Deck 5: The Social Correlates of Offending and Victimization

Question 1

Using self-report data, Canter found that males and females report involvement in the same types of offenses.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The prediction that the gender gap in crime and delinquency would narrow, and that male and female rates of offending would converge as a function of gender equality, is known as the:

A) age-gender hypothesis.
B) ecological hypothesis.
C) convergence hypothesis.
D) gender effect.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Testing the convergence hypothesis, Steffensmeier and his colleagues found that females are __________ in the commission of serious or violent offenses.

A) "catching up" with males
B) not "catching up" with males
C) about equal to males
D) surpassing males

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Testing the convergence hypothesis, Steffensmeier and his colleagues found that female arrests have increased most dramatically in recent decades in all but which one of the following?

A) Larceny-theft
B) Fraud
C) Forgery
D) Assault

Question 5

Research testing the convergence hypothesis shows which of the following?

A) Females are ""catching up"" with males in committing serious violent offenses.
B) Changes in criminal justice policy have not affected the likelihood of girls' arrests.
C) Female arrests have increased most dramatically in recent decades for minor property offenses.
D) Female involvement in homicide has tripled in the past ten years.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT discussed in the text as an explanation for the gender gap in delinquency?

A) Gender differences in the processes of social interaction
B) Biological differences linked to testosterone
C) Gender differences in the effects of parenting
D) Gender bias in the criminal justice system

Question 7

Regarding race and crime, Uniform Crime Report data show that:

A) African Americans are overrepresented in involvement in delinquency.
B) more blacks than whites are arrested for serious property crimes.
C) the disproportionate likelihood of arrest for blacks is most glaring for property offenses.
D) All of the above are shown in UCR data.

Question 8

UCR data show that African American youth constitute about __________ percent of those arrested for Part I violent crimes.

A) 30
B) 40
C) 50
D) 60

Question 9

Which of the following is true about the relationship between race and delinquency, based on different data sources?

A) Both official and self-report data show that blacks are overrepresented in violent offending.
B) Self-report surveys show no racial differences in prevalence of offending.
C) Victimization survey data and official data are NOT consistent in terms of racial patterns in serious violent offending.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 10

Regarding race and delinquency, self-report data show that:

A) blacks and whites are similarly likely to be involved in property offenses (prevalence).
B) racial differences in violent offending are greater than racial differences in property offending.
C) racial differences exist in the frequency of serious offenses.
D) All of the above are shown in self-report data.

Question 11

In their explanation of why African Americans are disproportionately involved in serious crime, Sampson and Wilson stress the importance of examining __________ as the unit of analysis.

A) families
B) peer groups
C) the criminal justice system
D) communities

Question 12

UCR data do NOT include information about the _____________ of persons arrested.

A) social class
B) gender
C) age
D) race

Question 13

Early self-report studies in the 1960s and 1970s tended to show __________ relationship between social class and crime and delinquency.

A) a strong
B) a moderate
C) no
D) a statistically significant

Question 14

Which of the following is true about the relationship between social class and delinquency?

A) Both official and self-report data show a strong relationship between social class and offending for all types of offenses.
B) Research shows a consistent relationship between class and delinquency for minor offenses only.
C) Research shows a consistent relationship between class and delinquency for serious offenses only.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 15

Rates of violent victimization peak at ages:

A) 12-14.
B) 18-20.
C) 25-34.
D) 50-64.

Question 16

According to the NCVS, which age category is most likely to be victimized by crime?

A) The elderly
B) Middle-aged adults
C) Teenagers
D) Children under the age of 10

Question 17

The most likely victim of a violent crime such as aggravated assault is:

A) a young, white female
B) a young, black male
C) an old, white female
D) an old, black male

Question 18

Victimization rates are higher for African Americans than for whites for all offenses except:

A) aggravated assault
B) homicide
C) rape/sexual assault
D) robbery

Question 19

Using self-report data, Canter finds gender differences in overall delinquency, with boys reporting roughly ___________ as many delinquent acts as girls.

A) twice
B) three times
C) four times
D) five times

Question 20

Self-report studies of gender and delinquency show which of the following?

A) The gender difference in offending is smaller in self-report studies than in official data.
B) Boys report roughly five times as many delinquent acts as girls do.
C) There is a higher frequency of offending among females.
D) All of the above.

Question 21

Official arrest statistics and self-report data show that:

A) males and females are equally delinquent.
B) males are more delinquent than females.
C) females are more delinquent than males.
D) official arrest data do not contain information about gender.

Question 22

The gender gap in delinquency is clearly narrowing for violent offenses, due solely to increases in girls' violent behavior.

Question 23

UCR arrest data indicate that African Americans are strongly overrepresented in involvement in delinquency, given their share of the U.S. population.

Question 24

Self-report data show no racial differences in prevalence or frequency of offending.

Question 25

UCR data are the best source of information for understanding social class differences in delinquency.

Question 26

Self-report data show no social class differences in prevalence or frequency of offending.

Question 27

According to NCVS data, violent victimization is more likely among teenagers than among middle-aged adults.

Question 28

According to NCVS data, males are more likely than females to be the victims of most types of violent crime.

Question 29

According to NCVS data, blacks are less likely than those of other races to be the victims of most types of violent crime.

Question 30

__________ shows a higher percentage of juvenile arrests than do other violent crimes.

A) Murder
B) Robbery
C) Aggravated assault
D) Rape

Question 31

The age period when people are most likely to be involved in crime is referred to as the:

A) age effect.
B) age-crime curve.
C) age correlation period.
D) crime-prone years.

Question 32

The termination of involvement in crime following adolescence and young adulthood, due to sociological, psychological, and biological forces, is a process referred to as:

A) the age effect.
B) aging out of crime.
C) the convergence hypothesis.
D) the age-crime curve.

Question 33

Serious violent crime arrests peak at age:

A) 15
B) 18
C) 21
D) 25

Question 34

The __________ refers to the fact that, although juveniles constitute a small portion of the U.S. population, they commit a disproportionate share of crime.

A) age effect
B) convergence hypothesis
C) age composition effect
D) age-crime curve

Question 35

According to the ____________, crime rates rise as the number of people in the age group most likely to commit crimes increases, and crime rates fall as the number of people in their crime-prone years decreases.

A) age effect
B) convergence hypothesis
C) age composition effect
D) age-crime curve

Question 36

Which of the following has been offered as an explanation for the relationship between age and crime?

A) As individuals mature into young adulthood, they assume more responsible roles.
B) The legal costs of offending increase with the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
C) Young people have greater physical abilities to commit crimes than do older people.
D) All of the above.

Question 37

Gender differences in juvenile delinquency are greatest for what category of offenses?

A) Violent
B) Property
C) Public order
D) Status

Question 38

More than 85 percent of juveniles arrested are male for all but which one of the following crimes?

A) Robbery
B) Burglary
C) Curfew violations
D) Sex offenses

Question 39

The social correlates that are most closely associated with delinquency are:

A) race and social class
B) gender and race
C) age and gender
D) social class and gender