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Reactive guardianship: Who intervenes? How? And why?

Authors :
Barnum, Timothy C.
Herman, Shaina
van Gelder, Jean‐Louis
Ribeaud, Denis
Eisner, Manuel
Nagin, Daniel S.
Source :
Criminology. Aug2024, Vol. 62 Issue 3, p587-618. 32p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Guardianship is a core tenet of routine activity theory and collective efficacy. At its outset, routine activity research assumed that the mere presence of a guardian was sufficient to disrupt many forms of crime. More recent research, however, has taken as a starting point that would‐be‐guardians must take on an active role for a reduction in crime to occur. Integrating research on bystander intervention and guardianship‐in‐action, the current study elaborates the individual‐level motivations and decision processes of guardianship to answer the following questions: Who serves as a reactive guardian? How do they do so? And why? We tasked young adults (N = 1,032) included in the recent waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z‐proso) to assess a 70‐second video depicting a sexual harassment event. We examined participants' willingness to engage in a range of intervention options as a function of their prosocial attitudes, safety considerations, socioemotional motivations, and moral considerations. Results show a complex decision process leading to whether and how a would‐be guardian decides to intervene to disrupt sexual harassment, such that prosocial motivations and emotional reactions are weighed against perceptions of danger when deciding on a specific course of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00111384
Volume :
62
Issue :
3
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Criminology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
179962149
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12380