PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Social media (e.g., Instagram) has become a significant part of the daily lives of many people. Used for individual photograph and video content creation and distribution, Instagram allows users to connect with individuals across the world. While Instagram has age-restriction policies requiring users to be 13 years of age or older, it is commonplace for parents to run an underage user's Instagram account, for underage users to claim parental representation, or for underage accounts to slip through Instagram's age restriction policies. Photos of young girls can often garner negative and/or sexualized attention, specifically from adult men. The sexualization of young girls is further compounded by the entertainment industry and the growing concept of social media influencers, who are content creators with authority and sway over large audiences that represent a unique version of celebrity. The growing popularity of underage influencers has resulted in adults, specifically adult males, viewing pictures and videos of young girls. While not all viewership of child female Instagram influencers can be considered victimization, the current study expands on existing social media cybervictimization research by characterizing the viewership of sexualized child content by adult men as a gateway to potential future victimization of these children. Using routine activities theory, the current study examined the convergence of potential victims (underage female influencers), potential offenders (adult male Instagram followers), and a lack of capable guardianship (lack of parental monitoring or the perception of parental monitoring). This theoretical framework was used to assess if parental monitoring of underage female influencers' profiles was associated with a reduced percentage of adult male Instagram followers relative to profiles without parental monitoring. A sample of n = 950 female Instagram influencers 17 years of age or younger was constructed using an AI-powered (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joseph Nedelec Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Erica Fissel Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Eck Ph.D. (Committee Member); Leah Butler Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2015, Sociology (Arts and Sciences)

Few empirical studies have explored serial rape and little work has been done to develop a sociological profile of serial rapists and their victims. Creating sociological profiles of serial rape offenders and their victims allows us to identify individuals with opportunities to offend as well as those at an increased risk of victimization. The current paper uses a qualitative analysis of newspaper accounts in order to construct a sociological profile of the con-style serial rapist. These profiles were constructed for each of the four types of con that were identified in the data. A total of 403 newspaper articles were coded and 221 con-style serial rapists were included in the current analysis. The resulting sociological profiles can be used to inform policies which protect high-risk victim populations as well as decrease offenders' opportunities to commit serial rape.

Committee: Thomas Vander Ven (Committee Chair); Kelly Faust (Committee Member); Christine Mattley (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Sociology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

According to Elijah Anderson's Code of the Street (1999), individuals in disadvantaged communities adopt a set of oppositional values, partly because demonstrating these values allows them to avoid victimization. However, the empirical evidence on the effect of the street code on victimization is mixed, with several studies finding that those who adhere to the values provided in the code are at greater risk for victimization. This study incorporates lifestyle-routine activities theory in order to better understand the relationships between subcultural values, opportunity, and victimization. Specifically, three theoretical models are tested. In the first model, the main effects of code-related beliefs are examined, net of activities. The second model proposes an indirect effect of subcultural values on victimization through an increase in public activities or lifestyle. The third model is interactive in nature; one's beliefs and activities may interact to increase the chances of experiencing victimization, with adherence to subcultural values affecting victimization to a greater extent for those who more often engage in public activities. Additionally, the extent to which the effects of subcultural values in the form of street codes and public activities vary by neighborhood context is examined. Using survey data from approximately 3,500 adults from 123 census tracts in Seattle, Washington, multilevel models of crime-specific victimization were estimated. The findings revealed that both public lifestyles and adherence to the street code were positively related to violent and breaking and entering victimization. In addition, the effect of the street code on both types of victimization was moderated by public activities; code-related values contributed to greater risk of victimization for those with more public lifestyles, but were protective for those who did not spend as much time in public. Implications for policy and theory that arise from these findi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pamela Wilcox Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Eric A Stewart Ph.D. (Committee Member); Francis Cullen Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Wooldredge Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The victimization of college students has been the focus of many past studies. The majority of these studies have focused on using the lifestyles/routine activities framework to identify predictors of college student victimization. This framework posits that individuals who are exposed to risky situations, in close proximity to motivated offenders, are attractive targets, and lack capable guardianship are at high risk for victimization. While the lifestyles/routine activities framework has received support through empirical testing, some researchers have argued for the need to extend of the framework to incorporate other risk factors. ADHD is a potential risk factor that may be important in the prediction of college student victimization. Past research suggests that children with ADHD are at an increased risk of being victimized, however, no research could be located that examined the relationship between ADHD and victimization risk among young adults. Thus, this dissertation attempts to expand the lifestyles/routine activities framework in several areas: 1) provide an estimate of sexual victimization and physical assault prevalence among a national sample of college students 2) provide an estimate of the prevalence of ADHD among a national sample of college students 3) include ADHD as a potential risk factor in the prediction of sexual victimization and physical assault among college students 4) test the lifestyles/routine activities framework in the prediction of sexual victimization and physical assault. The findings indicate that ADHD is an important predictor of sexual victimization and physical assault, emerging as a significant risk factor across models. The lifestyles/routine activities theory also received general support particularly for the concepts of exposure, proximity, and guardianship. ADHD as an extension of the lifestyles/routine activities framework is discussed along with possible prevention methods.

Committee: Bonnie Sue Fisher PhD (Committee Chair); John Sloan PhD (Committee Member); Francis Cullen PhD (Committee Member); Pamela Wilcox PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Education : Criminal Justice

Environmental criminology suggests that crime problems can be conceptualized as problems of repeat victims, repeat offenders, or repeat places of crime. There have been considerable theoretical and empirical developments in environmental criminology to examine problems of repeat victimization and repeat places of crime. Repeat offender problems, however, have received less attention within this paradigm. In particular, the application of handlers to serious repeat offender problems has been neglected. This dissertation explores whether environmental criminology and handlers can be used to explain and prevent serious repeat offending problems. To address this, a model of handler effectiveness is proposed to identify the characteristics which influence the likelihood of crime prevention through handling. This model is then used to explore the possibility of using handlers to control a specific crime problem, street group violence. In addition, the implications of engaging handlers as a crime prevention strategy are discussed. Specifically, hypotheses are proposed regarding the circumstances under which displacement and diffusion of benefits are most likely to occur. The ethical implications of engaging handlers through encouragement and coercion are explored, and a set of ethical guidelines are proposed. Various methodological issues associated with studying handlers are also discussed. In closing, this dissertation examines how the concept of handling relates to other criminological theories, and suggests future directions for research in environmental criminology.

Committee: John Eck Dr. (Committee Chair); Pamela Wilcox Dr. (Committee Member); Robin Engel Dr. (Committee Member); David Kennedy (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2004, Education : Criminal Justice

This study investigates the concept of criminality of place, specifically considering residential theft (i.e., residential burglary and residential larceny). By utilizing official police records, this study examined the spatial distribution of theft across residential locations in a large, Midwestern city. Land parcel level analyses were conducted using geographic information systems (GIS), tabular analyses, logistic regression, and a spatial-scan statistic. The results showed that not only were thefts not uniformly distributed among residential locations, but that a few locations (less than five percent) were responsible for most of the thefts reported to the police. Further, the spatial-scan statistic analysis indicated that that risk of residential theft is significantly clustered at relatively few places and the non-random distribution is likely due to some underlying risk factors. Finally, this study then examined the characteristics of these locations to determine whether elements of social disorganization, routine activities or an integrated theory perspective resulted in the prediction of these high theft incident locations. The results showed that a combined model had more predictive ability than either theory alone.

Committee: Dr. Lawrence Travis (Advisor) Subjects: