A consequential development in victimization theory and research was the idea that individuals with low self-control self-select into the various risky behaviors that may ultimately result in their victimization. To establish the empirical status of the selfcontrol-victimization link, we subjected this body of work to a meta-analysis. Our multilevel analyses of 311 effect size estimates drawn from 66 studies (42 independent data sets) indicate that self-control is a modest yet consistent predictor of victimization. The results also show that the effect of self-control is significantly stronger when predicting noncontact forms of victimization (e.g., online victimization) and is significantly reduced in studies that control directly for the risky behaviors that are assumed to mediate the self-control-victimization link. We also note that the studies assessing selfcontrol and victimization are not representative of victimization research as a whole, with intimate partner violence (IPV), violence against women, and child abuse being severely underrepresented. We conclude that future research should continue to examine the causal processes linking self-control to victimization, how self-control shapes victims' coping responses to their experience, and whether self-control matters in contexts where individuals may have limited autonomy over the behavioral routines that put them at risk for victimization.
KEYWORDS: caregivers, children of incarcerated parents, families of prisoners, collateral consequences of incarcerationWhile policy makers have long extolled the benefits of incarceration, criminologists have expended considerable effort demonstrating the harmful collateral consequences of incarceration. Sampson (2011) recently challenged researchers to move beyond this dichotomy and to assess the "social ledger" of incarceration, where both the potential benefits and harms associated with incarceration are examined. To shed light on the variation in the collateral consequences of incarceration, we focus on the experiences of a valuable group of individuals directly impacted by imprisonment: those caring for children of incarcerated parents. Drawing from in-depth interviews with a diverse group of caregivers (N = 100), we examine the various consequences (both positive and negative) that occur in their lives as a result of incarceration, as well as the causal processes responsible for the outcomes we observe. Our findings reveal marked variation in the effects of incarceration on caregivers. Such effects are shaped by (1) the prisoner's prior parental involvement, (2) the interpersonal relationship between caregiver and prisoner, and (3) the caregiver's family support system. These findings ). We would like to thank Rosemary Gartner for her helpful comments, suggestions and guidance. We are also grateful of Melinda Tasca for her assistance in data collection.
This study takes stock of empirical research examining the relationship between gang membership and offending by subjecting this large body of work to a meta-analysis. Multilevel modeling is used to determine the overall mean effect size of this relationship based on 1,649 effect size estimates drawn from 179 empirical studies and 107 independent data sets. The findings indicate that there is a fairly strong relationship between gang membership and offending (Mz = .227, confidence interval [CI] = [.198, .253]). Bivariate and multivariate moderator analyses not only reveal that this relationship is robust across the vast majority of methodological variations but also show that the gang membership–offending link is stronger when studying active gang members, and weaker in prospective research designs, non-U.S. samples, and when controlling for theoretical confounders and mediators. These results affirm the efforts of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to understand and respond to gang behaviors, and are used to identify aspects of this literature that are most worthy of continued attention.
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