Quick on the Draw

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Donner ◽  
Jon Maskaly ◽  
Alex R. Piquero ◽  
Wesley G. Jennings

Police officers have a continuum of force options available to them, but, without question, the most extreme of these options is deadly force. Recent officer-involved shootings in the United States, and their subsequent media attention, have placed police use of deadly force at the forefront of political, academic, and policy conversations. While the extant literature has uncovered numerous structural, organizational, and situational predictors of police shootings, studies to date are more limited with respect to individual-level factors and have essentially ignored criminological theoretical constructs. Using Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime as a theoretical framework, the current study fills a gap in the literature by using personal and agency records of 1,935 Philadelphia police officers to examine the relationship between low self-control and officer-involved shootings. The results indicate that officers with lower self-control are significantly more likely to have been involved in a police shooting.

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 674-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Lianos ◽  
Andrew McGrath

Cyberbullying is an increasingly common characteristic of contemporary online communication. The current study surveyed 320 Internet-active young adults and found up to 80% reported engaging in this behavior at least once. In addition, the ability of the general theory of crime and general strain theory to explain cyberbullying perpetration was tested. Evidence for both theories was observed, with both low self-control and higher levels of strain related to cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, opportunity (operationalized as moderate and high number of hours online) interacted with low self-control to increase perpetration, and anger partially mediated the relationship between strain and cyberbullying. Implications of the findings are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026839622110278
Author(s):  
Sixuan Zhang ◽  
Dorothy Leidner ◽  
Xin Cao ◽  
Ning Liu

Extant research on the antecedents of workplace cyberbullying pays little attention to the role of perpetrator traits in influencing workplace cyberbullying, as well as the unique occurrence context that distinguishes workplace cyberbullying with juvenile cyberbullying, workplace bullying, and adult cyberbullying in general. To fill these gaps, we consider the antecedents of workplace cyberbullying under the theoretical lens of the general theory of crime and routine activities theory. We build a model incorporating low self-control, a widely discussed perpetrator trait in criminology theories, with three types of routine activities representing the unique occurrence context for workplace cyberbullying--mWork, boundary spanning in ESM, and proactive email checking. We tested our model with 2025 employees in the U.S.. Our findings demonstrate that low self-control and the three routine activities are strong motivators for workplace cyberbullying. Our findings further show that the effect of low self-control on workplace cyberbullying is amplified by the three routine activities. The study contributes to our understanding of why workplace cyberbullying occurs and offers potential implications for managers interested in reducing incidences of workplace cyberbullying in their organization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Nathan E. Kruis

Hirschi has repeatedly argued that the relationship between social learning variables and crime is a product of “self-selection” driven by low self-control (LSC). Akers’ has suggested that social learning mechanisms, such as affiliations with deviant individuals and acceptance of criminal definitions, can mediate the effects of LSC on crime. Interestingly, there has been little comparative work done to explore this mediation hypothesis in the realm of substance use for offender populations outside of the United States. This study helps fill these gaps in the literature by exploring the potential mediation effects of social learning variables on the relationship between LSC and inhalant use among a sample of 739 male offenders in South Korea. Our results provide strong support for the mediation hypothesis that LSC indirectly influences self-reported inhalant use through social learning mechanisms.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayne Jones ◽  
Elizabeth Cauffman ◽  
Alex R. Piquero

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-447
Author(s):  
Saeed Kabiri ◽  
Seyyedeh Masoomeh (Shamila) Shadmanfaat ◽  
Christopher M. Donner

The prevalence of performance-enhancing drug (PED) use at different levels of professional sport has become an important social issue, particularly when considering recent high-profile incidents from professional sports and the Olympics. Due to the myriad of individual, team, and sociopolitical consequences that can stem from PED use, it becomes critical to study the etiology of PED involvement among athletes regarding this deviant behavior. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime is one such theory that may aid in explaining this phenomenon. As such, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between effective parenting, self-control, and athletes’ use of banned PEDs. Survey data from 784 professional athletes in Iran were collected, and the findings indicated that ineffective parenting, low self-control capacity, and self-control desire had significant effects on PED use. In addition, moderation effects and gender analyses were examined. Specific findings, policy implications, and study limitations are discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 671-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance L. Chapple ◽  
Trina L. Hope

How versatile are gang and dating violence offenders? Current gang research highlights the versatility of gang members, yet the versatility of intimate violence offenders is often unexamined. Gottfredson and Hirschi,A General Theory of Crime(1990), support the idea of versatile rather than specialized offenders and suggests that low self-control is associated with a host of criminal and noncriminal risk-taking activities. Using data from a self-report sample of 1139 youths in grades 9 through 11, we investigated both the versatility of gang and dating violence offenders and theoretical variables associated with each. We find disproportionate offending by dating and gang violence offenders in a variety of crimes, as well as considerable overlap in the independent variables associated with both types of violence. Low levels of self-control and exposure to general and crime-specific criminal opportunities are significantly associated with engaging in dating and gang violence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egbert Zavala ◽  
Don L. Kurtz

Problematic alcohol consumption by police officers is well documented in the literature. However, no study has utilized Gottfredson and Hirschi’s A General Theory of Crime to determine what role, if any, self-control (i.e., self-regulation) plays in predicting this behavior. Therefore, data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997-1999 are analyzed to test the influence of work-related stress on officers’ self-control and problem drinking. Results indicated that self-control is significant in predicting problematic alcohol consumption by police officers. Two control variables (burnout and peer drinking) also predicted the dependent variable. The current study provides further evidence that self-control continues to be one of the most consistent factors most likely to lead to criminal behavior, including those committed by police officers.


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