The Emerging Adulthood Gap: Integrating Emerging Adulthood into Life Course Criminology

The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical mechanism, the ‘emerging adulthood gap,’ to integrate emerging adulthood into the life course or developmental area of criminological theory. This paper will present the ‘what’ of the emerging adulthood gap by introducing the concept and integrating it into existing theoretical paradigms, the ‘how’ by examining how social circumstances have altered the life course leading to the evolution of emerging adulthood as a distinct stage of the life course and to the ‘emerging adulthood gap,’ and the ‘why’ of the ‘emerging adulthood gap’ by discussing the decreased level of informal social controls experienced by those in emerging adulthood, which may make those in this stage of the life course prone to offending, substance abuse, and risky behaviors as part of their identity exploration and the instability characteristic of emerging adulthood, thereby tying emerging adulthood into criminological theory

Spitting Bullets: Anger’s Long-Ignored Role in Reactions to Terror: An Examination of College Students’ Fear and Anger Responses to Terrorism

This study seeks to capture the responses of regular Americans to explore if the role of anger in responses to terror attacks, with the goal of answering two related questions: 1) Is anger an essential emotion in public reactions to terror attacks? and 2) What are the ramifications of including anger in a model of public reactions to terrorism? This paper argues that many of the negative aspects of responses to terrorism come from the anger that terrorism invokes in victim populations. Anger elicits the desire for revenge in the victim population as well as distrust of the terrorists\u27 co-ethnics. Angry responses tend to be quick and harsh; anger is rarely described as a particular or deliberate emotion

A Socio-Demographic Analysis of Responses to Terrorism

Extensive research has found that there are differences in reported levels of fear of crime and associated protective actions influenced by socio-demographic characteristics such as race and gender. Further studies, the majority of which focused on violent and property crime, have found that specific demographic characteristics influence fear of crime and protective behaviors. However, little research has focused on the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on perceptions, and protective actions in response to the threat of terrorism. Using data from the General Social Survey, this study compared individual-level protective actions and perceptions of the effectiveness of protective responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks among Americans for demographic factors that have been found to influence fear of crime and protective actions. Results indicated that several socio-demographic factors including race and gender do exhibit some differences in perceptions of the effectiveness of responses to terrorism, although not all achieved statistical significance. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for criminological theory, security, and terrorism preparedness

The Influence of Religion on the Criminal Behavior of Emerging Adults

Recent generations of young adults are experiencing a new life course stage: emerging adulthood. During this ‘new’ stage of the life course, traditional social bonds and turning points may not be present, may be delayed, or may not operate in the same manner as they have for prior generations. One such bond, religion, is examined here. Focusing on the United States, emerging adulthood is investigated as a distinct stage of the life course. The criminality of emerging adults is presented, a theoretical examination of the relationship between religion and crime is provided, the role of religion in emerging adults’ lives is explored, research on the role of religion’s influence on criminal offending is presented, and theoretical and policy implications are offered

Where concerned citizens perceive police as more responsive to troublesome teen groups: theoretical implications for political economy, incivilities and policing

The current investigation extends previous work on citizens\u27 perceptions of police performance. It examines the origins of between-community differences in concerned citizens\u27 judgments that police are responding sufficiently to a local social problem. The problem is local unsupervised teen groups, a key indicator for both the revised systemic social disorganization perspective and the incivilities thesis. Four theoretical perspectives predict ecological determinants of these shared judgments. Less perceived police responsiveness is anticipated in lower socioeconomic status (SES) police districts by both a political economy and a stratified incivilities perspective; more predominantly minority police districts by a racialized justice perspective; and in higher crime police districts by a proposed extension of Klinger\u27s ecology of policing model. The current work improves upon earlier conflicting work in this area in several ways; most importantly it distinguishes between the perceived need for police and perceived police responsiveness. Survey, census and crime data from Philadelphia were used. Results showed residents concerned about this problem and living in lower SES police districts or higher violent crime police districts judged police as less responsive. Results supported the political economy and stratified incivilities models and to a lesser extent the proposed extension of Klinger\u27s ecology of policing perspective. Implications for broader understandings of community variation in citizens\u27 reactions to police, and for national programmes to improve police responsiveness, were noted

Military Service and Offending Behaviors of Emerging Adults: A Conceptual Review

Focusing on the United States, this paper examines the impact of military service for the cohort of individuals that have experienced the social factors that characterize emerging adulthood as a unique stage in the life course. We argue that military service, as a turning point, may act differently in contemporary times compared to findings from past research. This difference is driven by changes in military service, the draft versus volunteer military service, and the prevalence of emerging adulthood. As a background, we describe emerging adulthood, examine how emerging adulthood relates to crime and deviance, explore the impact of military life on young adults, provide an overview of the demographics of military service, discuss the influence and outcomes of military life on young adults, and explore existing research linking military service and deviant and criminal behavior. We develop a theoretical model of the relationship between military service and emerging adulthood and explore the impact on criminological theory and policy

Policing a Negotiated World: A Partial Test of Klinger’s Ecological Theory of Policing

The primary goal of the current study is to examine a portion of Klinger’s theory. Specifically, we test the influence of organizational and environmental contextual factors, guided by Klinger’s theory, on one measure of officer vigor. To date, few studies have taken this approach to examine Klinger’s theory. The study builds on prior research that has tested aspects of Klinger’s theory and adds new analytic strategies that prior studies have not used. The results of this study have implications for both theory and practice, and they add to the growing literature examining the influence of ecological and organization factors on police behavior

Exploring the Relationship Between Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facilities and Violent and Property Crime: A Socioeconomic Contingent Relationship

Siting of drug and alcohol treatment facilities is often met with negative reactions because of the assumption that these facilities increase crime by attracting drug users (and possibly dealers) to an area. This assumption, however, rests on weak empirical footings that have not been subjected to strong empirical analyses. Using census block groups from Philadelphia, PA, it was found that the criminogenic impact of treatment facilities in and near a neighborhood on its violent and property crime rates may be contingent on the socioeconomic status (SES) of the neighborhood. Paying attention to both the density and proximity of facilities in and around neighborhoods, results showed that the criminogenic impact of treatment facilities depended largely on neighborhood SES. Under some conditions, more treatment facilities nearby were associated with lower crime. Reasons, why the presumed criminogenic impact of treatment facilities appears only under some conditions, were suggested

Gender-based perceptions of the 2001 anthrax attacks: Implications for outreach and preparedness

Extensive research dealing with gender-based perceptions of fear of crime has generally found that women express greater levels of fear compared to men. Further, studies have found that women engage in more self-protective behaviors in response to fear of crime, as well as have different levels of confidence in government efficacy relative to men. The majority of these studies have focused on violent and property crime; little research has focused on gender-based perceptions of the threat of bioterrorism. Using data from a national survey conducted by ABC News / Washington Post, this study contrasted perceptions of safety and fear in response to anthrax attacks among male and female respondents. Results indicated some gender differences in perceptions and responses to possible anthrax exposure, although not all achieved statistical significance. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for criminological theory, security and bioterrorism preparedness