RT Article
T1 ‘Don’t Blow Your Cool’: Provocation, Violent Coping, and the Conditioning Effects of Self-Control
JF Journal of quantitative criminology
VO 32
IS 4
SP 561
OP 587
A1 Schulz, Sonja 1983-
LA English
YR 2016
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1559004185
AB Objectives General Strain Theory (Agnew in Criminology 30:47–87, 1992 ) has received broad empirical support, but little is known about moderators of the strain-delinquency relationship. This study tests whether self-control attenuates the relationship between a certain type of delinquency—violence—and its most important precursor, considered a type of strain: interpersonal provocation. This study compares the conditioning effects of risk-affinity and self-control/impulsivity on the provocation-violence link, since recent work suggests differentiating between both characteristics. Methods The provocation-violence link is examined (1) using a scenario design with randomly varied degrees of objective provocation and a measure of projected violence, and (2) with measures of self-reported past violence and subjective sensitivity to provocation. The analyses are based on a large sample of seventh-graders (n = 2635) from five cities in Western Germany, interviewed in 2013. Linear probability models regressing violence measures on personal traits, provocation measures, and their interactions are estimated. Results Both self-control and risk-affinity moderate the relationship between subjective sensitivity to provocation and past violent behavior. Students with high self-control are able to control their anger and do not turn violent, even when they feel provoked easily. However, only risk-affinity significantly amplifies the effect of objective provocation on prospective violence when simultaneously controlling for the conditioning effect of self-control. Conclusions Findings underscore that both self-control and risk-aversion are important coping resources. This study highlights the importance of using internally consistent and mechanism-congruent measures in the study of illicit coping processes and conditioning factors and discourages from using composite, potentially multidimensional measures.
K1 General Strain Theory
K1 Individual differences
K1 Violence
K1 Provocation
K1 Self-control
K1 Self-control theory
K1 General Strain theory
DO 10.1007/s10940-015-9267-4