Self-Reported Offending in Global Surveys: A Stocktaking

This brief chapter reports on how ISRD3 has incorporated a test of the impact of cultural variability on self-report responses to questions about offending. The results show that concerns about cultural variability (in the social desirability related to admitting delinquent behavior) are empirically supported and that caution is warranted when making direct cross-national comparisons of estimates of offending. It describes the use of the crosswise model as a gauge to test social desirability, and it shows the impact of social desirability on estimates of self-reported offending. The chapter concludes with an argument that self-reports related to victimization are much more useful indicators of the level and nature of crime than self-reported offending. The main conclusion is that there needs to be considerable caution in using self-report data in comparative research because of the validity threats demonstrated.