This study assesses the impact of fear of criminal victimization on juvenile firearm possession at school, while controlling for variables in Hirschi's social bond theory and a derivative of Sutherland's differential association theory. Using responses from a sample of approximately 8,000 public high school students in a southeastern state, this research highlights a statistically significant association between adolescents' fear of criminal victimization and their firearm possession at school, even after controlling for the aforementioned explanations of crime.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, K. (1996). Guns and gun control. In T. J. Flanagan & D. R. Longtime (Eds.), Americans view crime and justice: A national public opinion survey (pp. 109-123). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
Akers, R. L. (1985). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
3.
Akers, R. L. (1992). Drugs, alcohol, and society: Social structure, process, and policy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
4.
Akers, R. L. (1996). Is differential association/social learning cultural deviance theory?Criminology, 34(2), 229-247.
5.
Arria, A. M. , Wood, N. P., & Anthony, J. (1995). Prevalence of carrying a weapon and related behaviors in urban schoolchildren, 1989 to 1993. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 149, 1345-1350.
6.
Arthur, J. A. (1992). Criminal victimization, fear of crime, and handgun ownership among Blacks: Evidence from national survey data. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 16(2), 121-141.
7.
Asmussen, K. J. (1992). Weapon possession in public high schools. School Safety, 28, 28-30.
8.
Bankston, W. , & Thompson, C. (1989). Carrying firearms for protection: A causal model. Sociological Inquiry, 59(1), 75-87.
9.
Bankston, W. , Thompson, C., Jenkins, Q., & Forsyth, C. (1990). The influence of fear of crime, gender, and Southern culture on carrying firearms for protection. Sociological Quarterly, 31(2), 287-305.
10.
Baumer, T. (1985). Testing a general model of fear of crime: Data from a national sample. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 22(3), 239-255.
11.
Belyea, M. J. , & Zingraff, M. T. (1988). Fear of crime and residential location. Rural Sociology, 53(4), 473-486.
12.
Benda, B. B. , & Whiteside, L. (1995). Testing an integrated model of delinquency using LISREL. Journal of Social Service Research, 21(2), 1-32.
13.
Bergstein, J. M.. , Hemenway, D., Kennedy, B., Quaday, S., & Ander, R. (1996). Guns in young hands: A survey of urban teenagers' attitudes and behaviors related to handgun violence. Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 41(5), 794-798.
14.
Block, C. R. , & Block, R. (1993). Street gang crime in Chicago. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
15.
Blumstein, A. (1995). Violence by young people: Why the deadly nexus?Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
16.
Bohrnstedt, G. W. , & Knoke, D. (1994). Statistics for social data analysis. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock.
17.
Box, S. , Hale, C., & Andrews, G. (1988). Explaining fear of crime. British Journal of Criminology, 28(3), 340-356.
18.
Braungart, M. , Braungart, R., & Hoyer, W. (1980). Age, sex, and social factors in fear of crime. Sociological Focus, 13(1), 55-66.
19.
Bursik, R. J., Jr. , & Grasmick, H. G. (1993). Neighborhoods and crime: The dimensions of effective community control. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
20.
Callahan, C. M. , & Rivara, F. P. (1992). Urban high school youth and handguns: A school-based survey. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267(22), 3038-3042.
21.
Center to Prevent Handgun Violence . (1993). Kids carrying guns. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
22.
Cernkovich, S. A. (1978). Evaluating two models of delinquency causation. Criminology, 16(3), 335-354.
23.
Cernkovich, S. A. , & Giordano, P. C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25(2), 295-321.
24.
Cernkovich, S. A. , & Giordano, P. C. (1992). School bonding, race, and delinquency. Criminology, 30(2), 261-289.
25.
Chandler, K. A. , Chapman, C. D., Rand, M. R., & Taylor, B. M. (1998). Students' reports of school crime: 1989 and 1995. Washington, DC: Departments of Education and Justice.
26.
Clemente, F. , & Kleiman, M. (1976). Fear of crime among the aged. The Gerontologist, 16(3), 207-210.
27.
Clemente, F. , & Kleiman, M. (1977, December). Fear of crime in the United States: A multivariate analysis. Social Forces, 56, 519-531.
28.
Cohen, L. E. , & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588-608.
29.
Dukes, R. L. , Martinez, R. O., & Stein, J. A. (1997). Precursors and consequences of membership in youth gangs. Youth and Society, 29(2), 139-165.
30.
Fagan, J. , & Wexler, S. (1987). Family origins of violent delinquents. Criminology, 25(3), 643-669.
31.
Ferraro, K. F. (1995). Fear of crime: Interpreting victimization risk. Albany: State University of New York Press.
32.
Fingerhut, L. (1993, March 23). Firearm mortality among children, youth, and young adults 1-34 years of age, trends and current status: United States, 1985-90: Advance Data. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
33.
Garofalo, J. (1979). Victimization and the fear of crime. Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency, 16, 80-97.
34.
Gove, W. R. , & Crutchfield, R. D. (1982). The family and juvenile delinquency. Sociological Quarterly, 23(3), 301-319.
35.
Hechinger, F. M. (1992). Fateful choices: Healthy youth for the 21st century. New York: Hill and Wang.
36.
Hemenway, D. , Prothrow-Stith, D., Bergstein, J. M., Ander, R., & Kennedy, B. P. (1996). Gun carrying among adolescents. Law and Contemporary Problems, 59(1), 39-53.
37.
Hindelang, M. , Gottfredson, M., & Garofalo, J. (1978). Victims of personal crime: An empirical foundation for a theory of personal victimization. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
38.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
39.
Hirschi, T , & Gottfredson, M. (1994). The generality of deviance. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
40.
Jensen, G. F. (1972). Parents, peers, and delinquent action: A test of the differential association perspective. American Journal of Sociology, 78(3), 562-575.
41.
Kachur, S. P. , Stennies, G. M., Powell, K. E., Modzeleski, W., Stephens, R., Murphy, R., Kresnow, M., Sleet, D., & Lowry, R. (1996). School-associated violent deaths in the United States, 1992 to 1994. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(22), 1729-1733.
42.
Kennedy, L. W. , & Krahn, H. (1984). Rural-urban origin and fear of crime: The case for rural baggage. Rural Sociology, 49(2), 247-260.
43.
Kennedy, L. W. , & Silverman, R. A. (1984). Significant others and fear of crime among the elderly. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 20(4), 241-256.
44.
Kenney, D. J. , & Watson, T. S. (1998). Crime in the schools: Reducing fear and disorder with student problem solving. Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.
45.
Kleck, G. (1997). Targeting guns: Firearms and their control. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
46.
Knox, G. W. (1991). An introduction to gangs. Berrien Springs, MI: Vande Vere.
47.
Larson, C. J. (1982). City size, fear, and victimization. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 10(1), 13-22.
48.
Lawton, M. P. , & Yaffee, S. (1980). Victimization and fear of crime in elderly housing tenants. Journal of Gerontology, 35, 768-779.
49.
Lizotte, A. J. , Bordua, D. J., & White, C. S. (1981). Firearms ownership for sport and protection: Two not so divergent models. American Sociological Review, 46, 499-503.
50.
Matsueda, R. L. , & Heimer, K. (1987). Race, family structure, and delinquency: A test of differential association and social control theories. American Sociological Review, 52(6), 826-840.
51.
Newton, G. D. , & Zimring, F. E. (1969). Firearms and violence in American life: A staff report to the national commission on the causes and prevention of violence. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
52.
Parker, K. D. (1988). Black-White differences in perceptions of fear of crime. Journal of Social Psychology, 128(4), 487-494.
53.
Rankin, J. H. , & Kern, R. (1994). Parental attachments and delinquency. Criminology, 32(4), 495-515.
54.
Ray, M. , Gray-Ray, P., Robertson, C., & Turner, S. (1994). Determinants of weapons carrying in Mississippi schools. In J. Bledinger & N. B. Lovell (Eds.), Coping with violence in the schools (pp. 9-31). Mississippi State: Mississippi State University College of Education.
55.
Reiss, A. J., Jr. (1951). Delinquency as the failure of personal and social controls. American Sociological Review, 16(2), 196-206.
56.
Rosen, L. (1985). Family and delinquency: Structure or function?Criminology, 23(3), 553-573.
57.
Roth, J. A. (1994). Firearms and violence. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
58.
Salts, C. J. , Lindholm, B. W., Goddard, H. W., & Duncan, S. (1995). Predictive variables of violent behavior in adolescent males. Youth and Society, 26(3), 377-399.
59.
Senate Hearings . (1993). Children and gun violence. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
60.
Sharp, P. M. , & Dodder, R. A.. (1985). Victimization and the fear of crime: Some consequences by age and sex. International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 22(1, 2), 149-161.
61.
Sheley, J. F. (1994). Drug activity and firearms possession and use by juveniles. The Journal of Drug Issue, 24(3), 363-382.
62.
Sheley, J. F. , & Brewer, V. E. (1995). Possession and carrying of firearms among suburban youth. Public Health Reports, 110, 18-26.
63.
Sheley, J. F. , & Wright, J. D. (1993). Gun acquisition and possession in selected juvenile samples. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
64.
Sheley, J. F. , & Wright, J. D. (1995). In the line of fire: Youth, guns, and violence in urban America. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
65.
Smith, D. A. , & Uchida, C. D. (1988). The social organization of self-help: A study of defensive weapon ownership. American Sociological Review, 53, 94-102.
66.
Spergel, I. A. (1990). Youth gangs: Continuity and change. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 12, pp. 171-275). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
67.
Sutherland, E. H. (1947). Principles of criminology (4th ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. (Original work published in 1939).
68.
U.S. Bureau of the Census . (1990). 1990 Census of population, social, and economic characteristics, United States. Washington, DC: Author.
69.
Wiatrowski, M. D. , Griswold, D. B., & Roberts, M. K. (1981). Social control theory and delinquency. American Sociological Review, 46, 525-541.
70.
Will, J. A. , & McGrath, J. H. (1995). Crime, neighborhood perceptions, and the underclass: The relationship between fear of crime and class position. Journal of Criminal Justice, 23(2), 163-176.
71.
Williams, F. P., III , & McShane, M. D. (1999). Criminological theory (3d ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
72.
Williams, J. S. , & McGrath, J. H., III. (1976). Why people own guns. Journal of Communication, 26, 22-30.
73.
Wilson, J. M. , & Zirkel, P. A. (1994). When guns come to school. American School Board Journal, 181, 32-34.
74.
Winfree, L. T. , Backstrom, T. V., & Mays, G. L. (1994). Social learning theory, self-reported delinquency, and youth gangs: A new twist on a general theory of crime and delinquency. Youth and Society, 26(2), 147-177.
75.
Wright, J. D. , & Marston, L. (1975). The ownership of the means of destruction: Weapons in the United States. Social Problems, 23, 92-107.
76.
Wright, J. D. , Rossi, P., & Daly, K. (1983). Under the gun: Weapons, crime, and violence in America. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
