Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


ucin1020626834.pdf (429.66 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

A TALE OF TWO CRIME-TYPES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WELFARE-CRIME RELATIONSHIP

BUREK, MELISSA WINSTON
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1020626834

Abstract Details

2002, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education : Criminal Justice.
Studies that examine the effects of welfare, specifically, Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC), have primarily examined the relationship between public assistance and serious offenses. These studies have found that as levels of welfare relief increase, there are decreases in serious offense rates. These findings are important to take into consideration due to the recent reforms of the welfare system that limit lifetime relief benefits to eligible recipients Because past studies have found a negative relationship between welfare spending and serious crime rates, it is possible that crime rates, at least serious crime rates, could increase as a result of decreases in welfare spending. To date, however, no study has examined the effects of welfare relief on the less serious or part two offenses. Part two offenses are actually more numerous than the more serious offenses. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of public assistance, namely AFDC, on part one and part two offenses. It was the goal of this study to gain a better understanding of the processes by which welfare relief can influence behavior by examining data from the state of Kentucky for the years 1980 and 1990. In particular, this study was interested in trends or changes in crime from time periods 1980 and 1990 as affected by welfare by using residual-change score measures of key variables under study. Residual-change scores allowed for the observation of the effects of fluctuations in welfare spending in relation to part one and two crimes over the ten-year time period. Thus, the current study expanded upon the existing body of literature examining the welfare-crime relationship by analyzing not only cross-sectional data using the multiple regression procedure, but also multiple regression analyses with residual-change score measures. Overall, the findings observed in the present examination were inconsistent with past findings, not only in regards to part two offenses, but also the commonly studied part one crime rates. Welfare spending measured as AFDC yearly spending per recipient, when significant, was generally found to positively contribute to the prediction of the crime categories under study during the 1980s and 1990.
Mitchell Chamlin (Advisor)
171 p.
welfare and crime; AFDC spending and crime; part two offenses; social disorganization, social support, and anomie in relation to welfare

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • BUREK, M. W. (2002). A TALE OF TWO CRIME-TYPES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WELFARE-CRIME RELATIONSHIP [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1020626834

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • BUREK, MELISSA. A TALE OF TWO CRIME-TYPES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WELFARE-CRIME RELATIONSHIP. 2002. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1020626834.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • BUREK, MELISSA. "A TALE OF TWO CRIME-TYPES: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WELFARE-CRIME RELATIONSHIP." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1020626834

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1020626834
1,483
© 2002, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.