Self-control,parental crime,and discipline across three generations

The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between self-control, parental crime, and use of discipline across three generations. Data spanning 30 years from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, are analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. This study focuses on whether different types of discipline used by parents predict the self-control of each successive generation. We also examine whether self-control and criminal activities of parents are predictive of parenting and resulting self-control of children. We find that discipline has a weak relationship to self-control but that parental crime and self-control do relate to the self-control of later generations.     

The Impact of Crime on Social Ties and Civic Participation

The present study examined associations of neighbourhood crime with residents' social ties and civic participation using multilevel models. We hypothesized that crime is indirectly associated with residents' low civic participation by negatively relating to their acquaintanceship ties because of fear of neighbours. By contrast, we predicted that crime is indirectly related to frequent civic participation by positively associating with more intimate friendship ties as a response to combat external threats. Additionally, we hypothesized that high crime rates in the neighbourhood increases the importance of generalized trust towards others. Therefore, we examined the interaction effects of neighbourhood crime and trust on social ties and participation. The study is based on a postal questionnaire mailed to residents aged between 20 and 69 years, residing in Musashino City and Kiyose City, in Tokyo. Rates of larceny reported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department were used as indices of neighbourhood crime. As hypothesized, our results showed that crime is positively associated with friendship ties and is negatively related to acquaintanceship ties. Through these opposing relationships, crime showed both positive and negative associations with civic participation. Moreover, we found that generalized trust buffered the adverse relationships between crime, broader social ties and participation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-national variations in violence

This study tries to explain why modernization is positively associated with property offenses, while it is negatively correlated with violent offences. The explanation is based on sociobiology and on the distinction between r and K evolutionary strategies. It is argued that modern societies are more likely to benefit from channeling their aggressive drive to the relatively less serious property crimes. Another derivative from the same theoretical argument is the hypothesis that in modern societies lethal aggression would be directed toward the self (resulting in suicide) rather than toward others (a behavior which would lead to homicide).     

Victims' emotional distress and preventive measures usage: Influence of crime severity,risk perception,and fear

The central thesis of this study is that crime victims' emotional distress, influenced by the severity of the offence experienced, impacts their propensity to utilize preventive measures via its influence on perceived risk of victimization and fear of crime. Path analysis was conducted to test a model of these relationships, utilizing data from a crime victimization survey conducted on the Caribbean Island, Trinidad, in 2015. Results suggest a direct predictive relationship between crime severity and emotional distress and indirect effects of emotional distress on preventive measures through risk perception and fear of crime. Findings were discussed in the context of prior research, comparability, and variances, and practical implications were noted.     

Chicago Youths’ Exposure to Community Violence: Contextualizing Spatial Dynamics of Violence and the Relationship With Psychological Functioning

This study explores where and when community violence exposure (CVE) matters for psychological functioning in a sample of low-income, racial/ethnic minority youth (M) age = 16.17, 55% female, 69% Black, and 31% Non-Black/Latinx) living in Chicago. CVE was measured with violent crime data that were geocoded in terms of distance from youths’ home and school addresses, and then calculated in terms of three distinct spatial dynamics: chronicity, pervasiveness, and spatial proximity. These measures reflect indirect/objective CVE across different conceptualizations of time, space, and neighborhood context. We tested the relationship between each CVE measure and trait anxiety and behavioral and cognitive dysregulation while controlling for youth-reported, direct violent victimization (e.g., being attacked) to examine how indirect/objective CVE occurring within youths’ neighborhood contexts matters beyond direct/subjective violence exposure. Results revealed that long-term chronic, pervasive, and spatially proximal CVE was related to higher levels of behavioral dysfunction. In contrast, CVE within home- and school-based neighborhoods interacted to predict trait anxiety; youth living in low-crime neighborhoods and attending schools in high-crime neighborhoods had the highest rates of trait anxiety. Measuring CVE within both home and school neighborhoods at specific spatial measurements and time frames is critical to understand and prevent the consequences of CVE.     

Why Have We Been More Successful in Reducing Tobacco Use Than Violent Crime?

Tobacco control efforts have been associated with a significant reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use in the United States. Efforts to reduce the incidence of violent crime have been much less successful. This paper argues that progress on tobacco control stems from the existence of a clear, empirically based, and widely understood analysis of the tobacco problem that articulates (a) the harms associated with its use, (b) the causes of tobacco use, and (c) the programs and policies that could reduce tobacco use. This analysis has guided the development of a network of social organizations that have been advocating for policies and programs that are reducing tobacco use. In contrast, there is not a widely shared, cogent, and empirically based analysis of the problem of violent crime. As a result, efforts to combat violent crime are fragmented and it has proven difficult to generate support for preventive programs and policies. Substantial empirical progress has been made, however, on how violent crime could be prevented. That evidence is reviewed. It is argued that the articulation of this evidence is a critical first step for achieving widespread reduction in the incidence of violent crime. Communication of that evidence to audiences that matter will require that behavioral scientists become better organized to advocate for the adoption of empirically supported practices.     

“You're all a bunch of feminists:” Categorization and the politics of terror in the Montreal Massacre

Following Sacks's model membership categorization analysis (MCA) of a suicidal person's conclusion 'I have no one to turn to,' the paper examines in MCA terms a political actor's twin conclusions that murder-suicide is a rational course of action. The case in question is the killer's reasoning in the Montreal Massacre as revealed in his reported announcement at the scene (notably 'You're all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists') and recovered suicide letter (for example, 'For why persevere to exist if it is only to please the government').     

Interpersonal Skills Training to Reduce Aggressive and Delinquent Behavior: Limited Evidence and the Need for an Evidence-Based System of Care

The prevention of aggressive and delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence is one of the highest priorities for public health and crime prevention. The most common approach to preventing or treating these conduct problems has been to provide interpersonal skills training to the affected youth. This paper reviews all randomized controlled trials evaluating interpersonal skills training programs as an intervention to reduce conduct problems. Research shows that such programs have weak empirical support as isolated interventions. An alternative evidence-based system of care is described. Such a system would include behavioral parent training and behavioral classroom-based interventions for young children at risk of developing problems, as well as multisystemic family therapy or multidimensional treatment foster care for chronic delinquents. Within such a network of services, interpersonal skills training could play an important supportive role. Such a system holds the greatest promise for reducing the prevalence of aggressive and delinquent behavior in communities.     

Children Who Murder: A Review

Despite considerable research on juvenile homicide, pre-adolescent homicide offenders have received less attention. This paper reviews the existing literature on preteen murderers in order to characterize the current state of research knowledge about this population, and draws on some of the work on adolescent homicide as well. The analysis of this literature considers historical context, methodological issues, previous attempts to classify youthful homicide offenders, and predictors of preteen homicidal behavior. While there is a high degree of heterogeneity within this population, several developmental similarities emerged across cases that were associated with the perpetration of homicide by preteens. A high percentage of preteen homicide offenders come from homes characterized by physical abuse, domestic violence, poor or absent parenting, and overall instability. Gun availability may have been a facilitating factor. Support for different etiologies of preteen versus adolescent homicide is weak. Recommendations for future research directions are offered.