About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

3 Youth Violence & Juv. Just. 3 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/yvja3 and id is 1 raw text is: SUBCULTURAL VALUES AND VIOLENT DELINQUENCY A Multilevel Analysis in Middle Schools Graham C. Ousey University of Delaware Pamela Wilcox University of Cincinnati This study extends research in the subculture of violence tradition by examining the simultaneous effects of individual- and aggregate-level proviolence values on violent behavior. With data from a survey of 3,690 seventh-grade students nested within 65 Kentucky schools, we found that an initially observed between-school effect of violent values on in-school violent behavior is not a contextual effect. Rather, the between- school effect of violent values is primarily a reflection of the individual-level association between violent values and violent behavior. Moreover, we found that the effect of indi- vidual values remains evident after measures of impulsivity and exposure to violent peers are controlled. No evidence of cross-level interaction effects involving individual values and the school-level violent value context was found. Keywords: subculture of violence; social learning; violence; delinquency; schools One classic explanation of violent crime suggests that individual differences in vio- lent offending are due, in part, to differences in the extent to which individuals are exposed to and have internalized a value system that tolerates, condones, or even demands violent responses to various social situations. In general, this subculture of violence perspective posits that individuals embedded in social contexts that feature social groups espousing proviolence values will have a heightened proclivity for adopting these values and behaving accordingly. Generally consistent with this theoretical model, a number of studies report that rates of violence are higher in geographic localities or social groups in which pro- violence values or attitudes are believed to be particularly prominent (e.g., see Curtis, 1975; Gastil, 1971; Hackney, 1969; Messner, 1983; Wolfgang & Ferracuti, 1967). Moreover, other studies report that individuals with more proviolence attitudes engage in violent Authors' Note: An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2002 meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Chicago. The research was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA-05312, DA- 11317). We would like to thank Richard R. Clayton, Good Samaritan Foundation chair of Public Health at University of Kentucky, and Bill Scott, the Kentucky School Boards Association, for their support regarding this project. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Vol. 3 No. 1, January 2005 3-22 DOI: 10.1177/1541204004270942 0 2005 Sage Publications

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most