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61 Crime & Delinquency 3 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/cadq61 and id is 1 raw text is: 

Article


An Examination of the

Interaction Between

Morality and Deterrence

in  Offending: A Research

Note


          Crime & Delinquency
          2015, Vol. 61(1) 3-18
          @ The Author(s) 2013
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  DOI: 10.1177/0011128713486068
             cad.sagepub.com
               OSAGE


Robert Svensson'




Abstract
This study examines  whether  deterrence and  morality interact in the
explanation of adolescent offending. On the basis of the Situational Action
Theory, the  author hypothesizes that deterrence  is more effective in
preventing offending among individuals with low levels of morality than
among  individuals with high levels of morality. To test this hypothesis, self-
report data are used from  a sample of young adolescents in Halmstad,
Sweden  (N = 891). The findings provide strong support for the hypothesis
that the effect of deterrence (measured as the perceived risk of getting
caught, that is, certainty) on offending is dependent on the individual's
level of morality, indicating that deterrence has a significantly stronger effect
on offending for individuals with low levels of morality than for individuals
with higher levels of morality.


Keywords
deterrence, morality, interaction, adolescent offending, Situational Action
Theory


'Malmo University, Sweden
Corresponding Author:
Robert Svensson, Department of Criminology, Malmo University, SE-205 06 Malma, Sweden.
Email: robert.svensson@mah.se

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