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- Title
Enduring Individual Differences and Rational Choice Theories of Crime.
- Authors
Nagin, Daniel S.; Paternoster, Raymond
- Abstract
In explaining crime, some criminological theories emphasize time-stable individual differences in propensity to offend while others emphasize more proximate and situational factors. Using scenario data from, a sample of college undergraduates we have found evidence to support both positions. A measure of criminal propensity (poor self-control) was found to be significantly related to self-reported decisions to commit three offenses (drunk driving, theft, and sexual assault). Even after considering differences in self-control, there was evidence to suggest that the attractiveness of the crime target, the ease of committing the crime with minimum risk, and perceptions of the costs and benefits of committing the crime were all significantly related to offending decisions. Our results suggest that theories of criminal offending should include motion pertaining to persistent individual differences in criminal propensity and choice-relevant variables.
- Subjects
CRIMINOLOGY; COLLEGE students' conduct of life; UNIVERSITIES &; colleges; LARCENY; STUDENT ethics; SELF-control
- Publication
Law & Society Review, 1993, Vol 27, Issue 3, p467
- ISSN
0023-9216
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/3054102