Nerve” and violent encounters

An assessment of fearlessness in the face of danger

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9679792
AutoresChris Melde (0000-0002-2164-4206, Michigan State University, autor correspondente), M T Berg (0000-0003-2709-0950, University of Iowa), Finn‐aage Esbensen (University of Missouri–St. Louis)
Ano2020
Volume58
Fascículo2
Páginas226-254
Data de publicação2020-05-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCriminology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0011-1384 • E-ISSN: 1745-9125
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1745-9125.12233
OpenAlexW2992411677
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas45

The findings from a large body of research on the ecology of violence indicate that individuals demonstrate a willingness to engage in violence to reduce their risk for violent victimization. Scholars have suggested that a reputation for toughness and aggression acts as an informal signal that deters mistreatment. Anderson (1999), in his street code thesis, in particular, argued that adherence to the street code functions as a signal that reduces violent victimization risk. Other research findings, however, reveal that the street code leads to an increase in victimization risk; moreover, violent offenders are routinely victimized at high rates given their lifestyle and routine activities. The evidence, therefore, does not show support for the position that a reputation for toughness or aggression effectively reduces violent victimization. In the current study, we operationalize the concept of nerve, which findings from criminological studies indicate is an important mechanism for protecting adolescents from victimization. Using data from the second national evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program, we test this operationalization of nerve to determine whether the concept is associated with later violent offending and violent victimization in ways consistent with theory and research on the ecology of youth violence. Our results demonstrate support for the notion that nerve is positively associated with violent offending, whereas those at the highest levels of this construct experience fewer violent victimizations

Aggression · Criminology · Operationalization · Political science · Reputation · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Social Psychology