NCJ Number
248238
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2014 Pages: 505-526
Date Published
September 2014
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The present study examines how individuals' sanction risk perceptions are shaped by neighborhood context.
Abstract
The present study examines how individuals' sanction risk perceptions are shaped by neighborhood context. Using structural equation modeling on data from waves 6 and 7 of the National Youth Survey, we assess the direct and indirect relationships between adverse neighborhood conditions and two dimensions of sanction risk perceptions: the certainty of punishment and perceived shame. In addition, the role of shame as a mediator between neighborhood context and certainty of punishment is also investigated. The results indicate that adverse neighborhood conditions indirectly affect both forms of sanction risk perceptions, and additional results show that perceived shame fully mediates the effect of neighborhood conditions on perceptions of the certainty of punishment. The perceptual deterrence/rational choice perspective will need to be revised to accommodate more explicitly the role of neighborhood context in shaping sanction risk perceptions. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.