Alcohol consumption among adolescents is an important issue because of its link to many negative social and health problems, including depression, suicide, and aggression. Drawing from Hirschi’s social bonding theory and Agnew’s general strain theory, this study examines the effects of family relations on alcohol consumption among Turkish adolescents. Social bonding theory suggests that individuals with stronger social bonds are less likely to use alcohol than individuals with weaker social bonds. General strain theory, on the other hand, proposes that individuals with higher levels of strain due to financial difficulties and/or negative relationships are more likely to consume alcohol compared to individuals with lower levels of strain. In particular, this study proposes to examine how parental attachment, parental monitoring, time spent with family, parents’ religiosity, family economic strain, and negative life events in the family predict alcohol consumption among adolescents in Turkey. 2008 Youth in Europe (YIE) project data is used in the study. In general, the results indicate that social bonding and strain factors have significant effects on the adolescents’ alcohol consumption patterns. These findings will help to inform prevention programs aimed at reducing adolescent alcohol risk behaviors by explaining the importance of family relationships.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / W. Richard Goe / This study examined three of the prominent theories of juvenile delinquency to determine principle juvenile firearm carrying behaviors. The theories investigated were Differential Association/Social Learning, Social Control, and Anomie/Strain. The data set used for this research was the “National Survey of Weapons-Related Experiences, Behaviors, and Concerns of High School Youth in the United States, 1996” from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan. This national-level survey of youth was conducted by Joseph F. Sheley and James D. Wright to assemble detailed behavioral and attitudinal data concerning weapons and violence, and was completed by 733 10th and 11th grade male high school students. Comparison logistic regression model analyses were utilized to examine the study’s hypotheses. Findings indicated that juvenile firearms carrying is most influenced by delinquent peers, delinquent friends, and gang membership within the theoretical framework of Differential Association/Social Learning. Social Control Theory has the least explanatory power, while the analysis of Anomie/Strain suggests that vicarious strains (those strains experienced by people close to the juvenile) have even more influence on juvenile firearms carrying than experienced strain. Theoretical integration is recommended for future research attempting to provide greater explanatory and predictive power for serious forms of delinquency like juvenile firearms carrying.

The world economy loses an estimated $3.5 trillion annually due to fraud. A weakened economy leads to additional hardships for individuals, families, and organizations. General strain theory (GST) posits that certain strains lead to negative emotional responses, and the result is delinquent behavior. The purpose of this research was to analyze the relationship between strain and occupational fraud through the theoretical framework of GST. The research questions addressed (a) occupational frauds as measured by strain levels of perpetrators, (b) the relationship between strain scores and the different occupational fraud types, and (c) the significance of the relationship between fraud motivation and each of the occupational fraud types. A quantitative, cross-sectional study using secondary data from the ACFE Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse database, was conducted to examine the relationship between strain, negative emotionality, and occupational fraud crimes. To examine this relationship, a sample of 2,910 cases were tested using nominal regression, logistic regression, and Pearson correlation. The results indicated that strain is significantly related to asset misappropriation and financial statement frauds. The results also showed that work-related motivation is significantly related to financial statement frauds. Scholars and practitioners should focus on agendas related to strain, work-related motivation, and financial statement frauds. Fewer fraud losses will positively impact society through increased employment opportunities, additional tax revenues for all levels of government, and increased cash flows for investors.

Accurate statistical characterization of nanomaterials is crucial for their use in emerging technologies. This work investigates how different structural characteristics of metal nanoparticles influence the line profiles of the corresponding powder diffraction pattern. The effects of crystallite size, shape, lattice dynamics, and surface strain are all systematically studied in terms of their impact on the line profiles. The studied patterns are simulated from atomistic models of nanoparticles via the Debye function. This approach allows for the existing theories of diffraction to be tested, and extended, in an effort to improve the characterization of small crystallites. It also begins to allow for the incorporation of atomistic simulations into the field of diffraction. Molecular dynamics simulations are shown to be effective in generating realistic structural models and dynamics of an atomic system, and are then used to study the observed features in the powder diffraction pattern. Furthermore, the characterization of a sample of shape controlled Pt nanoparticles is carried out through the use of a developed Debye function analysis routine in an effort to determine the predominant particle shape. The results of this modeling are shown to be in good agreement with complementary characterization methods, like transmission electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry.

This is a Nigerian study, which initially aimed to examine armed robbery culture and the youth subculture. With the employment of subcultural theory, the study became intellectually unviable in explaining the primary data. A replacement was made by seeking recourse to anomie-strain theory and control theory to explain the data. Presently, the main aim of this study is to examine the involvement of youths in armed robbery. Specifically, the study will look at armed robbery from the point of view of offenders and the factors responsible for their crime.Armed robbery is a type of robbery aided by weapon(s) to threaten, force and deprive a person or persons of the right to private, public or corporate belongings. Since the end of the Nigeria civil war (1967-1970), the offence has become a problem in the country, occurring almost on a daily basis in the urban areas more than the rural. Armed robbery can take place in residential homes, commercial places, motorways and any other place the offenders may deem necessary to operate. The current criminal climate has made it possible for armed robbers to engage in interstate criminal operations as well.Methodologically, the research is qualitative, involving semi-structured face-to-face oral interviews (open-ended) with 20 armed robbers in prison custody in Nigeria. There is also an unstructured interview with 4 members of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. The analytical framework employed is interpretive phenomenology, to capture the holistic worldview of the offender sample. Secondary data comes from both the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Prison Service records.Findings are presented under four systematic themes: family circumstances, economic motivations, life course engagement, and situational dynamics in carrying out a robbery. Data reveal the four most significant factors in the hierarchy of response (bad friends, money, poverty and corruption) that may account for the involvement of youths in armed robbery. Since the group of “bad friends” is the main catalyst responsible for the involvement of youths in armed robbery, the thesis concludes that this sample of respondents be regarded as a network of criminals who were strained by the unjust social structure in their native Nigeria. Besides, there is need for a Nigerian criminological theoretical framework that offers an in-depth explanation of crime in the Nigerian society.

Depressive and anxiety symptoms are common mental health problems globally. Antisocial behaviors can occur in early age and develop into delinquency. The aim of the study was to investigate longitudinally, with a six-month follow-up the association between mental health problems (i.e. depressive and anxiety symptoms) and delinquency among Italian early adolescents and if this association differs for boys and girls. A quantitative method was used with secondary data. The sample consisted of 155 Italian 12 years old adolescents. A longitudinal design with two occasions of measurement was used, which allows to follow individuals over time. The cross-sectional results showed that depressive symptoms were positively associated with delinquency in the total sample. However, no association was showed between anxiety symptoms and delinquency at the baseline. In addition, longitudinal results showed that medium/high delinquent behavior after six-month follow-up can partly be explained by depressive symptoms at baseline, but not by anxiety symptoms in the total sample. The longitudinal results also showed that increased levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms among boys increased the probability of having medium/high delinquent behavior, but not among girls. In conclusion, mental health problems can to some extent explain delinquency, especially among boys.

Denna studie undersöker bidragsbrottsligheten i Malmö och dess utveckling. Utifrån en kvantitativ ansats med tvärsnittsdesign syftar studien till att belysa utvecklingen av bidragsbrott samt hitta bidragande faktorer till utvecklingsförloppet. Bidragsbrott är relevant utifrån dess frekvens, konsekvenser för välfärdssystemet och kopplingen till den organiserade brottsligheten. På uppdrag av Malmös avdelning för ekonomiskt bistånd och boende har forskningsfrågorna besvaras med statistik från dem samt Brottsförebyggande rådet. Efter en deskriptiv univariat analys fann denna studie att bidragsbrottsutvecklingen i Malmö inte påvisar en stabil ökande eller minskande trend utan är fluktuerande. Med hjälp av Strainteorin och Situationella handlingsteorin förklarades denna ojämna utveckling utifrån ekonomiska faktorer, extern/intern kontroll samt motivation och frestelser. / This study investigates the social welfare crime development in Malmö. Using a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design this study aims to illustrate the development of social welfare crime and also find contributing factors to the development. Social welfare crime is relevant due to its frequency, consequences to the welfare system and connection to organized crime. At the request of Malmö City department of economic aid and housing, the research questions have been answered using data from the department and Brottsförebyggande rådet. After a descriptive univariate analysis, this study found that the social welfare crime development is neither showing a stable rising or decreasing trend but a fluctuation curve. The uneven development was explained using Strain theory and the Situational action theory and was able to identify contributing factors such as economic factors, internal/external control, motivation and temptations.

The purpose of this dissertation is to extend General Strain Theory (GST) to examine prosocial, asocial, and antisocial behavior in response to bullying. In GST, Agnew (1992; 2001; 2013) asserted that negative emotions can lead to criminal or aggressive coping but there are a number of factors that increase or decrease the propensity to respond aggressively (Agnew, 1992; Richman & Leary, 2009). In this dissertation, I examine whether and how rejection (operationalized as bullying victimization) is associated with aggressive responding as opposed to prosocial (e.g., befriending others) or asocial (e.g., avoiding people and social events) responding. This dissertation consists of three studies testing theoretical variables of bullying victimization as well as behavioral responses to four types of bullying: physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Study 1 of this dissertation examines risk and protective factors for types of bullying victimization. Study 2 applies GST to test the effect of social support, or the availability of alternative relationships (i.e., having others to count on or turn to for social support), on responses to four types of bullying. Study 3 tests the effect of power dynamics on responses to physical and relational bullying. In conducting this research, I hope to: 1) integrate interdisciplinary bodies of literature to examine risk and protective factors of bullying victimization and behavioral responses to bullying and 2) improve understanding of how these experiences are affected by the power dynamics involved in bullying. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that types of negative emotions and behavioral outcomes vary by type of bullying victimization. Cyber bullying was found to have more negative consequences than any other form of bullying. Across all four forms of bullying, social support was found to be associated with an increased likelihood of youth engaging in prosocial behavior. Implicit power, or the perception that one’s bully has a high social standing at school, significantly influenced responses based on the type of bullying. However, even when controlling for power dynamics, social support was still associated with increased prosocial behavior in response to bullying victimization. Theory and policy implications are discussed.

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Studiens syfte är att undersöka högstadielärares beskrivningar av unga i utsatta områden och det förebyggande arbete som bedrivs på skolor i utsatta områden med unga i riskzon som tenderar att hamna i kriminella nätverk. Studien är en kvalitativ ansats med hermeneutik som vetenskapsteoretisk ingång och det insamlade empiriska materialet utgår från semistrukturerade intervjuer med ett målstyrt urval. Studiens analys har gjorts i förhållande till tre teorier om stigmatisering, sociala band och strainteorin. Intervjuerna genomfördes med åtta yrkesverksamma på olika skolor i utsatta områden runtom i Sverige. Resultatet visar att de unga i utsatta områden påverkas av olika faktorer som medför en exkludering och har därför sämre förutsättningar på grund av sin bakgrund. Vidare framkommer det att relationsskapande och samverkan med föräldrar och andra aktörer är en avgörande faktor för att det förebyggande arbetet ska fungera och hålla unga i utsatta områden som är i riskzon borta från det kriminella.