How General is Control Balance Theory? Evidence from Ukraine

This study tests control balance theory using interview data from a random sample of adults in a large city in Ukraine. This is the first empirical assessment of the theory to employ a random sample of adults in a nonwestern culture, and it is one of only two studies to incorporate Tittle's theoretical revisions and measurement strategy for the control ratio. Although we found no evidence of a relationship between projected deviance and a dichotomous measure of control imbalance, respondents with a relatively large control imbalance were significantly more likely to project deviance than were other respondents. In addition, findings provide partial support for predicted contingent relationships involving constraint and self-control. We discuss possible ways in which the socio-cultural circumstances of Ukraine help to explain these findings

The Role of Neighborhood Processes in the Offending and Self-Control-Crime Nexus

Using survey data from a sample of 1,435 Ukrainian and Russian adults, this study examines the interplay between collective processes, individual-level self-control, and offending. Multilevel regression models estimate the direct effects of neighborhood-level self-control, perceptions of sanction risks, and strain on criminal behavior, showing how these contextual factors condition the association between individual-level self-control and offending. Findings suggest that collective self-control and perceived sanction risks are important moderators of the self-control-crime relationship at the individual level, highlighting the protective effect of high self-control on offending in neighborhoods with strong collective self-control and sanctioning climates. Overall, the study stresses the importance of exploring the role of neighborhood processes beyond social disorganization in the self-control-crime nexus

Rational Choice and the Gender Gap in Crime: Establishing the Generality of Rational Choice Theory in Russia and Ukraine

Using data elicited from a random sample of 1435 adults residing in Lviv, Ukraine, and Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, this study tests rational choice theory (RCT) across gender groups. It seeks to determine whether men and women have different perceptions of sanction risk and crime rewards, whether the formation of these perceptions is gender-specific, and whether RCT predicts criminal behavior equally for men and women. Results suggest that, for both genders, perceptions of crime rewards appear more important than sanction threats. Furthermore, perceived rewards of crime, but not sanction threats, partially explain associations between offending and personal and vicarious experiences with crime. Finally, the performance of RCT is consistent, but not identical, in explaining crime by men and women. The gender gap in offending appears to reflect differences between men and women in levels of perceived rewards, most likely acquired through direct and vicarious experiences with crime as well as through gender-variant emotional bonds

Deciding to commit crime in adolescence: do moral beliefs matter?

Recent research has underscored the importance of thoughtful and reflective decision-making (TRDM) abilities of youth in preventing and reducing crime and delinquency. Yet, little attention has been paid to the conditions under which TRDM is more or less likely to have these preventative effects. We draw on data recently collected from adolescents attending schools in three metropolitan US areas (2014-2017) to better understand the role of decision-making in youth crime. This is the first study to assess how TRDM interacts with important developmental factors such as moral beliefs to shape projected crime and delinquency, including violence, property crime, and cyberdeviance. Negative binomial regression models reveal that the crime protective influence of the ability to make thoughtful and reflective decisions is most pronounced among adolescents with stronger moral beliefs. In fact, stronger moral beliefs increase the influence of TRDM on various types of crime and delinquency. We provide suggestions for crime prevention policies and programs focused on fostering deliberative thinking and strengthening the distinction between 'right' and 'wrong' among adolescents

Low Self-Control in "Bad" Neighborhoods: Assessing the Role of Context on the Relationship Between Self-Control and Crime

Although a wealth of research has substantiated the relationship between self-control and offending independent of an array of theoretically relevant covariates, little is known about the contextual variability of this relationship. Our study contributes to the literature by assessing neighborhood variability in the explanatory effect of self-control on individual offending in two Eastern European cities: Lviv, Ukraine and Nizhni Novgorod, Russia. Using data elicited from interviews with 1,431 respondents across 41 neighborhoods, we examine the extent to which the relationship between self-control and offending is moderated by neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), and investigate the role of illegal opportunities and neighborhood morality as intervening processes accounting for the cross-level interaction between self-control and neighborhood SES. Estimates from hierarchical linear models indicate that self-control effects on offending are contingent upon ecological characteristics. However, neighborhood morality, and not neighborhood SES or neighborhood opportunities for crime, is a direct moderator of these effects