Online Socialization and Delinquency: Expanding the Study of Peer Influence in Criminology

Criminologists typically study peer influence within traditional contexts such as schools and neighborhoods. Spurred by the ubiquitous use of electronic devices, recent research finds that online peer delinquency can also have deleterious effects on adolescent behavior. This has important implications for the study of delinquency since youth today are digital natives, meaning their developmental years are spent in a world reliant on technology and Internet-connected devices. Through the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC), adolescents can forge friendships with those found within the cyber context, a virtual environment unrestricted by the confines of space and time. This context not only provides access to a distinct group of online peers, it connects youth with their face-to-face (FTF) friends, thereby enabling instantaneous contact with offline associations. Furthermore, extant research on CMC has revealed that individuals are disinhibited and disclose personal information when communicating online. The cyber context thus (1) extends the view of peer groups by providing access to online peers, (2) increases the frequency, duration, and intensity of contact with existing FTF peers, and (3) affects the content of communication which may alter what is perceived as peer deviance. This dissertation uses self-reported data from a multi-site study of 3,641 middle school students to explore how youth interact with their friends as well as the association between peer delinquency and personal delinquency. Results indicate that few respondents prefer communicating online, but many find it easier to make friends online, and most communicate online with their FTF friends. The cyber context generally does not enable exposure to new peer delinquency; rather, it enhances the peer delinquency of those who are already exposed offline. Moreover, online peer delinquency from those who are not regularly seen in person emerges as a robust, independent predictor of self-reported delinquency. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for how criminologists should proceed with incorporating the cyber context into the study of delinquent peer influence

University of Missouri- St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (UMSL CSSI)

View the website for this project here: https://www.umsl.edu/ccj/research/cssi.htm

Peer Influence and Social Networking Websites: Applying Differential Association and Social Learning Theories to Online Interaction

Differential association and social learning theories explain how individuals learn deviant behavior through traditional in-person social interaction. Online social networking has paved the way for the younger generation to interact with their peer group using a distinctly different method. The purpose of this research is to take an exploratory approach in examining the relationship between online interaction and personal behavior. The current study examined 583 University of Memphis undergraduate students\u27 self-reported personal deviant behavior, as well as the deviant behavior found within their online social networks. Results support the hypothesis that exposure to deviant behavior on online social networks is a predictor of personal deviant behavior. Moderating variables were introduced via multivariate analyses and were found to affect the strength of the relationship between the two sets of behaviors

Crime and Inflation in U. S. Cities

ObjectivesThe current study replicates prior national-level research on the relationship between crimes committed for monetary gain and inflation in a sample of 17 U. S. cities between 1960 and 2013. Methods A random coefficients model is used to estimate the effects of inflation on the change in acquisitive crime over time, controlling for other influences. Results The estimates yield significant effects of inflation on acquisitive crime rates in the 17 cities. City-specific coefficients reveal nontrivial variation across the cities in the significance, size, and impact of inflation on acquisitive crime.Conclusions Continued low inflation rates should restrain future crime increases in many US cities. U. S. monetary policy should be evaluated with respect to its effect on crime.Accepted Author ManuscriptOLD Urban Renewal and Housin

Police-Youth Collaborative Pilot Program in St. Louis

Not only do we know that the relationship between the police and the African American community is likely to be more strained than in other communities (Tuch and Weitzer, 1997; Shuck & Rosenbaum, 2005; Weitzer, Tuch, & Skogan, 2007), we also know that the relationship between African American youth and the police is especially strained (Brunson, 2007; Brunson & Weitzer, 2009). This already troubled relationship was further weakened in light of the Michael Brown shooting and subsequent riots in Ferguson, Missouri. In response, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Louis Public Schools, along with local philanthropists, have developed a Collaborative Program, which brings police officers into the classroom of one of St. Louis’s most troubled schools for discussions on topics such as segregation, civil rights, and police use of force. Evaluators are conducting a formative process evaluation of this promising pilot program. Evaluators have attended officer training, all class sessions, and meetings with program stakeholders on how best to improve the program. This presentation will discuss some of the strengths, challenges, and overall findings coming from the police-youth Collaborative Program in inner-city St. Louis

Police-Youth Collaborative Pilot Program in St. Louis

Not only do we know that the relationship between the police and the African American community is likely to be more strained than in other communities (Tuch and Weitzer, 1997; Shuck & Rosenbaum, 2005; Weitzer, Tuch, & Skogan, 2007), we also know that the relationship between African American youth and the police is especially strained (Brunson, 2007; Brunson & Weitzer, 2009). This already troubled relationship was further weakened in light of the Michael Brown shooting and subsequent riots in Ferguson, Missouri. In response, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Louis Public Schools, along with local philanthropists, have developed a Collaborative Program, which brings police officers into the classroom of one of St. Louis’s most troubled schools for discussions on topics such as segregation, civil rights, and police use of force. Evaluators are conducting a formative process evaluation of this promising pilot program. Evaluators have attended officer training, all class sessions, and meetings with program stakeholders on how best to improve the program. This presentation will discuss some of the strengths, challenges, and overall findings coming from the police-youth Collaborative Program in inner-city St. Louis

University of Missouri-St. Louis Comprehensive Safe Schools Initiative (UMSL CSSI)

This resource has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. This resource is being made publically available through the Office of Justice Programs’ National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Association of acute depressive symptoms and functional connectivity of emotional processing regions following sport-related concussion.

Acute mood disturbance following sport-related concussion is common and is known to adversely affect post-concussion symptoms and recovery. The physiological underpinnings of depressive symptoms following concussion, however, are relatively understudied. We hypothesized that functional connectivity of the emotional processing network would be altered in concussed athletes and associated with the severity of depressive symptoms following concussion. Forty-three concussed collegiate athletes were assessed at approximately one day

University of Missouri- St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (UMSL CSSI)

View the website for this project here: https://www.umsl.edu/ccj/research/cssi.htm