ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERSITY AND URBAN VIOLENCE

179 Pages·2014·3.3 MB·English

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERSITY AND URBAN VIOLENCE:
A NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

by

Richard Stansfield

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

Spring 2014

Copyright 2014 Richard Stansfield
All Rights Reserved

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UMI Number: 3631218
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ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERSITY AND URBAN VIOLENCE:
A NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

by

Richard Stansfield

Approved:
Kirk R. Williams, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice

Approved:
George H. Watson, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Approved:
James G. Richards, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education

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I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the
academic and professional standard required by the University as a
dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Signed:
Kirk R. Williams, Ph.D.
Professor in charge of dissertation

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the
academic and professional standard required by the University as a
dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Signed:
Karen F. Parker, Ph.D.
Professor in charge of dissertation

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the
academic and professional standard required by the University as a
dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Signed:
Aaron Kupchik, Ph.D.
Member of dissertation committee

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the
academic and professional standard required by the University as a
dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Signed:
Patricia L. McCall, Ph.D.
Member of dissertation committee

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... viii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ix

Chapter

1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1
1.1 Life Course Criminology ........................................................................2
1.1.1 Drawbacks to Life Course Criminology .......................................7
1.1.2 Toward a Macro Level Approach .................................................9
1.2 Normative Development .......................................................................11
1.2.1 Stages of Development .............................................................12
1.3 Summary of Position and Questions to be Addressed ..........................17
1.4 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................18
2 THE DISADVANTAGE-VIOLENCE RELATIONSHIP OVER THE
LIFECOURSE .................................................................................................21
2.1 The Age-Crime Relationship ................................................................21
2.2 Normative Development, Environmental Adversity and Crime ...........24
2.3 Criticial Contexts for Normative Development .....................................27
2.4 Strategy and Summary of Hypotheses ..................................................30
2.5 Data and Methods ..................................................................................31

2.5.1 Data ...........................................................................................31
2.5.2 Variables ...................................................................................34
2.5.3 Multicollinearity .......................................................................39

2.6 Results ....................................................................................................40
2.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................48

3 INTEGRATING THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC CONTEXT OF
NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................53
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3.1 Background ............................................................................................53
3.2 Change in Environmental Adversity ......................................................56
3.3 Incorporating Race .................................................................................59
3.4 Racial Invariance ...................................................................................62
3.5 Strategy and Summary of Hypotheses ...................................................64
3.6 Data and Methods ...................................................................................65

3.6.1 Analytic Methods .....................................................................69
3.6.2 Variables ..................................................................................69

3.7 Results ....................................................................................................72

3.7.1 Multivariate Analyses ..............................................................75
3.7.2 Equality of Coefficients ...........................................................80

3.8 Conclusions ...........................................................................................83

4 REVISITING RACIAL / ETHNIC COMPOSITION EFFECTS IN A
MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY ......................................................................87
4.1 Background ............................................................................................88
4.2 Racial and Ethnic Composition .............................................................90
4.3 Pan-Ethnic Classiifcation, Immigration and Crime ...............................94
4.4 Contemporary Migration .......................................................................96
4.5 Youth Violence in a Multicultural Society ............................................97
4.6 Sample and research Setting ..................................................................99

4.6.1 Variables .................................................................................102
4.6.2 Analytical Strategy..................................................................105

4.7 Results ..................................................................................................106
4.8 Conclusions ..........................................................................................115
5 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ........................................................120
5.1 Reflections on Findings ......................................................................120
5.2 Limitations and Future Research ........................................................126
5.3 Theoretical and Policy Implictaions ...................................................130

REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................136
Appendix
A SUPPLEMENTARY ANALYSES ...............................................................159
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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Descriptive Statistics for Chapter 2 Variables ................................45

Table 2.2 Fixed Effects Estimation of the Effect of Environmental
Adversity on Age-Specific Homicides ............................................46

Table 2.3 Fixed Effects Estimation of the Effect of Life Course
Contexts on Age-Specific Homicides .............................................47

Table 3.1 Descriptive Statistics for Age- and Race/Ethnic
Specific Homicides ..........................................................................73

Table 3.2 Descriptive Statistics for Chapter 3 Variables ................................74

Table 3.3 SUR Estimation of White Victimization Rates ...............................78

Table 3.4 SUR Estimation of Black Victimization Rates ................................79

Table 3.5 SUR Estimation of Latino Victimization Rates ...............................80

Table 3.6 Z Score Coefficients Testing Equality of Coefficients ....................81

Table 4.1 Desciptive Statistics for Chapter 4 Variables ................................109

Table 4.2 OLS Regression Models of Total Homicide Rates .......................112

Table 4.3 OLS Regression Models of Young Homicide Rates .....................113

Table A.1 Correlation Matrix of Chapter 2 Variables ....................................159

Table A.2 Part Two of Chapter 2 Correlation Matrix ....................................160

Table A.3 Economic Disadvantage Factor Factor Loadings ..........................161

Table A.4 Recent Immigration Fcator Items ..................................................161

Table A.5 Fixed Effects Regression Results Estimating the Effect of
Environmental Adveristy on Age-Specific Homicides (5 Year
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Intervals) ........................................................................................162

Table A.6 Factor Loadings of Composite Measures used in Chapter 3 .........163

Table A.7 Disadvantage Factor Loadings, Chapter 4 ....................................163

Table A.8 Correlation Matrix of Chapter 4 Variables ....................................164

Table A.9 Part Two of Chapter 4 Correlation Matrix ....................................165

Table A.10 Negative Binomial Regression Models of Total Homicides .........166

Table A.11 Negative Binomial Regression Models of Young Homicides ......167

Table A.12 Total Change Score Models by Specific Latino Subgroup ...........168

Table A.13 Youth Specific Change Score Models Modeled by Latino
Subgroup .......................................................................................169

.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Temporal Trends in the Homicide Rate, 1984-2006 .......................38

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ABSTRACT

Objectives: One of the central concerns of developmental and life-course
criminology is an understanding of risk factors for offending at different ages. Because
interruptions in key life events can significantly alter normative development, it is
critical to fully understand the sources of risk for healthy development. The present
study moves life-course criminology in a slightly different direction, shifting analysis to
the macro level, to examine the differential vulnerability of age cohorts to environmental
adversity. This dissertation also recognizes that normative development is highly
contextualized by a wealth of racial and ethnic differences. Methods: Using age- and
race/ethnic-specific homicide rates at city-, county- and community-levels of
aggregation, the differential vulnerability of age cohorts to environmental adversity is
examined. Results: The impact of disadvantage on homicide is consistently high for
youth and emerging adults, but wanes over older developmental stages of the life-
course. The association between economic disadvantage and homicide over
developmental stages of the life-course seems to cut across racial / ethnic lines. While
the protective effects of recent immigration have been well documented in recent years,
the evidence here suggests these effects are more pronounced for Blacks. Conclusions:
By identifying and better understanding the role of macro predictors of crime by
race/ethnic-specific developmental stages, the findings offer new insights for
developmental and life-course theories of crime.
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