Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

In recent years, it has been suggested that technological and scientific advancements have made the world a safer place, yet the fear of risk and threats to safety is higher than ever. This theory suggests that people are increasingly basing decisions about risk behaviors on the potential impact on their reputation. Specifically, the stigma of taking risks has been alleged to be a primary factor inhibiting risk-taking behavior. This claim, however, has remained theoretical and without empirical tests to determine its validity. The present study uses data collected from a random sample of college students, including data from open-ended responses …

Although research on the age-crime curve has made significant advances in the past few decades, our understanding of victimization has not benefited to the same degree. The present study examines the age-victim curve to explore victimization trajectories, which increases our understanding of risks over time through different life pathways. Using data from the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, a national longitudinal survey in England and Wales, trajectory modeling is used to estimate different violent victimization trajectories for people aged 10 to 29 over four years of data. Analyses indicate the presence of four distinct victimization trajectories, including: rarely victimized, young …

The Grasmick et al. scale is one of the most frequently used measures in criminology. Regardless of how common the scale is used, questions remain about its dimensionality and the nature of forming a composite measure from its 24 individual components. This study examines whether a composite measure is the most effective method for using the scale with a series of analyses using different approaches to combining - or not combining - these measures. Based on data from a sample of over 1,500 college students, the results indicate that a single-factor composite of the 24 items is the least effective …

Since Gottfredson and Hirschi’s ‘A General Theory of Crime’ was published in 1990, self-control has become a major focus in criminological theory and research and the issue of measuring self-control has been the topic of many debates. Much of this research has used Grasmick and colleagues’ 1993 attitudinal scale. In 2004, Hirschi provided a new definition for self-control designed to spur new measurements of the concept. Despite this effort, only Piquero and Bouffard (2007) have provided an in-depth attempt to measure the redefined concept. This study replicates the Piquero and Bouffard measurement and a traditional measure of self-control in order …