Shayne Jones

“Does It Take a Village?”: Assessing Neighborhood Influences on Children’s Self-Control

Although individuals low in self-control are more likely to engage in antisocial and criminal behavior, few studies have investigated its sources. Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that primary caregivers are largely responsible, whereas Wikström and Sampson contend that self-control is partially a function of neighborhood context. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, the authors assessed neighborhood effects on children’s self-control. They found significant variation in self-control between neighborhoods, but it accounted for a small amount of the total variance. In the initial model, neighborhood structural characteristics had direct effects on self-control, but after taking into account individual-level characteristics, they became nonsignificant. Furthermore, parenting variables exhibited significant and consistent effects on self-control. The authors consider the theoretical implications of the findings, address limitations, and provide suggestions for future research.

BUSY PLACES AND BROKEN WINDOWS? Toward Defining the Role of Physical Structure and Process in Community Crime Models

Borrowing from the systemic model of social disorganization theory as well as from theories of human ecology and urban geography, we examine the effects of land use on community rates of violence and burglary. We posit that community crime is differentially affected by distinct nonresidential physical spaces in a neighborhood—distinct in terms of whether they are adult-centered, “business-oriented” public spaces versus spaces that are public yet still “resident centered,” especially toward community youth (e.g., educational and recreational spaces). We examine potential main, mediating, and moderating effects of neighborhood social structure, resident-centered versus business-oriented public land use, and neighborhood-level processes, including neighboring and physical incivility, using data from 100 Seattle census tracts. Results suggest that the effects of schools on community violence are largely direct, while the effect of business places on violent crime is mediated substantially, but not completely, by physical disorder. In contrast, the effect of playgrounds on violence is moderated by residential instability. Regarding burglary, presence of schools is nonsignificant. Presence of businesses increases burglary, though the effect is partially mediated again by physical disorder. The effect of businesses is also moderated by residential (in)stability. Presence of playgrounds increases burglary risk regardless of neighborhood social-structural characteristics.

The Built Environment and Community Crime Risk Interpretation

In this article, the authors examine whether subjective perceptions of community safety are informed by the built environment. They posit that the built environment serves as a heuristic device, providing cues about likely levels of neighborhood crime, independent of the effects of neighborhood crime itself. Using data on 4,456individuals nested within 100 census tracts, the authors estimate hierarchical logistic models of perceived community crime risk. They focus on the role of the neighborhood built environment in the form of aggregated perceptions of nonresidential land use, while controlling for individual-level criminal opportunity, community-level social structural antecedents, and community-level objective crime. The findings indicate that the neighborhood-level presence of businesses and parks and playgrounds increases individual perceptions of community danger, but these effects disappear once neighborhood crime rates are controlled. The presence of schools has no effect on subjective interpretations of community crime, regardless of whether actual area crime is considered.

Psychopathic traits from the perspective of self and informant reports: is there evidence for a lack of insight?

It has been suggested that psychopathic individuals are incapable of providing valid reports on their own personality functioning because they are either unwilling (i.e., pathologically lie) or unable (i.e. lack insight) to do so. Despite the long-standing nature of this suggestion, almost no empirical research exists on this topic. In the current study, the authors examined the issue of psychopathy and insight by testing self and informant convergence and mean level differences across 3 indices of psychopathy in a community sample (N=64). Self- and informant-report psychopathy scores were also examined in relation to self and informant reports on traits from the Five-Factor Model (FFM). Convergence was strong across the 3 psychopathy indices and their respective factors (i.e., median r=.64), and there was only modest evidence that individuals rated themselves as less psychopathic than did informants. In addition, the same FFM domains-low Agreeableness and Conscientiousness-characterized individuals with psychopathic traits regardless of reporter. Psychopathic individuals appear capable of reporting accurately on psychopathic traits when there are no direct consequences to accurate reporting (i.e., sentencing). It may be that the lack of concern for the consequences of these traits has been mistaken for a lack of insight into them.

Externalizing Behavior Through the Lens of the Five-Factor Model: A Focus on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness

We examined relations between the Five-factor model (FFM) domains and facets of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, hypothesized behavioral manifestations of these traits (e.g., social information processing and delay discounting), and externalizing behaviors in an undergraduate sample. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were differentially related to the externalizing behaviors and the laboratory tasks, which in turn evinced significant relations with externalizing behaviors. The personality facets displayed evidence of modest incremental validity over the broader domains and were related to the externalizing behaviors even when controlling for the social information processing and behavioral discounting variables. In general, the results support the validity of the FFM domains and facets, particularly Agreeableness, in the prediction of a variety of externalizing behaviors.

the general theory of crime: how general is it?

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime is one of the most widely cited in the deviance literature (Wright 2000), and has been used to predict several analogous (i.e., deviant) behaviors. However, there remain questions that have not been adequately addressed in previous research. First, there are deviant behaviors that might be explained by the general theory that have not yet been explored. Second, previous research has not shown the extent to which self-control can explain specific forms of deviance as opposed to deviant behavior in general. Finally, extant selfcontrol literature has placed an emphasis on establishing a link between self-control and negative outcomes. However, self-control has not been used to explain socially acceptable forms of risky behavior. In this study we attempt to address these limitations by determining if self-control affects analogous behaviors such as risky driving, risky sex, academic dishonesty, and pathological gambling. To ascertain if self-control affects

In the Eye of the Impulsive Beholder The Interaction Between Impulsivity and Perceived Informal Social Control on Offending

Substantial evidence indicates that impulsivity is a robust correlate of offending. However, its effects appear to be partially contingent upon other criminological factors, such as neighborhood context. The research examining the moderating influence of neighborhoods on the impulsivity—offending relationship has yielded inconsistent findings. The current analysis further investigates the possible interaction by exploring different types of impulsivity-related traits, perceptions of neighborhood informal social control, and their interaction among young women and men. Results indicate that thrill and adventure seeking (among men) and lack of premeditation (among men and women) exert stronger influences on offending among those who live in neighborhoods low in perceived supervision. These findings have implications for criminological theories and intervention efforts.

The influence of parental support among incarcerated adolescent offenders: the moderating effects of self-control

According to the general theory of crime, parents play a prominent role in the development of self-control among their children. However, the evidence regarding the effects of parenting on antisocial behavior beyond the acquisition of self-control is equivocal, perhaps because of how parenting has been conceptualized. Also, there is contradictory evidence regarding the moderating effect of self-control on the relationship between parenting and antisocial behavior. The current analysis addresses these issues by exploring the interrelationships between parental support, impulse control, and consideration of others among an incarcerated sample of adolescents. Findings indicate that the relationship between parental support and antisocial behavior remains after controlling for self-control. Additionally, parental support is more influential in reducing antisocial behavior among those low in impulse control but less influential in affecting those who are low in consideration of others.

Exploited Vulnerability: Legal and Psychological Perspectives on Child Sex Trafficking Victims

Abstract While the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and subsequent reauthorizations defined all minors under the age of 18 involved in commercial sex acts as victims, state and local systems continue to classify prostituted minors who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents as offenders. A review of the historical, neurological, and developmental vulnerabilities typical of child sex trafficking victims reveals serious doubts regarding their ability to control their choices or escape from a trafficker. The uniform shielding of all child victims of sex trafficking, whether international or domestic, from legal culpability for the criminal conduct of traffickers is recommended.

Psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors: A comparison of self- and informant reports in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors

It has long been assumed that features associated with psychopathy, such as a lack of insight and deceitfulness, may compromise the utility of self-report measures, particularly for understanding the relations between these traits and important outcomes (e.g., offending). Unfortunately, little research has explicitly examined the relations between self- and informant reports of psychopathy and their relations to these outcomes. The current study examined the incremental validity of self- and informant reports of psychopathic traits, assessed with 3 validated psychopathy measures, in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors (EBs). To reduce shared method variance, self- and informant reports of EBs (i.e., substance use, antisocial behavior, gambling, and intimate partner violence) were examined separately. Results indicate that both self- and informant reports of psychopathy are related to EBs and provide some degree of incremental validity, although self-reported psychopathy scores proved slightly more useful than other-reported psychopathy scores. These findings suggest that, in nonforensic settings, psychopathy data derived from both self- and other-reported psychopathy measures have utility in understanding the relations between psychopathic traits and EBs.