System (NIBRS) 2002 arrests from seven states and conclude that most arrests at all ages involve only one offender, and therefore group offending is of little etiological significance. Methods: To test their claims, we conduct offense-specific analyses of single and multiple arrests using the full 2002 NIBRS arrest data set. Results: After disaggregating the data by type of offense, we find group involvement among young offenders dominates the arrest statistics for all serious crimes other than rape and aggravated assault. Conclusions: Contrary to the conclusions of Stolzenberg and D’Alessio, co-offending does appear to have a substantial impact on young offenders. The extent of adolescent crime as group behavior may be a cliché in criminological circles, but this is because the empirical evidence for it is substantial.

Absent Fathers or Absent Variables? A New Look at Paternal Incarceration and Delinquency
Lauren C. Porter and Ryan D. King

Objectives: This research examines the association between paternal incarceration and children’s delinquency. Prior research suggests an association, although omitted variable bias is an enduring issue. Methods: To help address issues related to unobserved heterogeneity, we employ a method uncommonly used in criminological research. Rather than comparing the children of incarcerated fathers to respondents who have never had a father incarcerated, we exploit the longitudinal nature of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to generate a strategic comparison group: respondents who will have a father incarcerated in the future. We also examine two types of delinquency, expressive and instrumental, to infer plausible mechanisms linking paternal incarceration and delinquency. Results: When using “futures” as comparison cases, results differ from much prior work and suggest a spurious association between paternal incarceration and instrumental delinquency (e.g., theft). Paternal incarceration retains a significant effect on expressive delinquency, which is partly mediated by reduced attachment to fathers. Conclusions: The association between paternal incarceration and expressive (but not instrumental) crime supports Agnew’s strain theory and elements of control theory. Our comparison group also offers important advantages in terms of addressing unobserved heterogeneity, and we think this approach would prove useful for other topics in criminology.