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Author: Weiss, Douglas Brian
Resulting in 3 citations.
1. Anderson, Annika Yvette
Weiss, Douglas Brian
Oselin, Sharon Suzanne
When I Grow Up: Exploring the Link Between Future Expectations and Criminal Trajectories
Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology 6 (March 2020): 43-66.
Also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40865-020-00136-6
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Expectations/Intentions; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: There are several noteworthy cognitive and identity-based theories of desistance. Yet, there is little understanding about the role of one’s expectations of future events, which are tied to one's sense of self, as they ultimately inform actions regarding offending. In this study, we test the extent to which optimistic and fatalistic expectations are related to desistance.

Methods: We rely on negative binomial regression analyses and group-based trajectory modeling of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to determine the relationship between future event expectations and criminal engagement. We assess continued criminal involvement through self-reported arrests and offending variety.

Results: We find that future expectations regarding negative events (arrest, victimization, and drunkenness) are associated with future self-reported arrest while future positive expectations (parenthood, education, and employment) are unrelated to future offending behavior. Higher expectations of being arrested and getting drunk in the following year were associated with a greater likelihood of being classified as a persister relative to a nonoffender. We also find that Blacks are more likely to be classified as persisters. Yet, future expectations in late adolescence appear to be poor predictors of whether an individual will desist from offending over the long term.

Bibliography Citation
Anderson, Annika Yvette, Douglas Brian Weiss and Sharon Suzanne Oselin. "When I Grow Up: Exploring the Link Between Future Expectations and Criminal Trajectories." Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology 6 (March 2020): 43-66.
2. Anderson, Annika Yvette
Weiss, Douglas Brian
Oselin, Sharon Suzanne
When I Grow Up: Future Expectations, Race and Criminal Desistance
Presented: San Francisco CA, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 2019
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Society of Criminology
Keyword(s): Crime; Ethnic Differences; Expectations/Intentions; Racial Differences; Sociability/Socialization/Social Interaction

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

There is relatively limited research on desistance as it varies according to race and ethnicity. Most of this literature focuses on adult social bonds that decrease crime (e.g. higher education, employment, and marriage) as they differentially affect racial groups. Some conclude such events have similar effects for both whites and blacks, while others reveal how specific events are more impactful on desistance depending on racial/ethnic group membership. Despite these contributions, with the increasing numerical representation of Hispanics in the United States and racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence and timing of such events, there is much to gain from analyses of the association between race/ethnicity and crime that expands beyond the black-white relationship. In this study, we use group-based trajectory modeling and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to assess whether the relationship between future expectations, adult social bonds, and desistance varies across race and ethnicity. Our results suggest that there are differences in the predictors for desistance across racial/ethnic groups.
Bibliography Citation
Anderson, Annika Yvette, Douglas Brian Weiss and Sharon Suzanne Oselin. "When I Grow Up: Future Expectations, Race and Criminal Desistance." Presented: San Francisco CA, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 2019.
3. Weiss, Douglas Brian
Desistance from Crime and Substance Use: A Universal Process or Behavior-specific?
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Crime; Drug Use; Modeling, Trajectory analysis; Personality/Big Five Factor Model or Traits; Substance Use

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Several prominent criminologists have suggested desistance from crime is in many ways similar to desistance from substance use. While a review of this literature supports this proposition in general, most of this research has focused on desistance from either crime or substance use rather than considering change across both behaviors. Indeed, those few studies that consider both behaviors often find individuals persist in substance use despite desistance from crime. Despite this discrepancy, there has yet to be a systematic comparison between desistance from these two behaviors. This dissertation seeks to address this gap by asking (1) whether the same set of social and psychological factors that distinguish crime desisters from persisters also differentiate heavy substance use desisters from persisters and (2) to what extent individuals who are desisting from crime are also desisting from heavy substance use. In addition to addressing these two primary research questions, a set of substance specific and subgroup analyses were performed to assess whether the results differ across substance type (alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs) or along the demographics of race and gender. These analyses were performed using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort. Desisters were identified using group-based trajectory modeling while multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with desistance from each of these behaviors. The results of the analyses indicate that desistance from crime is associated with differences in social bonds and reduced levels of strain, while desistance from substance use is primarily associated with reduced levels of strain and individual personality differences. The substance specific analyses suggest different factors are associated with desistance from the use of different substances, while the race- and gender-specific analyses suggest differences across these demographics. The implications of these results for theories of desistance from crime and substance use are discussed as are the limitations of this dissertation and suggestions for future research.
Bibliography Citation
Weiss, Douglas Brian. Desistance from Crime and Substance Use: A Universal Process or Behavior-specific? Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014.