Search

This study focuses on the use of systematic social observations (SSO) to measure crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and disorder. To improve knowledge about measurement issues in small area research, SSO is conducted by means of three different methods: in-situ, photographs, and Google Street View (GSV) imagery. By evaluating the methodological quality of the observation methods, the results of our study suggest that virtual SSO approaches have considerable promise for the reliable assessment of physical properties of small areas. We discuss challenges and provide avenues for future research to encourage the evolution of a more reliable approach to measure the physical environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated quarantines in many urban settings, and rules have been enforced to ensure that citizens are complying with health-related mandates. However, anecdotal and empirical evidence confirm the prevalence of policy transgressions. Non-compliance with COVID-19 mandates can have severe consequences for individual health, societal fear, and the global economy. Thus, it is important to better understand the etiology of such misbehavior in the hopes of ensuring policy adherence. Using Agnew's social concern theory as a conceptual framework, this study investigates quarantine-related misbehavior in the urban context of Rasht, Iran. Survey data of 393 university students indicate that social concern theory can explain quarantine-related misbehavior. Specific findings, implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the interaction between specific measures of endorsement for extremism (e.g. endorsement for religious, left-wing or far-right extremism), thrill-seeking, and active online exposure to extremism via social media with regard to the explanation of politically and/or religiously motivated aggression is investigated. While the relationship between exposure to crime-prone contexts and aggression has been studied widely, no previous study has explicitly demonstrated the conditional effects of these factors in a survey of young adults and with regards to political aggression. This study therefore extends the existing literature by testing propositions derived from the General Aggression Model, a well-established theory of aggression. The unique contribution of this study is that it is based on distinctive measures of endorsement for extremism (left-wing, nationalist/separatist and religious extremism) and that it focuses on the differential effect of exposure to extremist content online. We make use of a large-scale web survey of young adults in Belgium. 6,020 respondents completed the online questionnaire. Mean age (range, 15-31 years) was 20.19 years, 35.3% males. The results support an amplification effect: Endorsement for extremism is related to self-reported political aggression, but the effect of endorsement increases by levels of active social media exposure. The results additionally showed that the magnitude of this interaction effect is further depending on thrill-seeking. These findings are rather stable across extremism-specific measures of endorsement for extremism.

The availability and use of new and emerging data sources has increased exponentially. The variety of these data sources offers opportunities to complement, replace, improve or add to conventional data sources. Survey data is one kind of these conventional data sources. In survey research, a framework to assess the accuracy of survey data already has been around for quite some time, and goes by the name of the Total Survey Error (TSE) framework. The philosophy behind this framework has only recently been universalized to (big) data in general in the form of the Total Error Framework (TEF). The current study introduces the TEF to the methodological toolkit of scholars and practitioners in criminology and criminal justice by outlining this generic framework and applying it to an empirical case study (on calculating spatially-referenced crime rates) utilizing two types of administrative data and mobile phone data. The present study discusses the added value and limitations of adapting the TEF, providing guidance to apply the TEF in research and practice. Finally, we propose promising avenues for future inquiries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextual research on delinquency is primarily based on the idea that residential areas provide a major ecological setting that (indirectly) shapes observed differences in delinquency. Just like neighborhoods, schools differ in terms of their level of structural characteristics such as the concentration of immigrant children and children from disrupted families. Such characteristics may also shape delinquency. The present study aims to test the relationship between structural characteristics of schools and child antisocial behavior, using a sample of elementary school children (N = 779, aged 10-12 years in the urban context of Ghent, Belgium). This study found that the concentration of children from disrupted families has an independent effect on child delinquency, independent of social bonds, moral cognitions, and moral emotions. The contextual effect is fully mediated by exposure to peer delinquency.

The Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) and the Moral Foundations Sacredness Scale (MFSS) have been proposed to advance conceptualizations of morality. This study assesses the factor structure of the Dutch translations of the short version of the MFQ (20 items) and the full MFSS. The five-factor model posited by Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) is compared against alternative models of morality. Correlational analyses are performed between the best-fitting models. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis of the optimal model is tested across gender. Data are taken from an online survey of a student sample (N = 1496). Results suggest that the Dutch translation of the MFQ20 does not converge on the proposed five-factor model. Conversely, MFSS subscales show good model fit, but intercorrelations among the five subscales are high. Weak invariance is retained for MFSS but not for MFQ20. Overall, the present study shows that the Dutch version of the MFSS scale performs better than the MFQ20 in terms of scale reliability, fit indices, and measurement invariance testing. More methodological inquiries on MFSS are welcomed, whereas the use of the MFQ20 should be discouraged. Instead, researchers on moral foundations are encouraged to empirically test the psychometric properties of the recently revised MFQ-2, developed by the authors of MFT as a more accurate instrument for the conceptualization of morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the ecological reliability, convergent validity and ecological stability of neighbourhood (dis)organizational processes measured by means of two methods: inhabitant surveys and the so-called key informant analysis technique. Considering that ecological processes play a major role in many contemporary criminological theories and research, it is vital to take into account methodological challenges and to question the reliability, validity and stability of the measures reflecting these underlying processes. (Dis)organizational processes are predominantly measured by means of questionnaires surveying neighbourhood inhabitants. To yield ecologically reliable and valid measures this approach requires large numbers of respondents. In this study we analyse the relationships between ecological measures of neighbourhood processes based on surveys of inhabitants versus key informants. The findings suggest that key informants can provide reliable, valid and stable measures of (dis)organizational neighbourhood processes. Therefore, the key informant analysis technique is an essential complementary, or even substitutive, method in the measurement of neighbourhood processes; shared survey-method variance is eliminated and it is possible to survey fewer key informants than inhabitants to obtain reliable and valid information on social trust and disorder. Nevertheless, this method is not suitable for measuring all neighbourhood processes, such as informal social control. Therefore, outstanding challenges and avenues for future research are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on determinants underlying young persons" self-reported intentions to steal a small amount of money. From an evolutionary standpoint, theft is a frequency-dependent strategy that may have been favored because it gave individuals a reproductively-relevant advantage in the competition for scarce resources. Although human groups do not tolerate the act of stealing, theft is still very common. Our study is rooted in Robert Frank's theory of the moral commitment problem. Moral emotions such as anticipated guilt are devices designed by evolutionary forces to motivate cooperative behavior in situations entailing a commitment problem. However, the anticipation of guilt feelings can be circumvented by self-serving justifications, therefore increasing the likelihood to steal. A large region-wide sample of adolescents (N = 3694) is used to analyze whether anticipated moral guilt and self-serving justifications mediate the effects of empathy, fear sensitivity, and perceived peer disapproval in their relationship to intentions to steal. Several propositions are tested in a latent variable model within the framework of SEM. Visual scenarios depicting an opportunity to take a small amount of money from a stranger are used to elicit participants" self-reported intentions to steal. Results suggest that empathic concern and empathic perspective-taking, perceived peer disapproval, and fear sensitivity affect the likelihood of theft by influencing anticipated guilt and self-serving justifications that, in turn, respectively reduce and promote the likelihood of theft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Monatsschrift fuer Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explores the intermediary role of anticipated shame, guilt, and norms in the association between empathy and the likelihood of a specific uncooperative act: theft by finding. Empirical evidence supports a negative association between empathy and a broad range of uncooperative behaviors. Some studies suggest that empathy reduces noncooperation via intermediary factors such as empathy and moral emotions shame and guilt. Inspired by Martin Hoffman's empathy‐based theory of moral development, we propose a testable model in which individual differences in empathic concern and perspective‐taking are positively related to anticipated guilt, shame, and conduct‐specific moral norm, which in turn reduce the likelihood of theft by finding. Data were collected from a region‐wide cross‐sectional sample of adolescents and young adults in the Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium in 2019 (N = 3591). Overall, our propositions were corroborated. Structural equation modeling suggests that empathic concern inhibits the likelihood of theft by finding via anticipated guilt–shame. The discussion focuses on a better understanding of the relationship between empathy, moral dimensions, and uncooperative choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dirty Dozen (Jonason & Webster, 2010) is a frequently used concise version of the Dark Triad to measure three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism. The present study has examined measurement invariance in a sample of Belgian adults. The present study aims to assess measurement invariance of the Dutch version of the Dirty Dozen measure across gender in a large city-based representative adult sample in Belgium (N = 1587). Multi-group firstorder confirmatory factor analysis for categorical indicators was utilized. In addition, unique associations between Dirty Dozen traits, trait self-control and, acceptance of illegitimate norms were examined in a series of structural equation models. Results indicated that the internal consistency of the Dirty Dozen subscales was good for Machiavellianism (α = 0.80) and narcissism (α = 0.80), but modest for psychopathy (α = 0.64). The hypothesized three correlated factors model with separate factors for Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism provided a poor fit for men and women. Invariance testing across gender showed evidence for weak invariance only, indicating that the underlying latent factors are measured the same way with the same metric in the two populations. However, we were not able to establish strong measurement invariance. Observed group differences should be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were strongly associated with trait self-control in both men and women. Strong correlations were found between acceptance of illegitimate norms and Dirty Dozen traits, Machiavellianism and, psychopathy, but not with narcissism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims at explaining individual differences in self-reported political violence. We integrate key concepts from the field of criminology that are conceptually related to social identity theory (Flemish identity, feelings of group superiority, and ethnocentrism) and the dual process model on prejudice (perceived injustice, perception of threat, and right-wing authoritarianism). In our model, social identity concepts are hypothesized to play a mediating role between mechanisms derived from the dual process model and political violence. To test the integrated model, a model was run for testing the strength of direct and indirect effects of perceived injustice, authoritarianism thrill-seeking behavior, feelings of superiority, Flemish nationalism, ethnocentrism, right-wing extremist beliefs, and exposure to racist peers on political violence. The analyses are based on a web survey (N = 723) among adolescents and young adults in Flanders, Belgium. Results indicate that social identity variables play an important mediation role between perceptions and ideological attitudes related to injustice, and political violence. The main path revealed by our study is that perceived injustice may result in heightened perceptions of threat, which in turn positively influence levels of right-wing authoritarianism. Mediated by ethnocentrism, this variable has a significant and positive effect on right-wing beliefs, which in turn has a positive effect on political violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firstly, a I situated choice model i explains individual differences in intention to shoplift as the result of individual characteristics (e.g. dimensions of crime propensity) and criminogenic exposure to environmental contexts in which leisure time is spent, and the interaction between the two characteristics (under the form of an amplification effect). Crime propensity is often defined as a person's inclination or preference to behave in a particular way, specifically to commit crime. Individuals acquire their crime propensity as a result of complex interactions between biological factors and socialization processes (Moffitt [56]). 105 Wikström POH, Sampson RJ Lahey B, Moffitt T, Caspi A. Social mechanisms of community influences on crime and pathways in criminality. [Extracted from the article]

Situational action theory (SAT) (e.g. Wikström [27]; Wikström et al. [29]) is a recent criminological theory designed to explain all acts of moral rule-breaking, with crime being the special case of breaking moral rules defined in law (Wikström [27], pp. 216, 217). Therefore, we are going to explore the nature of the effect of morality on underreporting by plotting local regressions across the whole range of the morality scale, before deciding how to enter the morality variables into the final models of analysis. The results relating to the interaction of self-control and individual morality are particularly intriguing, especially if we compare our results for over- and underreporting: for overreporting, we find stronger effects of self-control when morality is low, with low morality increasing the probability of overreporting. Unfortunately, we do not know to what extent our measure of general morality reflects motivational aspects (morality relating to drug use) and the moral filter (morality relating to honesty). [Extracted from the article]

The principal aim of this multilevel study was to assess the impact of collective efficacy and disorder, as neighborhood characteristics, and individual social capital on an individual's avoidance behavior, independent of the neighborhood composition. The theoretical backdrop to the present study integrates insights from social capital theory, collective efficacy theory, and broken windows theory. The multilevel model is based on an individual-level questionnaire of inhabitants (N = 2,730) and a neighborhood-level questionnaire of key informants in neighborhoods in Ghent, Belgium (N = 142). The results suggest small but significant neighborhood effects on an individual's avoidance behavior. Individuals with lower levels of individual social capital and who live in neighborhoods with higher levels of disorder report more avoidance behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a well-documented gender difference in offending, with evidence that boys, on average, are more involved in crime than girls. Opinions differ, however, on whether the causes of crime apply to girls and boys similarly.Aims: Our aim is to explore crime propensity in boys and girls. Our research questions were (1) are there differences between boys and girls in moral values and self-control; (2) are these attributes similarly correlated with offending among girls and boys; and (3) is any interaction effect between morality and self-control identical for girls and boys.Methods: Data were drawn from the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study, which includes 481 girls and boys aged 16-17. An 8-item self-control scale was derived from Grasmick's self-control instrument; we created a 16-item morality scale. Analysis of variance was used to test for differences in scale scores.Results: There were significant gender differences in moral values but not self-control. Moral values and self-control were significantly correlated with offending among both girls and boys. In the multiple regression analysis, the three-way interaction term used to test the interaction between gender, self-control and moral values was non-significant, indicating that the magnitude of the self-control-moral value interaction is not affected by gender.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that effects of morality and self-control are general and apply to girls and boys similarly, so more research is needed to explain gender differences in crime prevalence. © 2018 The Authors Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Situational Action Theory (SAT), crime is seen as the result of the interplay between individual and setting characteristics. This replication study focuses on the perception–choice process. The perception–choice process refers to the process whereby one sees the breaking of rules (stated in laws) as an action alternative and deliberately (or habitually) carries out an act of rule-breaking, given that one sees the breaking of a specific rule as an action alternative. The unique contribution of this study to the empirical literature is that it tests the interaction between choosing a violent response, propensity, and exposure to scenario criminogeneity using a web-based randomized scenario study. The results indicate that individuals who have low levels of crime propensity rarely choose a violent response, independent of scenario criminogeneity (as measured by provocation and the absence of monitoring agents). The likelihood of choosing a violent response increases as a result of the interplay between scenario criminogeneity and crime propensity. The implications for future tests of SAT are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work provides an overview of the current state of research on Situational Action Theory (SAT). Studies that have examined core propositions of SAT within the period 2006 to 2015 are reviewed. The principal aim of this narrative review is to answer the following four questions: (1) Which hypotheses of SAT have been put to the test in empirical enquiries? (2) What does the empirical evidence say about these propositions? (3) Which statements of the theory have received little attention? (4) What are the consequences of the results for future enquiries? An overall finding of this review is that numerous studies have tested selected propositions of the theory using different methods, data and statistical procedures. A majority of these studies found some support for the hypotheses tested, but there are also a few studies that did not back key assumptions of the theory. The reasons for the divergent results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research note studies the interaction between the ability to exercise self-control and extremist moral beliefs with regard to the explanation of violent extremism. Although some evidence exists for the interaction between moral beliefs and self-control in the explanation of adolescent offending, no previous study has studied this interaction effect in a survey of young adults and with regard to politically or religiously motivated violence. This study therefore extends the existing literature by testing a key proposition of Situational Action Theory. We use a large-scale web survey of young adults in Belgium. The results support the hypothesis that the effect of the ability to exercise self-control is conditional upon one’s extremist beliefs. The results are stable across extremism-specific measures of extremist beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we examine to what extent within-individual changes in parental monitoring, bonds with parents and school, and rule-breaking peers can explain within-individual changes in morality. We distinguish between three key dimensions of morality: moral values, anticipated shame, and anticipated guilt. We use data from the SPAN project, a two-wave panel study among 616 adolescents (ages 12–19) from secondary schools in The Hague, The Netherlands. Employing a fixed-effects model, we found that within-individual changes in parental monitoring, bonds with parents and school, and rule-breaking peers are significantly related to within-individual changes in moral values, anticipated shame, and anticipated guilt. These findings emphasize the important role of family, school, and the peer group in the development of morality during adolescence. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into violent extremism is lacking integrated theoretical frameworks explaining individual involvement in politically or religiously motivated violence, resulting in a poor understanding of causal mechanisms. Building on situational action theory, the current study moves beyond the dominant risk factor approach and proposes an integrated model for the explanation of political/religious violence, distinguishing between direct mechanisms and "causes of the causes." The model integrates mechanisms from different but complementary traditions. Following previous work, this study focusses on the causes of the causes influencing direct key mechanisms, violent extremist propensity, and exposure to violent extremist moral settings that explain political/religious violence. The theoretical model is tested using structural equation modelling. The analyses are based on a web survey (N = 6,020) among adolescents and young adults in Belgium. Results show that violent extremist propensity and exposure to violent extremist moral settings have direct effects on the likelihood of political/religious violence. These direct mechanisms are in turn determined by a series of exogenous factors: perceived injustice and poor social integration. The relationship between perceived injustice and poor social integration and political/religious violence is further mediated by perceived alienation, perceived procedural justice, and religious authoritarianism. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that time spent with peers is related to delinquency, but little is known about the conditions under which spending time with peers is most related to delinquent behavior. In this study, we contrast different categories of time spent with peers, using detailed information about the activities and whereabouts of 843 adolescents in The Hague, the Netherlands. Our findings reveal substantial differences. Time spent with peers appears to be independently related with delinquency only when it combines at least two of the following risk-inducing conditions: just socializing, being in public, and being unsupervised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates age- and gender-specific relationships between global and domain-specific self-evaluations and types of offending in school-going adolescents. A self-report survey was administered to 710 boys and girls, using the Dutch version of the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents and an offending questionnaire. Property-only (vs. non-) offending is related to low perceived behavioral conduct. Violent-only (vs. non-) offending is negatively related to perceived behavioral conduct in both boys and girls. In addition, violent-only (vs. non-) offending is related to low perceived scholastic competence in girls but high perceived scholastic competence in boys. Both property and violent (vs. non-) offending is related to low perceived behavioral conduct but high perceived close friendship. The findings generally support the view that low rather than high self-evaluation is related to offending. This relation differs according to the subscale of self-evaluation, the type of offending, only marginally according to gender, and not at all according to age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situational Action Theory (SAT) is a recently developed general action theory of crime that integrates and synthesizes existing individual and ecological explanations. SAT explicitly states that the individual's propensity for criminal behaviour (morality and self-control) and exposure to criminogenic settings (rule breaking peers and time spent in unsupervised, unstructured activities) interact to determine whether a crime is committed. In the present article, core assumptions of SAT are tested by estimating cross-sectional and lagged models on two-wave panel data from adolescents in The Hague (The Netherlands). Generally, the findings support SAT, including the situational interaction between morality and self-control. However, the findings also raise questions about SAT. In particular, we did not find lagged effects of morality on later offending, and we found only a few significant interaction effects on offending between the two peer variables and morality and self-control. Generally, there was not much support for the SAT theory that adolescents with low morality or low self-control are more vulnerable to (situational) peer influences. The article concludes with a discussion of how additional situational peer variables may be included in SAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Troublesome youth groups (TYGs) or “gangs” have been a research topic in the past, especially in the United States, and an increasing number of studies are currently being conducted in European countries. However, Belgium has been rather absent from the study of TYGs. This study aims to fill that gap in the literature. In the present contribution, the authors are interested in the prevalence of Belgian adolescents' involvement in TYGs and the role of societal vulnerability in this involvement. The authors are interested in the strength of the relationship between societal vulnerability and TYG and test the hypotheses that violent values and low self-control mediate the relationship between societal vulnerability and TYG. The analyses are conducted on the Belgian sample of the second edition of the International Self-Reported Delinquency study (ISRD-2). Both violent values and self-control mediate the effect of societal vulnerability and have strong independent effects on TYG. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article assesses whether ambient population is a more suitable population-at-risk measure for crime types with mobile targets than residential population for the purpose of intelligence-led policing applications. Specifically, the potential use of ambient population as a crime rate denominator and predictor for predictive policing models is evaluated, using mobile phone data (with a total of 9,397,473 data points) as a proxy. The results show that ambient population correlates more strongly with crime than residential population. Crime rates based on ambient population designate different problem areas than crime rates based on residential population. The prediction performance of predictive policing models can be improved by using ambient population instead of residential population. These findings support that ambient population is a more suitable population-at-risk measure, as it better reflects the underlying dynamics in spatiotemporal crime trends. Its use has therefore much as-of-yet unused potential not only for criminal research and theory testing, but also for intelligence-led policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]