Criminology Commons^™

Psychology And Criminology Students' Attribution Of Factors Contributing To Criminal Behaviors, Ava Marie Leahy

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the attribution of contributing factors to criminal behaviors between psychology and criminology majors. To gauge participant perception, a carefully crafted vignette was presented to participants accompanied by questions asking participants to what extent eight variables (conformation to labels, hostile attribution bias, rational choice based on circumstances, poor attachments, mental illness, upbringing, insufficient deterrence, and learned behavior through observation) contributed to the perpetrator’s criminal behavior and for participants to rank-order these same variables from the largest contributors to the least. Participants were also asked to provide a sentencing recommendation for …

Individual Differences In The Criminogenic Effects Of Discrimination: An Exploration Of The Role Of Impulse Control And Callous-Unemotional Traits, Toni Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The association between perceived discrimination and engagement in criminal offending has been well studied, especially in samples of minority (predominantly Black, Hispanic, and Latinx) adolescents. Several theories have been developed (Social Schematic Theory) and adapted (General Strain Theory) in an attempt to explain how harmful, discriminatory experiences may have an effect on an individual’s behavior. There may be variability in how an individual responds to perceived discrimination, however, but the moderating role of personality characteristics has not been explored. Impulse control and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are both established predictors of offending and may also relate to the mechanisms that theories …

Addressing The Scale Issues In Spatial-Temporal Analysis Of Crime : An Integrative Framework And Empirical Findings, Mohammed Abdulrazak Alazawi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Based on a critical review of existing literature in the spatial-temporal analysis of crime, three challenges have been identified: spatial-temporal scaling, theorizing spatial patterns for different types of crime, and the micro interaction between space and time. The spatial-temporal scaling issue is related to choosing the appropriate geographic unit of analysis. The theoretical issue concerns the lack of an integrative approach that can integrate the benefits of each theoretical perspective and identify broader processes to explain the resulting spatial patterns for different types of crime. Also, examining and explaining the variation of the micro space-time interactions for different types of …

"What's Past Is Prologue" : Exploring Confinement As A Setting For Change In Social Support And Criminal Activity, Audrey Opal Hickert

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Confinement is a major part of the criminal justice apparatus worldwide. Despite its widespread use, research is just beginning to address the mechanisms by which confinement could change individuals and impact post-release outcomes. In prior research, examinations of average effects of confinement may mask considerable and important heterogeneity. Therefore, variation within confinement samples should be explored on numerous life dimensions, including collateral consequences and metrics of criminal activity beyond simple “yes” or “no” recidivism. Confinement is a life-course event, meaning it can broadly shape future trajectories for those who experience it (Pettit & Western, 2004; Sampson & Laub, 2016). Building …

Effects Of The Walters Criminal Lifestyle Program On Offenders' Criminal Thinking Styles, Alessandre Singher Singher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented the high prevalence of crime in society and the need for programs to assist in the reduction of crime. Social cognitive and criminal lifestyle theories were the two major theoretical frameworks applied to this study due to their focus on the influence of cognitive change on behavioral modifications. A lifestyle approach in such programs reshapes criminal thoughts and transforms criminal behaviors. The efficacy of a lifestyle program in a community correctional facility outside of federal prison walls, modified to run 3 months with parolees and probationers, lacks evidenced research. Using a 2x3 between groups factorial ANCOVA, archival …

Student Criminality: The Influence Of Strain, Family And Peers, Annie Cvetan

Theses and Dissertations

General strain theory suggests that a number of conditioning factors affect who is more likely to respond to strain with crime. Research has also demonstrated that an individual's self-complexity plays a role in how an individual responds to strain. Self-complexity refers to (1) the number of identities individuals perceive as important to themselves; and (2) the varied characteristics they ascribe to these identities. This research study analyzed if college students were committing crime, whether the crimes were major or minor in nature, and if criminality was a new behavior or an imported one. This study also looked at who, if …

Impulsivity, Criminogenic Opportunity Structures, And Delinquency, Matt Vogel

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Impulsivity has emerged as a strong predictor of delinquency. A growing body of research suggests that neighborhood disorganization moderates the association between impulsivity and delinquency. However, there are several competing perspectives on the direction of this moderation, and the empirical research has generated a small body of discordant findings. This dissertation addresses the research linking impulsivity, neighborhood disorganization, and delinquency in two ways. First, I propose that the inconsistent findings to date might be attributed to variation in measurement and modeling strategy across earlier studies. Second, I argue that the mechanisms underlying the differential effect of impulsivity on delinquency across …

Offender Routines And Awareness Space : Looking Beyond Space And Place To Predict The Spatial Clustering Of Crime, Gina Penly Hall

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research confirms what many people witness everyday--levels of crime are higher at and around some places compared to others. Explanations surrounding the spatial clustering of crime incidents, or hotspots, typically focus on characteristics of the criminal event and devote little attention to the role of the offender. Building from ideas set forth in routine activities and crime pattern theories, the first goal of this dissertation is to address this missing element. The presence of crime hotspots are estimated using geocoded crime incidents. The resulting maps, along with bivariate and multivariate analyses, examine offender-based explanations for the development of crime hotspots …

Impulsivity, Offending, And The Neighborhood : Investigating The Person-Context Nexus, Gregory M. Zimmerman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A key assumption of the traditional trait-based approach to the study of crime is that personality traits cause people to act similarly across a wide array of contexts. This approach has been challenged for its failure to acknowledge differences in the social environments to which individuals are exposed. Similarly, community-level explanations of crime have been criticized for failing to acknowledge that there are important individual differences between criminals and non-criminals. Ultimately, a full understanding of crime requires the consideration of both individual and environmental differences, perhaps most importantly because they may interact to produce offending behavior. In particular, the influence …

Delinquency And Victimization Among Adolescents An Examination Of The Relationship And Lifestyle Influences, Joy Eileen Livergood

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the correlation between delinquency and victimization. Consideration is given to the lifestyle influences including the routine activities and demographic factors. Data from the 1997 Monitoring the Future data set are analyzed in an attempt to understand the extent of the relationship as well as the impact of various lifestyle activities and demographic factors. The study was guided by previous research examining the correlation between delinquency and victimization as well as the impact of lifestyle elements. SPSS 9.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. Overall, the findings suggest that there is a correlation between delinquency and …

Social Disorganization Theory The Effect Of Social And Economic Factors On Crime And Delinquency, Tonya G. Anderson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which social and economic factors impact juvenile arrest rates and crime rates. In addition this study hopes to lend support to Shaw and McKay's (1942) theory of social disorganization. A large body of research exists on this topic. Scholars have analyzed and debated the validity and strength of the relationship between social disorganization indicators (unemployment, poverty, welfare dependency, single female-headed households, and changes in an areas population size) and increased delinquency and crime. This study will add to existing literature by providing a measure for juvenile crime that focuses on specific offenses. …

The Predictive Accuracy Of The Violent Offender Treatment Program Risk Assessment Scale, Ann Ward

Theses : Honours

Current methods for screening violent offenders for program eligibility are expensive and time consuming. Developers of the Violent Offender Treatment Program (VOTP) have designed 2 brief and economical instrument to screen offenders for program eligibility. The present study was undertaken to assess the reliability and predictive accuracy of the VOTP Risk Assessment Scale (RAS). An inter-rater reliability of 20 court histories attained a mean kappa of .8 I. The RAS was applied to court histories of 202 violent offenders released between 1985 and 1987. A I 0-year follow-up of convictions for violent behaviour yielded a 47~ base rate. Receiver Operating …

Preliminary Exploration Of Risk Assessment Predictors : Can Probationers Who Re-Offend Be Identified?, Deborah Dawson

Theses : Honours

A retrospective study of 243 male probationers who had been on community based orders in Western Australia for a mean time of 15 months, was undertaken to explore differences between re-offenders and non re-offenders. Discriminant function analyses were employed in a series of designs where the mediating effects of geographic location and Aboriginality and non Aboriginality were investigated. The analyses revealed that the best static predictor item for distinguishing between non re-offenders and re-offenders in the entire sample was offence type (Wilks Lambda, .88, chi-square 25.589, df = 6, p < .0005) and the best criminogenic need item was employment (Wilks Lambda, .96, chi-square 7.566, df = 2, p < .05). In regional areas, drug use was !he primary predictor contributing to a function which significantly discriminated between and re-offenders and non re-offenders (Wilks Lambda, .78, chi-square 12.557, df = 4, p < .05). The classification accuracy was 68% for grouped cases. This result was unexpected, as previous studies have consistently found static predictors to be primary predictors of risk. Analysis of the metropolitan area sub-sample produced results more consistent with previous findings. Offence type and number of breached orders loaded highly on a statistically significant function which satisfactorily discriminated between outcomes (Wilks Lambda, .81, chi-square 31.226, df= 6, p < .0005). The analysis of race produced similar results. The variables which had tile highest loadings on the derived functions for both sub-samples were al11 static predictors of risk. Based on meta-analytic research outcomes of Andrews et al. (1990), it was also hypothesised that a chi-square analysis of court sanctioned probation conditions would reveal differences across re-offending outcome and the nature of the probation conditions. The results were consistent with the finding that general correctional service combined with a judicial alternative produced greater reductions in recidivism than a judicial alternative alone. The outcomes related to geographic location and race reinforced the importance of assessing risk of recidivism on the basis of population-specific attributes. Despite several limitations associated with the research design, the exploration provided future directions for the development of risk models and the use of judicial alternatives to reduce recidivism.

A Review And Modification Of Wilson And Herrnstein's Integrated Theory Of Criminality As It Pertains To Serial Murder And Serial Rape, Karen Bower Mead

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis presents a review and modification of Wilson and Herrnstein's integrated theory of criminality in an effort to explain serial murder and serial rape. The crimes of serial murder and serial rape are described as offenses which appear to be unprovoked and "senseless" and as well are predatory and repetitious in nature. The objective of this thesis is to further understand and explain the occurrence of these particular criminal offenses through the integration of existing theories of behavior.

Wilson and Herrnstein's theory is discussed and modified specifically to address the criminality exhibited by serial murderers and serial rapists. Their …