University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School March 2019 Social Constructionism and Cultivation Theory in Development of the Juvenile “Super-Predator” Elizabeth R. Jackson-Cruz University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Scholar Commons Citation Jackson-Cruz, Elizabeth R., "Social Constructionism and Cultivation Theory in Development of the Juvenile “Super-Predator”" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7814 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Social Constructionism and Cultivation Theory in Development of the Juvenile “Super-Predator” by Elizabeth R. Jackson-Cruz A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Criminology College of Behavioral and Community Sciences University of South Florida Co-MaJor Professor: John Cochran, PhD Co-MaJor Professor: Dawn K. Cecil, PhD Michael J. Lynch, PhD Date of Approval: March 5, 2019 Keywords: juvenile crime, violent crime, drug crime, super-predator Copyright © 2019, Elizabeth R. Jackson-Cruz DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated in honor of my mother Carol J. Cruz, my sister Yvonne V. Cruz, nephew Noah A. Ortiz, and in loving memory of my brother Jhamal Cruz. Your lives continue to inspire mine and always will. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................. v Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Chapter Two: A Review of the Literature ....................................................................................... 6 The “Super-Predator” .......................................................................................................... 6 Issues with the Super-Predator Construct ................................................................ 8 Changes in Juvenile Justice Policy ........................................................................ 12 Juvenile Crime Research ....................................................................................... 13 The Origin of the Super-Predator Hypothesis ....................................................... 15 Media and Crime ............................................................................................................... 16 Social Construction and Cultivation .................................................................................. 19 Influential Crime News Research ...................................................................................... 23 Moral Panics ...................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 28 Research Hypotheses ......................................................................................................... 28 Data Collection and Coding .............................................................................................. 29 Dependent Variables ......................................................................................................... 31 Independent Variables ....................................................................................................... 31 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter Four: Results .................................................................................................................... 36 Hypothesis 1: Identifiable Juvenile Crime Article Trends ................................................ 36 Hypothesis 2: Super-Predator “Period Effect” .................................................................. 40 Hypothesis 3: Super-Predator Characteristics ................................................................... 43 Hypothesis 4: Prominence of Offender Characteristics .................................................... 46 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 46 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 46 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 47 Hypothesis 5: Prominence of Victim Characteristics ........................................................ 48 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 48 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 48 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 49 i Hypothesis 6: Prominence of Crime Characteristics ......................................................... 50 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 50 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 51 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 52 Chapter Five: Discussion of Results .............................................................................................. 53 Hypothesis 1: Identifiable Juvenile Crime Article Trends ................................................ 55 Hypothesis 2: Super-Predator “Period Effect” .................................................................. 55 Hypothesis 3: Super-Predator Characteristics ................................................................... 56 Hypothesis 4: Prominence of Offender Characteristics .................................................... 57 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 57 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 57 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 58 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 58 Hypothesis 5: Prominence of Victim Characteristics ........................................................ 58 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 58 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 59 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 59 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 59 Hypothesis 6: Prominence of Crime Characteristics ......................................................... 60 Front-page Position ...................................................................................... 60 Presence of an Image .................................................................................... 61 Word Length Categories ............................................................................... 61 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 61 Chapter Six: Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 63 Implications for the Field of Criminology ..................................................................................... 65 Limitations and Call for Future Research ......................................................................... 67 Article Sources ...................................................................................................... 67 Newsworthiness ..................................................................................................... 68 Data Richness ........................................................................................................ 69 Intercoder Reliability ............................................................................................. 69 Generalizability ..................................................................................................... 70 Directions for Future Research .............................................................................. 70 Relevance ............................................................................................................................... 71 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 71 References