Chapter 7: Deviance and Crime

The Correlates 

of Crime and 

Deviance: 

Additional 

Evidence 

Olena Antonaccio1, Charles R. Tittle2, 

Ekaterina Botchkovar3, and Maria Kranidiotis4 

Abstract 

Comparable survey data collected simultaneously in major cities in Greece, 

Russia, and Ukraine indicate that the usual correlates of self-reported 

criminal/deviant behavior derived from research in well-studied, mostly 

Western societies, do not necessarily hold cross-nationally. The data con- 

firm only two of six potential correlates of self-reported criminal/deviant 

behavior—age and deviant peer association. Two widely assumed corre- 

lates of criminal propensity—gender and marital status—prove to be some- 

what unreliable and sensitive to these cultural contexts. Religiosity is 

generally negatively linked to crime/deviance in bivariate but not multivari- 

ate analyses. In bivariate analysis socioeconomic status (SES) proves to be 

highly sensitive to the investigated cultural contexts whereas in multivariate analysis SES is not significantly related in any consistent fashion to criminality 

in any of the three countries. These results show the value of cross-cultural 

research and suggest that effective explanation of criminal and deviant 

behavior may require more attention to cultural variations. 

Keywords 

crime, correlates, cross-national 

Research has identified several patterns of criminal or deviant propensity 

among individuals. The most frequently noted regularities are elevated 

chances of misconduct by males, youth, those of lower socioeconomic sta- 

tus, the less religious, those with deviant peers, and the unmarried. Crime/ 

deviance textbooks typically describe such patterns (e.g., Brown, Esbensen, 

and Geis 2004:Chapter 4; Siegel 2003:Chapter 3; Tittle and Paternoster 

2000:Chapter 10) and most scholars recognize that adequate theories must 

account for them (see e.g., Agnew 2006:127; Akers 1998:341; Braithwaite 

1989:44; Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990:124; Tittle 1995:227). 

Some of these correlates are stronger than others, and agreement among 

scholars about some is not complete. For example, almost all agree about 

variations in misconduct by gender, age, and deviant/criminal peer associ- 

ation (see popular textbooks like Brown et al. 2004:Chapter 4; Siegel 

2003:Chapter 3), and most agree about at least moderate variations in mis- 

behavior by religiosity (e.g., Baier and Wright 2001; Benda 1995; Evans 

et al. 1995; Johnson et al. 2000) and marital status (Laub and Sampson 

2003; Sampson, Laub, and Wimer 2006). The relationship between socio- 

economic status and crime, however, is somewhat controversial. Although 

the prevailing view (e.g., Braithwaite 1981; Ellis 2004a, 2004b; Ellis and 

McDonald 2001; Hagan 1992), incorporated into numerous theories (Tittle 

1983), is of a negative association between SES and crime/deviance (at 

least for ordinary crime), some question whether SES is linked in any con- 

sistent way to criminal propensity (e.g., Tittle, Villemez, and Smith 1978; 

Wright et al. 1999). 

However, all of these potential correlates of crime/deviance may be 

questioned because they are based mainly on research in locales where offi- 

cial police data are available and/or surveys about crime and deviance are 

common. Moreover, they often rest on studies of adolescents or students. 

Until descriptions of crime and deviance draw on a broader array of societ- 

ies and apply to the full age range, the adequacy of theories predicting the 

described patterns will be questionable. We investigate whether the six patterns of misbehavior noted previously 

are present among adults in three less studied societies, using comparative 

surveys of self-reported criminal/deviant behavior among random samples 

of adults of all ages conducted simultaneously in major cities in Greece, 

Russia, and Ukraine. If the usual correlates are verified, confidence in the- 

oretical explanations about them will be enhanced, but if those patterns are 

not sustained, some reorientation in theory development may be needed. 

Extant Evidence 

Gender and Crime/Deviance. Greater propensity for male misbehavior is one 

of the most robust and well agreed upon supposed patterns (e.g., Elliott 

1994; Nagel and Hagan 1983; Smith and Visher 1980; Spinellis et al. 

1994; and summaries of the literature in Braithwaite 1989:44-5; 

Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990:144-46; Sutherland, Cressey, and Luckenbill 

1992:159-64; Wilson and Herrnstein 1985:105-17). Males are disproportio- 

nately arrested for almost all offenses, though the ‘‘gender gap’’ seems to 

vary by seriousness of the offense (Heimer 2000; Smith and Visher 1980; 

Steffensmeier and Allan 1996; Steffensmeier and Streifel 1991). Self- 

reports, including those of adults, as well as victimization surveys confirm 

gender differences, though the gap is smaller in survey data and even non- 

existent for some minor offenses (e.g., Dunaway et al. 2000; reviews in 

Braithwaite 1989:44; Smith and Visher 1980). 

As assumption of a universal ‘‘gender gap’’ in misbehavior (Heimer 

2000; Steffensmeier and Allan 1996), however, may be premature because 

most of the relevant evidence comes from studies conducted in the United 

States and other Western countries such as the United Kingdom (see e.g., 

Budd, Sharp, and Mayhew 2005; Roe and Ashe 2008). In addition, 

one extensive cross-national project, the International Self-Reported 

Delinquency Study, focusing on adolescents in 13 Western nations 

(Junger-Tas, Marshall, and Ribeaud 2003; Junger-Tas, Terlouw, and Klein 

1994), confirms the usual findings about crime and gender but also points to 

the possibility of some cross-national variations in sizes of ‘‘gender gaps.’’ 

Age and Crime/Deviance. Another accepted correlate of crime/deviance, 

which some contend is ‘‘invariant’’ (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990; Hirschi 

and Gottfredson 1983), is age. The typical pattern involves increases in mis- 

conduct through the adolescent years up to the late teens or early 20s, with 

steady declines thereafter (e.g., Blumstein et al. 1986; Hirschi and 

Gottfredson 1983; Sampson and Laub 1993; Steffensmeier et al. 1989). 

Strict invariance has been challenged (Greenberg 1985; Steffensmeier 

et al. 1989) by evidence showing the parameters of age-crime distributions 

for some offenses, such as lower risk property crimes (e.g., forgery, fraud, 

tax cheating) and public-order offenses (e.g., gambling), to vary substan- 

tially across time and space, with potential later peaks, flatter curves, and 

slower rates of decline than usual (Junger-Tas et al. 2003; Steffensmeier 

et al. 1989). However, most research, including self-report crime surveys 

of adults conducted in the United States and United Kingdom, shows the 

general shape of the age/ordinary crime curve to be similar across varied 

conditions (e.g., Budd et al. 2005; Dunaway et al. 2000; Farrington et al. 

2006; Tittle 1980; Tittle and Grasmick 1997). And, although the full age/ 

crime curve is usually curvilinear, linear techniques show a general nega- 

tive relationship across places and times for adults because a decline in 

crime probability begins in early adulthood and continues throughout the 

life course (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990; Hirschi and Gottfredson 1983; 

Tittle 1980). Still, age and ordinary crime have not been studied extensively 

in all types of societies, so invariance cannot be assumed. Even in well- 

studied societies survey data covering the full age range are scarce, and 

some research suggests that age/crime distributions may be quite different 

in non-Western societies (Greenberg 1985; Pridemore 2002, 2003). For 

instance, Pridemore (2003) argues that homicide offenders in Russia may 

be substantially older there than in most Western nations, noting higher 

mean ages among Russians arrested for all crimes. 

Socioeconomic Status and Crime/Deviance. Perhaps the most controversial 

correlate of crime is socioeconomic status (SES). A negative relationship 

between individuals’ SES and their propensity toward ordinary, street crime 

has traditionally been assumed, though data prior to the advent of self-report 

survey studies was at best oblique because official police data in the United 

States do not contain information about offender’s SES (see Tittle et al. 

1978). Results from self-report studies have been interpreted differently. 

Some think they show nonexistent or only slight differences in offenders’ 

socioeconomic statuses, especially those committing less serious crimes 

(see Dunaway et al. 2000; Spinellis et al. 1994; Tittle et al. 1978; Wright 

et al. 1999), but others argue that they confirm traditional interpretations 

(e.g., Braithwaite 1981; for a review, see Ellis and McDonald 2001). This 

difference of opinion about interpretations of research on SES and crime 

and their implications has sparked a long-running debate involving dis- 

agreement on a wide array of issues, including the quality of self-report data 

and appropriate measurement of SES and crime/deviance (e.g., Braithwaite 

1989:49; Ellis 2004a, 2004b; Farnworth et al. 1994; Hagan 1992; Kleck 

1982; Nettler 1978, 1985; Stark 1979; and Thornberry and Farnworth 

1982 on one side and Tittle 1985, 2004; Tittle et al. 1978, 1982; Tittle and 

Meier 1990; Wright et al. 1999 on the other). 

Because official data are incomplete and survey data have been ques- 

tioned, controversy about SES and crime/deviance cannot be easily 

resolved. More systematic exploration of the SES-crime relationship in a 

variety of cultural contexts, however, may help. Present evidence is mostly 

from English-speaking Western countries (but see Ellis and McDonald 

2001), but some recent research in other contexts show different results. 

One study from Ankara, Turkey, reports a positive association between SES 

and juvenile delinquency (O¨ zbay and O¨ zcan 2006) and others find no SES/ 

crime relationship in Germany and Russia in samples of juveniles and 

adults, respectively (Becker and Mehlkop 2006; Tittle and Botchkovar, 

2005a).  

                                                                             

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Stigma: An attribute that is socially devalued and discredited.

Crime: Behavior that violates particular criminal laws.

Deviance: Behavior that is recognized as violating rules and norms of society.

Anomic Suicide: Occurs when the disintegrating forces in the society make individuals feel lost or alone.

Criminology: The study of crime from a scientific perspective.

Bioterrorism: The form of terrorism involving the dispersion of chemical or biological substances intended to cause widespread disease and death. 

Anomie: Condition that exists when social regulations in a society break down.

Elite Deviance: The wrongdoing of wealthy and powerful individuals and organizations.

Deviant Identity: The definition a person has of himself or herself as a deviant.

Hate Crimes: Assaults and other malicious acts motivated by various forms of social bias, including that based on race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic/ national origin, or disability.                                                          

Other websites on the topic

http://public.getlegal.com/legal-info-center/types-of-crimes This website talks about crime classifications and provides the definitions of certain crimes.  Chapter 7 mentions a few of these but the website goes into much further detail.  

http://www.amnestyusa.org/us-human-rights/racial-profiling/page.do?id=1106650  This is a wonderful site filled with information on racial profiling.  It not only explains what racial profiling consists of, but it also gives ideas on how to handle it and provides information on state laws regarding the topic.  

                                                     

                                                   Social Deviance 

Song Lyrics:

Bending The Rules And Breaking The Law 

Growing up I was always mama's angel

Never new I'd ever fall from grace

I was taught to walk the cotton road of trouble

But I ran with a crowd that was bound to change my ways

I was proud to be in the bad news crowd

The one my mama warned me about

The closest thing to hell she'd ever raised

But when I look back on those days I knew I'd never change a thing

I made mistakes that paved the way to the man I am today

I had all and I had a ball bending the rules and breaking the law

We were bad about sneaking out and shooting road signs

Throwing eggs and rollin every yard in town

Yeah my claim to fame was a babe Ruth swing on a mailbox

Yeah the police just love driving me around

Cause I was proud to be in the bad news crowd

The one my mama warned me about

The closest thing to hell she'd ever raised

But when I look back on those days I knew I'd never change a thing

I made mistakes that paved the way to the man I am today

I had all and we had a ball bending the rules and breaking the law

Yeah you learn to walk away when you talk

The DUI means SOL

Respect was earned

You live and learn to pray

You learn to pray

We was proud to be in the bad news crowd

The one our mamas warned us about

The closest thing to hell we'd ever raised

But when I look back on those days I knew we'd never change a thing

Made mistakes that paved the way for the men we are today

We had it all and we had a ball

Bending the rules and breaking the law

 By: Brantley Gilbert

Chapter 7: Deviance and Crime 

I chose to make one of my posts on chapter seven because social deviance and crime has always interested me and since most societies deal with some sort of deviance and crime I wanted to learn more about the subject.  Chapter seven also discusses the different types of suicide and explains each one.  This caught my attention because it was all new information to me. I have never learned about the types of suicide and have never gone into so much detail on the topic in any other class.  One of the topics I found most interesting and very surprising in this chapter was the section regarding mental illness and how some sociologists believe there is no such thing as mental illness.  They believe instead, that it is only people's reactions to unusual behavior.  

The picture I chose to place at the beginning of the post represents a program known as crime watch.  This is a neighborhood watch program that people can agree to be a part of in order to make their community a safer place.  I chose to use this symbol as a representation of crime for chapter seven because it not only represents crime but it also represents community and societal cohesion.  The scholarly article I included discusses the correlation between factors such as age, Religiosity, peer groups and gender.  It provides examples of experiments that were conducted to find out if deviance and the factors mentioned previously have a correlation.  I feel that this article will give readers a better understanding of why people deviate from the social norms.  The websites I added to the post go into great detail regarding crime and racial profiling.  The book mentions both of these ideas but these websites help explain them better and have a lot of information that is not in the chapter.  When it comes to the word search, I included the words that I believe best represent the main ideas found in chapter seven.  This is also one of the reasons why I chose the video on social deviance, it is a huge part of chapter seven and I wanted to provide more examples on the topic.  Lastly, I Decided to use the song "Bending the Rules and Breaking the Law" because it directly relates to the scholarly article I incorporated in my post.  The article talks about the correlation between age, gender and peer groups and deviance and crime, and the song lyrics show an example of how this is true.