Low Self-control, Harassment Perpetration, and Stalking Victimization among Asian College Students

ABSTRACT

A sizable amount of research has empirically tested Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime, with results showing that low self-control is an important correlate of offending, analogous behaviors, and victimization. Within this line of research however, less attention has been paid toward examining the generality of their theory within the race/ethnicity space as well as the extent to which the theory offers a useful framework for understanding harassment and stalking. In this paper, we use data from a sample of young adult Asian Americans to examine these outcomes. Unlike prior research, we do not detect any relationship between low self-control on harassment or stalking. Implications and directions for future research are outlined.

KEYWORDS:

• Harassment
• stalking
• Asian Americans
• self-control

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the University of South Florida Women in Leadership and Philanthropy. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insights, expertise, and constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Note that specific information regarding the name, type, and location of the institutions where participating students enrolled at was not solicited on the survey.

2. Our definition and measure of harassment perpetration were derived from a large scale research project on stalking in which “harassment” is defined as the experience of unwanted, intrusive or harassing behavior, or behavior that does not rise to the threshold of stalking perpetration because it lacks the requirement of victim’s fear (Baum et al., 2009).

3. Our definition and measure of stalking victimization were derived from the 2006 Supplemental Victimization Survey of the National Crime Victimization Survey and capture the main elements required in most legal definitions of stalking: 1) a pattern of repeated unwanted behavior or harassment imposed on another (i.e., a single act is insufficient) and 2) the unwanted behavior or harassment induces fear or distress in the victim (Dennison & Thompson, 2002; Mullen et al., 2000; Spitzberg & Cupach, 2014).

4. Of course, a null finding in the case of the general theory of crime is just as – if not more – important than a finding of a relationship because the theory purports to explain all crimes at all times and among all persons.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded through the Faculty Research Grant by the University of South Florida Women in Leadership and Philanthropy.

Notes on contributors

Fawn T. Ngo

Fawn T. Ngo is Associate Professor of Criminology in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Her research interests include criminological theory, interpersonal violence, cybercrime, and predictive analytic applications in criminology and criminal justice. Her work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Journal of Criminal Justice, Victims & Offenders: The International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice, and Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology

Alex R. Piquero

Alex R. Piquero is Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology and Associate Dean of Graduate Programs in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas and Professor of Criminology at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. He is also editor of Justice Evaluation Journal. His research interests include criminal careers, criminological theory, crime policy, evidence-based crime prevention, and quantitative research methods. He is consistently ranked among the most published and most cited criminologists in the world. He has received several research, teaching, and service awards and is Fellow of both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In 2014, he received The University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and in 2018 he was inducted into The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In 2019, he received the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Bruce Smith, Sr. Award for outstanding contributions to criminal justice.