Are Processes of Social Disorganization Relevant to the Criminology of Place?

Author(s):  
David Weisburd ◽  
Elizabeth R. Groff ◽  
Sue-Ming Yang
Author(s):  
Anthony Bottoms

This chapter argues that the study of the geographical distribution of crimes is significantly enriched when it takes into account the location of offender residences, especially high offender-rate neighborhoods. It first explains why the study of high offender neighborhoods is vital to the study of the criminology of place, both in explanatory terms and as regards implications for crime prevention. It then shows that high offender neighborhoods are not all the same, and that the single concept of social disorganization is not adequate to explain these differences. The conclusion summarizes the argument and considers its implications for the important question of the optimum units of analysis in the study of environmental criminology.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052098626
Author(s):  
Sarah Treves-Kagan ◽  
Amber Peterman ◽  
Nisha C. Gottfredson ◽  
Andrés Villaveces ◽  
Kathryn E. Moracco ◽  
...  

A high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been documented among women living in conflict-affected and refugee-hosting areas, but why this occurs is not well understood. Conflict and displacement deteriorate communities’ social cohesion and community connectedness; these neighborhood social environments may influence individual IPV outcomes. We explored neighborhood-level social disorganization and cohesion as predictors of recent IPV in refugee-hosting communities in northern Ecuador by conducting multi-level logistic regression on a longitudinal sample of 1,312 women. Neighborhood social disorganization was marginally positively associated with emotional IPV (AOR: 1.17, 95% CI: .99, 1.38) and physical and/or sexual IPV (AOR: 1.20, 95% CI: .96, 1.51). This was partially mediated by neighborhood-level civic engagement in the case of emotional IPV. At the household level, perceived discrimination and experience of psychosocial stressors were risk factors for both types of IPV, whereas social support was protective. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine how neighborhood social factors influence IPV outcomes in refugee-hosting communities or in South America. As the world grapples with the largest number of displaced people in history, this research can inform prevention and response programming and reinforces the critical importance of promoting acceptance of refugees and immigrants and positively engaging all community members in civic life in refugee-hosting settings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199795
Author(s):  
Yoonsun Han ◽  
Shinhye Lee ◽  
Eunah Cho ◽  
Juyoung Song ◽  
Jun Sung Hong

This cross-national research investigated nationally representative adolescents from South Korea and the United States, explored similarities and differences in latent profiles of bullying victimization between countries, and examined individual- and school-level variables that predict such latent profiles supported by the Social Disorganization Theory. The fourth-grade sample of the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study from South Korea ( N = 4,669) and the United States ( N = 10,029) was used to conduct a latent profile analysis based on eight items of the bullying victimization questionnaire. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted using latent profiles as dependent variables. Independent variables include individual-level (material goods, school absence, academic interest, school belonging) and school-level (concentration of affluent families, school resources, the severity of delinquency, academic commitment) factors. More similarities existed than differences in the latent groups of bullying victimization between South Korea ( rare, low-moderate, verbal-relational-physical, and multi-risk) and the United States ( rare, low-moderate, verbal-relational, and multi-risk). Evidence for school-level variables as predictors of bullying victimization profiles was stronger for adolescents in the United States, with a concentration of affluent families and severity of delinquency being significant in four of the six models. For the South Korean sample, the severity of delinquency predicted bullying victimization in only one model. Examination of both individual- and school-level factors that predict unique bullying victimization experiences grounded in Social Disorganization Theory may be informative for addressing key areas of intervention—especially at the school-level context in which victimization primarily takes place and where anti-bullying intervention programs are often provided.


1955 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 398-398
Author(s):  
A. H. HOBBS

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