Not All Deviance is Criminal

Deviance in Everyday Life and the Development of a Non-Criminal Deviance Scale

Bibliographic Data

ID2153647
AuthorsThomas J Mowen (0000-0003-1686-5140, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, United States, corresponding author), Amanda Heitkamp (0000-0003-4246-5511, Troy University, Troy, United States), Ryan D Schroeder (0000-0002-7819-8243, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, United States)
Year2023
Volume44
Issue12
Pages1806-1824
Publication date2023-12-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01639625.2023.2234069
OpenAlexW4383549969
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited56

The field of deviance generally encompasses two major forms of deviant behavior: Formal and informal deviance. Formal deviance refers to acts that violate a law, while informal deviance refers to acts that violate a social norm. Yet, as a total proportion of deviance in a given society, formal deviance – crime – is rare. While the focus on crime is warranted, it has resulted in far less quantitative assessment and understanding of informal deviance. The goal of this study is to develop and test a quantitative scale called the non-criminal deviance scale (NCDS). Drawing from expert evaluations, we create a 13-item NCDS, then test it against theoretically informed covariates using a sample of 780 young adults. Findings reveal key constructs (e.g. self-control, age) influence variations in the NCDS. Results demonstrate that much like scales used in crime research, non-criminal deviance can also be captured quantitatively via a scale. Given the relatively common nature of informal deviance – particularly compared to formal deviance – this is a crucial first step in understanding general patterns in non-criminal deviant behaviors

Criminology · Deviance (statistics · Statistics · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI