Michael G. Turner

Reporting Sexual Victimization To The Police And Others Results From a National-Level Study of College Women

Beginning with Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski’s pathbreaking study, the sexual victimization of female college students has emerged as salient research and policy concern. Building on this earlier work, we used a national, random sample of 4,446 female college students to focus on an issue of continuing importance: the level and determinants of victims’ willingness to report their sexual victimization. The analysis revealed that although few incidents—including rapes—are reported to the police and/or to campus authorities, a high proportion are disclosed to someone else (mainly to friends). Incidents were more likely to be reported to the police when they had characteristics that made them more “believable” (e.g., presence of a weapon or assailant who was a stranger). The use of alcohol and/or drugs by offenders and/or victims had a unique effect, causing students to be more likely to disclose their victimization to friends but not to campus authorities. The implications of the findings for extant debates and for future research are also explored.

The stability of self-control

Gottfredson and Hirschis General Theory of Crime contends that low self-control interacts with opportunity to produce criminal and analogous behaviors. Although several theoretical and empirical attempts have been aimed at assessing the general theory, researchers have been slow to examine one of the central postulates of the general theory: the stability postulate. Gottfredson and Hirschi contend that once established by ages eight to ten, self-control remains relatively stable over the life-course. In the only study to address this question, Arneklev, Cochran, and Gainey found that self-control levels were relatively stable in a four month test-retest among college students. In this article, the work of Arneklev et al. is extended and examination is made of the stability postulate in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Using a national probability sample, as well as behavioral and attitudinal measures of self-control, the results offer mixed support for Gottfredson and Hirschis stability postulate. Theoretical and future research directions are advanced.

Parental Socialization and Community Context: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Structural Sources of Low Self-Control:

Several empirical studies have attempted to estimate the effect of low self-control on criminal and “analogous” behaviors. Most of these studies have shown that low self-control is an important feature of the cause(s) of crime. Although research is beginning to emerge that targets more specifically the “roots” of self-control via parental socialization (the most salient factor in the development of self-control according to Hirschi and Gottfredson), researchers have yet to explore the degree to which the structural characteristics of communities may influence patterns of parental socialization and, in turn, individual levels of self-control. To address this question, the authors employ longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine community-level influences on parental socialization and self-control. The results indicate (1) self-control was predicted both cross-sectionally and longitudinally by both parental socialization and adverse neighborhood conditions, (2) the total effect of adverse neighborhood conditions on children’s levels of self-control was just as strong as the total effect for indicators of parental socialization, and (3) important race differences did emerge, particularly with regard to the inter-relationships between our neighborhood-level measures and parental socialization.

Acknowledging sexual victimization as rape: Results from a national-level study

There has been ongoing debate on how women are counted when they do not acknowledge as rapes experiences that are characterized by the key components of rape. This article explores this methodological issue by using a two-stage measurement strategy with behaviorally specific screen questions to gather information on incidents of sexual victimization from 4,446 randomly selected female college students. Our results revealed that almost half of the completed rape victims considered the incidents rapes, yet few of the attempted rape or nonrape victims considered the incidents rapes. The results of a multivariate analysis highlighted the characteristics of incidents that are likely to be considered rapes. The findings buttress the assertion that women who are counted as rape victims have experienced such victimization.

Cumulative Prevalence of Arrest From Ages 8 to 23 in a National Sample

Objective: To estimate the cumulative proportion of youth who self-report having been arrested or taken into custody for illegal or delinquent offenses (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from ages 8 to 23 years. Methods: Self-reported arrest history data (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 7335) were examined from 1997 to 2008. Results: By age 18, the in-sample cumulative arrest prevalence rate lies between 15.9% and 26.8%; at age 23, it lies between 25.3% and 41.4%. These bounds make no assumptions at all about missing cases. If we assume that the missing cases are at least as likely to have been arrested as the observed cases, the in-sample age-23 prevalence rate must lie between 30.2% and 41.4%. The greatest growth in the cumulative prevalence of arrest occurs during late adolescence and the period of early or emerging adulthood. Conclusions: Since the last nationally defensible estimate based on data from 1965, the cumulative prevalence of arrest for American youth (particularly in the period of late adolescence and early adulthood) has increased substantially. At a minimum, being arrested for criminal activity signifies increased risk of unhealthy lifestyle, violence involvement, and violent victimization. Incorporating this insight into regular clinical assessment could yield significant benefits for patients and the larger community.

Demographic Patterns of Cumulative Arrest Prevalence by Ages 18 and 23

In this study, we examine race, sex, and self-reported arrest histories (excluding arrests for minor traffic violations) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97; N = 7,335) for the period 1997 through 2008 covering cumulative arrest histories through ages 18 and 23. The analysis produces three key findings: (a) males have higher cumulative prevalence of arrest than females and (b) there are important race differences in the probability of arrest for males but not for females. Assuming that the missing cases are missing at random (MAR), about 30% of Black males have experienced at least one arrest by age 18 (vs. about 22% for White males); by age 23 about 49% of Black males have been arrested (vs. about 38% for White males). Earlier research using the NLSY97 showed that the risk of arrest by age 23 was 30%, with nonresponse bounds [25.3%, 41.4%]. This study indicates that the risk of arrest is not evenly distributed across the population. Future research should focus on the identification and management of collateral risks that often accompany arrest experiences.

Gender, Bullying Victimization, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Test of General Strain Theory

Abstract Bullying has emerged as a salient problem in the school environment. Using a sample of 2,437 middle-school students from a metropolitan Virginia area, we explore the impact of school bullying victimization on delinquent involvement and substance use. The analysis is guided by general strain theory (GST). Consistent with GST, bullying victimization has a significant, if weak, direct relationship with wayward conduct. This effect is robust across gender groups. Notably, an examination of “conditioning” effects showed that the impact of this strain on delinquency is stronger among students with weaker school social bonds and with higher levels of aggressive attitudes. The results thus suggest that bullying victimization should be considered as a risk factor that places youngsters in jeopardy of criminal involvement.

The effects of aggressive policing of disorder on serious crime

This paper adds to a growing body of research which explores the relationship between aggressive police strategies and serious crime. For one month, police enforced disorder crime in a small section of one community. An interrupted time series analysis was utilized to evaluate the effects of this intervention on robbery and aggravated burglary in a target area and a control area. The strategy was found to be unrelated to levels of aggravated burglary and robbery in the target area. There was no spatial displacement of crime. Explanations for the findings are offered.

Testing Moffitt’s Account of Delinquency Abstention

An established finding in criminology is that most adolescents engage in delinquency. Still, studies continue to identify a small group of individuals who refrain from delinquency even when it is normative for their same-age peers. Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy provides some reasons for delinquency abstention, but research has been slow to assess these hypotheses. Herein, the authors use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine one of Moffitt’s unexplored abstention hypotheses: that some individuals abstain because individual characteristics block their access to delinquent peer networks and, hence, opportunities to mimic antisocial behavior. In addition, the authors also present the first empirical examination of gender differences in abstention. The results support some aspects of Moffitt’s hypotheses concerning the importance of peer networks, but provide mixed evidence regarding the personal characteristics associated with delinquency abstention and involvement in deviant peer networks. Directions for future research and theorizing are discussed.

Exploring the Gender Differences in Protective Factors Implications for Understanding Resiliency

Understanding the causes of why individuals desist from or are resilient to delinquency and drug use has become a salient social concern. Much research has centered on the effects that protective factors possess in fostering resiliency but that research has not fully explored how the effects of protective factors might vary across gender. Using a sample of 711 individuals from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child—Mother data set, the authors investigate how individual protective factors vary across gender on two measures of resiliency that document the lack of involvement in serious delinquency and drug use. They also examine whether the accumulation of protective factors varies across gender in fostering resiliency. The findings suggest that although males and females rely on different individual protective factors to foster resiliency, the accumulation of protective factors appears to be equally important for males and females in promoting resiliency. The authors discuss theoretical and policy implications.