NCJ Number
169866
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1997) Pages: 763-792
Date Published
1997
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study attempts to clarify the class-crime relationship using a framework drawn from the social psychology literature.
Abstract
Criminologists have not found consistent evidence that class is related to crime. This study attempts to clarify the class-crime relationship with a test of the proximity principle. The principle proposes that measures of social class which shape youths' everyday experiences will be the aspects of social class which influence their personality and behavior. Results point to the youths' expected educational attainment as one proximate factor. Educational expectations mediate the effect of social class on involvement in violent offending and interact with measures of social class to affect involvement in theft. The paper discusses the social psychology literature on the relationship between class and personality behavior, considers ways to apply this information to the study of the class-delinquency relationship, describes the structure of the analysis and presents findings, and discusses implications of the findings for additional research in the area. Notes, tables, references, appendix