Criminal Identity and Offending at School: A Longitudinal Study of South Korean Students

• In Event: School Surveillance and Social Construction

Abstract

Labeling theory as well as contemporary identity theories argue that a criminal identity is criminogenic. In this context, we examine whether criminal identity—as measured by combining items tapping both self-appraisals and reflected appraisals—is related to youth offending at school in South Korea. Moreover, we posit that criminal identity is dynamic and accounts for changes in criminal behavior over time across different offending groups. Preliminary analysis of 3,449 Korean students studied across 5 waves, spanning their time in the second grade of junior high school through the third grade of high school, support our hypotheses. First, using a zero-truncated negative binomial model, we find that students who have a stronger criminal identity are more likely to be involved in repeat offending. This relationship holds when taking into account measure of social bonds and informal social control. Further, using a Group-based Trajectory model, we find that criminal identity helps explain intra-group trajectories of offending across five waves and that its effects are opposite those of informal social control. Thus, this study supports the renewed effort in criminology to examine the effects of identity on offending.

Authors

• SooHyun O, University of Cincinnati

• YongJei Lee, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

• Pamela Wilcox, Pennsylvania State University

• Francis Cullen, University of Cincinnati