http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2758 2013-05-24T06:37:48Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13211 Title: EXPLORING THE EFFECT OF INVESTMENTS IN SOCIAL SERVICES, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY ON CRIME RATES: DO INVESTMENT DECISIONS MATTER? Authors: Guerra, Mary-Kathleen Abstract: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau are used to test the relationship of local social services, public safety, and education expenditures, all as proportions of total local expenditures aggregated to the state level, with the property and crime rates for years 2007 through 2010. Previous literature and theory suggest that any significant relationships to crime would be inverse relationships. The initial results of this study indicate an unexpected significant positive relationship between the proportion of social services expenditures and the violent crime rate for years 2007 through 2010. The results also indicate a significant inverse relationship between proportion of public safety expenditures and the violent crime rate, but not for all years tested. Results should be viewed in the context of the limitations of the current study. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13203 Title: Beyond the Mainstream: A Theory Test of School Engagement and Sexual Assault Authors: Vlajnic, Maja Milana Abstract: While many mainstream criminological theories purportedly explain all types of crime, next to nothing in the literature tests for rape and sexual assault — an exceptional oversight, considering that an alternate theoretical explanation (feminist theory) exists for this class of crime. This thesis hopes to begin to rectify this gap in the literature by testing an aspect of control theory, the school bond. Using the National Youth Survey, logistic regression is applied to test the effects of school engagement (academic and athletic) on rapes attempted or completed by male adolescents. Support for neither the control theory hypothesis nor the feminist theory hypothesis is found, as neither engagement variable reaches significant results. However, this thesis still hopes to emphasize the necessity of literature specifically testing rape and sexual assault, and offers directions for future research to expand on this. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13125 Title: A Multilevel Exploration of Neighborhood Disorder, Family Management and Antisocial Behavior Authors: Lobo Antunes, Maria Abstract: Tremendous research has been dedicated to unpacking the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and youth development. Despite these efforts conclusions have been generally mixed and it is the lack of consensus regarding the importance of community that has in part fueled this dissertation. Much of the research dedicated to examining community and neighborhood effects on parenting and child behavior have been focused on community structural characteristics. Even though there is much evidence to suggest that disorder can affect both individuals and communities alike there is a paucity of literature on how neighborhood disorder may simultaneously influence family practices and child problem behavior. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) and borrowing from the conceptual framework developed by Furstenberg, Cook, Eccles, Elder and Sameroff (1999), the current investigation explores the relationship between disorder, family management and youth antisocial behavior by posing four research questions. First, what are the effects of neighborhood disorder on family management practices? Second, how do family management strategies influence youth involvement in antisocial behavior? Third, how does neighborhood disorder affect youth antisocial behavior? Fourth, what is the multilevel relationship between disorder, family management and antisocial behavior? A series of models analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Model indicate that although disorder significantly influences several parenting strategies, in the end, family management practices tend to have a greater impact on youth involvement in antisocial behavior. Parents living in disordered neighborhood are more likely to limit their child's access to the surrounding neighborhood which in turn is shown to reduce antisocial behavior. These findings suggest that protective family management practices can be effective in curbing youth deviant behavior. Moreover, the analyses also revealed a significant relationship between proximal mechanisms of antisocial behavior (exposure to violence and peer deviance), family management and antisocial behavior. In essence, parental efforts in reducing exposure to violence and peer deviance have a protective effect in reducing antisocial behavior, especially in highly disordered neighborhoods. In keeping with these findings, several avenues for future research are discussed, as are theoretical and policy implications. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13059 Title: Pathways to Turning Points: Exploring the Relationship between Self-Control and Thoughtfully Reflective Decision Making Authors: Pratt, Stephanie M. Abstract: The majority of empirical work on turning points has focused on if and how they facilitate desistance; comparatively little work has investigated the factors that facilitate or inhibit the likelihood of experiencing these turning points, however. This is disconcerting as extant literature has mostly found these life events to have a significant impact on steering individuals away from subsequent deviant behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study investigates the relationship between self-control and thoughtfully reflective decision making (Paternoster and Pogarsky, 2009; Paternoster, Pogarsky, and Zimmerman, 2010) in the likelihood of entering into marriage and gainful activity. This research finds that self-control significantly predicts gainful activity as well as thoughtfully reflective decision making. The results, however, do not find self-control to be influential for marriage. Implications for theory and future research are also discussed. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z