Deviant Behavior

Lee, Heeuk D.; Kim, David; Armocida, Matthew; Reyns, Bradford W.

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2231604pmid: N/A

Recent research has examined the relationship between individuals’ news media consumption and attitudes toward police, including how media preferences influence individuals’ perceptions of procedural justice. Building on this work, the current study examines the impact of mass communication engagement on attitudes toward procedural justice among college students in the United States. Using a sample of students from five universities, our results provide evidence that mass communication engagement plays an important role in explaining attitudes toward procedural justice. In contrast to findings reported in prior research on media engagement and procedural justice, we found that Internet news and social media engagement is negatively associated with procedural justice.

Shepherd, David; Whitman, Kate; Button, Mark; Wilson, Jeremy M.

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2233041pmid: N/A

Product counterfeiting is a large and global economic crime that causes significant economic, social and personal harms. Facilitated by the efficiency and convenience of e-commerce, finding and buying counterfeits have never been easier. Going beyond product listings on websites, counterfeiters are now using sophisticated marketing techniques to promote their illicit wares. This includes employing deviant social media influencers who violate social norms and the law to peddle counterfeit goods via channels such as YouTube and Instagram. However, very little is known about their market or their impact. Based on two UK surveys, the empirical research described in this article estimates the prevalence of consumers who purchase counterfeits because of SMI endorsements. We believe this is the first estimate of its kind anywhere. Further, the research finds that influencer marketing exploits characteristics of consumers that make them susceptible to the charms of the deviant SMIs: high susceptibility to the influence of trusted digital others, low risk awareness, high risk appetite, and prone to rationalizations that morally justify the purchases. The higher prevalence of these characteristics in young adults and males helps to explain why these demographic groups are the most likely to purchase endorsed counterfeits.

Swinehart, Megan L.; Giordano, Peggy C.; Longmore, Monica A.; Manning, Wendy D.

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2233042pmid: N/A

COVID-19 pandemic related disruptions to work and family life have led to increases in stress levels; however, prior studies have not examined how stress levels and changes in stress during the pandemic may have varied based on involvement in criminal behavior. In this study, we examined how criminal behavior influenced stress levels prior to and during the pandemic, and changes in overall stress levels. Using longitudinal data collected in 2019 and 2020 as part of the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) (n = 787), the current study examines self-reported criminal behavior prior to the pandemic and variation in stress levels during the pandemic. Results show that individuals who engaged in more criminal behavior pre-pandemic reported higher levels of overall stress, but their stress levels decreased during the pandemic. Although individuals who engaged in less criminal behavior had lower levels of overall stress prior to the pandemic, they experienced an increase in stress during the pandemic. Future research should continue to examine how and why stress levels differ based on involvement in criminal behavior and a range of other life circumstances.

Fowler, Kurt; Green, Robert; Palombi, Allan

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2233668pmid: N/A

Incels are an Internet subculture focused on anti-feminism and extremist political rhetoric. Their ideology is largely based on the idea that men are marginalized within western society, while women wield a majority of “soft political power.” Yet, there has been little exploration on the ways incels codify gender. Though they espouse gender as an ascribed status in binary terms, they portray gender as a stratified dynamic achievement. This research uses data gathered from four popular incel message boards analyzing their “interpretive repertoire,” describing the social position of women based on “doing gender” across 98 separate discussion threads, resulting in approximately 2,760 pages of discussion to analyze. Findings show that Incels use the central metaphor of sex to reference how socio-political power ought to be distributed in society and how women are categorized along a gendered spectrum of political agency that ranks women as either unattainable prizes to be won or dehumanized enemies to be defeated, reifying the Incel community’s lack of agency and their advocating for and approval of gendered violence.

Skaggs, Sheryl; Vieraitis, Lynne M.

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2234068pmid: N/A

Over the past several years, media reports of airline passenger misconduct have climbed sharply. Research has shown that while industry-level factors such as delayed and canceled flights, poor customer service, and overcrowded seating contribute to increased unruly behavior, additional contextual elements related to personal use of alcohol (prohibited and served) have also played a role in this shift. Drawing on data from more than 915 incidents voluntarily reported to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) over a 21-year time period, we use a multi-level case classification coding process to examine three broad types of passenger misconduct – physical, verbal, and other general types. Our results highlight the diverse range of behaviors associated with unruly airline passengers and offer insights into how environmental factors, spatial context, weak enforcement of existing federal legislation, as well as industry structures and practices, create pathways for offender behavior.

Mowen, Thomas J.; Heitkamp, Amanda; Schroeder, Ryan D.

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2234069pmid: N/A

The field of deviance generally encompasses two major forms of deviant behavior: Formal and informal deviance. Formal deviance refers to acts that violate a law, while informal deviance refers to acts that violate a social norm. Yet, as a total proportion of deviance in a given society, formal deviance – crime – is rare. While the focus on crime is warranted, it has resulted in far less quantitative assessment and understanding of informal deviance. The goal of this study is to develop and test a quantitative scale called the non-criminal deviance scale (NCDS). Drawing from expert evaluations, we create a 13-item NCDS, then test it against theoretically informed covariates using a sample of 780 young adults. Findings reveal key constructs (e.g. self-control, age) influence variations in the NCDS. Results demonstrate that much like scales used in crime research, non-criminal deviance can also be captured quantitatively via a scale. Given the relatively common nature of informal deviance – particularly compared to formal deviance – this is a crucial first step in understanding general patterns in non-criminal deviant behaviors.

Friedrich, Wiola; Krasińska, Magdalena

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2235058pmid: N/A

We compared stress of imprisonment and stress coping styles of incarcerated people before and during COVID-19. We aimed to explore how the sanitary conditions of COVID-19 affected the well-being of incarcerated people. The aim of the study was to distinguish predictors of well-being in incarcerated people as a function of stress assessment, coping styles and COVID-19 restrictions, compensation and prison preparation. In total, we surveyed 239 incarcerated people during the third wave of the pandemic from December 2021 to February 2022 and 247 subjects before the COVID-19 pandemic. The study results showed that the pandemic had adverse effects on incarcerated people. We found differences between groups in perceived stress and some stress coping styles. Among psychological stress traits, harm-loss and emotion-oriented stress coping could be the predictors of well-being among incarcerated people as well as COVID-19 restrictions implemented in prisons, including high-security facilities. The implications for prison policy and practice were also discussed.

Pearce, Jessica; Kahanek, Kristen

doi: 10.1080/01639625.2023.2235627pmid: N/A

This study seeks to contribute to the knowledge of stigmatization, audience behavior, and dirty work. Furthermore, few studies have examined how groups frame multilevel marketing (MLM) participation as deviant. We will observe and define how an online community stigmatizes MLMs and participants. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis of a subreddit that opposes MLMs, we consider the top-rated posts’ type, content, and titles in the 12 months preceding data collection. We established several themes during analysis; posted content included humor, criticism, and MLM-related content. We also found contextual descriptions, criticism, humor, positive sanctions, and content emphasis among post titles. Together posts frame MLM participants and participants’ behavior as problematic. We also examine how subreddit community members stigmatize MLMs and participants while reinforcing the community’s ideological boundaries. Finally, we discuss how community members frame this liminal occupation as dirty, morally tainted work within an online space.