When Violence Is Not an Option: Perceived Choice Sets and Differential Deterrability Among Adolescents in Germany
The idea that individuals differ in their perceived choice sets or repertoires has a long tradition in criminology and is a common ingredient of modern choice theories. We test this assumption in a large-scale school survey of seventh graders in Germany. Eliciting perceived action alternatives in a...
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Beteiligte: | |
Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Veröffentlicht: |
2025
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In: |
Crime & delinquency
Jahr: 2025, Band: 71, Heft: 9, Seiten: 3128-3156 |
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Zusammenfassung: | The idea that individuals differ in their perceived choice sets or repertoires has a long tradition in criminology and is a common ingredient of modern choice theories. We test this assumption in a large-scale school survey of seventh graders in Germany. Eliciting perceived action alternatives in a provocation scenario, we examine the frequency of purely non-violent, purely violent, and mixed repertoires. Our results confirm that a large share of adolescents does not perceive of violence as an option. In contrast, relatively few adolescents could only imagine to react with physical or verbal violence to a physical provocation. We also examine whether self-control and the perceived certainty and severity of sanctions are differentially associated with violent offending across types of repertoires. |
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ISSN: | 1552-387X |
DOI: | 10.1177/00111287241258730 |