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.

Klassisk kriminologisk forskning fokuserar på antingen individbaserade eller miljörelaterade förklaringar till brottsliga handlingar. Situational Action Theory avser att föra samman dessa två synsätt för att bilda en integrerad kriminologiskhandlingsteori. Vad får Situational Action Theory för stöd i den kriminologiska forskningen? Vad finns för kritik? Och vad bör forskningen fokusera ytterligare på när det kommer till att testa teorin? Den forskning som finns tillgänglig och som jag presenterar i denna litteraturgenomgång visar att teorin får stöd i empirisk forskning. De flesta studier visar att teorin får bra stöd, några visar stöd för vissa delar av teorin medan andra delar av teorin inte får något stöd. Det står dock klartatt teorin bör vara föremål för framtida forskning för att kunna utvecklas och för att på ett förbättrat sätt kunna svara på frågan om vad det är som får individer att begå moraliska handlingar som i lagen definieras som brott.

This thesis is focused on analysis of youth delinquency in terms of Per-Olof H. Wikström's Situational Action Theory or rather modelling data relating to this area of research International Self-Report Delinquency Study 3. The main aim of the thesis is to introduce and evaluate this theoretical-empirical model for the explanation of youth delinquency. The work is split into three main parts - theoretical, methodological and empirical. First one consists of the definition of basic concepts and show Wikström' s 'situational action theory applied to the delinquency topic. In methodological part there is a description of ISRD-3 survey, basic indicators of sample and data collection methods used. And then there is an explanation how operationalization of individual explanatory variables in the model was done. Empirical part is dedicated to multidimensional analysis of data and evaluation of this concept. The results demonstrate the success of the analytical model and its application as a default theory in the examination of youth delinquency.

This thesis is focused on analysis of youth delinquency in terms of Per-Olof H. Wikström's Situational Action Theory or rather modelling data relating to this area of research International Self-Report Delinquency Study 3. The main aim of the thesis is to introduce and evaluate this theoretical-empirical model for the explanation of youth delinquency. The work is split into three main parts - theoretical, methodological and empirical. First one consists of the definition of basic concepts and show Wikström' s 'situational action theory applied to the delinquency topic. In methodological part there is a description of ISRD-3 survey, basic indicators of sample and data collection methods used. In empirical part is an explanation how operationalization of individual explanatory variables in the model was done. This part is also dedicated to multidimensional analysis of data and evaluation of this concept. The results demonstrate the success of the analytical model and its application as a default theory in the examination of youth delinquency. Key words: youth delinquency, Situational Action Theory, multidimensional data analysis

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a problem of global proportions that affect men and women worldwide. It is a problem that occurs in all stages of life where we have intimate partners, starting in adolescence. Previous research show that the prevalence of IPV in adolescence is high, around 30% in most parts of Europe and North America. In Scandinavia the levels are a bit lower with previous research showing rates from approximately 10 to 20%, although the research in the Scandinavian context is scarce. The effects of morality on IPV perpetration is even less studied, with previous research showing that there is a significant correlation between the personal morality regarding IPV (IPV morality) and IPV perpetration. The aim of the present study is to use a Situational action theory perspective to study the prevalence of physical IPV and to investigate if there are significant associations between IPV perpetration, levels of IPV morality and levels of partner conflict in a sample of Swedish adolescence. The study is cross-sectional and based on self-reported data collected in the Malmö Individual Neighborhood Development Study (MINDS) during 2014 when the participants were between 18-19 years old. The results showed an IPV prevalence around 4-7% and that there were significant associations between morality and IPV perpetration and between IPV morality and IPV perpetration. The association between partner conflict and IPV perpetration was not significant. Also, the results revealed that levels of IPV morality may shift depending on the situation and that girls seem to have lower IPV morality than boys. Furthermore, the results showed that IPV perpetration is bidirectional with boys and girls being as likely to commit acts of IPV.

Att självkontroll har en påverkan på mänskligt beteende har diskuterats under många år men vad menas egentligen med begreppet självkontroll? I sin undersökning av begreppet använder sig studien av jämförelse mellan två teorier som båda tar upp begreppet självkontroll vid sin definition av brott. Dessa är Michael Gottfredson och Travis Hirschis, självkontrollsteori och Per-Olof Wikströms, situationella handlingsteori. Syftet med studien är att utveckla vad begreppet självkontroll innefattar i allmänhet samt behandla begreppets roll och utveckling inom två teorier som båda har sitt ursprung inom kriminologin. Begreppet självkontroll har en mycket bred och omfattande definition inom kriminologins ramar därför fokuserar denna studie endast på två specifika kriminologiska teoriers användning av begreppet. Detta görs genom att begreppet självkontroll analyseras utifrån de två teoriernas definition av begreppet. I litteraturgenomgången, som är uppsatsens kärna tas de två kriminologiska teorierna upp. Genom att använda situationella handlingsteorin som jämförelse till självkontrollsteorin framkommer en analys om förklaring, användning och utveckling av begreppet självkontroll utifrån teoriernas användningsområde. Studiens resultat visar att teorier om självkontroll har bidragit med kunskap till forskningen om brott och dess uppkomst. Självkontroll har en del i uppkomst och utförande av brottsliga handlingar men samtidigt visar studien att det krävs mer forskning om hur självkontroll påverkar brottsligheten. Studien visar att teorierna definierat alla begrepp och även ger kunskap om hur man kan gå till väga för att stärka självkontroll. I förlängningen innebär en stärkt självkontroll att tillfällen till att begå brottsliga handlingar aldrig utnyttjas och detta kan ses som ett förhindrande av brott, ett resultat som behöver emfaseras och tillvaratas i arbetet med brottsprevention.

According to current scholarship on offender decision making, choosing to rob another is based on a variety of individual and situational characteristics. Explanatory models often invoked within environmental criminology include routine activity, rational choice and crime pattern theories. Situational action theory’s suggestion that this decision depends, at least in part, on the interaction between offender criminal propensity and the setting’s moral context has yet to be examined. This investigation tests this idea by conducting structured interviews with active probationers and parolees centered on their decoding of streetscapes to clarify offenders’ perceptions of street robbery opportunities (Part I). These results inform an agent-based simulation contrasting the merits of assumptions made in the previously stated theories to learn how well each generates realistic concentrations of street robbery (Part II). Support emerges for both environmental criminology and situational action theory, but the results differed by the method employed. Implications follow for clarifying the theoretical processes driving these incidents and for promoting public safety. / Criminal Justice

Deliberate firesetting is a dangerous behavior that is associated with considerable costs annually. It has been estimated that young people under the age of 18 are responsible for a large proportion of all firesetting incidents. Moreover, firesetting has been linked to serious antisocial and aggressive behaviors and behavioral difficulties among juveniles and has been found to predict later delinquency, which makes this an important area to study. Some previous studies have found support for the importance of factors akin to self-control, e.g., impulsivity, for juvenile firesetting. This study applied an aspect of situational action theory (SAT), where self-control is viewed as part of crime propensity, but of lesser importance than morality, to the study of juvenile firesetting for the first time. Analyzing self-report data from two waves of the longitudinal Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS), this study examines a key proposition of situational action theory, namely that morality is more important than self-control and that self-control is relevant in the explanation of crime (firesetting) only for individuals with lower levels of morality. The results indicate support for this proposition.

Då det inträffar allt fler terroristattacker runt om i världen och terrorismen har kommit att bli ett av de största hoten mot den nationella säkerheten i modern tid, är det av stor vikt att försöka förstå och motverka uppkomsten av terrorism. En strategi för att förhindra framtida terroristattacker är att ligga steget före och på så sätt förhindra attacker innan de inträffar. Profilering av ledare för terroristorganisationer kan vara ett sätt för polis, militär och underrättelsetjänster att på förhand få indicier på att något är på väg att hända och därmed utveckla åtgärder för att förhindra det. Att kartlägga och förstå hur en ledare tänker och beter sig kan vara avgörande i förhindrandet av framtida attacker och motverkandet av terroristorganisationer. Betydelsen av en ledare har visat sig vara av stor vikt gällande beslutsfattandet inom en grupp eller organisation. Politisk personlighetsprofilering av ledargestalter är en slags kartläggning av en ledares personlighet från vilket man sedan kan göra prediktioner om framtida beteende och beslut. Denna uppsats har utgått ifrån antagandet om att motiv kan förklara ledargestalters beslut och beteende. Politisk personlighetsprofilering av ledargestalter kan mycket väl användas i förebyggandet av framtida terroristattacker om det sker utifrån antagandet om att prediktion syftar till att beskriva att X ökar risken för Y. Det går följaktligen att förutsäga mänskligt beteende om det talas i termer av risker och sannolikheter. / As it occur an increasing number terrorist attacks around the world, and terrorism has become one of the greatest threats against the national security in modern times, it is of great importance to try to understand and constrain the appearance of terrorism. A strategy to prevent future terrorist attacks is to stay one step ahead and thus prevent attacks before they occur. Profiling of leaders of terrorist organizations may be a way for the police, military and intelligence services, to get indications that something is about to happen, and thereby be able to implement interventions to prevent the attacks. To identify and understand how leaders think and behave can be crucial in the prevention of future attacks and the destruction of terrorist organizations. The importance of a leader has been proved to be of great importance regarding the decision making process within a group or organization. Political personality profiling of leading figures is a kind of description of a leader's personality from which one can make predictions about future behavior and decisions. This thesis is based on the assumption that motives can help to explain the behavior and the decisions of a leader. Political personality profiling of leading figures could very well be used in the prevention of future terrorists attacks if it’s based on the assumption that predictions refers to X increase the risk for Y. So it is possible to predict human behavior if one talks in terms of risks and probabilities.

It is of importance to direct resources to prevention since crime is costly both for the offender, possible victims and of society and its citizens at large. In general, prevention programs and the types of interventions are not well understood. It is therefore of necessity to find and study potential causal mechanisms that could aid and enable better preventive measures. This study investigates such mechanisms by testing one of the key aspects of the Situational Action Theory: the perception-choice process. This study relies on data gathered within the frames of Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development study (MINDS). Through scenario research and self-reported crime data the correspondence between criminal intentions and actual criminal behaviours are investigated. Relevant personal and situational characteristics are examined in order to provide insights about crime propensity and the role of motivation and controls in intended and actual action outcomes. The result show that Swedish adolescents’ criminal intentions correspond with self-reported actual criminal behaviours to a large extent. The result further indicates clear tendencies of correspondence between level of propensity and prevalence of criminal intentions and actual criminal behaviours.