Might Not Be a Tomorrow”

A Multimethods Approach to Anticipated Early Death and Youth Crime

Bibliographic Data

ID9681371
AuthorsTimothy Brezina (0000-0002-8587-3219, Georgia State University, corresponding author), Erdal Tekin (0000-0002-6158-0286, Georgia State University), Volkan Topalli (0000-0002-4442-5911, Georgia State University)
Year2009
Volume47
Issue4
Pages1091-1129
Publication date2009-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCriminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-1384 • E-ISSN: 1745-9125
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00170.x
OpenAlexW3021695310
LanguageEN
Citations received62
References cited63

Several researchers point to the anticipation of early death, or a sense of “futurelessness,” as a contributing factor to youth crime. It is argued that young people who perceive a high probability of early death may have little reason to delay gratification for the promise of future benefits, as the future itself is discounted. Consequently, these young people tend to pursue high‐risk behaviors associated with immediate rewards, which include crime and violence. Although existing studies lend support to these arguments and show a statistical relationship between anticipated early death and youth crime, this support remains tentative. Moreover, several questions remain regarding the interpretation of this relationship, the meanings that offenders attach to the prospect of early death, and the cognitive processes that link anticipated early death to youth crime. In this article, we address the limitations of previous studies using a multimethods approach, which involves the analyses of national survey data and in‐depth interviews with active street offenders

Anticipation (artificial intelligence · Criminology · Gratification · Interpretation (philosophy · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access