The general purpose of this study is to provide a multilevel examination of the prevalence and contextual influences of traditional and cyber bullying perpetration through a criminological perspective. Bullying and harassment in our schools has become a growing national epidemic and has caught the attention of various disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology and medicine. However, the use of criminological theories to examine the phenomenon of bullying has been limited. Given the link between deviance and bullying behaviors, leading criminological theories could provide valuable nuances to what we already know about bullying. Using a state-wide representative sample of Florida, the present study provides rich and detailed insights into bullying prevalence in Florida schools by examining the incidence rates for verbal, physical and cyber bullying, where bullying takes place as well as a comparison of involvement among various demographic groups. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the study also examines the fit of four criminological theories - social bond theory, social learning theory, general strain theory and social disorganization theory in explaining traditional and cyber bullying. Results found some distinct factors associated with each type of bullying. Furthermore, the findings indicate that while several key individual level significant effects were found, contextual level variables are still important components to consider. In particular, indirect contextual effects could determine the conditions under which certain individual-level characteristics may function. Based on the findings implications for bullying prevention and intervention programs for bullying behaviors are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 26, 2012. / Cyber bullying, Multilevel modeling, Social bonds theory, Social disorganization theory, Traditional bullying / Includes bibliographical references. / Brian Stults, Professor Directing Dissertation; Martell Teasley, University Representative; Eric Stewart, Committee Member; Sonja E. Siennick, Committee Member.

During the past two decades, policy-makers, members of the media and the general public have identified sex offending as a persistent social problem. Indeed, a wealth of get-tough legislation has been enacted to enhance punishment and closely monitor convicted sex offenders. Scholars have directed their efforts at understanding sex offending and sex crime policy. Much of this research is focused on what happens to sex offenders once they return to a community (e.g., registration and community notification, residence restrictions). Few studies have examined sex offender punishment. This gap in the literature is notable, given the enhanced focus on sex offenders and how they are punished. The general public has argued that however sex offenders are currently punished, it is "not enough." Yet, few studies have explored sex offender punishment with regard to official sentencing. Thus, the goal of this dissertation is to advance sex offender scholarship by examining the sentencing of sex offenders in Florida. Using sentencing data from the Florida Department of Corrections, several questions centered on sex offender sentencing were examined. First, which punishment philosophy is driving sex offender punishment, and how have punishment approaches changed over time? Using Florida as a backdrop, how are sex offenders sentenced and how has that approach changed over time? What is the role of offender race and ethnicity in sentencing sex offenders? Finally, what is the effect of county racial and ethnic composition on sex offender sentencing? Results show that sex offender punishment practices are grounded in incapacitation and retribution frameworks. Indeed, evidence from Florida suggests that in recent years, sex offenders are more likely to go to prison and less likely to be sentenced to community sanctions, such as probation or community control. Further analyses examined the effect of offender race and ethnicity on sentencing outcomes and found that young adult and middle-aged black sex offenders are more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts. However, elderly white sex offenders are more likely to be incarcerated than their black counterparts. Finally, the relationship between county racial and ethnic composition and decision to incarcerate was examined. Results indicate that counties with larger populations of Black and Hispanic residents are less likely to sentence sex offenders to incarceration. Implications for theory and research are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 21, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Daniel P. Mears, Professor Directing Dissertation; Melissa Radey, University Representative; Patricia Y. Warren Hightower, Committee Member; William Bales, Committee Member.

The juvenile justice system was founded on and, until recently, developed around the idea that society should afford delinquents more leniency and rehabilitative care than adult criminals because of their lower levels of physical and cognitive development, and thus diminished culpability for law violations and higher amenability to treatment. The past four decades, however, have witnessed a sustained movement to recriminalize delinquency through the enactment of policies that treat juvenile offenders more like their adult counterparts. Barry Feld (1999, 2003) and others have argued that this punitive turn in juvenile justice is in part a result of the racialization of delinquency in the post-civil rights era. This study provides the first test of the key assumption underlying this thesis, namely that whites' support for getting tough with juvenile offenders is in part tied to racialized views of youth crime. Using national survey data collected in 2010, I examine whether the racial typification of delinquency is related to views about juvenile justice polices. Specifically, the analyses evaluate whether the perception that blacks commit a larger proportion of juvenile crime than whites is associated with (1) punitive attitudes toward juvenile offenders, (2) preferences for more punitive delinquency prevention policies, and (3) support for providing rehabilitation and treatment programs to youthful offenders. I also test the assumption underlying research on the relationship between modern or symbolic racism and views about crime policy that racial resentment is related to punitiveness because racists typify crime as a black phenomenon (see Unnever and Cullen, 2009; 2010). The results support Feld's argument and show that the perception that blacks commit a larger proportion of juvenile crime in comparison to whites is positively related to both punitive attitudes toward juvenile offenders and preferences for more punitive delinquency prevention policies. Additionally, and controlling for punitiveness, racial typification of delinquency is negatively related to support for juvenile rehabilitation. However, I find no evidence that racial typification of delinquency interacts with racial resentment to influence views about juvenile justice. The implications of the findings are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / September 7, 2011. / Juvenile Justice, Public Opinion, Racial Typification of Crime / Includes bibliographical references. / Ted Chiricos, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Taylor, University Representative; Daniel P. Mears, Committee Member; Eric A. Stewart, Committee Member.

A large body of scholarship has focused on the factors that lead to improved prison social order and prisoner reentry outcomes. Research suggests that one such factor, social ties, are especially salient for helping individuals manage the myriad of challenges they face during incarceration and during the transition back into society. For example, social ties can help inmates cope with strain (Sykes 1958; Adams 1992), they can exert informal social control (Sampson and Laub 1993), they can help offset negative social stigma (Pager 2003; Uggen et al. 2004), and they can assist inmates with the practical challenges associated with reintegration back into society and after release from prison (Petersilia 2003; Visher and Travis 2003; Maruna and Immarigeon 2004; Naser and La Vigne 2006; Berg and Huebner 2011). This diverse body of research has spurred scholars to examine how the maintenance of social ties during prison contributes to in-prison and reentry outcomes (Wolff and Draine 2004; Naser and La Vigne 2006; Cobbina et al. 2012). To this end, scholars have focused on inmate visitation because it provides access to social ties during incarceration (e.g., Ohlin 1951; Glaser 1964; Holt and Miller 1972; Hairston 1988; Bales and Mears 2008; Siennick et al. 2013). Indeed, with few exceptions, visitation provides the only opportunity for inmates to have direct contact with family, friends, and community members. In so doing, it affords inmates some ability to preserve, develop, or sustain ties to social networks outside of prison, and to have sources of social capital on which to draw during and after incarceration. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on prison visitation, prison experiences, and social ties in several ways. First, it examines systematically the heterogeneity of prison visitation and advances a conceptual framework for theorizing, evaluating, and guiding visitation research. Second, it explores who is visited in prison by testing the relationship between a range of individual- and community-level factors and the frequency of visitation. Third, it explores the longitudinal patterns of visitation that inmates experience and assesses the extent to which these patterns are associated with in-prison misconduct. Fourth, and finally, it tests the effects of different visitation patterns on the likelihood of recidivism. Data for this dissertation were provided by the Florida Department of Corrections and include detailed information for all convicted felony offenders released from Florida prisons between 2000 and 2002. The data have several attributes that make them ideal for this study: they include inmates from multiple facilities across a single state, males and females, and large proportions of inmates from different racial and ethnic groups. Most importantly, and unusual in prison studies, the data contain comprehensive records of visitation events, which allow for analyses that can examine visitation experiences longitudinally. Analyses of the data point to several key findings. They highlight the heterogeneity inherent in inmate visitation, they identify several factors that are associated with visitation, and they underscore the salience of visitation for improving in-prison and post-release outcomes. More broadly, the findings underscore the need for more systematic analysis of prison experiences and their effects on prison social order and reentry. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of additional implications of the findings for theory, research, and policy. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 1, 2013. / prison, prison social order, recidivism, reentry, social ties, visitation / Includes bibliographical references. / Daniel P. Mears, Professor Directing Dissertation; Melissa Radey, University Representative; William D. Bales, Committee Member; Sonja E. Siennick, Committee Member; Eric A. Stewart, Committee Member.

Relatively neglected in the literature on law and society has been the growing racial disparity in imprisonment observed during the era of mass imprisonment and the considerable geographic variation in the magnitude of this disparity. While some scholars have explored possible explanations for the observed racial disproportionalities during this period, they have focused on state-level patterns that mask significant within-state variation in the outcome. What is more, although the few published studies examining contemporary racial disparities in imprisonment rates have documented several key correlates, they have not devoted systematic attention to the role of history in explaining the observed patterns. This dissertation advances the theoretical and empirical literature on race and social control by examining both the historical origins and more localized social, economic, and political conditions that may explain racial disparities in imprisonment observed during the past several decades. Specifically, the study develops and tests models of between- and within-county variation in the black-white imprisonment gap from the early 1980s through the mid-2000s. The dissertation is organized around three overarching empirical questions related to county-level black-white disparities in prison admission rates. First, what is the nature of the spatial distribution of county-level racial disparities in prison admission rates observed during the contemporary era? Second, which social, economic, and political factors are most germane for explaining variation in racial disparities across American counties (within states) and over time? Finally, are contemporary racial disparities in imprisonment observed since the 1980s also a reflection of historically embedded conditions (i.e., state lynching rates and historical levels of state racial disparities in imprisonment)? These questions were examined using a panel dataset constructed to capture historical context and contemporary conditions for much of the mass imprisonment era. The key dependent variable--the black-white gap in prison admission rates (the natural log of the non-Hispanic white imprisonment rate subtracted from the natural log of the non-Hispanic black imprisonment rate)--was constructed using geocoded data on prison admissions from the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The two race-specific components used to compute this measure also were considered as outcomes to inform the findings observed for the black-white gap in prison admission rates. Using methods of exploratory spatial data analysis, significant univariate spatial dependence of racial disparities in imprisonment was observed. However, subsequent analyses indicated that this dependence was explained by the spatial distribution of theoretically germane explanatory variables. Multilevel mixed model regressions revealed significant variation in the black-white gap in prison admission rates during the era of mass incarceration both across and within counties. Drawing from the theoretical literature, several hypotheses were posed to explain this variability. The results indicated some support for hypotheses drawn from perspectives of interracial contact, economic threat, and religious fundamentalism, but no support for those relating to the influence of conservative political environments on racial disparities in post-arrest criminal justice processing. More specifically, interracial contact and relative economic conditions were found to have important implications for post-arrest decision-making. Counties with relatively large and growing white populations exhibited significant increases in the prison admission rates of blacks, and decreases in the rates of white imprisonment, yielding greater black-white disparities. Additionally, the black-white imprisonment gap was found to be significantly larger where black economic disadvantage was more prominent than white disadvantage. The results also suggest that growing racial segregation in housing contributed to increased levels of imprisonment of blacks relative to whites, a finding consistent with notions that segregation promotes anti-black effect, which is then translated into greater social control against blacks. Finally, no support was found for hypotheses drawn from partisan political perspectives; conservative political environments at the state-level were not found to play a significant role in explaining county-variation in black-white disparities in prison admission rates. Findings from the analysis incorporating historical measures of social control yielded no support for the idea that the geographic distribution of contemporary imprisonment rates parallel historical lynching patterns. However, the evidence does suggest that contemporary racial disparities may be a continuation of past imprisonment patterns. Specifically, counties nested within states that exhibited greater black-white imprisonment rates in 1960 were found to have significantly greater black-white disparities during the contemporary era. This appears to be a function of relatively low white imprisonment rates where black and white imprisonment rates historically were more equal. Future research points to the need for greater attention to the national-level influences and local political conditions affecting post-arrest criminal justice decision-making. Further, while it appears that historically rooted conditions may be relevant for explaining contemporary racial disparities, focused examination of how the social control of blacks has transformed throughout penal reform is necessary. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / July 17, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric P. Baumer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, University Representative; Eric A. Stewart, Committee Member; Patricia Y. Warren, Committee Member.

Mass incarceration has led to an increased interest in prison experiences and, specifically, their effects on inmate behavior. Drawing on prior scholarship, this study examines whether the distance inmates are placed from their home communities influences their likelihood of committing in-prison misconduct. This study tests three hypotheses. The first hypothesis anticipates that distally placed inmates will engage in more in-prison misconduct. The second hypothesis expects that the effect of distance on misconduct will be greater for younger inmates. Finally, the third hypothesis predicts that social ties, measured by visitation, will mediate the relationship between distance and misconduct. These hypotheses are tested using negative binomial regression modeling and data from the Florida Department of Corrections. The models indicate a curvilinear relationship between prison distance and in-prison misconduct. That is, the individuals incarcerated close to or far from their home communities are the least likely to commit infractions. In addition, visitation only moderately diminishes this effect. Finally, the effect of prison distance on misconduct is greater for younger inmates. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 25, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Daniel P. Mears, Professor Directing Thesis; Brian J. Stults, Committee Member; William D. Bales, Committee Member.

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity levels have been connected to a wide variety of antisocial behavioral outcomes. Most notably, platelet MAO has been associated with alcohol dependence, aggression, impulsive/risky behavior, and psychopathy. However, no one has sought to synthesize the extant literature to ascertain the current standing of the relationship. These analyses seek to address this deficit within the literature by examining the relationship between platelet MAO and the aforementioned antisocial outcomes. By estimating these subsets within the published literature an overall view of the relationship, as it currently stands, is formed. It was initially hypothesize that low platelet MAO activity levels would consistently predict antisocial behaviors. However, one empirically examined, and while accounting for possible unpublished studies, the relationship appears less predictive and stable then initially believed. The results of these analyses are preliminary and further research should be conducted to determine the true nature of the relationship. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2009. / June 12, 2009. / Monoamine Oxidase, Antisocial Behavior / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin M. Beaver, Professor Directing Thesis; Eric Stewart, Committee Member; Sarah Bacon, Committee Member.

Reciprocal irresponsibility theory explains the paradoxical behavior of ordinary, non-sadistic individuals operating within organizations that pursue injurious, malevolent, and/or criminal ends. This empirically grounded criminological theory was developed through use of a case analysis methodology focused on actors involved in perpetrating and facilitating the 'Final Solution'. Individual-level explanations concerned with psychopathy or fundamental immorality are commonly forwarded as explanations of injurious historical calamities. However, the breadth of participation in malevolent mass social movements, exemplified by the Holocaust, renders these types of individual-level explanations causally implausible. In response, reciprocal irresponsibility theory explains the contributory behavior of low-level, working-class individuals on an organizational rather than an individual-level. Reciprocal irresponsibility theory is concerned with the relationships among individuals working within hierarchical organizations, and is explained as follows. Relationships exist within every organization between those considered 'superiors', those in intermediary positions, and those considered 'subordinates'. Within a hierarchical chain of command, 'superiors' are relieved of a sense of responsibility for crimes committed and harms inflicted when they forward orders to subordinates, and thus are not personally involved in the implementation. Individuals in subordinate roles are also relieved of a sense of responsibility because they are merely 'following orders'. An extended network of intermediaries only serves to exacerbate the resultant isolation of all actors from feelings of personal responsibility towards malevolent group ends. Thus, the compartmentalized nature of hierarchical organizations works to shield individuals on all levels from a sense of responsibility concerning their contributions towards criminal and injurious organizational outcomes. This is the consequence of an elementary social dynamic, reciprocal irresponsibility, that insulates both 'superiors', 'intermediaries', and 'subordinates' from engaging in actions that can be considered to emanate from the imposition of their free will. Thus, the organization is free to pursue malevolent ends all-the-while those within it retain conventional social ties. Importantly, this explanation is not contingent upon the existence of individual-level pathologies, insulating it from the explanatory implausibility that plagues theories at that level, given the breadth of participation in these types of socially injurious events. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2010. / April 30, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references. / Dan Maier-Katkin, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sumner Twiss, University Representative; Bruce Bullington, Committee Member; Cecil Greek, Committee Member.

The impact of jobs on working American youth has not been examined thoroughly and the mechanism between employment and delinquency is not fully understood. Many prior studies that addressed the issue of youth employment and crime emphasized one variable, work intensity, and left plenty of unknown pieces in this puzzle. This study introduces the concept of 'ladder jobs' that arguably deter job holders from committing delinquent and criminal behaviors. In this dissertation, 'ladder jobs' are those with significant upward-moving occupational positions on a status ladder, and, to adolescents, these jobs encompass potential to be the start of an attractive career. Three promising mediating factors, job income, job stability, and parental control, are also examined. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 and structural equation modeling are used to test hypotheses. Results indicate that 'ladder jobs' demonstrated a significant crime-decreasing effect, while employment exhibited a crime-increasing effect. In addition, the magnitude rate of 'ladder jobs' versus employment increased as youth aged; that is, the advantages of 'ladder jobs' gradually outweigh the disadvantages of employment in the sense of crime prevention. Furthermore, job income partially mediates the crime-increasing effect of employment on delinquency, and job stability partially mediates the crime-decreasing effect of 'ladder jobs' on delinquency. However, parental control, which is measured as direct supervision, does not play a mediating role between employment and delinquency. In sum, from a crime-prevention standpoint, a job that pays little now, but improves the chances of a long-term career appears to better than a dead-end job that pays comparatively well in the short-term. The findings also imply that the discussions of employment and of internships among youth should address the importance of future-oriented feature of occupations, and not just the immediate monetary gains from the employment. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2010. / July 2, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary Kleck, Professor Directing Dissertation; Bruce Benson, University Representative; William Bales, Committee Member.

Social threat theory is a commonly used framework to explain the positive relationship between minority group size and discriminatory attitudes by members of the dominant group. A contrasting theory put forth in Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis suggests the opposite relationship; that growth in minority group size will decrease racial tension by increasing interracial contact, which works to dispel negative racial stereotypes. Using Germany as a case study, this paper assesses first the separate and then the simultaneous influences of perceived threat and intergroup contact on the relationship between minority group size and discriminatory attitudes, with a secondary focus as to how citizen age conditions these and other predicting factors of discrimination. Findings from this study reveal that both intergroup contact and dominant group perceptions of threat may mediate the relationship between minority group size and discrimination, when measures of actual and citizen-perceived minority population percentages are taken into account. Additionally, this paper presents evidence of stark generational differences in levels of discrimination among German citizens, and provides support for the idea that citizen age partly conditions what is significant in predicting discriminatory attitudes. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 3, 2010. / Social Threat, Threat Studies, Immigration, Racial Attitudes, Intergroup Contact, Germany, Discrimination / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric Baumer, Professor Directing Thesis; Dan Mears, Committee Member; Brian Stults, Committee Member.