Ryan D. Schroeder

Emotions and Crime over the Life Course: A Neo-Meadian Perspective on Criminal Continuity and Change

A symbolic interactionist perspective on the emotions is presented that highlights their social character, forges links to cognitive processes, and suggests ways in which emotions influence long‐term patterns of criminal involvement. This neo‐Meadian perspective contrasts with theories of desistance that focus on the role of informal social controls and develops the view of an emotional self that flourishes somewhat independent of the major role transitions typically emphasized in sociological studies of the life course. The authors also explore ways in which attention to the emotional realms of experience adds to traditional treatments of the impact of adult transition events (e.g., the “good marriage effect”). Interviews with male and female adolescent offenders and two waves of adult follow‐up data document general patterns of association and support the argument that a social view of emotional processes is critical to a comprehensive understanding of life course patterns of criminal continuity and change.

Academic Strain and Non-Medical Use of Prescription Stimulants among College Students

Recent research indicates that the prevalence of non-medical prescription drug use is now greater than the prevalence of other illicit drug use, with the exception of marijuana. Existing research focuses on demographic characteristics of users, risk factors and motivations for use, and sources of diversion. A significant gap in the extant literature is an examination of theoretical predictors of use. Using data from the Harvard School of Public Healths College Alcohol Study, the current research addressed this limitation by applying Agnews general strain theory to the study of non-medical prescription drug use. Specifically, we examine whether academic strain is associated with the non-medical use of prescription stimulants. Findings are supportive of general strain theory, as students who experience academic strain report higher levels of depression, our measure of negative affect, and students who report higher levels of depression are more likely to report the non-medical use of prescription stimulants.

Prescription Drug Misuse: A Test of Three Competing Criminological Theories

Shifting drug use patterns away from traditional illicit drugs (i.e., heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines) and toward prescription drug misuse among adolescents necessitates a renewed theoretical emphasis in adolescent drug use research. Given the unique processes and perspectives associated with prescription drug misuse, theoretical connections to prescription drug misuse likely show different patterns than prior research has shown with marijuana and other illicit drugs. Using data from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors apply concepts of social control theory, social learning theory, and strain theory to prescription drug misuse and draw comparisons with the predictors of marijuana and other drug use. Findings indicate that social learning, social control, and strain measures exert unique and independent influences on all three categories of adolescent substance use. Despite the similar theoretical effects across categories of substance use, many notable differences in theoretical processes are evident, especially for prescription drug misuse.

SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION, EMOTIONAL COPING, AND CRIMINAL DESISTANCE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MEN UNDERGOING CHANGE

Retrospective narratives of change consistently emphasize the importance of religious devotion and spirituality in initiating sustained behavioral change, but little is known about the process by which religion and spirituality promote desistance from crime. The current project is designed to add to the knowledge of the relationship between religion/spirituality and behavioral change by systematically investigating the ways that men residing in a halfway house define the role of religion/spirituality as an emotion-coping mechanism in their desistance efforts. The qualitative data reveal that religion/spirituality is primarily used by these men currently undergoing behavioral change as a form of emotional comfort, a distraction from current stressors, and as factor demarcating the transition from deviance to a more conventional life. Suggestions for religious programming designed to stimulate behavioral changes are discussed.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND CRIMINAL OFFENDING OVER THE LIFE COURSE

Educational attainment and school bonding are established predictors of delinquent behavior. In spite of an abundance of research on the relationship between education and delinquency, there is little research that examines the impact of education on stability and change in criminal offending over the life course. This dearth of research is surprising given the increasing significance of post-secondary education in contemporary society and the prominence of the life course approach in the study of crime. The current study uses seven waves of data from the National Youth Survey to examine the impact of higher education on criminal offending over the life course. Findings indicate that college attendance and investment in higher education are negatively associated with criminal offending in adulthood. In addition, the protective effect of higher education is stronger for individuals who were more delinquent during adolescence. Study limitations and future research needs are discussed.

The Long-Term Health Consequences of Relationship Violence in Adulthood: An Examination of Low-Income Women from Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio

OBJECTIVES We examined the long-term health consequences of relationship violence in adulthood. METHODS Using data from the Welfare, Children, and Families project (1999 and 2001), a probability sample of 2402 low-income women with children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and San Antonio, Texas, we predicted changes in the frequency of intoxication, psychological distress, and self-rated health over 2 years with baseline measures of relationship violence and a host of relevant background variables. RESULTS Our analyses showed that psychological aggression predicted increases in psychological distress, whereas minor physical assault and sexual coercion predicted increases in the frequency of intoxication. There was no evidence to suggest that relationship violence in adulthood predicted changes in self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS Experiences with relationship violence beyond the formative and developmental years of childhood and adolescence can have far-reaching effects on the health status of disadvantaged urban women.

Parenting and Adult Criminality: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Effects by Race

Parenting practices are among the strongest predictors of juvenile delinquency identified in the criminological literature and have been intimately connected to adult offending.The prior research connecting early parenting experiences with crime, however, has not systematically assessed the long-term effect of parenting style on adult criminal offending, or the processes linking the parenting and crime, by race. In this study, we explore the extent to which experiences associated with minority status influence the nature of the relationship between parenting style and adult criminal offending as well as the mediating processes of adult social bonds and emotional self-concepts involved. Using two waves of a contemporary longitudinal sample of youth, the results show that parenting styles lacking in demandingness show significant and positive effects on adult criminal offending among the Black sample, but parenting styles exert little long-term effects on criminal offending among the White sample. Furthermore, negative emotionality, namely anger, significantly mediates the relationship between uninvolved parenting and adult criminality among the Black and White samples, but depression is also a mediator for the Whites. In this sample, adult social bonds do not mediate the relationship between parenting during childhood and adult criminality.

Parenting Style Transitions and Delinquency

Parenting style has been extensively analyzed as a contributor to juvenile delinquency in the criminological literature, but no research to date has assessed the prevalence of parenting style changes during adolescence or the influence of such parenting style changes on juvenile delinquency. Drawing from the life course theory, the results show that parenting style transitions are common across the first and third waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997. Furthermore, specific parenting style shifts are associated with changes in juvenile delinquency, most notably the shifts characterized by a decrease in responsiveness or an increase or decrease in demandingness. Last, changes in maternal attachment associated with parenting style changes partially mediate the effect of such transitions on delinquent outcomes.

BECAUSE IT'S FREE POKER! A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF FREE TEXAS HOLD'EM POKER TOURNAMENTS

The game of poker has dramatically increased in popularity in America over the past decade, and includes a new trend in poker in which tournaments are played with no monetary wagering. These “free” poker tournaments are the primary focus of this project. Our interest in these free poker tournaments was twofold: first, we wished to identify what would motivate a person to play poker when there is no profit motive; second, we wanted to learn how the social dynamics of the game itself may or may not change when monetary risk is not present. Through covert participant observation of free poker tournaments at four different locations we were able to discover three main motivations among the players: sharpening skills for later cash games, sociability, and gaining the status of a “regular player.” We also discovered that the tenor and tempo of the game tended to vary not as a function of the location, but rather because of the social class of the players. We offer several hypotheses to guide future research endeavors in this area.

“You Can't Eat WHAT?” Managing the Stigma of Celiac Disease

Drawing on modified labeling theory and the concept of symbolic entrapment, the goal of the current research is to examine the perceptions and management of stigma associated with Celiac Disease (CD). Through an assessment of life history narratives from a sample of adults with the disease, we find that the younger subjects who were most recently diagnosed with CD reported the most significant problems with disease-related stigma, social activities, and interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, we find that the subjects utilize a variety of stigma-management strategies to protect their pre-disease identities.