Wikstrӧm’s Situational Action Theory (SAT) proposes a general theory of crime causation that addresses two sets of interactions between individuals and their situation/environment. These interactions predict whether or not individuals choose a criminal action. The current study utilized self-report data on intimate partner violence collected at a large urban university in Florida (n=1124) to test this process by examining both direct and interactive effects proposed by the theory. Specifically, this study examines the direct effects of moral propensity, temptations/provocations, self-control and perpetual deterrence on intimate partner violence as well as the various interactions among them as derived from the theory. This study is the first complete test of SAT to date.

The dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population has renewed scholarly interest in the prison experience. Researchers have built upon and extended classic theories of inmate behavior to better understand the mechanisms that lead to inmate violence and misbehavior. Yet, scholars still consider what happens to inmates inside of prison a “black box,” due to limited systematic assessments of the prison experience. This body of scholarship is also limited by its narrow focus on males, as theories of inmate behavior have been developed around male experiences and, in turn, ignore the possibility that gender may influence prison life. Feminist theory suggests that assessments of the prison experience necessitate a focus beyond a “gendered” analysis, to one that simultaneously takes in to account race and ethnicity. Theory indicates that the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity influence the prison experience and the way in which prison staff react to behaviors of different inmate groups. Accordingly, the goal of this dissertation is to address these research gaps and to systematically examine female inmate behavior and official reactions to behavior. Specifically, this dissertation examines three domains of the prison experience. First, it examines gender and race/ethnicity-based variation in the trends and predictors of formal in-prison misconduct. Second, the dissertation explores gender and racial/ethnic differences in how prisons sanction inmate misconduct and focuses specifically on the use of disciplinary confinement, losses of gain time, and assignment to extra work duty. Third, the dissertation assesses how in-prison punishments influence future in-prison misconduct and examines whether there is gender and racial/ethnic variation in those effects. Towards this goal, this dissertation uses longitudinal data that come from the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), and include all inmates that entered Florida prisons between 2005 and 2011. The data are especially useful in the assessment of the female prison experience, because they include a large enough sample of female inmates of Black, White, and Hispanic background to allow for systematic empirical assessments, which are typically rare in the study of this type of population. This dissertation uses a number of different analytic techniques, including bivariate comparisons, life table analyses, multilevel logistic regression models, negative binomial regression, and multilevel survival analyses. The dissertation’s analyses identify several critical results that advance prison research, theory, and policy. First, the findings highlight that there are notable gender and racial/ethnic differences in official misconduct, which point to the possibility of behavioral differences or differential rule enforcement, or perhaps both. At the same time, this dissertation shows that prior incarceration and age are the strongest predictors of misconduct, violence, and order violations for Black, White, and Hispanic males and females. Second, this dissertation identifies disciplinary confinement as the most frequently used in-prison sanction across male and female inmates incarcerated in Florida prisons. Third, empirical assessments showed little to no deterrent effect of harsher in-prison punishments (e.g., disciplinary confinement). More broadly, the findings underscore a need for more nuanced assessments of the female prison experience, and one that can account better for officer decision making patterns. The dissertation concludes with an overview of the findings, and a discussion of theory, research, and policy implications.

The current study examined the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and various forms of deception. Through the use of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment to measure psychopathy, and several different assessment tools to measure deception, including the Multidimensional Deception Inventory (MDI), the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and deception was examined. Using an undergraduate sample of 261 participants at a large research university in the Southeastern United States, the relationship between the aforementioned constructs was explored. Results indicated that the overarching personality traits of Antagonism and Disinhibition were positively related to multiple dimensions of lying behavior. Frequency of lies told, Duping Delight (lies told for enjoyment), and lies told for personal gain/impression management and to avoid disclosing pertinent information were positively related to both Antagonism and Disinhibition. Results point to the need for future study in this area, as limited previous research has looked at the overlap between psychopathic personality traits and deception.

In the years following the 11 September 2001 attacks, research in the area of terrorism expanded exponentially. However, the changing nature of terrorism and lack of available data make it a difficult topic for criminologists to study; as academics we do not have access to the governmental data and data that is publicly available is often restricted due to the sensitive nature of national security issues. As first hand data is not available, an alternate data source, court records, may provide insight to the profile of current terrorists/terrorist supporters in the United States. Using court data from 71 cases of individuals in the United States charged with providing support to ISIS, and comparing this profile to the established profiles of other non-traditional criminal groups, this exploratory study attempts to be a first effort in examining the contributions criminology can make to the study of terrorism; from both theoretical and law enforcement perspectives.

Adverse childhood experiences can lead to a number of harmful outcomes throughout an individual’s life, ranging from medical problems to criminal behavior. These traumatic experiences, comprised of different forms of maltreatment and dysfunctional household environments, can affect the development of a child in a variety of different ways. The multitude of developmental changes can produce compounding harmful effects on the child’s life and lead to acutely maladaptive outcomes. Under the perspective of developmental psychopathology, the ever-changing biological, psychological, and social dynamics of children who experience trauma can contribute to deficiencies in all aspects of their subsequent development. Each of these developmental changes can lead to problem behaviors during adolescence and further progress the youth down a path toward both externalized and internalized violent behavior. In this study of youth who came in contact with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the consequences of childhood trauma in the development of juvenile delinquents are examined. This data allowed for the calculation of each child’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score (Felitti et al., 1998). Using a generalized structural equation model, the effects of ACE scores are estimated on several aspects of each child’s personality development, adolescent problem behaviors, and violent outcomes. Specifically, the model evaluates both the direct and indirect effects of the culmination of adverse childhood experiences on the initiation of externalized violence (serious, violent, chronic delinquency) and internalized violence (suicidal behavior), as mediated through the development of personality characteristics (such as aggression and impulsivity) and adolescent problem behaviors (such as the imitation of deviant peers, school failure and dropout, substance abuse problems, and symptoms of mental illness). This study aims to contribute to the formation of a more complete understanding of the role of childhood trauma in the development of these two types of violent behaviors to improve our assessment and treatment of children who suffer from early-life trauma.

This dissertation examines the role of self-control in the relationship between exposure to violence and antisocial behavior. Specifically, this study proposes that the impact of exposure to violence changes depending on internalized factors such as self-control. Individuals with high exposure to violence but greater levels of self-control may be less influenced by the impact of exposure to violence. Conversely, individuals with low levels of exposure to violence and lower levels of self-control may be more influenced by the impact of violence. The findings from this study suggest that there is some buffering effect on the impact of exposure to violence which may be explained by levels of self-control. This finding is consistent with prior research which finds that the impact of environmental factors on crime and analogous behaviors can be influenced by other personal traits. The results of this study provide researchers and practitioners with important information regarding the impact of exposure to violence on antisocial behavior and the influence self-control has on this relationship. Due to the fickle nature of human behavior and the preciseness involved in developing treatment or diversion plans the relationship between environmental and internal factors should be addressed.

The purpose of this study was to identify socio-psychological differences in youths who may be at risk to joining gangs.

No description available.

School and campus shootings are a contemporary problem in the United States. Because of these shootings, colleges have enacted new policies to ensure safety on their campuses, including concealed carry on campus. The State of Tennessee has a unique law in place that allows colleges to create their own policies regarding concealed carry on campus, with the stipulation that only full-time faculty and staff can carry concealed weapons. East Tennessee State University is one campus with this policy. East Tennessee State University students, faculty, and staff were questioned via email survey about their perceptions of safety on campus and opinions regarding the current concealed carry policy. No significant relationship was found between respondents’ perceptions of safety and their level of support for the current policy, although political affiliation, affiliation with ETSU, gun ownership, and possession of a concealed carry permit were significantly related to support of concealed carry on campus.

The majority of research on victim decision making has focused narrowly on reporting to police neglecting other ways in which victims seek help after a victimization experience. Similarly, this research also focuses on only one crime at a time, typically sexual assault, or focuses broadly on categories of violent crime. This dissertation aims to explore variations in victim help-seeking by examining and comparing various combinations of formal disclosure. Moreover, this study compares two distinctly different yet comparable interpersonal violent crimes: sexual assault and robbery. In so doing, this study employs the Theory of the Behavior of Law to examine whether social structure predicts the decision to formally disclose across these two crimes. Using National Crime Victimization Survey data from 1996-2015 (n=3,095), logistic regression is employed to explore formal disclosure, police reporting, and exclusive victim agency usage among female sexual assault and robbery victimizations. The results found little theoretical support; however, results consistently indicated that crime type was strongly related to all strategies of disclosure. These findings suggest that the Theory of the Behavior of Law does not explain victim decision making. Theoretical and practical implications as well as avenues for future research are discussed.