Crime & Delinquency

Strohacker, Emily; Watts, Stephen J.; Wright, Lauren E.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221093326pmid: N/A

Traditional bullying and cyberbullying are common problems faced by today’s youth. Research seeking to explain bullying perpetration has often invoked Agnew’s general strain theory (GST). However, research to date has often explored within a given study only a single emotion at a time that can result from strain. Further, prior research has tended to take the causal ordering arguments of GST at face value. The current study seeks to focus on the correlation of strains related to socioeconomics with traditional and cyberbullying perpetration and negative emotions. Utilizing the Add Health data and path modeling in Mplus, results suggest that socioeconomic strain positively correlates with bullying perpetration and recent negative emotions. However, results suggest a potential causal chain that is the opposite of an expectation of GST, with bullying perpetration potentially affecting negative emotions, and not the other way around. Implications of the results for theory and policy are discussed.

Fissel, Erica R.; Reyns, Bradford W.; Nobles, Matt R.; Fisher, Bonnie S.; Fox, Kathleen A.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221096374pmid: N/A

This study empirically examines situational and personal characteristics associated with victims’ responses to cyberstalking. In the context of these responses, there has been much debate regarding the “fear standard,” which requires victims or reasonable persons to feel fearful as a result of stalking. To examine victim responses to cyberstalking, survey data were collected from 880 young adults in the U.S. who were repeatedly pursued online (cyberstalked) within the previous year. Findings revealed that the majority (67.84%) of respondents did not feel fear in response to the repeated online pursuit. However, approximately half (50.23%) did experience a substantial (non-fear) emotional response. Multivariate findings identified situational and victim characteristics that impacted the reactions experienced, and these effects varied by type of reaction. The results indicate that definitions requiring fear underestimate the prevalence of cyberstalking.

Yim, Ha-Neul; Choi, Jaeyong; Vieraitis, Lynne M.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221098585pmid: N/A

Recent experiments have shown that deterrence communication can lead individuals to update their sanction perceptions. However, there remains the question of whether different forms of deterrence communication influence sanction perception updating for illegal marijuana dealing. Using data from an experiment with a nationwide sample of 498 adults, we examined whether a message unpacking sanction risk leads to sanction perception updating and whether this updated risk perception influences drug dealing intentions. The findings revealed that the unpacking message did not influence perceived certainty and severity and intentions to offend, and the risk perceptions did not mediate the impact of the unpacking message on intentions to offend. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Kabiri, Saeed; Shadmanfaat, Seyyedeh Masoomeh (Shamila); Pauwels, Lieven J. R.; Donner, Christopher M.; Cochran, John K.; Hardyns, Wim

doi: 10.1177/00111287221116293pmid: N/A

The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated quarantines in many urban settings, and rules have been enforced to ensure that citizens are complying with health-related mandates. However, anecdotal and empirical evidence confirm the prevalence of policy transgressions. Non-compliance with COVID-19 mandates can have severe consequences for individual health, societal fear, and the global economy. Thus, it is important to better understand the etiology of such misbehavior in the hopes of ensuring policy adherence. Using Agnew’s social concern theory as a conceptual framework, this study investigates quarantine-related misbehavior in the urban context of Rasht, Iran. Survey data of 393 university students indicate that social concern theory can explain quarantine-related misbehavior. Specific findings, implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Lee, Claire Seungeun; Wang, Yan

doi: 10.1177/00111287221118880pmid: N/A

The present study reveals hidden patterns of group membership across cybercrime victims in European countries. We used a multilevel latent class analysis of data from the 2019 Eurobarometer, a regionally representative sample of 21,908 individuals from 28 countries, to identify such subgroups and patterns of cybercrime victimization. The findings suggest there are two overarching cybercrime victim profiles in Europe based on individuals’ levels of “online activity” and “cybersecurity guardianship”: the “at-risk class” (19%, higher risk) and the “cautious class” (81%, lower risk). Ten different types of cybercrime victimization were compared, and while individual-level predictors were primarily used to produce different groups of cybercrime victims, our findings suggest that researchers consider both individual- and country-level predictors to understand cybercrime victimization patterns in greater depth.

González-Álvarez, José Luis; Soldino, Virginia; Santos-Hermoso, Jorge; Carbonell-Vayá, Enrique J.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221120184pmid: N/A

Spanish intimate partner violence against women offender types (i.e., high instability/high antisociality, HiHa; low instability/high antisociality, LiHa; high instability/low antisociality, HiLa; low instability/low antisociality, LiLa) were matched with their police recidivism outcomes in a longitudinal study of 9,672 cases. Our goal was to examine whether these subtypes differed in (1) their recidivism rates, (2) the severity of the new violent episodes, and (3) the evolution of their risk levels. Results showed that individuals with high antisociality features where associated with the highest recidivism rates (26.5% HiHa; 22.6% LiHa), and higher likelihood of new severe violent episodes. HiHa offenders showed the highest risk over time, although the risk posed by all subtypes decreased during follow-up. Implications for police work are discussed.

Todak, Natalie; Gaub, Janne E.; White, Michael D.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221120185pmid: N/A

We test whether the presence of police body-worn camera (BWC) evidence impacts case filing, processing, and outcomes, using data from over 50,000 misdemeanor cases charged in the Tempe, Arizona municipal city court (2014–2017). BWCs did not affect case flow but did affect processing and outcomes for most cases. Traffic and drug/alcohol cases involving a BWC were processed more quickly, while traffic and person offense cases with a BWC were less likely to be adjudicated guilty. Defendant and officer demographics were correlated with case processing time and outcomes, but BWCs did not reduce racial/ethnic disparities for any outcomes. BWCs appear to affect case processing and outcomes for some case types, but effects are not straightforward and warrant further research.

Bergquist, Becca K.; Schmidt, Adam T.; Thomas, April G.

doi: 10.1177/00111287221122756pmid: N/A

Justice-involved youth experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) compared to the general population, which lead to negative outcomes such as greater criminal involvement and mental health disorders. Such effects emphasize the need to examine the role of protective factors on the development of these negative outcomes. This study uses data from 519 youth referred to a probation department in Southeast Texas to examine the effects of ACEs and the direct and mitigating effects of protective factors on a youth’s criminal involvement and mental health symptoms. Results from hierarchical linear regression models emphasize the negative effects of ACEs on these outcomes, as well as the potential ceiling effect of protective factors based on ACE severity.

Stogner, John; Rukus, Joseph; Webber, Wesley B.; Cramer, Robert J.; Miller, Bryan Lee

doi: 10.1177/00111287221122757pmid: N/A

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender and sexual minority (LGBTQ+) community are disproportionately affected by illicit substance use, yet sexual orientation and gender identity are largely omitted from criminology frameworks. LGBTQ+ identity is incorporated into Akers’ Social Structure-Social Learning (SSSL) model to suggest that existing disparate substance use patterns may be attributed to variation in substance-related definitions, peer models, and reinforcement. Data from 2,349 young adults were used to estimate structural equations models. LGBTQ+ respondents reported greater substance use than peers. Consistent with theoretical expectations, this relationship was fully mediated by social learning constructs. This study justifies incorporating sexual orientation and gender identity into the SSSL model and suggests peer-based substance use interventions are particularly influential within the LGBTQ+ community.

Boppre, Breanna; Sundt, Jody; Browne, George Ebo

doi: 10.1177/00111287221141958pmid: N/A

Community supervision increased dramatically since the early 2000s. Similar to trends in prison admissions, the increase has not been equal across racial and ethnic groups. In addition to disparities in placement onto supervision, experiences under supervision and outcomes may also be shaped by intersecting identities. Accordingly, this study examined probation outcomes among 4,433 probation cases in 2018 in Kansas. We assess how race and ethnicity impact outcomes among women and men while controlling for criminogenic risk and need, offense, financial stability, and other factors using multilevel modeling. Results indicate that race and ethnicity were unrelated to probation outcomes for women; however, Black men were subject to the worst odds of probation outcomes. Policy and future research implications are discussed.