Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Residential Mobility And The Underclass: Impact Of Moving In The 'Hood, Michael A. Hollingsworth

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Studies of residential mobility amongst disadvantaged populations and juveniles in particular have attracted a great deal of attention with projects such as the Moving to Opportunity Study and policies aimed at reducing concentrated disadvantage by providing alternative housing assistance to low-income families. The results of these studies, however, have been inconclusive and have often not concentrated on the effects of this mobility on a broad spectrum of delinquent behaviors. Previous studies have found that residential mobility negatively affects juveniles, while other studies find that there is little effect after controlling for a wide variety of variables with scant theoretical considerations …

Perceptions Of Social Control In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods And Adolescent Drug And Alcohol Use: Are They Related?, Kanita Shiquia Sumner

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using data collected from the Evaluation of the Children at Risk Program (CAR) in Austin, Texas, Bridgeport, Tennessee, Savannah, Georgia, and Seattle, Washington (Harrell et al 1999), this study focused on problem behaviors in disadvantaged neighborhoods , specifically, drug and alcohol use, among at-risk youth. The purpose of this study was to determine if parochial and public levels of social controls in disadvantaged neighborhoods decrease the likelihood of adolescents using drug and alcohol. It was found that the parochial level of social control in disadvantaged neighborhoods was highly correlated with adolescent's alcohol and drug use; however, the public level was …

Rez Realities: Exploring The Perceptions Of Crime And Justice Among Tribal Police Officers In Indian Country, Favian Alejandro Martin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Although American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/NA) compose just over 1% of the general population in the U.S., they experience higher rates of crime and violence than the total population and are dramatically over-represented in the criminal justice system. In light of these realities, the paucity of research on AI/NA crime, violence, and justice problems is appalling. What research does exist suggests that AI/NA crime and victimization is correlated with social problems such as poverty and illegal drug use which are linked to the social ills of colonialism. Drawing on the work of Loader (1997), this dissertation examines the perceptions …

Sources Of Informal Social Control And The Relationship To Victimization In Southeastern Virginia, Jennifer R. Jones

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The link between community characteristics and crime has been at the forefront of criminological research for some time. Social disorganization theory focuses on the relationship between structural characteristics of communities and crime. Recent examination of the social disorganization perspective has emphasized the role of informal social control as mediating the effects of structural characteristics on victimization. In this study, contemporary social disorganization theory was tested using data from the U.S. Census Bureau: Census Tract Fact Finder (2000) and the Southeastern Virginia Community Survey (2008). This research addressed three central research questions: Is there a relationship between structural characteristics (i.e., poverty, …

Social Disorganization Theory: Examining The Mediating Effects Of Social Ties And Disorder On Crime, Matasha L. Harris

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using study data collected for a larger research project entitled Project on Policing Neighborhoods in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1996, the relationship between social ties and disorder on neighborhood structural characteristics and crime rates was tested. Using two Structural Equation Models the mediating effects of social ties and disorder on neighborhood structural characteristics and crime received partial support from the analysis of Indianapolis data.

The results revealed that poverty and family disruption exerts a positive impact on crime rates. The results also revealed that neighborhoods with high levels of racial heterogeneity have a negative effect on social ties. As well, the study …

An Analysis Of The Changes In The Proportional Distribution Of Poverty Between Metropolitan Statistical Areas And Their Central Cities, Billy W. Godair

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study examined Wilson's hypothesis that economic restructuring accompanied by spatial redistribution of employment opportunities coupled with rising skills requirements for employment provide an explanation for the increasing concentration of metropolitan area poverty in its central city. This study also assesses the influence that racism, represented by racial residential segregation (Index of Dissimilarity), may have on the distribution of metropolitan poverty (Massey 1990, 1994; Massey, Gross and Shibuya, 1994; Feagin, 1999, Orfield, 1992). Additionally, this study will expand Wilson's hypothesis by examining the influence that these variables (economic infrastructure, skills mismatch, and racial residential segregation) have on central city income …