Ambient temperature as a moderator of the reactive criminal thinking – violent offending relationship: a multilevel analysis
Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
ISSN: 2056-3841
Article publication date: 8 February 2021
Issue publication date: 3 September 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the potential moderating effect of the average annual ambient temperature in 24 European countries on the relationship between criminal thinking (reactive vs proactive) and juvenile offending (violent vs property).
Design/methodology/approach
The average annual ambient temperatures found in 24 European countries were correlated with measures of reactive vs proactive criminal thinking and violent vs property offending in 56,518 students (50.4% female) from the second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study. These data were analyzed using a multilevel model comprising three Level 1 (student) predictors – age, sex and family structure – one Level 2 (country) predictor – ambient temperature – and two outcome measures – a reactive: proactive criminal thinking index (RPI) and a violent: property offending index (VPI).
Findings
The RPI and VPI correlated significantly with the Level 1 predictors, and the annual ambient temperatures from these 24 countries (Level 2 predictor) correlated positively with RPI and VPI and moderated the effect of reactive criminal thinking (RCT) on violent offending.
Practical implications
These findings indicate that ambient temperature correlates with violent/aggressive offending after the effects of property/non-aggressive offending have been controlled and suggest that ambient temperature may moderate the relationship between RCT and violent offending by affecting the decision-making process.
Originality/value
The contribution made by this study to the literature is that it illustrates how a macro-level influence in the form of average annual temperature can impact on micro-level processes in the form of criminal thinking and violent behavior.
Keywords
Citation
Walters, G.D. (2021), "Ambient temperature as a moderator of the reactive criminal thinking – violent offending relationship: a multilevel analysis", Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 233-250. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-10-2020-0067
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited