Situational Action Theory Research Articles

Does truancy make the delinquent? A situational and longitudinal analysis of the truancy–delinquency relationship

Although truancy has frequently been linked to delinquency, we still lack a proper understanding of how this relationship comes about. This study uses Situational Action Theory (SAT) to develop a more comprehensive, mechanism-based explanation of the truancy–delinquency nexus. The core argument is that the relationship is conditional on adolescents’ propensity for delinquency and their exposure to criminogenic settings. To test this argument, I use two kinds of data collected as part of the Peterborough Adolescent Development Study (PADS+). Drawing on unique situational data provided by space–time budgets, I find only weak evidence that the relationship between truancy and delinquency exists at the situational level. Analyses of multiple yearly waves of this panel study provide support for SAT’s potential as a theoretical framework for the truancy–delinquency relationship by showing that the effect of truancy on changes in delinquency is conditional on changes in adolescents’ delinquency propensity and their exposure to criminogenic settings.

Situational Action Theory and the particular case of settings including a group

Situational Action Theory (SAT) postulates that personal crime propensity and the setting’s criminogenic features are direct causes of crime. This perspective also places a central focus on the moral factors involved. The moral norms of settings have not yet been exhaustively examined in regard to the aspects that may influence them. This theoretical article applies SAT to the particular case of settings including a group. Building upon previous literature on social cohesion in groups (such as team spirit/esprit de corps), the group present in the setting is presumably more likely to be identified by the individual if such group cohesiveness is high. When perceived, the moral norms of the group and deterrence should have an influence through becoming part of the setting in the causation of crime, according to SAT. This application suggests that SAT is a fruitful approach for explaining the impacts of groups on crime.

Does Moral Identity Matter in Situational Action Theory? Some Evidence of Iranian Fans’ Cyberbullying Perpetration

Situational action theory (SAT) posits that morality plays a core role in determining whether situations are viewed as suitable for crime. However, little attention has been paid to moral identity,...

Does Moral Identity Matter in Situational Action Theory? Some Evidence of Iranian Fans’ Cyberbullying Perpetration

Situational action theory (SAT) posits that morality plays a core role in determining whether situations are viewed as suitable for crime. However, little attention has been paid to moral identity, the degree to which a person considers morality to occupy a central position in their view of themselves. Using a convenience sample of Iranian soccer fans ( N = 374), we test both the direct and moderated role of moral identity in explaining cyberbullying, an outcome that differs from most SAT research focusing on violent/property crime. We find that fans with a weaker moral identity tend to engage in more cyberbullying and that moral identity significantly interacts with a number of SAT-derived predictors (moral emotions, self-control, perceptual deterrence, and situational morality) in expected ways.

Performance Enhancing Drug Use Among Professional Athletes: Testing the Applicability of Key Theoretical Concepts Derived From Situational Action Theory

Doping, or performance enhancing drug use, has long been a social and health problem among athletes. Despite the issues associated with doping and the illegality of using these drugs, little criminological research has examined why athletes engage in this deviant behavior. The present study seeks to do so by applying key theoretical concepts derived from, and testing the predictive efficiency of, situational action theory on professional athletes’ past, current, and future performance enhancing drug use. We employ self-report data from a random sample of 680 professional athletes from Rasht, Iran. Ordinary least squares regression is used to analyze these data. Findings suggest that crime propensity and criminogenic exposure increase athletes’ doping behavior. In addition, we find the interaction term between crime propensity and criminogenic exposure influences performance enhancing drug use among professional athletes, while increasing the model’s predictive power. Finally, in contrast to situational action theory, we find that known correlates of deviance (education, age, and gender) still influence athletes’ doping behavior even when key theoretical variables are included in the model.

Understanding the Choices of Multiply Excluded Homeless Adults in Housing First: A Situational Approach

ABSTRACT Housing First (HF) provides independent accommodation in the community to Multiply Excluded Homeless (MEH) adults. The principle of “choice and control” is central to the model and has been positioned as an effective mechanism for enabling MEH adults to guide their recovery or desistance. However, the theoretical literature on decision-making emphasizes that individual choices are influenced by a complex range of factors. This article describes how Situational Action Theory (SAT) can be adapted to guide a detailed qualitative analysis of how MEH adults make choices. It is argued that the SAT can support a better understanding of the complex personal and environmental factors that influence individual choices during journeys of recovery and desistance. The article presents two vignettes using data from a longitudinal study of an HF service to show how SAT was used to make sense of key choices made by MEH adults.

Cyberbullying against Rivals: Application of Key Theoretical Concepts Derived from Situational Action Theory

ABSTRACT We apply key theoretical concepts derived from, and test the predictive efficiency of, situational action theory on sports fans’ decision to engage in cyberbullying perpetration against rivals. To do so, we employ self-report data from a random sample of 508 students from an Iranian university. Ordinary least squares regression is used to analyze these data. In accordance with situational action theory’s propositions, both crime propensity and criminogenic exposure increase fans’ decision to engage in cyberbullying perpetration. Additionally, the interaction of crime propensity and criminogenic exposure increases fans’ engagement in cyberbullying perpetration, while the inclusion of the interaction term increases the model’s predictive power. In contrast to Wikström’s propositions, however, demographic variables (gender, age, education) remain significant even when situational action theory’s constructs are added into the model.

The Role of Morality and Self-Control in Conditioning the Criminogenic Effect of Provocation. A Partial Test of Situational Action Theory

ABSTRACT The role of motivation has been widely neglected in criminological research. One general framework that sheds light on the processes governing whether crime is perceived and chosen as a response to a given motivation is Situational Action Theory (SAT). The theory posits that experiences of temptation and provocation lead to criminal activity especially in the presence of weak personal moral rules and poor ability to exercise self-control. Based on a longitudinal crime survey conducted among adolescents in Austria, the current study examines whether an individual’s moral rules and his or her level of self-control condition the effect of provocation on criminal involvement. Results show that various measures of provocation increase offending and that provocation is more likely to translate into criminal behavior when individuals hold weak law-consistent moral rules. Further, the capacity for self-control affects the choice of a response to provocation particularly among adolescents with weak law-consistent morality – the underlying assumption being that weak moral rules facilitate the perception of crime as a viable action alternative. Such a three-way interaction is compatible with SAT’s reflections on the functioning of the moral filter and the conditional relevance of controls.

How Exceptional Is India? A Test of Situational Action Theory

This study explores the generalizability of Situational Action Theory (SAT) in India by testing hypotheses related to the person–environment interaction in explaining offending. Drawing on data from a sample of 872 students between the ages of 14 and 17 from an Indian city collected as part of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3), we tested the hypothesis that Indian youths will report more delinquent acts if they have a higher propensity to commit crime combined with a greater exposure to criminogenic activities. Our findings show unequivocal support for the applicability of SAT in India where youths reported a slight increase in offending behavior if they exercised low self-control or if they were less moralistic (i.e., they were more crime-prone), or when exposed to criminal activities or peers. Consistent with tests of SAT in other contexts, we find that exposure to criminogenic environments increases offending for youth with higher levels of criminal propensity but does not impact youth with lower levels of criminal propensity. We speculate that the overall low rate of delinquent offending coupled with the cultural milieu of Indian youths may explain why criminogenic exposure may be less relevant in light of young people’s strong avoidance of rule-breaking.

Morality, delinquent peer association, and criminogenic exposure: (How) does change predict change?

According to the Situational Action Theory, stronger morality inhibits the perception of alternatives to law-breaking action, thus lessening the probability of crime and delinquency. Research indicates that morality might be affected by delinquent peer association and in turn affect criminogenic exposure. This article studies how morality develops during late adolescence using data from the longitudinal project Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study. Using linear growth modelling, the study finds that a decrease in morality is associated with a simultaneous increase in delinquency peer association. No change in criminogenic exposure was detected. The results are discussed alongside theoretical and methodological implications.

The Contributions of Propensity, Delinquent Peers, Low Parental Supervision, and Empathy to the Emergence of Antisocial Behavior in Childhood and Adolescence: Testing Developmental Path Models Combining Psychological- and Sociological-Criminological Approaches

Psychological- and sociological-criminological research refers to, for example, cumulative risk factor models (e.g., Lösel & Bender, 2003) and Situational Action Theory (SAT; e.g., Wikström, 2006). The German longitudinal study “Chances and Risks in the Life Course” (research project A2, Collaborative Research Center 882; e.g., Reinecke, Stemmler, & Wittenberg, 2016) focuses upon the development of antisocial behavior from a psychological and sociological point of view. Two-wave panel data of two cohorts (children and adolescents) were utilized to test the power of developmental path models investigating the development of antisocial behavior. Individual risk seems to have both direct and indirect influences on antisocial behavior, supporting the ideas of risk factor models; antisocial behavior might be the outcome of the interaction between propensity and criminogenic exposure, so there is evidence for SAT. Additionally, empathy seems to be related to both propensity and low parental supervision. Implications for the study of antisocial behavior in childhood and adolescence are discussed in line with developmental criminology.

Why Monitoring Doesn’t Always Matter: The Interaction of Personal Propensity with Physical and Psychological Parental Presence in a Situational Explanation of Adolescent Offending

ABSTRACT Parental monitoring is often shown to have a negative relationship with crime involvement. However, research often ignores both the mechanism by which these relationships occur and the conditions under which they might (and might not) be found. Building on the interactional hypotheses of Situational Action Theory (SAT) and the parental monitoring definitions provided by a new model of Goal-Directed Parental Action (GDPA), this paper assesses evidence of the role of the presence or absence of guardians, adolescent-perceived parental knowledge and personal crime propensity in explaining why a crime does or doesn’t occur in a particular situation. To test these new hypotheses, this paper uses specialist data (including innovative Space-Time Budget data) from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and employs multiple methods to assess both statistical interaction (dependence) and situational interaction (convergence). Findings provide evidence for interaction between key personal characteristics (specifically, generalized law relevant morality and ability to exercise self control) and features of environments (in this study, aspects of parental monitoring) in the perception-choice process that is proposed by SAT to explain action, including acts of crime. They suggest that despite high correlations with crime in the literature, monitoring doesn’t always matter because many crime averse young people do not offend anyway. Furthermore, in an entirely new finding, generalized perceived parental knowledge of the circumstances of activity (psychological presence) results in a lower rate of crime among crime prone adolescents when they are unsupervised.

사이버범죄를 위한 상황행위이론의 확대적 그리고 대안적 논의의 적용과 논쟁

이 연구는 사이버범죄에 대한 통합적 설명의 시도의 하나로 상황행위이론을 소개하고 좀 더 확대된 논의를 통해 이를 적용해 본다. 사이버범죄를 중심으로 대학생 대상의 연구에서 여러 가설들을 제시했는데, 사이버범죄의 동기요인과 기회요인과의 상호작용효과 그리고 동기요인과 도덕차원 요인으로 도덕성 및 법위반친구와의 차별접촉과의 상호작용효과, 도덕차원 요인들간의 개인요인으로 도덕성과 환경요인으로 법위반친구와의 접촉과의 상호작용효과, 그리고 개인의 도덕성과 도덕규칙 환경간에 갈등시 통제요인으로 자기통제, 처벌억제, 그리고 주위통제의 작용 등을 검증했다. 본 연구결과는 상황행위이론의 주장대로 개인의 도덕성과 차별접촉 환경과의 상호작용효과가 유의미하여 도덕성이 낮고 사이버범죄친구와의 차별접촉이 높을 때 사이버범죄를 저지르게 된다는 것을 제시했다. 그렇지만 사이버범죄의 동기요인으로 사이버범죄피해와 기회요인과의 상호작용효과는 유의미하지 않았고 사이버범죄피해와 도덕성, 그리고 사이버범죄피해와 차별접촉과의 상호작용효과도 유의미하지 않았다. 또 다른 상황행위이론의 논의로 개인의 도덕성과 도덕규칙 환경간에 갈등으로 개인의 도덕성이 높지만 사이버범죄친구와의 차별접촉환경이 높은 갈등상황이나 차별접촉이 낮은 환경이지만 개인의 도덕성이 낮은 갈등상황에서 각각 자기통제와 처벌억제가 통제작용을 하는 것이 아니라 오히려 개인의 도덕성이 낮고 사이버범죄친구와의 차별접촉환경이 높은 범죄가능성이 높은 상황에서 자기통제, 처벌억제, 그리고 주위통제가 모두 통제작용을 한다는 결과를 제시해 상황행위이론을 지지하지 못했다. 이처럼 상황행위이론의 도덕차원에서의 요인들이 중요하다는 것이외에 그밖의 논의는 대체로 지지되지 못했고 대안적 논의가 필요하다는 것을 제시했다.

The Interaction Between Self-Control and Perceived Sanction Risk: An Analysis From the Viewpoint of Different Theories

The present article studies the interplay of self-control and perceived sanction risk in crime causation. Several hypotheses are formulated. The General Theory of Crime suggests that sanction certainty effects are greater for individuals of high self-control. Their inability to devote thought to the negative long-term consequences of their behavior renders persons characterized by low self-control immune to the risk of formal punishment. From Situational Action Theory (SAT), it follows that sanction certainty effects are larger for persons with low self-control ability. Individuals with a poor capacity for self-control will more often feel tempted to engage in criminal behavior, which brings perceived sanction risk into play as a potential deterrent. The theory’s emphasis on the moral filter as a determinant of the nature of the perceived action alternatives implies additionally that the self-control/deterrence interaction may be stronger for those holding weak law-consistent moral beliefs. The various hypotheses are tested using longitudinal data from the British Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study. Results provide more support for the propositions derived from SAT. An individual’s level of self-control conditions the impact of perceived sanction risk, with sanction certainty estimates being most influential among adolescents of low self-control. There is also some indication of a three-way interaction according to which the observed interplay of self-control and deterrence is most pronounced among persons characterized by weak morality.

Explaining Crime and Criminal Careers: the DEA Model of Situational Action Theory

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline Situational Action Theory (SAT) and its Developmental Ecological Action Model (DEA model) as applied to the explanation of criminal careers. The DEA model of SAT was first presented by Wikström in 2005, [34]), and subsequently refined in Wikström and Treiber in 2018, [43]), and is further elaborated in this paper.MethodsThis paper provides a theoretical analysis of the role of crime causation in the explanation of criminal careers and pathways in crime. The central argument is that if we want to explain stability and change in people’s crime involvement we first have to understand what factors and processes move people to commit acts of crime. Only then can we adequately assess what factors and processes are involved in the explanation of criminal careers and people’s differential pathways (trajectories) in crime.ResultsThe DEA model of SAT address some of the main limitations of current dominant explanatory approaches in Developmental and Life-Course (DLC) Criminology [39], and champions a general, dynamic and mechanism-based account of the causes of crime [38], and the drivers of criminal careers [47]. It integrates and extends key insights from two great but poorly amalgamated traditions in the study of crime and its causes: the individual/developmental and ecological/environmental traditions. It provides a new approach to the study and explanation of crime and criminal careers with implications for how we approach the problem of crime prevention policy and practise.

The Combined Roles of Moral Emotion and Moral Rules in Explaining Acts of Violence Using a Situational Action Theory Perspective.

The roles of shame and guilt, and their relationships to empathy, have not been modeled adequately as key factors in moral decision-making in the study of violence. The role of moral emotion has been neglected in existing criminological research and this study seeks to develop current explanations of the comprehensive myriad of factors that play a role in moral crime decision-making. This research will test the different roles of empathy, shame, and guilt in violence decision-making using a situational action theory (SAT) perspective. Data taken from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), a longitudinal study with a large representative sample, provide quantitative questionnaire indices to enable comparison of a persistent and frequent violent offender subsample (N = 48) with the remaining PADS+ study sample (N = 607). A striking majority of violent offenders report that they do not think it is wrong to commit violence, and do not care about it, that is, they lack shame and guilt, and report that violence comes as a morally acceptable and natural action alternative. Furthermore, violent offenders do not register the predicament of their victims; there is a distinct lack of empathy. This article demonstrates a key finding which has rarely been explored to date; regression analyses reveal an interaction effect whereby individuals with weak shame and guilt, combined specifically with weak moral rules, are more likely to commit acts of violence. The study findings provide strong support for the SAT of the role of weak morality in violence decision-making. To reduce the possibility of crime being seen as an action alternative, moral development programs should be developed and administered in childhood.

Motivations, Propensities, and Their Interplays on Online Bullying Perpetration: A Partial Test of Situational Action Theory

Using data gathered from 757 college students in South Korea, the current study examines applicability of situational action theory (SAT) to online bullying perpetration (OBP). Specifically, the current study focuses on testing interplays between motivations in the criminogenic online setting (temptation and provocation) and individual propensities (morality and self-control) as well as interplay between two individual propensities on OBP. Results show that morality significantly buffers the effects of provocation on OBP as expected, while morality unexpectedly enhances effects of temptation on OBP. Moreover, the current study found no significant interaction between two propensities, morality and self-control. Thus, future studies should focus on examining how roles of morality vary depending on different types of offenses and contexts.

Over- and underreporting of drug use: a cross-national inquiry of social desirability through the lens of situational action theory

Over- and underreporting of drug use: a cross-national inquiry of social desirability through the lens of situational action theory

Der illegale Verkauf verschreibungspflichtiger Medikamente zur kognitiven Leistungssteigerung – Eine Vignetten-basierte Studie rationaler und normativer Erklärungsgründe

The illicit sale of prescription drugs for enhancing cognitive performance is a criminal act which has hardly been studied although the consumption of these drugs by healthy people has numerous negative individual and social consequences. In this study, we scrutinize the decision to sale those drugs based on assumptions of various criminological rational choice models, self-control theory, social norms, as well as the Model of Frame Selection (MFS) and the Situational Action Theory (SAT). Thereby, we also consider interactions between instrumental incentives, self-control and norms. To investigate decisions regarding the illegal sale of performance enhancing drugs, we used a web-based survey among students at four German universities (N=1,698). Each respondent received randomly one out of 900 vignettes, in each case describing a hypothetical sales situation concerning the illegal and financially rewarding transmission of medications to enhance concentration between students. The descriptions have been randomly varied with respect to the sales profits and the severity of punishments and their respective probabilities. Moreover, the degree of self-control and internalized norms regarding illegal sales have been assessed. The results, that are derived from double hurdle models, show that, especially, internalized norms as well as the severity of punishment reduce the willingness of selling, while low self-control and increasing profits increase this willingness. In addition, a negative interaction effect between low self-control and the severity of punishment shows that a more severe punishment leads to more deterrence when self-control is lower (respectively that with more sever punishments, the impact of self-control decreases). Although the results support the theoretical assumptions only partially, we can show that internalized norms significantly influence the perception of criminal behavior while the benefits of such behavior and self-control seem to operate in a downstream deliberation process.

The compensatory effects of inner and outer controls

Internal and external controls have been firmly established as factors restraining criminal activity, but surprisingly little is known about their concrete interplay. Inspired by recent theoretical developments, such as Situational Action Theory or the life-course model of interdependence, this work addresses the question whether the crime-reducing impact of outer controls is conditioned by the level of inner controls. Analyses of a student survey from Slovenia reveal that external regulatory mechanisms exercise a greater effect when internal restraints decrease in size. This finding points to a compensatory relationship between controls located in different domains. Inner and outer controls may substitute for one another to a certain extent.