NCJ Number
227589
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2009 Pages: 305-314
Date Published
June 2009
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the empirical validity and conceptualization of routine activities (RA) theory by reviewing individual level multivariate studies that have been published from 1995-2005.
Abstract
The review of the literature was included as an alternative to a discursive discussion of the empirical validity of RA theory. RA theory has been an influential explanatory framework for both victimization and offending for almost four decades. The number of papers published over the past decade in mainstream journals is a testament to its continued influence. The findings from this article provide systematic documentation of the depth and breadth of support for RA theory along with several caveats that direct one toward areas of future research. Over the past four decades, RA theory has broadened the focus of criminologists from the study of criminal behavior to study of the criminal event. A large body of empirical studies has applied the RA framework using a variety of data sources, units of analysis, and outcome measures. There have been a handful of discursive critiques of RA theory, but none have included an accounting of the depth and breadth of support for RA's key concepts. To address this gap, this study coded significant multivariate findings from individual level studies of RA theory published from 1995 to 2005 to assess the empirical validity and conceptualization of RA theory. Tables, notes, and references