Social Control Theory Research Articles

The push and pull of radicalization and extremist disengagement: The application of criminological theory to Indonesian and Australian cases of radicalization

Research shows there is variability in factors that cause a person to radicalize to violent extremism. The use of the push/pull distinction has been one way in which scholars have aimed to provide clarity to the process of radicalization and extremist disengagement. However, it remains a conceptually underdeveloped distinction. In this paper, we draw on aspects of criminological theory to better understand the push and pull distinction. The paper draws on research comprising interviews with three Indonesians and two Australian individuals who have radicalized to violent extremism that is aligned with jihadist ideologies. Based on this primary data, case descriptions and narratives are provided on each individual examining pathways into and away from violent extremism. We draw on aspects of strain theory, social control, differential association, and desistance theory to understand common patterns across each case and to highlight the relative influence of various push and pull factors. Implications for theory and policy are highlighted. We also acknowledge limitations in our approach.

Access to user data stored by organizations—divides surrounding information security professionals in Chinese IT organizations

With the rapid development of computer-based information systems in China, securing organizational systems as information assets is central to achieving a strategic advantage. Because information security (IS) experts with database access are the weakest link in the IS chain, scholarly contributions are needed in this important area. The interpretations of widespread data breaches committed by organizations’ information security experts have significant grounding. Drawing on social control theory, we propose a research framework to examine formal control, informal control, and self-control systems that can affect IS professionals’ perceptions and IS behaviors in Chinese IT organizations. We use in-depth interviews with IS professionals in Wuhan, Beijing, and Shenzhen to answer research questions relating to the research framework. The study’s primary contribution is to go beyond the extant IS research, which concentrates on sanction-based deterrence, and identify multiple dimensions rooted in social control perspectives. Based on interviews with practitioners and researchers, this study further advances our understanding of IS control deviance using information management and communication-related approaches.

EXECUTION OF SENSITIZATION PROGRAMMES OF ADVENTIST RELIEF AGENCY ON FEMALE CIRCUMCISION IN NYAMIRA CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS IN NYAMIRA COUNTY, KENYA

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which sensitization programmes of Adventist Relief Agency on female circumcision have been executed in Nyamira Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists in Nyamira County, Kenya. This study adopted a theoretical framework based on social change, social control theories. This study adopted mixed methods approach which includes both quantitative and qualitative methods which encompassed concurrent triangulation. Concurrent triangulation enabled the researcher to adopt descriptive survey research design. The target population in this study was 7 Conference management staff, 3 ADRA programme implementation officers, 60 church pastors and 700 church lay leaders. The sample size consisted of 18 church pastors and 210 lay leaders which was 30% of the target population whereas all the 7 Nyamira Conference management staff members and the 3 ADRA programme implementation officials were purposively included in the study. The study used questionnaires and oral interviews to collect data from the respondents. A pilot study was conducted for reliability and validity of the research instruments. The instruments were piloted in the churches within Nyamira Conference whose pastors and lay leaders did not participate in the study utilizing simple random sampling to select respondents. To ensure reliability of the findings, the data was subjected to cronbanch alpha index. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7878 was obtained and this implied that the research instruments were reliable and therefore the researcher adopted the research instruments. It was established that there were sensitization programmes on female circumcision in Nyamira County. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that there is need to support the sensitization programmes of Adventist Relief Agency on female circumcision in Nyamira Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists in Nyamira County. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that the Nyamira Conference management of the Seventh Day Adventist church should strive to encourage and support the sensitization programmes by the Adventist Relief Agency on female circumcision in the area of jurisdiction. 
 
 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0778/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Mapping the Psychosocialcultural Aspects of Healthcare Professionals' Information Security Practices: Systematic Mapping Study.

BackgroundData breaches in health care are on the rise, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to mitigation efforts.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive framework for modeling and analyzing health care professionals’ information security practices related to their individual characteristics, such as their psychological, social, and cultural traits.MethodsThe study area was a hospital setting under an ongoing project called the Healthcare Security Practice Analysis, Modeling, and Incentivization (HSPAMI) project. A literature review was conducted for relevant theories and information security practices. The theories and security practices were used to develop an ontology and a comprehensive framework consisting of psychological, social, cultural, and demographic variables.ResultsIn the review, a number of psychological, social, and cultural theories were identified, including the health belief model, protection motivation theory, theory of planned behavior, and social control theory, in addition to some social demographic variables, to form a comprehensive set of health care professionals’ characteristics. Furthermore, an ontology was developed from these theories to systematically organize the concepts. The framework, called the psychosociocultural (PSC) framework, was then developed from the various combined psychological and sociocultural attributes of the ontology. The Human Aspect of Information Security Questionnaire was adopted as a comprehensive tool for gathering staff security practices as mediating variables in the framework.ConclusionsData breaches occur often in health care today. This frequency has been attributed to the lack of experience of health care professionals in information security, the lack of development of conscious care security practices, and the lack of motivation to incentivize health care professionals. The frequent data breaches in health care threaten the mutual trust between health care professionals and patients, which implicitly impacts the quality of the health care service. The modeling and analysis of health care professionals’ security practices can be conducted with the PSC framework by combining methods of statistical survey, observations, and interviews in relation to PSC variables, such as perceptions (perceived benefits, perceived threats, and perceived barriers) or psychological traits, social factors, cultural factors, and social demographics.

Contributions of Three Criminological Theories to Explore Violent Delinquency of Urban Adolescents in Chicago’s Southside

AbstractThis study aims to compare the applicability of the Social Disorganization Theory, General Strain Theory, and Social Control Theory in the exploration of violent delinquency in Chicago’s Southside. The study participants included 546 adolescents in Chicago. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. Supporting the Social Disorganization Theory, affiliation with delinquent peers mediated the association between poor neighborhood conditions and delinquency. Supporting the General Strain Theory, emotional distress mediated the relationship between peer victimization and delinquency. Inconsistent with the Social Control Theory, however, religiosity did not buffer the relationship between feeling disconnected from parents and delinquency.

WITHDRAWN: The Distributed Hybrid Mathematical Model to analyze the theory of law and social control—A systematic case study approach

The concept of social control and criminal law has undergone various conceptual changes throughout the history of sociology and had a wide range of consequences for sociological theory and research. Social control is primarily designed in the context of regulation based on deviance and crime. The law enforcement and other legal frameworks include contemporary social science, connected criminology, and criminal justice domains. This paper addresses and examines the sample cases using the Distributed Hybrid Mathematical Model (DHMM) for the current scenario and charts providing new directions in the theory of law and social control. The focus will be on conceptual aspects, and their respective theoretical framework of various sociological control notions point out their relevance for social research. The experimental studies show that the research idea achieves higher accuracy (96.2%), stability (94.3%), and effectiveness in implementation with a minimum error rate (0.9%).

Neighbourhood places, collective efficacy and crime: A longitudinal perspective

Neighbourhood places like shops, cafes and parks support a variety of social interactions ranging from the ephemeral to the intimate. Repeated interactions at neighbourhood places over time lay the foundation for the development of social cohesion and collective efficacy. In this study, we examine the proposition that changes in the presence or arrangement of neighbourhood places can destabilise social cohesion and collective efficacy, which has implications for crime. Using spatially integrated crime, social survey and parcel-level land-use classification data, we estimate mixed effects panel models predicting changes in theft and nuisance crimes across 147 Australian neighbourhoods. The findings are consistent with neighbourhood social control and crime opportunity theories. Neighbourhood development – indicated by fewer vacant properties and fewer industrial and agricultural sites – is associated with higher collective efficacy and less crime over time. Conversely, introducing more restaurants, transit stations and cinemas is associated with higher theft and nuisance over time regardless of neighbourhood collective efficacy. We argue that the addition of socially conducive places can leave neighbourhoods vulnerable to crime until new patterns of sociability emerge and collective efficacy develops.

Peer effects of friend and extracurricular activity networks on students’ academic performance

Relationships with peers are critical for many aspects of adolescent development, including academic outcomes. Incorporating social control, social learning, and social capital theories, we investigated connections between two types of peer networks, close friends and extracurricular activity (ECA) members, and students’ own academic performance. Social learning and bonding social capital perspectives posit that close friends should have a symmetrical effect, either beneficial or harmful, because they exert strong influences on adolescents. By contrast, social control and bridging/linking social capital perspectives suggest that ECA member influences should be asymmetrical as they amplify benefits from higher-performing ECA peers and minimize harmful influences from lower-performing ones. We used Add Health data to test our hypotheses. We found that the average friend GPA was positively associated (in the same direction) with student GPA, while ECA member GPAs were, as hypothesized, asymmetrically linked to student GPA. We discussed implications for educators and future research.

Silence and proactivity in managing supervisor ostracism: implications for creativity

PurposeAnchored in a social control theory framework, this study aims to investigate the mediating effect of defensive silence in the relationship between employees' perception of supervisor ostracism and their creative performance, as well as the buffering role of proactivity in this process.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested using three-wave survey data collected from employees in North American organizations.FindingsThe authors found that an important reason for supervisor ostracism adversely affecting employee creativity is their observance of defensive silence. This mechanism, in turn, is less prominent among employees who show agency and change-oriented behavior (i.e. proactivity).Practical implicationsFor practitioners, this study identifies defensive silence as a key mechanism through which supervisor ostracism hinders employee creativity. Further, this process is less likely to escalate when their proactivity makes them less vulnerable to experience such social exclusion.Originality/valueThis study establishes a more complete understanding of the connection between supervisor ostracism and employee creativity, with particular attention to mediating mechanism of defensive silence and the moderating role of proactivity in this relationship.

Parent-Adolescent Communication, School Engagement, and Internet Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Rejection Sensitivity.

Although a large body of research has indicated that parent-adolescent communication is a crucial protective factor for adolescent Internet addiction, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. To address this research gap, this study, based on social control theory and the organism-environment interaction model, was designed to test whether school engagement mediated the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and adolescent Internet addiction and whether this mediating effect was moderated by rejection sensitivity. A sample of 1006 adolescents (Meanage = 13.16 years, SD = 0.67) anonymously completed the questionnaires. The results showed that the positive association between parent-adolescent communication and adolescent Internet addiction was mediated by school engagement. Moreover, this indirect link was stronger among adolescents with high rejection sensitivity than those with low rejection sensitivity. These findings highlighted school engagement as a potential mechanism linking parent-adolescent communication to adolescent Internet addiction, with high rejection sensitivity being an important risk factor amplifying this indirect effect. Intervention programs aimed at reducing Internet addiction among adolescents might benefit from the current research.

Risky Sexual Behavior of Young Adults in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study of Psychosocial Risk Factors.

There is limited knowledge of the prevalence and nature of risky sexual behavior (RSB) among young adults in Hong Kong. This cross-sectional study explored the psychosocial risk factors of RSB with a sample of 1,171 Hong Kong university students (aged 18–40 years). Grounded in the theoretical propositions of several criminological theories (i.e., the theories of self-control, general strain, social learning, social control, and routine activity), engagement in three types of RSB (i.e., general, penetrative, and non-penetrative) was studied alongside a range of psychosocial risk factors. Relative to female participants, male participants reported significantly higher mean levels of general, penetrative, and non-penetrative RSB. Male participants also reported significantly higher mean levels of negative temperament, use of alcohol and other drugs, and paraphilic interests than female participants, who reported significantly higher mean levels of self-control and social bonds than their male counterparts. The results of multivariate analyses (i.e., OLS regressions) revealed that, to a large extent, the male and female participants shared a similar set of psychosocial risk factors (i.e., use of alcohol and other drugs, and paraphilic interest) for their involvement in general, penetrative, and non-penetrative RSB. Furthermore, a high level of negative temperament was significantly associated with penetrative RSB for both genders, while a high level of perceived neighborhood disorganization was found to be an important factor in the participation of females in general, penetrative, and non-penetrative RSB. The findings of this study may have important implications for practice in regard to reducing, if not entirely preventing, the tendency to engage in RSB.

Predictive Associations Between Adolescent Profiles of Violent and Nonviolent Deviant Behavior With Convictions in Adulthood.

This study examines how multivariate trajectory patterns of overt and relational peer and dating violence perpetration, alcohol use, and nonviolent deviant behavior during high school predict convictions in adulthood. Adolescent data are from an accelerated cohort design study that spanned four waves in 2003-2005. In 2019, conviction records were obtained for a random subsample of 1,579 individuals from the original study. We identified latent classes that were jointly characterized by distinct behavioral trajectories and adult conviction status, and described the demographic and psychosocial profiles of each class. The best-fitting model comprised four trajectory classes: Low Deviance (44%), Moderate Stable Deviance (40%), Increasing Deviance (8%), and Dating Violence Perpetrators (8%). Adolescents whose deviance increased during adolescence had substantially higher risk of convictions, including violent convictions, than all other groups. Classes were differentiated by gender, household structure, parental education, school bonding, grades, emotional dysregulation, sensation-seeking, family conflict, and prosocial values. The Increasing Deviance class was predominantly male, had an elevated probability of coming from a single-parent household and of having parents with low education, but values on psychosocial indicators were not extreme. Dating Violence Perpetrators were also more likely to come from a single-parent household, but their parents tended to have more education. This group was the most extreme on several psychosocial indicators that indicate low school and family bonds, and poor emotional regulation. The implications of these patterns in relation to interactional and strain theories, theories of cognitive maturation, and theories of social bonds and social control are discussed.

Paraphilic Interests: The Role of Psychosocial Factors in a Sample of Young Adults in Hong Kong

BackgroundLittle is known about the prevalence and nature of paraphilic interests in the Hong Kong young adult population. This study explores the psychosocial factors associated with paraphilic interests.MethodsTesting the propositions of several criminological theories (i.e., the theories of self-control, general strain, social learning, social control, and routine activity), the study recruited 1171 participants (18–40 years old), from September 2018 through April 2020, to examine both general and 14 subtypes of paraphilic interest (i.e., voyeurism, exhibitionism, scatologia, fetishism, transvestic fetishism, frotteurism, sadism, masochism, biastophilia, urophilia, scatophilia, hebephilia, pedophilia, and zoophilia).ResultsThe findings indicate that males reported significantly higher levels of general and 12 subtypes of paraphilic interest than females, while females had a higher level of transvestic fetishism than males. No mean difference is found between males and females in interest in masochism. Relative to females, males reported significantly higher levels of negative temperament, alcohol and drug use, and risky sexual behavior, whereas females had higher levels of self-control, social bonds, and perceived neighborhood disorganization than males. Multivariate analyses indicate that in general, high levels of negative temperament, alcohol and drug use, risky sexual behavior, and perceived neighborhood disorganization and low levels of self-control and social bonds were important factors associated with the participants’ likelihood of having general and 14 subtypes of paraphilic interest.ConclusionsThese findings provide support to the significant role of psychosocial factors in understanding different paraphilic interests in the Hong Kong young adult population.Policy ImplicationsThis study has implications for practice, in the form of reducing, if not eliminating, the tendency to develop an interest in paraphilic behaviors. This may be more important when referring to paraphilic behaviors that are criminally oriented.

Vain or able? Strong inference and the efficacy debate

Purpose This study aims to address the efficacy debate by exploring the nature of how prior team level performance affects future performance. That is, the purpose of this study is to understand whether or not the boost of efficacy associated with success leads to overconfidence that harms performance or to motivation that enhances performance. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative approach to test competing hypotheses derived from both social cognitive theory and control theory. Specifically, the study made use of archival National Football League data, containing 5,120 longitudinal team level observations. This paper uses multi-level modeling to analyze how prior team level performance affected future performance episodes. Findings The findings of this study suggest that prior success leads to overconfidence which ultimately harms future team performance. Therefore, the findings support control theory in favor of the social cognitive theory. However, this study finds that the detrimental effects of overconfidence could be offset by monitoring and work breaks. Research limitations/implications Due to the nature of the archival data source, it was not possible to directly measure efficacy. Thus, efficacy is inferred based on past performance outcomes. Practical implications This study suggests that it is important for managers and team leaders to pay careful attention to their team after successful performances. Specifically, team leaders may want to monitor their members or give them a break after successful performance episodes to avoid the negative effects of overconfidence. Originality/value This paper provides a direct test of the efficacy debate at the team level.

Exposure to mother's verbal conflict with her intimate partner and aggressive behavior of urban adolescents: An empirical test of three criminological theories.

The current study applied the General Strain Theory (GST), Social Disorganization Theory (SDT), and Social Control Theory (SCT) to examine the association between exposure to verbal conflict between a mother and her intimate partner, and aggressive behavior of urban adolescents. The sample included 518 urban adolescents (96% Black), aged 14 to 17 years. Descriptive statistics, structural equation modeling (SEM), and moderation analyses were conducted. Consistent with GST, exposure to verbal conflict between the mother and her intimate partner was indirectly associated with aggression, as mediated by emotional distress. Also, consistent with SDT, neighborhood violence was positively associated with aggression. Neighborhood violence was associated with exposure to verbal conflict between their mother and her intimate partner, which was related to aggressive behavior in urban adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Disability's Fourth Amendment

The Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence is under-theorized in terms of issues relating to disability. Across the lower courts, although disability features prominently in excessive force cases, typically involving individuals with psychiatric disabilities, it features less prominently in other areas of Fourth Amendment doctrine. Similarly, scholars have yet to address substantively how the vast scope of police discretion the Fourth Amendment affords renders individuals with disabilities vulnerable to policing and police violence. Although there has been robust engagement with theories of criminalization and social control in critiques of Fourth Amendment doctrine that address race and racism, thus far, only limited engagement with disability and its intersections with other current and historically marginalized subordinated identities has occurred. This article centers disability as a lens for analysis in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. In the article, I discuss the ways in which disability mediates interactions with law enforcement and how Fourth Amendment doctrine renders disabled people vulnerable to police intrusions and police violence. More specifically, the focus of my critique is on the Terry doctrine, consensual encounters, consent searches, and the objective reasonableness standard under Graham. Applying a disability and critical race lens to each these doctrines, taken together, demonstrates how Fourth Amendment doctrine both fails to adequately protect the constitutional rights of disabled people and reinforces a “normative bodymind” by rendering vulnerable to police surveillance, suspicion, searches, and force those persons whose physical and psychological conditions, abilities, appearances, behaviors, and responses do not conform to the dominant norm. By focusing in on how Fourth Amendment doctrine both erases disability and fails to adequately protect disabled people’s privacy and security interests, I suggest how the doctrine itself renders disabled people more vulnerable to policing and police violence.

The Life Course of Methamphetamine Users in Aotearoa/New Zealand: The Role of Romantic Relationships and Parenting

This paper seeks to improve understanding of how romantic relationships and parenting influence illegal drug using trajectories, and, conversely, how illegal drug use impacts on romantic relationships and parenting. This analysis is part of the first life course-based qualitative study of former methamphetamine users in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Laub and Sampson’s “age-graded theory of informal social control” is applied to data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 35 former methamphetamine users. Analysis shows that support for the theory is relatively weak in regards to relationships (especially females), yet strong for parenting. Compared to romantic relationships, parenting is less likely to increase illegal drug use and much more likely to decrease illegal drug use. Methamphetamine exerted the most negative influence on romantic relationships and parenting. Additionally, female interviewees encountered much greater adversity in their relationships and parenting. Overall, the male partner was more likely to influence increased drug use among the female partner, whereas the female partner was more likely to influence decreased drug use among the male partner.

The Phenomenon of Underage Motorbike Riders in Junior High School Students: A Critical Review of Juvenile Delinquency

Motorbike use by students who are under the age of 17 years is an act of infringement. It is stated in Article 281 of Law Number 22 Year 2009 regarding Traffic and Road Transportation. Traffic violations is often done by junior high school students. User behavior motorbikes under the age is a form known as juvenile delinquency. In this study, researcher took samples at two schools namely SMPN 1 Bambanglipuro and SMPN 2 Sanden, Bantul, because researcher saw a lot of students who ride the motorbike to go to school. To examine this phenomenon, researchers used quantitative research methods by taking 394 students as respondents. Associated with the phenomenon of motorbike users under age, this paper focuses on a form of parenting from their parents and motorbike users under age as the dependent variable and independent variables. In this study, the researcher used chi square test to look at the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. This paper uses the concept of social control theory of Travis Hirschi (2007) to understand how such behavior could occur. Indeed the respondents knew what they were doing was a violation, but because of the environment that tends to allow these actions to make them feel safe. As the results obtained in this study, the high number of motorbike users in this study, due to several reasons, namely, less strict parents of children, lack of maintenance performed by local traffic police, and the lack of public attention to such behavior.

Approaching the end of post - soviet transition? Trends of youth crime in Klaipėda in 2005-2019

The article presents a sociological and criminological analysis of data on registered youth criminal offences (young people of 14-29 years old) in Klaipėda. The analysed period covers the years from 2005 to 2019 (late post-Soviet period). It includes youth crime offences and persons suspected of committing a crime. The period is characterised by a constant downward trend in crime. There were no substantial changes in criminal law during this period, however, Lithuania significantly strengthened the legal and material background for work with juveniles and young adults. On the basis of the insights of the theories of anomie, social control and ecological criminology, the article analyses the key indicators of youth crime and its dynamics. The changes by age and employment of persons who have allegedly committed criminal offences are analysed.

Flood disaster and national security: A criminologist`s exploration of Lagos metropolis, Nigeria

The global disaster trends are worrisome to all stakeholders. The ugly consequences of flood disasters include loss of lives and property, disruption of economic activities, creating insecurity like theft, robbery, and many more. The consequence also puts pressure on the government to spend limited resources on rehabilitation and compensation of flood victims. Hence, this paper addresses flood-disaster preparedness and flood control in Nigeria through the criminological exploration of Lagos metropolis. The study applied exploratory and descriptive methods and relied on data generated through content analysis of books, journals, and online materials. This paper adopted the social control theory by Hirsch and broken window theory by George Kelly. The finding showed that people lack preparedness for the disaster events; they break urban master plans and structures to obstruct to flood. The anti-social attitude like indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes into drainages and carnal and weak enforcement of environmental laws. Also, undue cutting down of trees, lack of environmental policy and lack of political will to implement the existing ones, poor attitude to social and environmental policies are among the factors that are responsible for poor preparedness for flood disaster in Lagos Metropolis. The paper recommends effective public enlightenment, public advocacy on environmental safety and health security, rigorous enforcement of environmental laws, and an urban renewal scheme. This paper will benefit the ministries of environment and physical planning, the state, and the federal emergency agencies, non-governmental agencies, and researchers in the security and emergency studies.