A Theory of African American Offending

Abstract

Analyzing the National Survey of American Life, which includes 3,570 Blacks, this research is the first to test core hypotheses of Unnever and Gabbidon’s Theory of African American Offending. A core assertion of Unnever and Gabbidon’s theory, which specifically and only focuses on Blacks, is that their offending is associated with the degree to which they encounter racial injustices. This article focuses on two forms of racial injustice that are prominently highlighted by Unnever and Gabbidon—racial discrimination and racist stereotypes. The results reveal that Blacks who experience racial discrimination and “buy into” the pejorative stereotype that they are violent are more likely to offend, as they experience heightened states of low self-control, anger, and depression. The data also show that experiences with racial injustices increase the likelihood that Blacks will become dependent on substances/alcohol. These findings were generated while including other correlates of arrests, including demographic characteristics, whether Blacks identify with other Blacks, the number of relatives in jail or prison, and strength of family bonds. The theoretical importance of these findings is discussed.

Microaggressions, Injustices, and Racial Identity

“…Low formal social control makes official policing and crime control difficult and increases the likelihood of violence in African American neighborhoods (Tyler, 1990(Tyler, , 2001. Unnever and Gabbidon (2011) point out that "it is difficult for African Americans to believe that they should obey the law when they see it as a racist means to disrespect, harass, humiliate, bully, and unfairly imprison them" (p. 173).…”

“…Unnever and Gabbidon (2011) aimed for TAAO to not only explain African American offending rates, but the gender disparity in offending between African Americans. They present several hypotheses for the African American gender gap in crime.…”

“…They suggest these differences in degree emerge largely due to disparities in racial socialization between sons and daughters. Particularly, Unnever and Gabbidon (2011) hypothesize females are socialized to have greater racial pride and have more positive racial socialization experiences, especially due to greater involvement in the Black church. Furthermore, daughters are taught more egalitarian values, specifically in relation to large social institutions such as school.…”

Race Discrimination, Racial Socialization, and Offending Trends Among African American College Students

“…Although there is prior research supporting many of the theory's propositions, research testing the theory is limited (Jones & Greene, 2013;Unnever, 2014). Most prior research that examines either RD or both RD and RS usually have adolescent/youth samples, present secondary analyses, and exclude African American offending.…”

“…Research on RD and RS includes studies that examine how RD predicts offending (Burt & Simons, 2015;Burt et al, 2012;Caldwell et al, 2004;Unnever, 2014) and how RS buffers (or lessens) the effect of RD on offending (Pezzella et al, 2015;Scott, 2003;Simons et al, 2006;Thomas & Blackmon, 2015).…”