Conducting a Criminological Survey in a Culturally Diverse Context

Abstract

West European societies have become increasingly culturally diverse. In this article we discuss two issues that arise when conducting criminological research in diverse contexts, namely threats to study validity as a result of (a) ethnic differences in participation rates and (b) lack of cross-cultural equivalence of questionnaires in multi-language contexts. We demonstrate how these problems were handled in the z-proso study, a prospective longitudinal criminological study involving 1240 families in Zurich, Switzerland. Results suggest that recruitment efforts can significantly increase participation rates, particularly among minority members. As expected, higher participation rates are associated with a qualitative improvement in the sample: parents who needed to be personally motivated to participate tend to have children with higher rates of problem behaviour than do parents who participated spontaneously. Highest rates of problem behaviour were found for those children whose parents did not participate. Finally, the multi-method analysis reveals significant discrepancies in parent rating of child problem behaviour among migrant parents compared with teacher and interviewer rating. Closer scrutiny indicates that such differences are likely to be a result of socially desirable response behaviour among low-education parents.

Should We Subtype ADHD According to the Context in Which Symptoms Occur? Criterion Validity of Recognising Context-Based ADHD Presentations

“…Participants were from the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood [z-proso; 22] cohort. Z-proso is an ongoing longitudinal study of development currently spanning ages 7–17.…”

“…For comparison, we include a ‘trait-like’ predictor of ADHD: low self-control [21], which as a ‘trait’ is by definition are assumed to be expressed across multiple contexts. Using parent- and teacher- and self-reported data from the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood [z-proso; Eisner and Ribeaud 22] study, we use growth mixture modelling to first define subtypes of ADHD characterised by the contexts in which symptoms are evident and then assess whether these subtypes map to context-specific and context-general risk factors. This method allows the data to dictate categories defined by symptom trajectories over different contexts rather than imposing a priori classifications.…”

A Non-bipartite Propensity Score Analysis of the Effects of Teacher–Student Relationships on Adolescent Problem and Prosocial Behavior

“…Fifty-six public elementary schools were randomly sampled, stratified by school size and socioeconomic background of the school district. The target student sample at the initial assessment consisted of all 1675 first Graders from these schools (Eisner and Ribeaud 2005, 2007). …”

“…Teachers completed a paper-and-pencil student assessment form for each participating student at all eight waves. During the first three waves of data collection teachers were not compensated as their participation was mandatory due to the intervention component of the study during these waves (for details see Eisner and Ribeaud 2005, 2007). Subsequently, from wave four onwards, teachers with at least seven participants in their class received a book voucher worth approximately 50 USD as an incentive.…”

Testing the exacerbation and attenuation hypotheses of the role of anxiety in the relation between ADHD and reactive/proactive aggression: A 10-year longitudinal study

“…Further details of participant recruitment, characteristics and assessment procedures can be found in previous publications (e.g. Eisner and Ribeaud, 2007;Eisner et al, 2018) and on the z-proso website:…”