SOCI-225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: White-Collar Crime, Embezzlement, Homicide
Document Summary
Correlate: any variable that is related to another variable; age and sex are the two strongest correlates of crime. A correlation exists when two or more variables are related to each other. A causal explanation describes how one factor causes another; correlation does not allow us to infer causation. Usually involves a theory: an description linking the two variables. Tendency to assume that a cause has only one affect or that it is perfectly correlated with its outcome, which is rare (ie poverty related to crime/delinquency, but not 100%) In reality, crime has many causes that interact (nettler described it as a spider web) Age: crime is strongly associated with age; after adolescence and early adulthood crime decreases. -other researchers have found weaker trends: clearest link was for break and enter, when economic trends are considered. Gender: males more likely to be involved in crime, esp. serious property crime and violent crime.
