Browsing by Author "Peguero, Anthony A."

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Constructing a Theory of Power-Relevant Dyadic Helping and Aggressing: A mixed-methods study
    McCarty, Shane Michael (Virginia Tech, 2016-06-29)
    Helping and aggressing behaviors are important to study in adolescence because they relate to adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes. These behaviors take place within the social context and their impact may be determined by the nature of the dyadic relationship between the agent and the recipient of the behavior. Relative power may be a critical aspect of dyadic relationships as evidenced by the research on bullying and related outcomes. However, a review of the helping and aggression literatures shows that relative power between agents and recipients of behavior has largely been neglected, perhaps because measurement approaches focus on individual tendencies over time rather than single behaviors at one point in time. I propose a theory that includes relative power as a critical dimension in the conceptualization of aggression and helping in dyadic interactions. I define dyadic interpersonal behavior based on two bipolar continua: impact (extremely beneficial impact [helping] through no impact to extremely harmful impact [aggressing]) and relative power imbalance between dyad members (lower-power through balanced-power to higher-power). In this dissertation, I tested whether my theory fits with adolescents' conceptualizations of helping and aggressing behavior in dyads using a mixed-methods approach. Focus group data collection occurred from two sessions with 13 and 11 adolescents in order to create gender-relevant and school-relevant vignettes of helping and aggressing behavior. Vignettes varied in intensity of impact (extremely beneficial, moderately beneficial, neutral, moderately harmful and extremely harmful), relative power between agent and recipient (i.e., high to high, low to low, high to low, and low to high power dyads), and power type (i.e., academic power and social power). The quantitative phase involved the rating of paired vignettes based on similarity by 203 students from the same high school as the focus group participants. Similarity scores were aggregated within gender and the type of power (academic or social). Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to test whether the proposed theory of power-relevant helping and aggressing is supported by adolescents' similarity ratings. The models of boys' interpersonal behaviors show three-dimensional solutions whereas those for girls reflect four-dimensional solutions. The first dimension of benefit and harm, which was proposed in my theory, emerged in all four sets of analyses (academic-boys; academic-girls; social-boys; social-girls). The secondary dimension proposed in the theory, relative power, only emerged for girls in regard to social power, as the fourth dimension in that solution. Qualitative analyses of focus group transcripts suggest that school atmosphere, power in the school, and bullying were primary themes salient in adolescents' thinking about helping and aggressing behavior. Relative power did not emerge as a theme or a concept in these qualitative analyses, suggesting that relative power is not a salient concept in adolescent thinking for helping and aggressing. Thus, neither quantitative nor qualitative analyses support the secondary dimension proposed in my theory. This mixed-methods study advances theory and research by: 1) demonstrating that adolescents conceptualize helping and aggressing as opposite ends of a single dimension at the behavioral level, 2) demonstrating that power at the individual level with a group referent and collective dyadic power are more salient than relative power in adolescents' perceptions of helping and aggressing behavior, and 3) situating the conceptualization and measurement of interpersonal behavior within the relational context.
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    Coping isn't for the Faint of Heart: An Investigation into the Development of Coping Strategies for Incoming Police Recruits
    Clifton, Stacey Anne Moore (Virginia Tech, 2020-06-18)
    Policing in America has lost more officers to suicides than line of duty deaths over the past four years. As the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, the well-being of officers is critical as unhealthy police using poor coping strategies to handle their stress can lead to a multitude of negative consequences for the communities they serve, their departments, their fellow officers, and themselves. While the technology of policing is quickly advancing, the routine duties of officers remain stressful. This stress requires officers to use effective coping strategies to deal with it, but the traditional subculture of policing promotes maladaptive, rather than adaptive, coping strategies. To understand how the subculture influences police and the coping strategies they use, research must understand the socialization process of recruits entering the job. The current research seeks to understand how police recruits are socialized into the police subculture and how this affects the coping strategies they use to deal with the stressors they will confront on the job. The research analyzes how the network position of recruits influences their adoption of the police subculture and how this, in turn, affects their development of coping strategies. Recruits were surveyed three times during their academy training to examine the transitioning and socialization that occurs throughout the police academy. Results reveal that networks affect the adoption of the police subculture by recruits and this socialization process impacts the development of coping strategies by recruits. Findings highlight the need for future work to continue the longitudinal research approach to examine how the networks change once recruits complete their field training and probationary period.
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    Examining the Effects of Victimization on the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Youth
    Kahle, Lindsay Leann (Virginia Tech, 2017-05-31)
    Youth violence has garnered the attention of researchers and policy makers alike, because of the unique risk factors associated with victimization and the poor physical, mental, and educational outcomes that stem from such experiences. In particular, sexual minority youth--those who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or who have sexual contact with persons of the same or both sexes (CDC, 2016)--are among those most at risk for victimization. Research that highlights and addresses these issues is crucial. This study utilizes the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data in order to investigate different forms of victimization and their consequences in lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) youth. Drawing from a sample of 12,642 9th-12th grade youth, this study investigates the prevalence of bullying, homophobic bullying, dating violence and sexual assault, as well their effects on school avoidance, poor mental health, and substance use outcomes. Results reveal that differences do, in fact, exist between sexual minority and heterosexual youth, where LGBQ youth experience higher rates of every type of victimization, and are more likely to report school avoidance, depression, suicidality, and substance use. Furthermore, this study also investigates the intersections of sexual orientation and gender, and finds that females who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning are most at risk for every type of victimization. Findings highlight the need for recognition of the importance of sexual orientation and gender in youth victimization, and the need for policy that explicitly outlines protections for sexual minority youth within the school environment, as well as services extended to victims of IPV.
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    Gender, immigration, and school victimization
    Peguero, Anthony A. (Virginia Tech. University Libraries, 2012-04)
    Anthony Peguero speaks about his research on adolescent violence, socialization and marginalization, school bullying, race and ethnicity, and the adaptation of the children immigrants. It is well established that violence can seriously lead to mental health disorders, disrupt interpersonal social relationships, derail educational progress, and negatively impact life-course trajectories for youth. Despite the prevalence and problems associated with youth violence, studies that examine the disparities linked to race and ethnicity, immigration, and gender in relationship to the exposure and consequences of violence for youth are underrepresented and limited. Dr. Peguero's research agenda is focused on addressing the gap in the sociological, criminological, and educational research literature in the pursuit of ameliorating the likelihood of violence, as well as the consequences, for marginalized and vulnerable youth populations. While Dr. Peguero’s work focuses on how violence contributes to social inequalities, this area of research is still in its infancy and future research will continue to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches to further this line of inquiry.
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    Milner's Theory of Status Relations and Cyberbullying Among U.S. Adolescents
    Yost, Lisa Robinson (Virginia Tech, 2020-09-17)
    This research examines the relationship between status and cyberbullying among U.S. adolescents. It distinguishes between several status variables and three categories of involvement in cyberbullying: bullies, victims, and non-participants. Utilizing Milner's (2016) theory of status relations, it was hypothesized that cyberbullying is a means by which high school students attempt to gain status among their peers and enforce the status hierarchy of their schools. The more rigid the differentiation between peer groups in a high school, the more likely there would be cyberbullying present. In addition, this research examined if any differences in cyberbullying existed based on the location of the high school in an urban or rural area. Using a multinomial logistic regression to analyze survey data collected from a university in southwest Virginia, partial support for Milner's (2016) theory was found as some status variables, in particular social association, group mobility, and individual mobility, were related to cyberbullying, but no significant results were found by location type. This research contributes a to new theoretical framework for examining cyberbullying and advances the discussion on the influence of peers in cyberbullying, which can impact prevention and intervention efforts aimed at curbing cyberbullying among adolescents.
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    Public Housing: Examining the Impact of Banishment and Community Policing
    Torres, Jose Alexis (Virginia Tech, 2016-07-01)
    Public housing authorities (PHAs) have enforced banishment since the late 1980s by granting police the authority to ban non-residents from public housing neighborhoods and arresting them for trespassing upon violating the ban. PHAs justify banishment by stating that issuing bans and arrests for trespassing aid in crime prevention by removing non-residents who may commit criminal acts if left unguarded. Nonetheless, there has been no scientific evidence to suggest that banishment works to reduce crime. Similarly, the role community policing can play in enforcing banishment is unclear and scarce research has considered the effects of banishment on racial and ethnic minorities at neighborhood and individual levels. To address these issues this three-part study examined the enforcement of banishment on Kings Housing Authority (KHA; Southeast, US) public housing property from 2004-2012. Collectively these studies address the following overarching research questions: Does banishment reduce crime in public housing neighborhoods? Does banishment disproportionately target racial and ethnic public housing neighborhoods? Does banishment prevent banned individuals from re-offending in public housing? Does banishment disproportionately ban racial and ethnic individuals? What are the residential perceptions of banishment and its effectiveness? How does race and ethnicity affect perceptions of banishment and its effectiveness? Results suggest that banishment is better at reducing property crime than violent crime, though the reductions are modest at best. Increases in bans predicted decreases in drug arrests the following year and predicted that drug offenders can be deterred. Despite these crime control benefits results also suggested that the enforcement of banishment comes at a cost. First, a significant amount of banned individuals are not deterred. Second, while trespass enforcement is used in communities other than public housing, the issuing of bans is concentrated only within public housing communities and bans are predominantly issued to African-American males. Finally, results found that residents are not likely to find them effective if they think they are policing too much or policing too little. Future directions and implications are discussed given the dynamic between the crime control benefits of banishment and its social consequences.
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    Social Mobility and Crime Rates, 1970 - 2010: Applying the Cycles of Deviance Model to Violent and Economic Crime
    Arietti, Rachael Alexandra (Virginia Tech, 2013-06-03)
    In his article, "Cycles of Deviance" (1996), Hawdon demonstrates how varying rates of social mobility correspond to cyclical patterns of drug use in the United States between 1880 and 1990. He proposes that social mobility alters the "deviance structure" of a society by changing the rate at which certain behaviors are labeled deviant, and thus, the rate at which people engage in those behaviors. This study provides an updated assessment of the cycles of deviance model to determine whether it can account for rates of violent and economic crime. I use social mobility to predict homicide, burglary, and overall rates of drug use from 1970 through 2010 using a time-series analysis. Crime data are obtained from the FBI\'s Uniform Crime Reports and Monitoring the Future. Social mobility data are obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau. I also control for several well- established correlates of crime -- namely, economic and demographic factors, police size, illicit drug market activity, and firearm availability. Results show moderate support for the cycles of deviance model in predicting rates of homicide and burglary. However, social mobility\'s influence with respect to drug use appears to vary with the size of the youth population.
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    Victimization, Urbanicity, and the Relevance of Context: School Routines, Race and Ethnicity, and Adolescent Violence
    Peguero, Anthony A.; Portillos, Edwardo L.; Hong, Jun S.; González, Juan Carlos; Kahle, Lindsay L.; Shekarkhar, Zahra (Hindawi, 2013-07-14)
    The United States is undergoing a historical racial and ethnic demographic shift. There is limited criminological research exploring if and how these changes influence variation in the relationship between routine activity theory and adolescent violence. Although the link between routine activities and victimization has been tested and well established, criminologists have questioned if routine activities can explain adolescent violence across different social contexts. Prior research demonstrates that there are potential nuances in the theoretical connections between routine activities and victimization, particularly when considering race and ethnicity. This study builds on previous research by questioning if the elements of routine activities predict victimization across predominately urban, rural, and suburban schools. The implications of the relevance of school context in the relationships between routine activities and adolescent victimization will also be discussed more generally.