Robert J. Bursik

Testing the Core Empirical Implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime

In A General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi propose that low self-control, in interaction with criminal opportunity, is the major cause of crime. The research reported in this article attempts to test this argument while closely following the nominal definitions presented by Gottfredson and Hirschi. A factor analysis of items designed to measure low self-control is consistent with their contention that the trait is unidimensional. Further, the proposed interaction effect is found for self-reported acts of both fraud and force (their definition of crime). Inconsistent with the theory are (a) the finding that criminal opportunity has a significant main effect, beyond its interaction with low self-control, on self-reported crime and (b) the substantial proportion of variance in crime left unexplained by the theoretical variables. Suggestions are offered for modifying and expanding the theory.

Neighborhoods and crime : the dimensions of effective community control

Chapter 1 Table of Contents Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 1 Basic Issues Chapter 4 2 The Criminal Behavior of Neighborhood Residents Chapter 5 3 Neighborhood Opportunities for Criminal Behavior Chapter 6 4 Neighborhood Dynamics and the Fear of Crime Chapter 7 5 The Neighborhood Context of Gang Behavior Chapter 8 6 Neighborhood-Based Responses to Crime: Policy Issues Chapter 9 Epilogue Chapter 10 Notes Chapter 11 References Chapter 12 Acknowledgments Chapter 13 Index Chapter 14 About the Author

Low Self-Control and Imprudent Behavior

Gottfredson and HirschisA General Theory of Crime contends that individual differences in involvement in criminal and analogous behavior are due largely to individual differences in the personality trait they call low self-control. Among the various behaviors considered analogous to crime are imprudent behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. This research explores the generality of Gottfredson and Hirschis theory by examining the link between low self-control and these imprudent behaviors. The results are mixed. In support of the theory, the data reveal a modest but significant effect of a scale designed to capture the various components of low self-control on an index of imprudent behavior. A more detailed analysis, however, reveals that some of the components of low self-control, specifically those probably linked to low intelligence, detract from the scales predictive power. In fact, one of the components, risk-seeking, is more predictive than the more inclusive scale. Furthermore, one of the imprudent acts, smoking, appears to be unaffected by low self-control. These contradictory findings suggest the need for theoretical refinements.

Community Change and Patterns of Delinquency

One of the most important findings of the classic Shaw and McKay delinquency research was that the distributional pattern of delinquency in Chicago remained relatively stable over time despite processes of ethnic and racial invasion and succession. This paper re-examines this proposal during three 10-year periods spanning 1940-70 using Shaw and McKays own data as well as a more recent set of observations. Evidence is presented that their model is tenable only between 1940 and 1950; since 1950, changing neighborhoods tend to be characterized by changing levels of delinquency. Historical shifts in the nature of ecological processes that may account for this divergence are discussed.

Ecological Stability and the Dynamics of Delinquency

Shaw and McKays ecological approach to social disorganization and delinquency was developed under the assumption that Chicago was characterized by a stable set of ecological dynamics. This enabled them to interpret the relative stability of the location of high delinquency areas in the city. This essay examines the degree to which stability has characterized Chicago since 1930 and the extent to which social disorganization remains a viable approach to the explanation of delinquency. Since World War I, due to an acceleration in processes of suburbanization, Chicago underwent very dramatic ecological changes. In areas characterized by the most rapid changes, there were dramatic increases in delinquency, which is consistent with the social disorganization perspective. An examination of areas whose development differed substantially from the pattern predicted from the general social disorganization model suggests that ecological theories would benefit from a consideration of dynamics external to local communities and must be careful in the ways in which local communities are defined.

Extracommunity Dynamics and the Ecology of Delinquency.

Influenced by Park and Burgess, Shaw and McKay grounded their ecological model of delinquency exclusively in the dynamics of local communities. Although recent developments in human ecology have emphasized the adaptation of cummunities to external contingencies, this internal emphasis has continued to dominate the criminological literature. This paper examines the effects of radical change in adjoining areas on local delinquency rates. Evidence is presented that such external processes have a significant effect on local rates of delinquency. The consideration of these processes may explain why some stable, organized communities are nevertheless characterized by high rates of delinquency. Suttles concept of the defended community provides a promising means of incorporating these findings into general ecological models of crime and delinquency.

Changes in Perceived Threats of Shame, Embarrassment, and Legal Sanctions for Interpersonal Violence, 1982-1992

A survey conducted in 1982 measured perceived threats of shame, embarrassment, and legal sanctions for “physically hurting someone on purpose” among a sample of adults in a southwestern city (N = 350). Sampling from the same community and using an identical methodology, the measures were repeated in a 1992 survey ( N = 396). The growing social condemnation of interpersonal violence, especially intimate violence, during the decade and the increasingly punitive response to it by the legal system lead to the hypothesis that perceived threats of shame, embarrassment, and legal sanctions for this behavior were higher in 1992 than they were in 1982. Results indicate increases for embarrassment and legal sanctions among some segments of the population and are discussed in the context of previous findings concerning shame, embarrassment, and legal sanctions as deterrents.

The use of multiple indicators to estimate crime trends in American cities

Although the description of crime trends is one of the most basic goals of criminological research, this task of obvious importance has proved to be extremely problematic due to the incompatible definitions and associated measurement errors contained in the most widely available datasets, such as the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Survey. Although recent research has attempted to overcome these problems by incorporating the UCR and NCS estimates into a single multiple-indicator model, this does not resolve the problem for local agencies for which only a single estimate (i.e., the UCR) is generally available. This note argues that the relatively recent availability of calls-for-service data in many jurisdictions provides an opportunity for a multiple-indicator estimation of these trends at the local level. The approach is illustrated with data collected over a 22-month period in Oklahoma City.

Teaching Styles and Performance Values in Junior High School: The Impersonal, Nonpersonal, and Personal

This paper examines three contrasting teaching styles in a middle-class junior high school. Previous conceptions of teaching styles have tended to focus on the ways in which the teacher organizes the specifically academic tasks and goals of the classroom. The school culture defines the transition from elementary to junior high school in terms of those capacities that enable individuals to reach high levels of performance. Thus, teachers think of junior high school students as autonomous, responsible, and self-motivated persons. Yet, in reality, junior high school students are still in the process of learning how to transform the meaning of previously childish needs and concerns into distinctly early-adolescent forms of behavior. Confirmation of their emergent identity as an early adolescent depends, in part, on the appropriate recognition from the teacher. Teachers are confronted with a conflict between the performance expectations of the school culture and the developmental needs of early adolescents to integrate expressive, peer-oriented behavior into classroom activities. The way in which the teacher responds to this tension delineates the nature of her or his teaching style.

Individual variations in crime-related decisions☆

Abstract Sociological models of individual deterrence have generally assumed that there is a single decision-making strategy related to criminal behavior that may be mediated by certain social contexts. In this paper we argue that this process is also conditional on the psychological characteristics of the individual. Based on a panel study of early adolescence, evidence is presented that the effects of the severity of punishment and the perceptions of the moral “wrongness” of an act are contingent on the self-esteem of the individual. A method is proposed that enables a researcher to examine sources of individual variation within traditional, nonexperimental survey data sets.