Biomedical subjects

R J Sampson

Publications and source records attributed to R J Sampson.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Crime, criminals, and cures: medical model revisited.

David Lykken's target article assesses the causes of crime and advocates a controversial "cure"--parental licensure. Although Lykken gets many of the facts about criminals right, ultimately the disease metaphor breaks down. Crime requires three things--motivated offenders ("criminals"), suitable targets or victims, and the absence of capable guardians to prevent the act. Typical of medical model approaches, failure to consider the convergence in time and space of the three necessary elements for crime results in a misdiagnosis. In this invited commentary, I briefly note three reasons why Lykken's cure, along with the medical model in general, is unlikely to bear fruit.

Crime↗

PubMed1997

Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy.

It is hypothesized that collective efficacy, defined as social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, is linked to reduced violence. This hypothesis was tested on a 1995 survey of 8782 residents of 343 neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Multilevel analyses showed that a measure of collective efficacy yields a high between-neighborhood reliability and is negatively associated with variations in violence, when individual-level characteristics, measurement error, and prior violence are controlled. Associations of concentrated disadvantage and residential instability with violence are largely mediated by collective efficacy.

Chicago↗

PubMed1994

Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: a new look at structure and process in a classic study.

This paper reanalyzes data from the Gluecks classic study of 500 delinquents and 500 nondelinquents reared in low-income neighborhoods of central Boston. Based on a general theory of informal social control, we propose a 2-step hypothesis that links structure and process: family poverty inhibits family processes of informal social control, in turn increasing the likelihood of juvenile delinquency. The results support the theory by showing that (1) erratic, threatening, and harsh discipline, (2) low supervision, and (3) weak parent-child attachment mediate the effects of poverty and other structural factors on delinquency. We also address the potential confounding role of parental and childhood disposition. Although difficult children who display early antisocial tendencies do disrupt family management, as do antisocial and unstable parents, mediating processes of informal social control still explain a large share of variance in adolescent delinquency. Overall, the results underscore the indirect effects of structural contexts like family poverty on adolescent delinquency within disadvantaged populations. We note implications for current debates on race, crime, and the "underclass" in urban America.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Conventional and delinquent activities: implications for the prevention of violent victimization among adolescents.

While age is one of the most important correlates of an individual's risk of violent victimization, research regarding the victimization of adolescents is relatively meager. Using two well-known national data sources and an analytical framework guided by lifestyle/routine activities theories, we describe the relationships between activity involvement and the risk of assault and robbery victimization among adolescents in the United States. Several findings relevant to victimization prevention emerge. First, we find that certain adolescent activities are related to risk of violence. Youth who engage in delinquent activities experience the highest risk of assault and robbery victimization. Second, we find very few conventional activities which protect adolescents from victimization net of background factors (e.g., gender, race, family structure) or offending levels. We discuss the implications of these findings for programs directed at reducing violent victimization among adolescents and for lifestyle/routine activities theories of victimization.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Public perceptions of criminal justice policy: does victimization make a difference?

In this paper we examine public perceptions of criminal justice policy and public attitudes toward victims. We are particularly interested in exploring the relationship between the use of social science data and the adoption of public policy affecting victims of crime. To do this we analyze a representative sample of over 450 residents of the Chicago metropolitan area in 1983. The specific issues examined include attitudes toward rape (e.g., whether caused by victim's behavior), prosecution of marital rape, plea bargaining, sentencing of predatory offenders, and the relative importance and efficacy of rehabilitation, incapacitation, and retribution as goals of punishment. Overall, the results suggest that age and education have the most important influence on public attitudes regarding these criminal justice policies. Surprisingly, victimization status does not emerge as a salient predictor of criminal justice perceptions. We conclude with a call for greater use of social science surveys as information input into local and federal decision making on criminal justice policy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986