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An Assessment Of Scales Measuring Constructs In Tests Of Criminological Theory Based On National Youth Survey Data, Todd A. Armstrong, Daniel R. Lee, Gaylene Armstrong
An Assessment Of Scales Measuring Constructs In Tests Of Criminological Theory Based On National Youth Survey Data, Todd A. Armstrong, Daniel R. Lee, Gaylene Armstrong
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
Researchers have utilized the National Youth Survey (NYS) data to test a variety of theoretical explanations of criminal behavior. Here, the authors offer an assessment of scales used in tests of criminological theory based on NYS data. The authors conducted this assessment to provide results informing future tests of theory. Their analyses focus on understanding the extent to which scales representative of different theories are actually based on the same item content. They test for two distinct processes that may explain this phenomenon. In the first process, scales measuring a given construct are attributed to different theories. In the second …
Bookreview: Price, B. E. (2006). Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays For Prison Privatization? Westport, Ct: Praeger. 187 Pp, Gaylene Armstrong
Bookreview: Price, B. E. (2006). Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays For Prison Privatization? Westport, Ct: Praeger. 187 Pp, Gaylene Armstrong
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
Review of Price’s Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays for Prison Privatization?
The Organizational, Community And Programmatic Characteristics That Predict The Effective Implementation Of After-School Programs, Todd A. Armstrong, Gaylene Armstrong
The Organizational, Community And Programmatic Characteristics That Predict The Effective Implementation Of After-School Programs, Todd A. Armstrong, Gaylene Armstrong
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
To identify characteristics predicting the effective implementation of after-school programs, in-depth interviews were conducted at five sites randomly selected from a subset of 16 ACE after-school sites serving high risk youth in a southwestern city. Qualitative data from structured in-depth interviews, follow-up telephone conversations with personnel as well as researcher observations during site visits were synthesized. Data identified three constellations of characteristics associated with effective implementation: staffing, community and programmatic. Staffing characteristics included limited staff turnover and sufficient training. Community characteristics included cultural sensitivity and community integration. Programmatic characteristics included clearly defined program goals and specific program content. Researcher observations …
The Measurement Of Psychopathy: Dimensional And Taxometric Approaches, Emily M. Wright
The Measurement Of Psychopathy: Dimensional And Taxometric Approaches, Emily M. Wright
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
This article extends the debate over personality disorders as dimensional or taxonic phenomena to the study of psychopathy and relates this issue to questions surrounding whether behaviors or personality traits best represent psychopathy. Proponents of dimensional measurements of psychopathy consider personality traits to be important constructs of psychopathy, whereas proponents of taxometric measurements consider behaviors to be important characteristics of psychopathy. After a brief introduction to the measurement of psychopathy, taxometric and dimensional measurement techniques are explained, their assumptions addressed, and their strengths and weaknesses discussed. Empirical evidence for each technique is then critiqued, and methodological problems are described. It …
An Assessment Of Cross-National Variation In Rates Of Incarceration, Ryan E. Spohn, Travis Linnemann
An Assessment Of Cross-National Variation In Rates Of Incarceration, Ryan E. Spohn, Travis Linnemann
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
Our theoretical approach compares the relative efficacy of multiple theories of law and social control. From a general social threat perspective, we find that variables reflecting the size of the unemployed youth population and general measures of income inequality have positive impacts on a nation's rates of incarceration. We also find partial support for one of Durkheim's laws of quantitative change and penal evolution, in that, all else equal, nations with a more authoritarian form of government utilize incarceration at a higher rate than their more democratic counterparts. We also find that the institutional anomie perspective, which has previously been …
Is There Such A Thing As “Defended Community Homicide”?: The Necessity Of Methods Triangulation, Elizabeth Griffiths, Robert D. Baller, Ryan E. Spohn, Rosemary Gartner
Is There Such A Thing As “Defended Community Homicide”?: The Necessity Of Methods Triangulation, Elizabeth Griffiths, Robert D. Baller, Ryan E. Spohn, Rosemary Gartner
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
Data on homicides in Buffalo, New York, are analyzed to demonstrate the importance of “methods triangulation” for assessing the validity of quantitative measures. Defended community homicides are quantitatively operationalized as acts that occur in the offender’s community against a nonlocal victim. Poisson models provide strong support for the existence of defended community homicide, which is significantly more common in residentially stable and racially homogenous neighborhoods. However, subsequent qualitative analyses of the victim and offender characteristics and motives of these homicides undermine the “defended community” concept. Qualitative analyses are necessary to assess the validity of quantitative measures in criminological research.
Investigating Racial Disparity At The Detention Decision: The Role Of Respectability, Don L. Kurtz, Travis Linnemann, Ryan E. Spohn
Investigating Racial Disparity At The Detention Decision: The Role Of Respectability, Don L. Kurtz, Travis Linnemann, Ryan E. Spohn
Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
A concern over inequity and the existence of racial disparity of youth served by the juvenile justice system has long been a topic of considerable interest among scholars, policymakers, and court offi cials. Numerous empirical studies undertaken by academics and various public and private organizations have attempted to shed some light on this phenomenon. Research fi ndings on disproportionate minority contact have hardly been uniform, leaving much of this practice unexplained. This study uses data obtained at the detention decision point over a three-year period examining variance in juvenile case processing related to race. Findings suggest that extra-legal factors influencing …