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Bouhana	Horgan	Pauwels	Tseloni
Boxford	Mariotti	Serrano Maillo	Villadsen
Brooks	McKinnon	Svensson	Weerman
Butterworth	Moul	Taylor	Wikström
Ceccato	Oberwittler	Treiber
Hardie	Osgood	Trivedi

Bouhana, N., 2010. Sex, class and arson. In: 2010 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. San Francisco, USA.

This paper explores and aims to explain sex and social class differences in the involvement in arson in adolescence. The data used is from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Developmental Study.

Bouhana, N. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Acts of terrorism as moral actions. In: 2008 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. St Louis, USA.

In this paper, we propose an integrative theoretical framework to explain acts of terrorism based upon Situational Action Theory. We argue that acts of terrorism can be explained in the same way as acts of crime more generally (that is, as moral actions). We submit that the fundamental causal processes that explain acts of terrorism are similar to those which explain moral action and acts of crime more generally.

 

Bouhana, N. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Terrorism as moral action. In: 8th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Edinburgh, UK.

In this paper, we argue that acts of terrorism can be explained within the same theoretical framework as acts of crime more generally. We argue that acts of terrorism and acts of crime more generally can be understood as moral action and explained within the framework of Situational Action Theory.

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Boxford, S., 2004. Pupil offending in the school context: The importance of individual and contextual factors in explanation. In: 2004 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Nashville, TN.

Boxford, S., 2002. The impact of school risk factors on self-reported crime, delinquency and victimisation. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Chicago, IL.

Boxford, S. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. Schools and the problem of crime. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

What causes young people to offend? What influence do schools have on young people's offending behaviour in relation to other possible causal factors? These are the critical criminological and educational questions addressed in "Schools and the Problem of Crime". This presentation examines the causes of offending in the school context among 3,103 male and female, year 10 pupils (age 14-15), in the twenty state schools in Cardiff. The findings of one of the largest empirical studies of its kind in the UK are used to examine the role of schools, family background, neighbourhood, young people's social situation and dispositions, and lifestyles on pupils' offending behaviour. The book "Schools and the Problem of Crime", on which this presentation is based, disentangles the interplay and relationships between causal factors in its approach to understanding why young people offend in the school context and why young people do not, as well as examining why some schools exprience higher offending rates than others. The research employs an integrative analytical approach, which is theoretically led. Through gaining an understanding of the factors that cause young people to offend, it is envisaged that future crime prevention strategies can be better informed and targeted. The focus of this presentation is on the interaction between pupils and school context, one of the key subjects covered in the book.

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Brooks, H. & Treiber, K., 2009. Young people's reported and recorded violence: Trends in longitudinal self-report and official data. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Violence is the most common self-reported offence in the PADS+ sample; this paper looks into this and other dimensions of self-reported and official data on young people’s violent offending to identify possible causes and implications. It highlights key issues relating to the validity and comparability of self-reported and officially recorded data, and discusses similarities and differences between PADS+’s reported and recorded violent crime data, and that of other major longitudinal studies.

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Butterworth, D., 2002a. The low rate of offending by Asian girls: Exploring interaction by gender and ethnicity. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Chicago, IL.

Butterworth, D., 2002b. Presidential Session: Explanatory factors of offending: The low rate of offending by Asian girls: exploring the interaction between gender and ethnicity. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.

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Ceccato, V. & Oberwittler, D., 2006. Comparing spatial patterns of robbery: Evidence from a Western and Eastern European city. In: 2006 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Los Angeles, CA.

In this poster, we test hypotheses about the spatial variation in rates of robbery in the cities of Cologne, Germany and Tallinn, Estonia. This comparison represents an interesting case study because Tallinn is an example of Eastern cities which have undergone a period of profound political, economic and social change (including EU membership) since the country’s independence in early 1990s. These changes are expected to have implications for the level and composition of offences as well as their geographies. We examine whether or not levels and patterns of robbery in Tallinn follow similar processes to the ones found in Cologne. The main focus of the analysis is on the relationship between intra-urban robbery rates, land use characteristics and groups’ differences in accessing cities’ social and economic resources. In addition, a novel approach to estimate daytime population based on public transport data is applied. Spatial statistical techniques and GIS (Geographical Information System) underpin the methodology employed.

 

Ceccato, V. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. The geographical and individual differences in crime causation: A study of interaction effects. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

This paper explores the spatial distribution of settings of environmental risk and the distribution of adolescent crime.

Ceccato, V. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Adolescent activity fields and crime involvement. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Hardie, B., 2011. Choosing crime as an alternative. In: 2011 Stockholm Criminology Symposium. Stockholm, Sweden.

Hardie, B., 2009. Is there a place and time for violence? Using a space-time budget to analyse young people's violent activity patterns. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The majority of research into violent offending focuses on the individual and individual-level explanations. The paper presents an innovative methodology - the space-time budget (STB) - designed and employed by PADS+ to measure young people’s exposure to different social environments, and shows how the STB may be used to analyse more situational aspects of young people's involvement in violent crime, including where young people commit acts of violence (settings), the temporal and spatial distribution of young people's violence (activity fields), and the nature of violent crime experienced and committed by young people.

 

Hardie, B., 2007. Alcohol and drug use involvement, and its relationship to criminal careers. In: 7th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Bologna, Italy.

This paper explores the relationship between criminal career patterns and alcohol and drug use; specifically the relationship between the use of alcohol and narcotics and aggressive and property crimes. A special emphasis will be given to exploring any sex differences in the relationship between alcohol and drug use and criminal careers.

 

Hardie, B. & Oberwittler, D., 2006. Advances in the measurement of environmental risk. in: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

This paper aims to show how we can address the key dual challenge in contemporary ecological criminology of how to measure the environment, and how to measure exposure to environments. The paper will review the basic techniques used and present robust tests of validiy for two striking new methologies: one, a large-scale Community Survey, uses an innovative sampling method and smaller-than-ever unit of measurement. The validity of the precise and high-level results produced suggests that accurately measuring the environment is more possible than ecological and even econometric research to date suggests. The second methodology is a Space-Time-Budget with a higly interactive and unique methodology. This provides detailed patterns of movement and activity through both time and space, which provides new avenues into measuring exposure to environments. This paper will demonstrate that these exciting methodologies go a long way to improving the measurement of both the environment, and exposure to environments measurements that are crucial to the understanding of the individual-environment interaction in crime causation.

 

Hardie, B. & Wikström, P-O H., 2010. Parental monitoring, young people’s activities and crime involvement. In: 2010 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. San Francisco, USA.

This paper explores the role of parental monitoring for young peoples activities and crime involvement. The main question raised is whether differences in parental monitoring affects young peoples exposure to criminogenic settings and, in turn, their crime involvement. The data used is taken from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study and includes an analysis of young peoples activity paterrns using space time budget methodology.

 

Hardie, B. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Neighbourhood structure, social cohesion, informal social control and local social problems. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Horgan, J. & Wikström, P-O H., 2010. Religion, morality and crime. In: 2010 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. San Francisco, USA.

This paper explores the relationship between religious involvement, morality and crime in adolescence using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study. Parents' religious involvement at subjects age 12 and their own religious involvement at age 16 is compared and related to their morality and crime development over the same period.

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Mariotti, L. & Sutherland, A., 2009. Substance use behaviour in adolescence: A cross-national comparison between English and German Cohorts. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This session compares the initiation, frequency and escalation of substance use in two adolescent cohorts: one based in Duisburg, Germany, the other based in Peterborough, England. Many individual studies report such statistics, but very few longitudinal studies do direct comparisons. First, we will discuss general issues concerning data comparability and associated problems. Second, descriptive statistics will be used to explore differences in substance use between the two samples. In a third step, growth curve modelling techniques will be applied and cross-national differences will be explored by means of multiple group/multiple cohort analysis. Finally, the results and future research will be discussed.

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McKinnon, H., Villadsen, A., Whetter, L. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Neighbourhoods, peers and crime involvement. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Moul, C., 2007. Basic criminal career patterns: Prevalence, frequency, age at onset and duration. In: 7th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Bologna, Italy.

This paper presents first phase findings from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) concerning basic criminal career patterns ages 12 to 15. Topics addressed include: age related prevalence and frequency, age of onset, duration, specialisation and versatility. Special emphasis will be given to exploring sex differences in criminal career patterns.

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Oberwittler, D., 2005a. Issues of social cohesion and social exclusion in contemporary criminology. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

Oberwittler, D., 2005b. What's it mean to intervene? Can neighbourhood characteristics predict the form of social control?. In: 2005 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Toronto, Ontario.

(In)formal social control has become an important concept in neighbourhood level research on crime and violence. While several studies have demonstrated that crime rates vary with the perceived likelihood of neighbours intervening in inappropriate neighbourhood behavior, these studies have told us little about the forms of intervention that residents are likely to use, i.e. direct/informal vs. indirect/formal. The type of intervention that neighbourhood residents use may be relevant to questions concerning the role that community social ties have in bringing about increased direct/informal social control (Warner and Rountree 1997; Morenoff, Sampson and Raudenbush 2001; Sampson, Morenoff and Gannon-Rowley 2002). While social ties have been an important component in systemic formulations of social disorganisation theory, they have been viewed as less central in collective efficacy models. A recent ethnographic study by Carr (2003) suggests that residents in a Chicago neighbourhood were most likely to intervene indirectly through calling the police, and that this form of “new parochialism” is not founded in community level social ties. These findings suggest that social ties may be relevant for some types of intervening and not for others. In this paper, we specifically examine the type of intervention that residents are most likely to use in cases of local youths’ misbehaviour and its relationship with community characteristics, including social ties. The study uses survey data from 61 neighbourhoods collected in two cities and a rural area in Germany in 2001, and employs hierarchical linear modeling to deal with its multilevel nature.

Oberwittler, D., 2004a. The advantages of having 'spaced-out' friends: The socio-spatial dimensions of high crime place. In: 2004 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Nashville, TN.

Oberwittler, D., 2004b. The need for computer-aided interview techniques in school surveys on self-reported delinquency. In: 4th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

School surveys on self-reported delinquency are an increasingly common mode of data collection, replacing much more expensive household-based interviews. Paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI) is still the predominant interview technique in these surveys. In this paper, I argue the case for computer-aided self interviewing (CASI) with handheld computers (Palmtops, Pocket PCs) in school surveys. Apart from practical and economic considerations, CASI, especially with audio elements, could considerably improve the data quality of school surveys. This assessment is the result of a recent methodological study, which showed evidence of a response bias in PAPI school surveys (compared to household-based face-to-face interviews), which could result in a serious over-estimation of school and peer effects on delinquency. A differential effect of social desirabiility is proposed as the likely cause of this mode effect. Respondents in school classes where conventional norms prevail tend to under-report delinquent involvement, whereas respondents in school classes where deviant norms exist tend to exagerate delinquent involvement. If the hypothesis is right that this differential social desirability effect is the result of class mates infringing the confidentiality of respondents, then audio CASI should help to disminish the effect. An outline for a possiblity international study testing the feasibility and results of audio-CASI with handheld PCs is proposed.

 

Oberwittler, D., 2004c. Re-balancing routine activity and social disorganisation theories in the explanation of urban violence: A new approach to the analysis of spatial crime. In: 4th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

In recent research on intra-urban distributions of violent crimes, both social disorganisation and routine activity theories (as well as interactions between them) have received much attention. Routine activity variables as non-residential land use usually yield high coefficients in regression models. However, the analysis of spatial patterns of personal crimes is hampered by the fact that crime rates are usually highest in city centres, where a large number of non-residential population add to the total population central city areas are often grossly inflated, and correlations between non-residential land use and crime may be spurious. In this paper, a new strategy of estimating population at risk using passenger count data as a proxy variable is proposed, and consequences for the explanation of census-tract level crime distributions are discussed. The use of this new denominator for computing small area crime rates results in a balancing of the relative influence of routine activity vc. deprivation/disorganisation variables, the latter losing much of their influence. Also, evidence of spatial autocorrelation seems partly to be dependent on the denominator problem. The units of analysis are 323 census tracts in Cologne (Germany). Data comprise police (calls-for-service) data covering 12 months in 1999/2000 (ca. 4000 cases of assault and ca. 1000 cases of robbery), administrative data and public transport passenger data from about 700 stations and bus stops allocated to census tracts. GIS techniques and multiple regression analysis are employed.

 

Oberwittler, D., 2004d. Which context? Conditional impacts of neighbourhoods, schools and spatial friendship patterns on serious juvenile offending. In: 2004 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Nashville, TN.

Oberwittler, D., 2002. Ecological context effects on juvenile offending: Conditional impacts of neighbourhoods and schools. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Chicago, IL.

Oberwittler, D., Wikström, P-O H. & Treiber, K., 2010. Explaining spatial-temporal concentrations of crime events in the urban area by the space and time convergence of crime prone people and criminogenic settings. In: 2010 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. San Francisco, USA.

This paper, using Space-Time Budget and other data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Developmental Study (PADS+), analyzes the spatial-temporal patterns of crime events, presence of crime prone people, and criminogenic settings in the urban area of Peterborough. It aims to test a key proposition of Situational Action Theory, namely, that the concentration of crime events (hot spots) in the urban area is an outcome of the convergence of crime prone people and criminogenic settings. We present data, at the area level, that show the spatial-temporal variation of and association between crime events, the presence of crime prone people and criminogenic settings, and we demonstrate, at the individual-level, that the spatial-temporal convergence of crime prone people and criminogenic settings in time and space predicts spatial-temporal concentrations of crime events.

 

Oberwittler, D. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Environment and exposure. The moral context. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

SAT proposes that people’s actions are influenced by the settings to which they are exposed (i.e. their activity fields). SAT further proposes that it is the moral context of a setting that is crucial for its criminogenic influences. In this paper, we test (1) whether young people’s crime tends to occur in criminogenic settings and (2) whether young people’s exposure to criminogenic settings predicts their level of crime involvement. These analyses utilise structural equation modelling based on small area ecometrics and space-time budget methodology.

 

Oberwittler, D. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Environment and exposure. The moral context. In: 2009 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Philadelphia, USA.

SAT proposes that people’s actions are influenced by the settings to which they are exposed (i.e. their activity fields). SAT further proposes that it is the moral context of a setting that is crucial for its criminogenic influences. In this paper, we test (1) whether young people’s crime tends to occur in criminogenic settings and (2) whether young people’s exposure to criminogenic settings predicts their level of crime involvement. These analyses utilise structural equation modelling based on small area ecometrics and space-time budget methodology.

 

Oberwittler, D. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. Behavioural contexts and victimisation. In: 2006 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Los Angeles, CA.

This study explores the link between the risk of localised victimisation (victimisation occurring in the immediate area around or in the victims residence) and the social and behavioural contexts of the area in which the victim resides (defined as the area within a couple of minutes walking distance from the residence). It particularly aims to explore the relationship between structural (disadvantage) and organisational features (e.g. collective efficacy, and formal social control) of the behavioural context of residential environments and the risk of localised victimisation.

 

Oberwittler, D. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Measuring collective efficacy in Peterborough neighbourhoods: An ecometric approach. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Osgood, W. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. Behavioural contexts, individual differences and adolescent crime: A multilevel study. In: 2006 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Los Angeles, CA.

This study explores the relationship between young peoples' exposure to criminogenic behavioural contexts and its interaction with their individual characteristics (morality and capacity to exercise self-control) in predicting crime involvement. It utilises an ecometric approach to the measure of behavioural context, and a space-time budget approach to the measure of individual exposure to behavioural contexts.

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Pauwels, L. & Wikström, P-O H., 2011. How invariant is the interaction of propensity and exposure to criminogenic moral settings in the explanation of offending?  A study in sub groups by gender and immigrant background in two different urban settings. In: 3rd Conference of the Flemish Society of Criminology (WC). Brussels, Belgium. February 2011.

The principal object of this paper is to study the effects of criminal propensity and exposure to criminogenic moral settings on offending in sub groups by gender and immigrant background. Many theories often assume independent and additive effects of these concepts on offending, and therefore do not specifically address the question of interaction from a theoretical point of view. As both individuals and settings are of considerable difference, it should be expected that they interact in explaining individual differences in offending. The situational action theory, outlined by Professor Wikström, is used as a framework in two different urban samples of young adolescents in Antwerp (Belgium) and Peterborough (UK) to test the hypothesis that the effect of exposure to criminogenic moral settings depends on one’s level of criminal propensity. So far, only few studies have addressed this hypothesis empirically, and found empirical evidence for this interaction effect, but no study has up to now addressed the question of how stable this interaction effect is by gender and immigration background. Strong support is found for the hypothesis that the effect of exposure to criminogenic moral settings is depending on the strength or weakness of individual propensity, indicating that exposure to criminogenic moral settings has a stronger effect on delinquency for individuals with a high propensity to offend. This pattern is found for boys and girls of both native and immigrant background. The stability of findings is suggested by the similarity of results in two independent samples.

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Serrano Maillo, A., 2010. Preliminary findings from a partial test of Situational Action Theory with cross‐sectional data from youngsters in Cali, Colombia. In: 10th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Liege, Belgium.

Situational Action Theory (Wikström, 2006, 2008) is one of the most powerful and promising theories in contemporary Criminology. The theory has been tested using longitudinal and cross‐sectional data in a few European countries, and findings are encouraging. On the other hand, science is meant to have universal validity. Other approaches such as radical indigenism, suggest that, on the contrary, different contexts need their own explanations. Only recently have criminological theories been tested in different contexts (Hwang and Akers, 2006; Tittle et al., 2008), in what seems an important way to go. In this presentation, preliminary findings from a partial test of Situational Action Theory are presented. A sample of around 800 youngsters in Cali, Colombia is used in this test. The information used is cross‐sectional in nature.

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Svensson, R. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. Individuals, lifestyles and youth violence: A cross-national comparative study. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

The principal objective of this study is to provide a description of violence in Eskilstuna (Sweden) and Peterborough (England), and to examine whether the same theory can explain violence in both cities. The theory employed focuses on the interaction between individual characteristics (e.g. parental monitoring and shame) and lifestyle (e.g. spending time with delinquent friends and in the city-centre). The question examined is that of whether lifestyle has a different impact on violence for individuals with different individual characteristics. A total of 1,833 14-year-old students in Eskilstuna and 1,957 in Peterborough were included in the study. The results show firstly that, the level of violence is higher in Peterborough. The measures of individual characteristics and lifestyle were unable to explain all of the differences between the two cities. Finally, there is a strong interaction between measures focused on individual characteristics and lifestyle in both cities indicating that a high-risk lifetyle has a stronger effect on violence when individual characteristics involve a higher risk for this form of behaviour.This indicated that the same theoretical model can help us understand violence in both Eskilstuna and Peterborough.

Svensson, R. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. The interaction between morality and self-control in the explanation of adolescent offending. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Taylor, R. B. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Who goes where, why and does what, for what reason? Disentangling the influence of settings and selection on the occurrence of crime. In: 2009 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Philadelphia, USA.

People vary in their action tendencies (propensities) and environments vary in the incentives they create for particular actions. Acts of crime are an outcome of the interaction between people's action tendencies and their exposure to environmental incentives. An important but not very much investigated question in crime causation is the individual (self-selection) and social processes (social selection) that affect how kinds of people come to be introduced to kinds of environments. This may be referred to as the problem of selection.

In this paper, we aim to advance our understanding of the role of selection in crime causation. We argue the need to clearly separate and not confuse the understanding of (a) why people take part in some settings rather than others and (b) the influence of settings on people's actions (incl. acts of crime). We argue that why people are exposed to certain environments and how these environments affect their actions (e.g. acts of crime) are two different questions. The former is a question that belongs to the explanation of the causes of the causes (why they end up in certain kinds of settings), and the latter to the explanation of the causes of a person's engagement in acts of crime (why they act as they do).

Taylor, R. B. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Separating selection effects from setting influences?: Crippling influences of current cautions. In: 2008 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. St Louis, USA.

Figuring out how to handle selection bias is one of the strongest methodological and conceptual challenges to advancing our understanding on neighbourhood influences on crime, delinquency and antisocial behaviours. The current paper seeks to reframe that challenge using a differentiated multilevel (neighbourhood vs. setting), transactional but also interactionist framework. More specifically, it is posited that influences leading individuals to enter or not enter particular settings, shaping the behaviours and attitudes of individuals when they are in those settings, leading some individuals to leave sooner than others, and shaping their reactions to what happened in a setting, are each conceptually distinct influences on antisocial, deviant, delinquent, or criminal behaviours. Further, the extent of these setting influences is moderated by enduring individual-level factors. This framework suggests that the current approach to isolating neighbourhood effects by controlling for selection bias, and discounting neighbourhood effects, unless such controls can be applied because it conflates these different types of setting impacts, makes it more difficult to develop a broad conceptual understanding about how both settings and individuals shape crime and delinquency related outcomes.

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Treiber, K., 2011. The situational dynamics of young people's crime. In: 2011 Stockholm Criminology Symposium. Stockholm, Sweden.

Treiber, K., 2009. Moral choice: Habit and deliberation. In: 2009 Stockholm Criminology Symposium. Stockholm, Sweden.

This paper looks at two systems of moral choice proposed by the Situational Action Theory of crime causation (Wikström et al.) - habit and deliberation - and discusses how their proposed role in the situational explanation of crime is supported by neurobehavioural research. Key topics include the central role of the prefrontal cortex (responsible for action-relevant information processing) and the limbic system (responsible for emotions and memory), the role of internal and external controls (self-control and deterrence), and implications for development and adolescent crime.

Treiber, K., 2008. Explaining persisting offending: The unexplored role of the social environment. In: Second ENRIC Conference. Cambridge, UK.

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Person and propensity. Morality and the ability to exercise self-control. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Situational Action Theory proposes that a person’s crime propensity is a function of his/her morality and ability to exercise self-control. SAT further proposes that morality is the more fundamental source of propensity and that the ability to exercise self-control is only causally relevant when a person’s morality allows his/her to see an act of crime as an action alternative. In this paper, we empirically test these two propositions. 

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Person and propensity. Morality and the ability to exercise self-control. In: 2009 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Philadelphia, USA.

Situational Action Theory proposes that a person’s crime propensity is a function of his/her morality and ability to exercise self-control. SAT further proposes that morality is the more fundamental source of propensity and that the ability to exercise self-control is only causally relevant when a person’s morality allows his/her to see an act of crime as an action alternative. In this paper, we empirically test these two propositions. 

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Violence as situational action: A theoretical framework. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This paper introduces Situational Action Theory (SAT), which provides the theoretical underpinnings for PADS+ and applies the theory to the explanation of violence, highlighting testable implications. It also provides a brief introduction to PADS+ and its unique individual and environmental-level data.

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. What drives persistence and desistance in offending?. In: 2008 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. St Louis, USA.

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2007. Self-control as a situational concept: Beyond Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime. In: 2007 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Atlanta, GA.

This paper criticises the view of self-control as an individual trait and suggests instead that self-control is best treated as a situational concept (as a part of the process of choice).

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2007. The role of individual characteristics in crime causation. Assessing Gottfredson & Hirschi's General Theory of Crime. In: 7th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Bologna, Italy.

This paper presents some of the key weaknesses of Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory of self-control and discusses how the situational action theory of crime causation may provide a better conceptualisation of this important construct and its role in crime causation. This paper looks at how self-control may be better understood, using a neuropsychological framework as a function of the prefrontal cortex, and how it manifests as a situational, rather than an individual, construct. Finally, the paper discusses the implications for how we understand the role of self-control in crime causation and discusses some of the more promising methods for intervention.

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2006. The role of self-control in crime causation. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

In this paper we present an alternative conception of self-control and its role in crime causation to the one advanced by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) in their influential General Theory of Crime. Our conception is based on the theoretical framework outlined in the Situational Action Theory of Crime Causation (e.g. Wikström, 2006). We propose that self-control is best analysed as a situational concept (a factor in the process of choice) rather than as an individual trait. We suggest that the core individual trait influencing an individual's ability to exercise self-control is executive capability. We maintain that there are also important environmental influences on an individual's ability to exercise self-control. We submit that the ability to exercise self-control is only a relevant factor in crime causation in situations where an individual considers (deliberates) whether or not to engage in an act of crime. In short, this paper aims to clarify the concepts of "executive capability", "self-control" and "crime", and to specify their relationships and role in the explanation of crime, by looking beyond Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory, and integrating knowledge from cognitive science and neuropsychology.

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Executive capabilities, self-control and acts of crime. In: 2005 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Toronto, Ontario.

Self-control is one of the most prominent explanatory constructs for criminal behaviour within contemporary criminological theory and empirical research. In this paper, we criticise previous conceptualisations of self-control, placing particular emphasis upon the limitations of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime, and propose an alternative model. We suggest that self-control is not an individual characteristic as Gottfredson and Hirschi advocate but rather the application of individually variant executive capabilities in response to the particularities of a setting. Self-control is the mechanism linking executive capabilities to acts of crime in situations where one or more behavioural alternatives exhibit moral and emotional incongruity. We will consider relevant empirical findings.

 

Treiber, K. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Executive capabilities, self-control and acts of crime. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

Self-control is one of the most prominent explanatory constructs for criminal behaviour within contemporary criminological theory and empirical research. In this paper, we criticise previous conceptualisations of self-control, placing particular emphasis upon the limitations of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime, and propose an alternative model. We suggest that self-control is not an individual characteristic as Gottfredson and Hirschi advocate but rather the application of individually variant executive capabilities in response to the particularities of a setting. Self-control is the mechanism linking executive capabilities to acts of crime in situations where one or more behavioural alternatives exhibit moral and emotional incongruity. We will consider relevant empirical findings.

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Trivedi, N. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. Love-hate relationships: An exploration of young people's self-reported partner violence. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Most studies of violence amongst young people focus on violence between acquaintances and strangers (for example, bullying and gang-related violence); fewer studies look at patterns of violence amongst more intimate acquaintances (e.g. partner violence), although such violence may be more prevalent and persistent. Most studies, which do address partner violence, are cross-sectional and focus on adults using officially recorded crime. This paper describes the unique contributions PADS+ can make to the study of partner violence through the collection of self-reported data on partner violence from a random sample of adolescents. It explores the relationship between partner violence and more general forms of violence and, drawing upon its longitudinal framework, analyses the link between partner violence and early life experiences.

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Tseloni, A. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. The interaction between propensity and exposure. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

SAT predicts that a person’s crime involvement is dependent on his/her propensity and exposure (and their interaction), and that, changes in a person’s crime involvement are dependent on changes in his/her propensity and/or exposure. The theory is tested via repeated measures hierarchical modelling of crime counts, which predict (five year) trajectories of crime involvement for different levels of propensity and exposure.  

 

Tseloni, A. & Wikström, P-O H., 2009. The interaction between propensity and exposure. Cross-sectionally and developmentally. In: 2009 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Philadelphia, USA.

SAT predicts that a person’s crime involvement is dependent on his/her propensity and exposure (and their interaction), and that, changes in a person’s crime involvement are dependent on changes in his/her propensity and/or exposure. The theory is tested via repeated measures hierarchical modelling of crime counts which predict (five year) trajectories of crime involvement for different levels of propensity and exposure.

Tseloni, A. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Do people abide by the law because they fear getting caught?. In: 2008 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. St Louis, USA.

Guided by the theoretical framework of the Situational Action Theory, we argue that most people abide by the law not because they fear the consequences but because they do not perceive an act of crime as an action alternative. We submit that the potential influence of threats of punishment on people's law-abidance is specific to those who regularly are motivated and consider committing acts of crime. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), we empirically explore the relationships between crime propensity, deterrence sensitivity and crime involvement for four specific types of crime: shop-lifting, theft from cars, vandalism and assault. The findings of the study support the notion that the influence of deterrence on an individual's crime involvement is dependent on his or her crime propensity, and that deterrence sensitivities are irrelevant for those who lack propensity to commit acts of crime.

 

Tseloni, A. & Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Do people abide by the law because they fear getting caught?. In: 8th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Edinburgh, UK.

Guided by the theoretical framework of Situational Action Theory, we argue that most people abide by the law not because they fear the consequences but because they do not perceive an act of crime as an action alternative. We submit that the potential influence of threats of punishment on people's law abidance is specific to those who are regularly motivated and consider committing acts of crime. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), we empirically explore the relationship between crime propensity, deterrence sensitivity and crime involvement for four specific types of crime: shop-lifting, theft from cars, vandalism and assault.

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Villadsen, A., McKinnon, H., Whetter, L. & Wikström, P-O H., 2005. Family social position, parenting and crime involvement. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

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Weerman, F. & Wikström, P-O H., 2010. Core elements of Situational Action Theory: A comparative test in a Dutch and an English City. In: 10th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Liege, Belgium.

Situational Action Theory is a general theory of moral action and crime, integrating individual and ecological explanations of crime. In this paper we test some core propositions of SAT in the city of Peterborough (UK) and the city of The Hague (Netherlands), using identical measurement instruments and methods of data collection. In this presentation we compare the findings of two cohorts of adolescents (12‐13 years old [700 in Peterborough and 381 in The Hague] and 15‐16 years old [700 in Peterborough and 351 in The Hague]. First, a description is presented about the differences in offending, and propensity to offend of the adolescents in the two cities. Then, we show remarkable similarities in correlations among the explanatory variables, and of the explanatory variables with the frequency of offending, demonstrating the cross‐national robustness of the main assumed relations of SAT. Finally we carry out a multivariate test of some of the core propositions of SAT.

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Wikström, P-O H., 2011. Young people's social life and crime. In: 2011 Stockholm Criminology Symposium. Stockholm, Sweden.

Wikström, P-O H., 2011. Why people follow and breach rules of conduct. In: Fourth Conference of the European Network of Analytical Sociologists. Paris, France.

This paper presents the foundations and basic assumptions of Situational Action Theory, a theory developed to explain moral action and crime. The theory essentially proposes that human action is an outcome of a process of moral perception and moral choice initiated and guided by the interaction of person propensity (morality and ability to exercise self‐control) and environmental exposure (moral norms and their enforcement) in response to particular motivators (temptations, frictions). The theory further proposes that the kinds of interactions (situations) that occur in a particular jurisdiction are a result of its (historical) processes of (social and person) emergence and its (contemporaneous) processes of social and self‐selection. In this paper, the theory is specifically applied to the problem of crime, although it is argued that it is applicable to all kinds of moral actions (i.e., actions guided by what is seen as right or wrong to do in a particular circumstance).

Wikström, P-O H., 2011. Adolescent criminal careers. Key findings from PADS+. In: Home Office Crime and Justice Statistics Network 2011 Annual Conference. London, UK.

Wikström, P-O H., 2010.Institutional Anomie Theory: where is the action?. In: 2010 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. San Francisco, USA.

Crimes are actions by people, and people are the source of their actions. Although people act in, and in response to, their social environments, it is difficult to assess what (and how) broader social factors, such as social institutions, impact on people's involvement in crime without a suitable action theory. The lack of a proper action theory also makes it difficult to convincingly explain aggregate patterns of crime, for example, why social group, time and place variations in crime rates occur. Against this background, I discuss Institutional Anomie Theory(IAT) and the problems caused by its lack of an adequate action theory, and propose that Situational Action Theory (SAT) may help IAT address this problem and thus help create a better understanding of the role of social institutions in crime causation.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2010. Key propositions of Situational Action Theory: A brief overview. In: 10th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Liege, Belgium.

This paper introduces key concepts and propositions of Situational Action Theory.

Wikström, P-O H., 2010. The situational dynamics of crime: Towards a true ecology of urban crime. In: Royal College of Technology Conference on "Security Matters". Stockholm, Sweden.

Most ecologically oriented studies of urban crime fail to adequately theorise and use appropriate methods to explore the situational dynamics of crime. In fact, most “ecological” theories and research into crime causation neglect the role of the person and, crucially, the role of the interaction between the person and his or her environment. In this paper, I argue that a truly ecological perspective requires a focus on explaining behavioural consequences (such as acts of crime) of the interaction between humans and their urban environments. I present a new theory (Situational Action Theory) and new methodologies (based on combining a small area community survey, a space-time budget and psychometric measures obtained by interviewer-led questionnaires) to address and overcome these problems. Finally, I present research findings from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) which show that some young people are situationally vulnerable to criminogenic urban environments while others are situationally immune to such environments. Implications for developing effective crime prevention policy and practice in urban environments are discussed.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2009. How to create effective methods for preventing young people's crime involvement by using knowledge and evidence. In: 2009 Stockholm Criminology Symposium. Stockholm, Sweden.

In this paper, I argue that, to create effective methods for preventing young people's crime involvement, politicians, policy-makers and practitioners need to fully understand and apply the following points:
-They must understand what crime is (what they are supposed to prevent) and why people engage in acts of crime (the causes of crime). Without such an understanding they are not likely to focus their resources effectively and prevention is likely to fail.
-They have to understand what their specific role in crime prevention is (what they can and can't do to help prevent crime). Crime prevention has be to be organised with this in mind (so that everyone involved can make the best contribution possible to the common goal). This requires a common knowledge-based frame of reference among the actors involved in crime prevention based on a shared understanding of what crime is and what the main causes of people's crime involvement are.
-They have to understand on what grounds to select prevention programmes and measures (a user competence, which today they generally lack). They need to select crime prevention measures based on a shared, knowledge-based frame of reference and available evidence regarding suggested measures' effectiveness (and nothing else).
-They need to have knowledge about how, and sufficient resources (access to relevant competence and adequate financing) to, effectively implement crime prevention measures selected on the grounds of the best knowledge and evidence available. Without sufficient knowledge about implementation and resources to effectively implement them, prevention efforts will almost certainly fail.
This paper discusses each of these four points and suggests how politicians, policy-makers and practitioners can help overcome today's common failures in creating effective crime prevention for young people. It does so by suggesting what crime prevention efforts should aim to achieve, what the main causes of crime are, and how crime prevention efforts should be organised and implemented to effectively address the problem of crime and its causes.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2009. The importance of asking why and how. Toward an analytical criminology. In: 2009 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Philadelphia, USA.

The aim of this paper is to provide a rationale and agenda for a more theory-driven, analytical criminology. It criticises the common risk factor approach to theory and theory testing and its inherent problem of distinguishing between correlates and causes, and inability to provide proper explanation of crime and its causes. The paper highlights the importance of having an adequate theory of action that can help identify causal mechanisms (processes) and integrate levels of explanation. It provides a clear demarcation criterion to distinguish between correlates and potential causes in the study of crime. Finally, it stresses the need to clearly differentiate between causes and the causes of the causes when analysing crime causation.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2009. The importance of perceptions and choices. Toward an analytical criminology. In: 9th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The aim of this paper is to provide a rationale and agenda for a more theory-driven, analytical criminology. It criticises the common risk factor approach to theory and theory testing and its inherent problem of distinguishing between correlates and causes, and inability to provide proper explanation of crime and its causes. The paper highlights the importance of having an adequate theory of action that can help identify causal mechanisms (processes) and integrate levels of explanation. It provides a clear demarcation criterion to distinguish between correlates and potential causes in the study of crime. Finally, it stresses the need to clearly differentiate between causes and the causes of the causes when analysing crime causation.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Propensity and exposure. A study into the social ecology of crime. In: 2008 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. St Louis, USA.

This paper explores the interaction between person (propensity) and environment (exposure), and its role in crime causation using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+). The focus of analysis is the relationship between individual morality and the moral contexts to which individuals' are exposed. Collective efficacy is used as a measure of the moral context of behaviour-settings.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2008. Morality, moral contexts and crime. In: 8th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Edinburgh, UK.

This paper explores the role of the interaction between young people's morality and their exposure to different moral contexts in crime causation. The data used is from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adulthood Development Study (PADS+).

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2008. The role of social environment in crime causation: Propensity and exposure. In: Second ENRIC Conference. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H., 2007. Childhood social environment and adolescent criminal careers. In: 7th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Bologna, Italy.

This paper explores any differences in criminal career patterns by key features of childhood social environments with particular emphasis on neighbourhood disadvantage and family social conditions (as determined by class, education and income).

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2007. The role of the environment in crime causation: Assessing the Routine Activities Theory. In: 7th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Bologna, Italy.

This paper discusses the shortcomings of the routine activity approach in assessing crime causation. It argues for the need of better addressing the situational mechanisms that connect individual and the environment in causing acts of crime.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2007a. Behavioural contexts and crime causation: Beyond the Routine Activities Theory. In: 2007 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Atlanta, GA.

This paper discusses and criticises the basic assumptions of the Routine Activity Theory, particularly its situational model (the convergence of motivated offenders, likely targets and capable guardians), and offers an alternative situational model that is more apt to deal with the influence of behavioural contexts in crime causation.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2007b. PADS+. Targeting crime prevention in adolescence: Influencing young people and their social environments. In: Fourth Annual SCoPiC Conference. Preventing Crime: Changing Individuals and Environments. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H., 2006a. Activity fields and settings. In: 2006 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Los Angeles, CA.

This paper suggests how we can better theorise and study the role of the environment (behavioural contexts) in crime causation. It discusses the concepts of ‘setting’ and ‘activity field’, and situates these concepts within the broader Situational Action Theory of Crime Causation. It presents a method by which settings and activity fields can be empirically studied.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2006b. Activity fields and settings: Theorising and studying the role of behavioural contexts. In: 2006 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Los Angeles, CA.

This paper suggests how we can better theorise and study the role of the environment (behavioural contexts) in crime causation. It discusses the concepts of ‘setting’ and ‘activity field’, and situates these concepts within the broader Situational Action Theory of Crime Causation. It presents a method by which settings and activity fields can be empirically studied.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2006c. Adolescent crime: Individual differences and lifestyles. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

This paper explores the interaction between individual characteristics and lifestyles in the prediction of crime involvement.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2006d. Environmental risk and individual differences in crime causation: A study of interaction effects. In: 6th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Tübingen, Germany.

This paper explores the interaction between individual differences and exposure to environmental risk in predicting adolescent crime involvement.

 

Wikström, P-O H., 2006e. The role of individual differences and social environments in crime causation in adolescence. In: Third Annual SCoPiC Conference. Assessing the role of individual differences and the environment in crime causation. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H., 2005a. The concepts of morality, self-control and crime. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Cracow, Poland.

Wikström, P-O H., 2005b. Morality, self-control provocation, deterrence and acts of violence: A study using randomised vignettes. In: 5th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology.
Cracow, Poland.

Wikström, P-O H., 2004. Linking individuals, settings and actions: Situational mechanisms and the explanation of crime. In: First Annual SCoPiC Conference. Social contexts of pathways in crime: Development, context and mechanisms. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H., 2002a. Does gender matter? A study of gender and adolescent offending. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Chicago, IL.

Wikström, P-O H., 2002b. Propensity-induced, life-style dependent and situationally limited adolescent offenders: Exploring the interaction effects between individual risk, life-style risk and neighbourhood risk. In: 2002 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Chicago, IL.

Wikström, P-O H. & Ceccato, V., 2005. Studying activity fields: Space-time budgets and GIS. In: Second Annual SCoPiC Conference. Social Contexts of Pathways in Crime: Methods and analytical techniques. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H. & Ceccato, V., 2004a. Crime and social life: A space-time budget study. In: 2004 Conference of the American Society of Criminology. Nashville, TN.

Wikström, P-O H. & Loeber, R., 2006. Does neighbourhood disadvantage influence pathways in crime?. In: Third Annual SCoPiC Conference. Assessing the role of individual differences and the environment in crime causation. Cambridge, UK.

Wikström, P-O H. & Reinecke, J., 2010. Exploring and explaining adolescent crime trajectories. In: 10th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Liege, Belgium.

Situational Action Theory proposes that crime, and changes in crime involvement, is caused by the interaction of crime propensity and criminogenic exposure. In this paper, using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study, we explore the role of propensity and exposure as an explanation of different crime trajectories through adolescence.

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