Strain During Reentry: A Test of General Strain Theory Using a Sample of Adult Former Prisoners

The majority of reentry studies focus on identifying different dimensions of reentry needs among released prisoners. Less explored is the mechanism by which unfulfilled reentry needs cause reentry failure. Applying the general strain theoretical perspective, this study aims to use an emotional and psychological prism to explain why released prisoners are likely to experience reentry failure when their reentry needs are not met. Findings demonstrate that the strains from financial difficulty and family neglect are positively associated with post-release criminal propensity, and depression noticeably mediated the effects of strains. Implications for correctional policymaking and future research are discussed.

Adalékok a Horthy-korszak büntető jogtudományának történetéhez

The aim of the study is to demonstrate the arguments and debates of jurists and the experts of the criminology about equality, liberties in the Horthy era when these issues were challenged by the restrictions of rights, such as the Anti-Jewish laws and the racial policies. In this period the criminal law focused on the personality and the social background of the perpetrator as an influence of anthropological criminology which combines the study of human races and their personal characteristics with the criminal propensity instincts. In the literature of criminal law new issues appeared such as the restriction of rights, deprivation of rights and racial policies as the influences of the Nurnberg Laws in the Third Reich. The jurists in Hungary paid close attention to the jurisdiction in the Third Reich, but they did not set an example for Hungary. According to their arguments, the German way of the racial law in the Hungarian context is not adaptable because its society is too multi-ethnic. This resonates with the opinion of Pál Angyal, who was the leading figure of the criminal law in Hungary. According to his view, criminal law cannot be a tool for racism, but it can be useful in the field of civil law and the state administration. Despite the jurist’s cautious argument, the racial policies appeared in legislation after 1938.

Patience and Crime

Objectives: We identify the distinction between patience and self-control to improve specification of time preferences in offender decision-making. Methods: Data were drawn from in-depth qualitative interviews with 35 active auto thieves with high criminal propensity and focus on target selection. Results: Patience oscillates upward and downward, showing state instability among those with low trait self-control. Conclusions: Discussion focuses on the conceptual processes that mediate patience’s variation in offender decision-making, but especially among high-propensity offenders. The larger criminological significance of patience is discussed.

Perceived Control, Severity, Certainty, and Emotional Fear: Testing an Expanded Model of Deterrence

Objectives: Growing evidence indicates that criminologists should incorporate emotional states, such as fear, into standard deterrence frameworks. Within the fear of crime literature, there is empirical support for the “sensitivity to risk” model, which posits perceived victimization control and severity drive certainty perceptions, and these cognitions, in turn, drive fear of crime. We apply this logic to offender decision-making. Methods: Using a sample of young adults ( N = 829), an anonymous online survey, and path analysis, this study investigates an expanded model of deterrence. Results: Perceived control over apprehension directly reduced perceptions of the certainty of being apprehended. Perceived severity was both directly and indirectly, through perceived certainty, associated with greater fear of apprehension. Fear of apprehension is negatively associated with reported criminal propensity, and the effects of cognitive judgments of control, severity, and certainty have an indirect effect on reported criminal propensity via fear of apprehension. Conclusions: Our findings illustrate the need to better understand the psychological and emotional aspects of deterrence. Individuals do not simply consult their preformed certainty perceptions when considering crime. Identifying all of the relevant cognitions and the emotions is critical for advancing criminological theories and improving crime policies.

The Strain From Procedural Injustice on Parolees: Bridging Procedural Justice Theory and General Strain Theory

The procedural justice literature explains why people obey the law. However, prior research has largely neglected the implication of procedural justice in the correctional context in general and in parole efficacy in particular. In an attempt to bridge the propositions of procedural justice and general strain theory, this study assesses the effect of parolees’ perceived procedural injustice on their success in reentry. Using data from a longitudinal study of prisoner reentry, we investigate the nexus of procedural injustice, negative emotions, family bonds, and postrelease criminal propensity. Findings indicate that procedural injustice increases criminal propensity, and the negative emotion of depression partially mediates this relationship. We also find parolees’ family bonds totally mediate the effect of procedural injustice on criminal propensity.

Self-Control, Sanction Threats, Temptation, and Crime: Examining Contingencies of Self-Control in a Cross-National Context

Using a representative household survey data, we examine the generality of self-control, the predictive strengths of sanction threats, and the interaction between criminal propensity and sanction threats in explaining criminal probability. Although the data confirm the generality of self-control predictions of deviant/criminal behavior in the Turkish cultural context, the effects appear quite modest and contingent on fear of informal sanctions and temptation. Consistent with the findings of recent studies, a small interaction between self-control and sanction threats suggests that deterrence is greatest among individuals with weak self-control. However, there is no interaction between sanction threats and temptation, suggesting that sanction fear is equally likely among individuals regardless of their level of temptation.

Strain, Criminal Propensity, and Violence: Examining the Role of the Composite Moderator in Agnew’s Extension to GST

Utilizing a sample of 400 homeless street youth, this article examines Agnew’s recent extension to General Strain Theory and the identification of a composite moderator. Using an amalgamated moderator composed of low self-control, violent peers, and street code adherence, the study investigates how this combination increases the likelihood that individuals will respond to strain with violence. Findings indicate that four forms of child abuse and neglect, vicarious violent victimization, homelessness, and anger are all more likely to lead to violent offending when conditioned by the moderator. Findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

Ecological Context, Criminal Propensity, and Recidivism

This study examines whether the relationship between individual-level risk and recidivism varies according to ecological context, measured at the census tract level. It is hypothesized that high-risk offenders—as measured by Minnesota Screening Tool Assessing Recidivism Risk (MnSTARR) 2.0 and Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R)—will have elevated risk of recidivism when living in disadvantaged neighborhoods and lower risk of recidivism when living in affluent neighborhoods. These hypotheses are tested with hierarchical logistic models predicting rearrest and revocation for a technical violation among a sample of approximately 3,000 offenders released from Minnesota state prisons in 2009. Rearrest was positively related to neighborhood disadvantage and negatively related to neighborhood affluence, while revocation was positively related to neighborhood urbanism. Further, neighborhood disadvantage moderated the association between LSI-R and rearrest; however, this interaction was not in the hypothesized direction. The results contradict prior literature examining similar relationships at the county level.