ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: criminology
Description
The link between childhood neuropsychological deficits and early-onset offending--the assumed precursor to life-course persistent offending--has been well established, yet the underlying mechanisms facilitating this relationship are less understood. Support is growing for the claim that self-control is a key mechanism that links neuropsychological deficits to early-onset offending. Despite this, findings are mixed with regard to the mediating effect of self-control in the relationship between neuropsychological deficits and antisocial behavior. These studies largely support the notion that self-control exerts a mediating effect on neuropsychological deficits when the offending being studied is less serious. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), the present study seeks to build upon the existing literature by examining whether self-control mediates the relationship between neuropsychological deficits and two types of early-onset offending--low and high risk--as a means of testing core tenets of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) and Moffitt's (1993) criminological theories. Findings show that while self-control and neuropsychological deficits independently predict general early-onset offending, these effects vary as a consequence of early-onset offender type. The results point to the need for future research to explore the possibility that the early-onset offender group that leads to persistent offending could be more precisely defined. Examining early-onset offending as a single construct limits our ability to make inferences about those offenders that are the most persistent in their offending patterns and, arguably, more likely to continue offending over the life-course.
ContributorsInfante, Arynn (Author) / Burt, Callie H (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Young, Jacob Tn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Since Gottfredson and Hirschi proposed the general theory of crime, the direct link between self-control and delinquency has gained strong empirical support, and low self-control is now considered as a significant predictor of individual delinquent behaviors. However, the indirect link between self-control and delinquency still remains understudied. This study fills this void by introducing thoughtfully reflective decision making (TRDM), an important factor intimated by rational choice theory, as the mediator of the relationship between low self-control and delinquency. Using self-reported data from the city of Changzhi, China, this study finds that self-control is closely related to TRDM, low self-control is a significant predictor of general and non-violent delinquency, and TRDM does not mediate the effect of low self-control on delinquency. Findings from this study largely support the generalizability of self-control theory under the Chinese cultural environment, and also suggest that it might be fruitful to test other criminological theories in the Chinese context. The study's findings and their implications for theory and research are discussed.
ContributorsZhang, Wenrui (Author) / Wang, Xia (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The literature on hopelessness suggests youth living amid impoverished conditions, social disorganization, and limited resources are more likely to experience increased feelings of hopelessness. Similarly, many of the aforementioned aspects are considered, in some capacity, in the research on gangs. Though a considerable amount of gang literature alludes to the fact that loss of hope may be present, it neither directly addresses it nor references it. This study attempts to converge the present literature on hopelessness among minority youth to minority youth in street gangs. This is done using data obtained from an earlier evaluation of the Mesa Gang Intervention Project, using self-report data from 197 youth, asking questions about socio-demographic information, gang activity, education, employment, crime and delinquency, family and individual crisis, and self-reported detention. Findings implicate a connection exists between gang membership and increased levels of hopelessness. Moreover, results suggest education and self-esteem help to reduce loss of hopelessness.
ContributorsRedner-Vera, Erica N (Author) / Katz, Charles M. (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Interpersonal racial discrimination is positively associated with poor mental health outcomes in a number of marginalized groups across the United States (Brondolo, et al., 2008). This paper examines how racial discrimination affects the self-esteem, self-worth, and racial pride of Latinas using interview data from a purposive sample of students. The objectives of this study are: (a) to better understand the effects of racial microaggressions on young Latinas’ construction of self, (b) to explicate how these self-perceptions influence deviant behavior and maladaptive thought processes, drawing on strain and discrimination literatures, and (c) to examine the protective mechanisms Latinas employ with friends and family as a response to racial discrimination. Findings indicated that respondents experienced racial discrimination through a variety of channels, from negative stereotypes to feeling a distinct prejudice in academic settings. Participants utilized numerous coping mechanisms to deal with such encounters, most of which emphasized the importance of drawing strength from Hispanic values, culture, and language during times of adversity.
ContributorsBarstow, Callie Elizabeth (Author) / Burt, Callie (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Wang, Xia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Child development scholars have demonstrated a host of negative outcomes of child physical abuse, including emotional problems, delinquency, and future victimization. However, it is unclear if child physical abuse during childhood is related to subsequent violent victimization during youth and young adulthood. Building on routine activity theory and prior research, and using data collected from 2,245 individuals in Changzhi, China, this study examines if the experience of child physical abuse is positively related to violent victimization in youth and young adulthood, and if the relationship between child physical abuse and violent victimization is mediated by an individual’s routine activities. The results from negative binomial regressions support routine activity theory. The implications of the findings for theory, research and practice are discussed.
ContributorsKhade, Natasha Betty (Author) / Wang, Xia (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Fox, Kathleen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the choice of weapon in homicide. The study focuses on three research questions using data from Newark, New Jersey: what is the most commonly associated weapon with each motive? What factors influence the use of a particular type of weapon in a homicide? How does the method of weapon retrieval, or lack thereof, affect the choice of weapon? The cross-tabulation findings revealed that domestically-motivated homicides are most likely to be committed with knives and blunt objects; and drug-, gang-, dispute-, revenge, and robbery-motivated homicides were most likely to be committed using a firearm. The logistic regression demonstrated the method of weapon retrieval, the mode of how the homicide was carried out, the offender’s gender, and the victim and/or offender being a drug dealer or a gang member were all significant in terms of how they affected the offender’s use of a firearm to carry out the homicide. For knives and blunt objects, the method of weapon retrieval, the mode of how the homicide was carried out, the offender’s gender, and the victim and/or offender being a drug dealer or a gang member were all significant in terms of how they affected the offender’s use of a knife or blunt object to carry out the homicide. The results support the need for focused deterrence and conflict resolution interventions.
ContributorsPelletier, Karissa R. (Author) / Pizarro, Jesenia M. (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
There is little doubt that policing is a stressful occupation. Officers must manage a variety of situations, under oftentimes less-than-ideal circumstances. While departments may provide Employee Assistance Programs or a Departmental Psychologist, there is often little support for officers to utilize these services. Certainly, the culture surrounding policing has often acted as an additional barrier for officers to seek out mental healthcare services. What is more, there is a dearth of research examining the experiences of Hispanic/Latinx police officers, as compared to their White or Black counterparts. The current project was conducted in collaboration with the Las Cruces Police Department as part of a larger series of projects. These data include self-report surveys completed by 109 officers of all ranks from within the police department in 2019. I utilized a modified version of Spielberger and colleagues (1981) Police Stress Survey, Cohen’s (1994) Perceived Stress Scale, and Reisig and Mesko’s (2009) procedural justice scale, in addition to questions regarding their personal methods of coping, knowledge of services, and willingness to access services. I examined three research questions. First, what do officers in this department identify as stressful? Second, how are the officers in this department currently coping with stress, including through both prosocial and maladaptive ways? Finally, what barriers do these officers identify to accessing mental healthcare services?
Using a series of regression models, I found that officers generally ranked organizational sources of stress, such as political pressure within the department or inadequate salaries as more stressful than occupational sources of stress, such as writing traffic tickets or going to court. Additionally, while officers generally coped with stress in prosocial ways such as physical fitness or family activities, they did not access departmentally provided services. Importantly, however, these officers indicated a willingness to access specific types of services, such as educational classes or check-ups. Finally, officers predominately identified resource-related barriers, such as knowledge about services, to accessing mental healthcare services. These findings suggest that the culture within policing may be shifting to one that is less stigmatizing towards mental health services and welcome increased knowledge disbursement about such services.
ContributorsPadilla, Kathleen E (Author) / Spohn, Cassia (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Terrill, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Criminological theories have long incorporated personality traits as key explanatory factors and have generally relied on assumptions of trait stability. However, growing evidence from a variety of fields including criminology, psychology, and neurobiology is demonstrating that personality traits are malleable over the life-course, and substantial individual variation exists in the developmental patterns of personality traits over time. This research is forcing criminologists to consider how and why “enduring” individual characteristics may change over the life course in ways that are meaningfully related to offending. Two traits that have been consistently linked to offending and conflated in key criminological theories (i.e. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory), impulsivity and sensation seeking, have recently been shown to be independent personality traits with different normative maturational timetables and biological underpinnings. This dissertation extends this work by examining developmental patterns of impulsivity and sensation seeking and social sources of variation in these traits with the Family and Community Health Survey, a longitudinal data set that consists of approximately 900 African American youth and their families followed from late childhood to their late-twenties. Multiple longitudinal modeling methods are employed (hierarchical linear modeling and group-based trajectory modeling) to address this research agenda. Results from this dissertation lead to four broad conclusions. First, and in support of existing research, there is substantial variability in developmental trajectories of impulsivity and sensation seeking. Average developmental trajectories of these traits greatly mask the degree of individual variability in developmental patterns that exists. Second, social factors are significantly associated with levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking. Socio-environmental experiences characterized by hostility and unsupportiveness are generally associated with elevated levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking while socio-environmental experiences characterized by warmth and supportiveness are associated with lower levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking. Third, sex differences in developmental patterns of impulsivity are nonexistent while sex differences in developmental patterns of sensation seeking are significant. Finally, with few exceptions, predictors of trait levels operate in a general fashion such the same factors typically explain both male and female trait levels and produce similar effects on impulsivity and sensation seeking.
ContributorsHannula, Kara Valentina (Author) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The presence of police officers is not an assurance of safety for everyone. Yet,
modern concerns for school safety suggest there is a need for more police officers in
schools. Over the last 70 years of School Resource Officer (SRO) programs, the variations
of SRO program implementation and the expectation of roles and responsibilities has
produced conflicting research on benefits or harms of police in the school environment.
The purpose of police in schools has shuffled from relationship-building ambassadors for
the community, to educators on crime prevention and drug use, to law enforcement
officers for punitive juvenile sanctions, to counselors and role models for legal
socialization, and other roles for emergency management and crisis response. Plans to
place more officers in schools for purposes of “school safety” requires an examination of
the SROs’ roles within the school, their interactions with students, and how these roles
and interactions contribute to safety. This study explores the roles of SROs to
understand the variations of roles within a program and understand factors influencing
the roles of SROs (e.g., school climate, initiation by others). To evaluate these roles and
potential influences, cluster analysis and multinomial regression models were developed
from one year of SRO-student interaction data (n=12, 466) collected daily from the
Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department SRO Division located in South Carolina.
These interactions were defined by the framework of counseling, educating, and law
enforcing roles. Results indicate the variations of roles performed are largely influenced
by the school type (e.g., elementary), SRO perceptions (e.g., counselor), and the
engagement of SROs by school officials for specific roles.
modern concerns for school safety suggest there is a need for more police officers in
schools. Over the last 70 years of School Resource Officer (SRO) programs, the variations
of SRO program implementation and the expectation of roles and responsibilities has
produced conflicting research on benefits or harms of police in the school environment.
The purpose of police in schools has shuffled from relationship-building ambassadors for
the community, to educators on crime prevention and drug use, to law enforcement
officers for punitive juvenile sanctions, to counselors and role models for legal
socialization, and other roles for emergency management and crisis response. Plans to
place more officers in schools for purposes of “school safety” requires an examination of
the SROs’ roles within the school, their interactions with students, and how these roles
and interactions contribute to safety. This study explores the roles of SROs to
understand the variations of roles within a program and understand factors influencing
the roles of SROs (e.g., school climate, initiation by others). To evaluate these roles and
potential influences, cluster analysis and multinomial regression models were developed
from one year of SRO-student interaction data (n=12, 466) collected daily from the
Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department SRO Division located in South Carolina.
These interactions were defined by the framework of counseling, educating, and law
enforcing roles. Results indicate the variations of roles performed are largely influenced
by the school type (e.g., elementary), SRO perceptions (e.g., counselor), and the
engagement of SROs by school officials for specific roles.
ContributorsHerbert, Jessica L. (Author) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Scott, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The presence of restorative justice (RJ) in the United States has grown steadily within the last five decades. The dynamics of RJ programs are meant to more holistically address the harms caused by crime in comparison to the traditional criminal justice system (CJS). Yet, evaluative research has provided inconsistent evidence of their effectiveness and the quality of empirical study has gone untested. The current study sought to fill the gaps within past research by examining how success has been measured, assessing the rigor of study methodology using the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale (SMS), and determining the impact of RJ programs on recidivism, victim satisfaction and restitution compliance using meta-analysis. A systematic search of past literature identified a sample of 121 studies whose dependent measures were coded, and methodological designs were rated using the SMS. Most studies failed to include community-based measures of success or measures which reflect the goals of RJ to undue harms and restore relationships. SMS scores were well distributed within the sample. Despite restricted sample sizes, meta-analyses used extracted data from 35 case-control, quasi-experimental and experimental studies to generate 43 unique treatment contrasts and 3 summary effects. Meta-analytic findings favored RJ treatment over CJS control groups across all dependent measures. Heterogeneity between subsequent arrest studies was scrutinized using subgroup analysis. The fewest subsequent arrests were associated with adult offenders, mandated participation, mediation and hybrid programs, and the most rigorous methodologies. Findings support continued efforts to improve the methodological rigor of evaluations, targeted focus on specific program types and delivery characteristics. Future meta-analyses would benefit from the inclusion of non-American RJ program evaluations to enlarge pooled sample populations and better detect moderating influences. Other suggestions for research design improvements include the use of more holistic and stakeholder-centric measures for success, use of continuous measures, and refined indicator variables for heterogeneity testing (e.g., crime type severity, characteristics of program fidelity). The author recommends continued use of these programs, specifically with adult offenders and incidents of serious crime toward a better understanding of the true impacts of RJ on stakeholders. More detailed results, study limitations and implications are discussed herein.
ContributorsErnest, Kyle (Author) / Fox, Kate (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Stolzenberg, Stacia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019