Black Males, Impulsivity, and Externalizing Behaviors: A Black Criminology Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, we explored whether the relationship between externalizing behaviors and impulsivity may have racialized dimensions. To do so, we uniquely constructed an unbalanced panel dataset from the PHDCN-LCS, which allowed us to examine the within-individual relationships between being a Black male, impulsivity, and externalizing behaviors. Based on the tenets of a Black Criminology, we suggested that because of their exposure to racism, Black males may exhibit the greatest volatility—or changes in their level of impulsivity—across time. Additionally, we explored whether the within-individual effect of changes in impulsivity on changes in externalizing behaviors across time may be greater for Black males in comparison to Black females, White females, and White males. The results revealed that Black males exhibited greater changes in their within-individual levels of impulsivity across time and that the within-individual effect of changes in impulsivity on changes in externalizing behaviors was greater for Black males than their counterparts. Our analyses suggest that further testing of the tenets of a Black Criminology is warranted.

Keywords:

• Black males
• impulsivity
• externalizing behaviors
• Black criminology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For example, Noguera (2003) found that Black males were the least likely to strongly agree (8%) to the question: “My teachers support me and care about my success in their class”; in comparison, to Black females (12%), Asian males (24%), Asian females (36%), White males (33%), and White females (44%).

2 Curry (2017a, p. 30-31, 133) argues that these gendered patterns of discrimination have consequences: “Black men have received fewer than 40 percent of the associate, professional, and doctoral degrees awarded to Black Americans… Black female professors outnumber Black male professors by a little more than 20,000… an estimated 841,000 Black men and 64,800 Black women were in state or federal prisons and local jails…333 Black Americans had been shot and killed by police. Black men were 222 of those killed” (see also, Smith Lee & Robinson, 2019).

3 Note that the research on ego depletion focuses on whether it influences self-control rather than focusing specifically on impulsivity. However, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) recognize that impulsivity captures the “here and now” and “spur of the moment” aspect of low self-control (see also, Forrest et al., 2019). Therefore, we assume that the effects of ego depletion generalize to impulsivity.

4 Unfortunately, scholars who have studied the effects of ego depletion among Blacks have not examined whether the effects differ across gender. This omission warrants further research.

5 Research indicates that a youth’s future orientation moderates the relationship between impulsivity and problematic behaviors. For example, research reveals that within-individual changes in the variety of criminal behaviors youths were involved in was reduced by intraindividual increases in positive expectations about the future and the degree to which youths thought and acted in a future-oriented manner (e.g., thinking about the consequences of one’s actions, making plans or to do lists) (Petrich & Sullivan, 2019). Scholars have also found that impulse control had less of an effect on offending when achievement expectations (e.g., likelihood of attending college) were high (Chen, Pan and Vazsonyi, 2011; Clinkinbeard, 2014; Mahler, Fine, Frick, Steinberg, & Cauffman, 2018; Mahler, Simmons, Frick, Steinberg, & Cauffman, 2017). Note that these studies did not examine whether the effect of impulsivity or the effect of the youth’s future orientation on problematic behaviors differed across race or whether the three-way interaction term (race X impulsivity X future orientation) on problematic behaviors was significant.

6 We also estimated models that included Latinxs. We present the results from the estimations in the sensitivity analyses section.

7 Note also that our measure of impulsivity was generated from the caretaker’s checklist, which is consistent with how other scholars measured impulsivity and overcomes potential problems with self-reported scales (for example, see Vazsonyi & Jiskrova, 2018).

8 We generated the pairwise comparison results from the first imputation. The results were substantially the same across the rest of the imputed datasets.

9 Note that the research shows that an individual’s capacity to self-regulate can be restored following an initial act of depletion by positive moods, self-affirmations, motivation, and goal activation. Additionally, research shows that an individual’s capacity to self-regulate can be restored vicariously when they imagine a restorative experience from another person’s perspective (Egan et al., 2012).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James D. Unnever

James D. Unnever is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida.

Cecilia Chouhy

Cecilia Chouhy is an Assistant Professor at the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Florida State University.