Measures Of Deviance Research Articles

Response Bias on Self-Report Measures of Sexual Fantasies Among Sexual Offenders.

The impact of sexual fantasies in future risk and treatment response among sexual offenders has long been known. However, as we develop objective self-report measures of sexual fantasies, response bias is becoming an increasing concern. In examining a sample of institutionalized sex offenders, the present study suggests that offenders' responses on these measures are prone to response bias, the bias does not negate their associations with other self-report measures of sexual deviance, and relationship of their sexual fantasies does not appear to relate to actual behavioral indications. Clinical and research implications for these findings are discussed.

The Implications of Using Group-Based Offenses versus Non-Group-Based Offenses in Peer Deviance Scales

ABSTRACTA key distinction from Warr’s research is “groupy” (deviant acts commonly committed with peers) versus “non-groupy” (acts that are likely committed alone) deviance. Drawing on Warr’s important (and underutilized) distinction, this study’s goal is to determine whether measures of perceptual groupy peer deviance more accurately reflect a peer’s true deviance than perceptions of nongroupy peer deviance. Using dyadic data, results demonstrate that perceptions of a peer’s non-groupy deviance are largely inaccurate but perceptions of a peer’s groupy deviance are quite accurate. Despite this discrepancy, groupy and non-groupy perceptual measures function similarly in multivariate models and consistently outperform peer self-reports.

A New Heteroskedastic Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator using Deviance Measure

In this article we propose a new heteroskedastic consistent covariance matrix estimator, HC6, based on deviance measure. We have studied and compared the finite sample behavior of the new test and compared it with other this kind of estimators, HC1, HC3 and HC4m, which are used in case of leverage observations. Simulation study is conducted to study the effect of various levels of heteroskedasticity on the size and power of quasi-t test with HC estimators. Results show that the test statistic based on our new suggested estimator has better asymptotic approximation and less size distortion as compared to other estimators for small sample sizes when high level of heteroskedasticity is present in data.

Selecting team players: Considering the impact of contextual performance and workplace deviance on selection decisions in the National Football League.

Contextual performance and workplace deviance likely influence team functioning and effectiveness and should therefore be considered when evaluating job candidates for team-based roles. However, obtaining this information is difficult given a lack of reliable sources and the desire of job applicants to present themselves in a favorable light. Thus, it is unknown whether those selecting employees for teams incorporate prior contextual performance and workplace deviance into their evaluations, or whether doing so improves the quality of selection decisions. To address these issues, we examined the impact of prior task performance, contextual performance, and workplace deviance on National Football League (NFL) decision maker (organizational insider) and external expert (organizational outsider) evaluations of college football players in the NFL draft, using a content analysis methodology to generate measures of contextual performance and workplace deviance. Our findings indicate that insiders value contextual performance more than outsiders, which is likely because of differing interests and goals that lead to different levels of motivation and/or ability to acquire information about prior contextual performance. We also propose that prior task performance, contextual performance, and workplace deviance will predict player performance in the NFL. Our results support this prediction for task and contextual performance. In addition, we investigated the quality of insider and outsider judgments using Brunswik's (1952) lens model. Implications of our findings for the team selection, contextual performance, and workplace deviance literatures are discussed.

An empirical test of self-control theory in Roma adolescents

PurposeThe current study tested the applicability of self-control theory in Roma adolescents, one of the largest ethnic minorities in Europe; it compared mean levels in deviance measures and correlates (parenting and low self-control) in Roma versus non-Roma Czech youth. MethodsQuestionnaire data were collected from Roma (n=239, 47.5% female, Mage=14.02) and non-Roma (n=130, 47.7% female, Mage=14.71) adolescents residing in the Czech Republic. Measures included maternal parenting processes, low self-control, and deviance (alcohol use, school misconduct, and theft). ResultsFindings from SEM analyses provided evidence that perceived maternal support predicted lower deviance both directly and indirectly via low self-control, while perceived maternal conflict predicted lower self-control and higher deviance. No differences were found between Roma and non-Roma adolescents in mean deviance scores or in the links between parenting, low self-control, and deviance. ConclusionRoma adolescents did not differ from ethnic Czech adolescents in rates of deviance or the developmental processes focused on age-appropriate indicators of deviance. Thus, this evidence further extends the reach of Gottfredson and Hirschi's seminal theoretical work to ethnic minorities outside of North America.

“Not at All Religious”: Irreligiosity as Social Deviance in a Majority Muslim Context

ABSTRACTIn a majority Muslim context, where most college students are raised religiously and appear outwardly to conform to social norms in terms of dress and religious ritual, which college students are most likely to report that, in fact, they consider themselves “Not At All Religious”? When irreligiosity is treated as a measure of social deviance, does Hirschi’s theory of social control appropriately account for this demographic? I use original Islamic Social Attitudes Survey data collected from 1,139 Kuwaiti college students in 2007 to show that gender, being raised religiously, and religious experience are all significantly correlated to irreligiosity. Neither family attachment nor peer networks predicts self-reported irreligiosity like the influence of conservative Mosque Networks.

Fieller Stability Measure: a novel model-dependent backtesting approach

Dataset shift is present in almost all real-world applications, since most of them are constantly dealing with changing environments. Detecting fractures in datasets on time allows recalibrating the models before a significant decrease in the model’s performance is observed. Since small changes are normal in most applications and do not justify the efforts that a model recalibration requires, we are only interested in identifying those changes that are critical for the correct functioning of the model. In this work we propose a model-dependent backtesting strategy designed to identify significant changes in the covariates, relating a confidence zone of the change to a maximal deviance measure obtained from the coefficients of the model. Using logistic regression as a predictive approach, we performed experiments on simulated data, and on a real-world credit scoring dataset. The results show that the proposed method has better performance than traditional approaches, consistently identifying major changes in variables while taking into account important characteristics of the problem, such as sample sizes and variances, and uncertainty in the coefficients.

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised Use and Reporting Practices in Sexually Violent Predator Evaluations.

We surveyed evaluators who conduct sexually violent predator evaluations ( N = 95) regarding the frequency with which they use the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), their rationale for use, and scoring practices. Findings suggest that evaluators use the PCL-R in sexually violent predator cases because of its perceived versatility, providing information about both mental disorder and risk. Several findings suggested gaps between research and routine practice. For example, relatively few evaluators reported providing the factor and facet scores that may be the strongest predictors of future offending, and many assessed the combination of PCL-R scores and sexual deviance using deviance measures (e.g., paraphilia diagnoses) that have not been examined in available studies. There was evidence of adversarial allegiance in PCL-R score interpretation, as well as a "bias blind spot" in PCL-R and other risk measure (Static-99R) scoring; evaluators tended to acknowledge the possibility of bias in other evaluators but not in themselves. Findings suggest the need for evaluators to carefully consider the extent to which their practices are consistent with emerging research and to be attuned to the possibility that working in adversarial settings may influence their scoring and interpretation practices.

Can Item-Level Error Correlations Correct for Projection Bias in Perceived Peer Deviance Measures? A Research Note

Objectives Research indicates respondents overestimate the similarity between their own deviance and that of their peers. Extending Rebellon and Modecki’s (J Quant Criminol 30:163–186, 2014) study, we examine if item-level error correlations in structural models reduce bias for non-peer-based, theoretically derived covariates such as self-control. Our specific interest lies in investigating the theoretical implications and practical value of using the correlated error technique in ‘everyday’ structural equation modeling.

Hirschi’s Reconceptualization of Self-Control: Is Truth Truly the Daughter of Time? Evidence from Eleven Cultures

PurposeThe conceptualization and measurement of self-control remains a debated topic, in criminology as well as other social and behavioral sciences. The current study compared the relationships between the Grasmick and colleagues (1993) self-control scale and the redefined self-control measure by Hirschi (2004) on measures of deviance in samples of adolescents. MethodsAnonymous, self-report data were collected from over N=16,000 middle and late adolescents in China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States. ResultsBased on latent constructs with items parcels in an SEM framework, multi-group tests were used to examine both the relative predictive utility of each self-control measure on deviance and the extent to which these relationships varied across cultures. Both scales appear to tap into self-control; however, findings provide evidence that the Grasmick et al. measure explains more variance. These links did not vary across cultural contexts. ConclusionsHirschi provocatively suggested that the truth is the daughter of time; yet, we find that the measure developed by Grasmick and colleagues, the most widely used scale, retains greater explanatory power, and does so in an invariant manner across all eleven developmental contexts examined.

Acquaintance ratings of the Big Five personality traits: incremental validity beyond and interactive effects with self-reports in the prediction of workplace deviance.

It is widely established that the Big Five personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability are antecedents to workplace deviance (Berry, Ones, & Sackett, 2007). However, these meta-analytic findings are based on self-reported personality traits. A recent meta-analysis by Oh, Wang, and Mount (2011) identified the value of acquaintance-reported personality in the prediction of job performance. The current investigation extends prior work by comparing the validities of self- and acquaintance-reported personality in the prediction of workplace deviance across 2 studies. We also hypothesized and tested an interactive, value-added integration of self- with acquaintance-reported personality using socioanalytic personality theory (R. T. Hogan, 1991). Both studies assessed self- and acquaintance-rated Big Five traits, along with supervisor-rated workplace deviance. However, the studies varied the measures of workplace deviance, and the 2nd study also included a self-rated workplace deviance criterion for additional comparison. Across both studies, the traits of conscientiousness and agreeableness were strong predictors of workplace deviance, and acquaintance-reported personality provided incremental validity beyond self-reports. Additionally, acquaintance-reported conscientiousness and agreeableness moderated the prediction of workplace deviance by interacting with the corresponding self-reported traits. Implications for personality theory and measurement are discussed along with applications for practice.

Do childhood experiences of neglect affect delinquency among child welfare involved-youth?

Child neglect, which is the most common form of maltreatment in the United States, has been repeatedly linked to an increased risk of delinquency. However, the existing literature lacks studies that simultaneously investigate how distinct types of neglect differentially influence delinquency among child welfare involved-youth. In addition, few studies of the relationship between neglect and delinquency include measures of ADHD, peer deviance or community violence, even though these variables have been strongly associated with delinquency. This study uses data from 784 11 to 17year old youth who participated in Wave I of the Second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW II) to examine whether supervisory neglect, physical neglect and parental substance abuse affect delinquency after controlling for ADHD, peer deviance, exposure to community violence, and out-of-home placements. We conducted a negative binomial regression to account for the low rates of delinquency among NSCAW II participants. We did not find significant main effects for supervisory neglect, physical neglect or parental substance abuse. Our study found that as youth age the count of delinquency acts increases. Black and Hispanic youth had higher counts of delinquency than youth with White, multi-racial, or “other” racial identities. Youth in out-of-home care had nearly double the rate of delinquency. Youth with more deviant peer affiliations and youth who had been exposed to community violence engaged in more delinquent behaviors. Our findings underscore the importance of the environment surrounding the youth, and the peers with whom the youth affiliates.

A longitudinal study of risk-glorifying video games and behavioral deviance.

Character-based video games do more than allow one to practice various kinds of behaviors in a virtual environment; they allow one to practice being a different kind of person. As such, we propose that games can alter self-perceptions of personal characteristics, attitudes, and values with broad consequences for behavior. In a multiwave, longitudinal study of adolescents, we examined the extent to which play of mature-rated, risk-glorifying (MRRG) games was associated with increases in alcohol use, cigarette smoking, aggression, delinquency, and risky sex as a consequence of its effects on personality, attitudes, and affiliations indicative of increased tolerance of deviance. Participants were selected with random-digit-dial procedures and followed for 4 years. Data were analyzed with linear mixed modeling to assess change over time and structural equation modeling with latent variables to test hypothesized mediational processes. Among those who play video games, playing MRRG games was associated with increases in all measures of behavioral deviance. Mediational models support the hypothesis that these effects are in part a consequence of the effects of such gameplay on sensation seeking and rebelliousness, attitudes toward deviant behavior in oneself and others, and affiliation with deviant peers. Effects were similar for males and females and were strongest for those who reported heavy play of mature-rated games and games that involved protagonists who represent nonnormative and antisocial values. In sum, the current research supports the perspective that MRRG gameplay can have consequences for deviant behavior broadly defined by affecting the personality, attitudes, and values of the player.

Relative stability of neurocognitive deficits in early onset schizophrenia spectrum patients

In contrast to the findings of progressive structural brain changes in adolescence, longitudinal studies of patients with early onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders (EOS) indicate that neurocognitive deficits are relatively stable over the first years. The aim of this study is to assess neurocognitive functions longitudinally in patients with EOS compared to healthy controls (HC) using the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus Battery (MCCB). MethodsTwenty patients with EOS and 41 HC were tested with the MCCB at baseline (T1) and after one (T2) and two years (T3). The mean age for the EOS group was 15.6 (SD=1.8) years, while the mean duration of illness was 1.7 (SD=1.4) years at T1. ResultsThe EOS group's neurocognitive performances indicate a stable deficit on most measures. Both the EOS and HC groups showed improved neurocognitive functioning over time on all measures except for the verbal learning domain. There was an interaction between the EOS and HC groups' performance over time on the Trail Making Test A (TMA), a subtest on the processing speed domain. ConclusionThe longitudinal neurocognitive performances measured by the MCCB confirm previous findings of stable deficits in patients with EOS. It is premature to conclude whether the increases in neurocognitive performance reflect developmental processes in adolescence or may be explained by learning effects, or both. As opposed to the other tests in this domain, a stagnation in processing speed as measured by the TMA suggests that the TMA is a particularly sensitive measure of neurodevelopmental deviance in EOS.

اختبار نظرية الاحتواء في تفسير السلوك المنحرف لدى الأحداث في دور التربية و التأهيل الأردنية = Testing Containment Theory to Explain Deviant Behavior among Juveniles in Jordanian Upbringing Institutions

This study aimed to test containment theory to explain Deviant Behavior among Juveniles in Jordanian Rehabilitation Upbringing Institutions, A random clustered sample was chosen from school students consisted of (223) students in Al karak, from Their ages (12-18) years, a survey was used on the juveniles sample by choosing the whole (200) deviant juvenile in Jordanian Upbringing Institutions, and a questionnaire consisted of two parts sections was distributed. The first part, deviance measure which was applied on school population students to classify potential deviant from non-deviant. The second part containment theory measure that was used to measure the variables of outer and internal containment, interviewing was used as a tool for collecting data for deviant who don’t know how to read and write, who range to 160 juvenile delinquent, Result showed a support for the hypotheses of containment theory that children who are exposed to outer and internal containment are less prone to deviance, the study revealed the following, The results show statistically significant differences at internal containments level(α≤ 0.05) (good self-concept, self-control, ego strength, super ego) which is attributed to status variable (deviant-non-deviant), There also more over significant differences at outer containments of (α≤ 0.05). (the family, the school, peer group) which attributed to status variable (deviant- non- deviant). Finally, According to the results of the study, a number of recommendations were presented.

Testosterone is related to deviance in male army veterans, but relationships are not moderated by cortisol

The Vietnam Experience Study (VES) of 4462 male U.S. Army veterans is the first large dataset used to demonstrate that testosterone (but not cortisol) is correlated with diverse measures of antisocial, aggressive or dominant behavior. Many subsequent studies have sustained these relationships while also pointing to important caveats. Some researchers suggest that testosterone is correlated to dominance and aggression only (or mostly) in people with low cortisol, not in those with high cortisol. Here we look back to the VES to test this “dual hormone” hypothesis. We find no testosterone–cortisol interaction for seven measures of antisocial deviance. We consider scope conditions under which the dual hormone hypothesis may be valid.

UNPACKING THE BLACK BOX OF PEER SIMILARITY IN DEVIANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS LINKING PERSONAL BEHAVIOR, PEER BEHAVIOR, AND PERCEPTIONS

The strong correlation between measures of personal and peer deviance occurs with near “law‐like” regularity. Yet, as with other manifestations of peer similarity (often referred to as homophily), the mechanisms generating this relationship are widely debated. Specific to the deviance literature, most studies have failed to examine, simultaneously, the degree to which similarity is the consequence of multiple causes. The current study addresses this gap by using longitudinal network data for 1,151 individuals from the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) School Project. Structural equation modeling is used to address these issues by adapting Jussim and Osgood's () model of deviant attitudes in dyadic pairs to the current data. Across two separate behavioral domains (substance use and property offending), the results provide strong support for the prediction that individuals project their own deviant tendencies inaccurately onto their peers. Conversely, the results provide little or no support for the predictions that respondents accurately perceive their peers’ deviance or that their perceptions of peer deviance influence their own behavior. Implications for understanding the role of peer behavior in the etiology of adolescent deviance are discussed.

Assessment of the value of groundwater age time-series for characterizing complex steady-state flow systems using a Bayesian approach

In this work, the effectiveness of transient environmental tracer data in reducing the uncertainty associated with the inference of groundwater residence time distribution was evaluated. A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method was used to infer the parameters of presumed residence time distribution forms—exponential and gamma—using concentrations of five tracers, including CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, SF6, and 85Kr. The transient tracer concentrations were synthetically generated using the residence time distributions obtained from a model of the Plœmeur aquifer in southern Brittany, France. Several measures of model adequacy, including Deviance Information Criteria, Bayes factors, and measures based on the deviation of inferred and true cumulative residence time distribution, were used to evaluate the value of groundwater age time-series. Neither of the presumed forms of residence time distributions, exponential and gamma, perfectly represent the simulated true distribution; therefore, the method was not able to show a definitive preference to one over the other in all cases. The results show that using multiple years of tracer data not only reduces the bias of inference (as defined by the difference between the expected value of a metric of inferred residence time distribution and the true value of the same metric), but also helps quantify the uncertainty more realistically. It was found that when one year of data is used, both models could almost perfectly reproduce the observed tracer data, even when the inferred residence time distributions differed substantially from the true one. When the number of years of tracer data is increased to four years, the uncertainty associated with the distribution parameters and the model structural uncertainly increased, as the presumed forms were not able to reproduce all the data accurately. This resulted in a more realistic assessment of model uncertainty due to structural error. It was also found that regardless of the prescribed age distribution form, the Bayesian method does a better job of capturing the cumulative ages at older ages; however, it is not able to reproduce the early ages well. The ability of the model to capture older ages improves as a greater number of years of tracer data is used, in cases of both presumed exponential and gamma distributions.

Incorporating User Input Into Optimal Constraining Procedures for Survey Estimates

Abstract We examine the incorporation of analyst input into the constrained estimation process. In the calibration literature, there are numerous examples of estimators with “optimal” properties. We show that many of these can be derived from first principles. Furthermore, we provide mechanisms for injecting user input to create user-constrained optimal estimates. We include derivations for common deviance measures with linear and nonlinear constraints and we demonstrate these methods on a contingency table and a simulated survey data set. R code and examples are available at https://github.com/mwilli/Constrained-estimation.git.

What do Alternative Measures of Peer Behavior Tell Us? Examining the Discriminant Validity of Multiple Methods of Measuring Peer Deviance and the Implications for Etiological Models

Deviant behavior tends to be more strongly correlated with respondents’ perceptions of peer deviance than with actual peer deviance. However, research has yet to discern between two interpretations of this finding. On one hand, respondent perceptions of peer deviance may simply be “biased” indicators of actual peer behavior or alternative measures of one’s own deviance. On the other, respondent perceptions and actual peer deviance may reflect fundamentally separate constructs. The present study uses two separate statistical methods to discern the empirical validity of each interpretation. It then illustrates the importance of the measurement results with a series of cross-lagged panel analyses assessing how a researcher’s operationalization of peer deviance impinges upon conclusions about the bidirectional relationship between personal and peer deviance. Measurement results across two separate behavioral domains (property crime and substance use) suggest that actual peer deviance items reflect a construct fundamentally separate from both personal and perceived peer deviance. Likewise, results fail to support the claim that peer deviance items are simply alternative measures of one’s own deviance. Cross-lagged structural equation results are consistent with the notion that personal deviance affects both later perceptions of peer deviance and actual peer deviance. Yet, null or very weak effects of either peer deviance measure on personal deviance are observed. In light of our findings, we discuss the necessity for new theorizing concerning the complex relations among personal behavior, perceived peer behavior, and actual peer behavior.