Collaborative Research on the Use of Case-Control Methods to Test Opportunity Theory

在过去的十年里，犯罪病因学的一个主要焦点是 受害的机会理论 这些的吸引力 理论一直认为，机会， 动机是犯罪发生的必要条件。 尽管 机会理论的流行，既不是理论上的， 实证研究已经远远超出了最初的原则 1970年代末发表的。 理论的发展， 由于过度依赖二手数据， 限制了概念的细化和理论的测试， 提议 因此，该理论不足以 为落实关键的机会概念而制定。 这个合作项目将通过使用 病例对照设计，以完善和测试理论，因为它适用 非商业性抢劫 50名抢劫案受害者和50名 非受害者将接受采访，使用结构化和半- 结构化问题。 定性和定量信息 将收集的生活方式和生态环境的 每组 这些信息将用于确定（1） 情境和生活方式的情况下， 抢劫受害者和（2）之间的任何可辨别的差异 受害者和非受害者的生态和生活方式 模式. 研究的结果将使罪犯的犯罪行为得到改善。 机会模型，因为它适用于受害。 同样重要的是， 它将提供一个评估的效用的病例对照 测试机会模型的设计。 超越理论和 犯罪学研究的方法，研究结果 可能对减少犯罪产生重大影响。

Over the past decade, a major focus of crime etiology has been opportunity theories of victimization. The appeal of these theories has been the idea that opportunity, as much as criminal motivation, is a necessary element for crime to occur. Despite the popularity of the opportunity theories, neither theoretical nor empirical research has gone much beyond the original principles articulated in the late 1970's. The development of the theory has been slowed by the over-reliance on secondary data which has limited the refinement of concepts and the testing of theoretical propositions. As a result, the theory is not sufficiently developed to operationalize key opportunity concepts. This collaborative project will expedite theory building by using a case-control design to refine and test the theory as it applies to non-commercial robbery. A sample of 50 robbery victims and 50 nonvictims will be interviewed using both structured and semi- structured questions. Qualitative and quantitative information will be collected on both the lifestyle and ecological contexts of each group. This information will be used to determine (1) the situational and lifestyle circumstances associated with becoming a robbery victim and (2) any discernable differences between victims and nonvictims in terms of their ecological and lifestyle patterns. The results of the research will enable refinements to the criminal opportunity model as it applies to victimization. As importantly, it will provide an assessment of the utility of the case-control design for testing opportunity models. Beyond advancing theory and methodology in criminological research, results of this research could have significant implications for crime reduction.