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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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Kroneberg, Clemens 1980- (VerfasserIn)
Beteiligte: Nägel, Christof 1992- (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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.
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/00111287241258730