Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2758
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Item Understanding the Unthinkable: A Comparative Analysis of Mass Shooters, Homicide Offenders, and Violent Extremists Using Criminological Theory(2024) Yanez, Yesenia A.; LaFree, Gary; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As mass shootings continue, the need for more theoretically driven solutions grows. Criminologists can offer tremendous insight, though they should be wary of applying existing theories to this relatively new phenomenon. In this dissertation, I explore how mass shootings fit into our understanding of crime and violence. I begin by describing mass shooter demographics and motives over time. I then compare mass shooters to homicide offenders and violent extremists. Focusing on social control and general strain variables, I find that mass shooters are significantly different than single-victim homicide offenders in terms of common correlates of crime. Mass shooters and violent extremists, on the other hand, show fewer differences and greater definitional overlap. Finally, I consider how mass shooting definitions shape our perception of mass shooters. Considering these results, I conclude that a mass shooter’s path to violence does not resemble that of a common homicide offender but rather one of a violent extremist. Future scholars can thus reimagine existing criminological theories to help explain mass shootings and provide solutions that are more appropriate.Item Disorder, Dissatisfaction with the Neighborhood, and Delinquency(2018) Goodier, Michael; Porter, Lauren; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examines the association between neighborhood dissatisfaction and adolescent delinquency. The objectives of this project are to determine (1) whether neighborhood disorder is related to delinquency among adolescents (2) whether adolescents who report increased levels of neighborhood dissatisfaction are relatively more involved in delinquency than their peers, (3) if neighborhood dissatisfaction is especially related to two types of delinquency implicated by strain theory, violence and substance abuse, and (4) if neighborhood dissatisfaction weakens any of the association between neighborhood disorder and crime. Applying stepwise logistical regression, I find little support for the association between disorder and adolescent offending and no association between neighborhood dissatisfaction with either violence or substance abuse when compared to the likelihood of engaging in instrumental crime. These findings raise questions regarding the relationship between disorder and individual levels of delinquency as well as the relationship between disorder and neighborhood dissatisfaction among adolescents.Item The Moderating Role of Negative Emotionality, Positive Emotionality, and Low Constraint on the Relationship between Strain and Criminal Behavior(2013) Foriest, Whytnee; Gottfredson, Denise C; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)General strain theory (GST) posits that strain causes crime (Agnew et al., 1992). Individuals who fail to achieve positively valued goals, lose positively valued stimuli, or are presented with negative stimuli are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. GST, however, acknowledges that individuals vary in their responses to strain and not all strained individuals turn to crime. Agnew et al. (2002) proposed a number of factors that may increase the likelihood of a criminogenic response to strain. Of these, he considers personality traits to be among the most important (Agnew, 2006). This study examines the moderating role of negative emotionality, low constraint, and positive emotionality on the relationship between strain and criminal behavior. Findings reveal a direct, positive association between strain and crime, but there was no support for the conditioning hypotheses proposed in this study.