Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Giessen.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-271).

Thesis (LL.M.)--Queen's University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-128)

The racial typification of crime refers to the extent to which crime is represented as a Black phenomenon. Additionally, the ethnic typification of crime, where crime is represented as a Latino phenomenon, has received recent attention. Research on these concepts has found them to be predictive of punitive attitudes toward criminals. However as fairly new concepts, research has yet to clearly identify the factors that may contribute to the formation of these stereotypes. Using a national sample, this paper evaluates whether three potential factors influence attitudes that express the racial/ethnic typification of crime: symbolic or modern racism, media exposure and consumption, and inter-group contact. The results reveal that group contact is the only consistent predictor of both the racial and ethnic typification of crime; group contact is positively associated with the racial and ethnic typification of crime. Implications and directions for future 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. / Spring Semester, 2012. / March 28, 2012. / Crime, Group Contact, Media, Prejudice, Stereotypes / Includes bibliographical references. / Ted Chiricos, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marc Gertz, Committee Member; Gary Kleck, Committee Member; Patricia Warren, Committee Member.

Prior research on neighborhood effects has focused on structural characteristics such as socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential instability, giving less attention to the cultural factors that may influence adolescent behaviors. One of the prominent studies on oppositional culture was conducted by Elijah Anderson (1990, 1999). He observed that structural conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods created an oppositional culture that endorsed negative behaviors such as violence and early sexual activity. Most research has examined how gaining respect--a key aspect of the oppositional culture--leads to violence, but it has not explored adolescent male sexual activity as an outcome. This research will fill a void in the literature by addressing four research questions. The first two questions will assess whether gaining respect from peers is a significant predictor of adolescent male sexual activity and whether it varies by race. The second set of questions will assess whether the proposed effect of gaining respect from peers on adolescent male sexual activity is moderated by neighborhood disadvantage and whether it varies by race. Using data for male adolescents from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth), the results showed that the need to gain peer respect increased the likelihood of adolescent males becoming sexually active, but there were no significant racial differences in this relationship. Further, gaining peer respect's effect on adolescent male sexual behaviors was not stronger in neighborhoods with higher levels of disadvantage, nor were there significant race differences. Overall, there was limited support observed for the oppositional culture perspective. / 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. / July 7, 2011. / Adolescent Male Sexual Activity, Neighborhood Context, Oppositional Culture / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric A. Stewart, Professor Directing Dissertation; Karin L. Brewster, University Representative; Daniel P. Mears, Committee Member.

Researchers have explored two competing ideas as to why people obey the law. Some research has taken the instrumental approach--the belief that the prospect of rewards and punishments drive behavior. Others have taken the normative approach--the belief that internalized judgments about institutions and procedures drive behavior. The latter is the focus of this dissertation. Using a sample of female inmates, this dissertation examines what effects procedural justice of police and courts, the institutional legitimacy of police and courts, and obligations to obey the law. Most prior literature on normative attitudes has tested the political psychology of the mass public. By examining female inmates this study moves beyond the perceptions of the general public and focuses on individuals that have had the most serious interactions with the criminal justice system. Additionally, females are an especially important demographic of interest given their growing presence in the criminal justice system. / 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 20, 2012. / Courts, Legitimacy, Obedience, Police, Procedural Justice / Includes bibliographical references. / Marc G. Gertz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Martin Kavka, University Representative; Eric Stewart, Committee Member; Carter Hay, Committee Member.

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.