Universität zu Köln

Sattler, Sebastian ORCID: 0000-0002-6491-0754, Graeff, Peter, Sauer, Carsten and Mehlkop, Guido (2018). The illegal sale of prescription drugs for enhancing cognitive performance A vignette-based study of rational and normative causes. Monatssc. Kriminol. Strafrechtsreform, 101 (3-4). S. 352 - 380. COLOGNE: CARL HEYMANNS VERLAG KG. ISSN 0026-9301

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The illicit sale of prescription drugs for enhancing cognitive performance is a criminal act which has hardly been studied although the consumption of these drugs by healthy people has numerous negative individual and social consequences. In this study, we scrutinize the decision to sale those drugs based on assumptions of various criminological rational choice models, self-control theory, social norms, as well as the Model of Frame Selection (MFS) and the Situational Action Theory (SAT). Thereby, we also consider interactions between instrumental incentives, self-control and norms. To investigate decisions regarding the illegal sale of performance enhancing drugs, we used a web-based survey among students at four German universities (N=1,698). Each respondent received randomly one out of 900 vignettes, in each case describing a hypothetical sales situation concerning the illegal and financially rewarding transmission of medications to enhance concentration between students. The descriptions have been randomly varied with respect to the sales profits and the severity of punishments and their respective probabilities. Moreover, the degree of self-control and internalized norms regarding illegal sales have been assessed. The results, that are derived from double hurdle models, show that, especially, internalized norms as well as the severity of punishment reduce the willingness of selling, while low self-control and increasing profits increase this willingness. In addition, a negative interaction effect between low self-control and the severity of punishment shows that a more severe punishment leads to more deterrence when self-control is lower (respectively that with more sever punishments, the impact of self-control decreases). Although the results support the theoretical assumptions only partially, we can show that internalized norms significantly influence the perception of criminal behavior while the benefits of such behavior and self-control seem to operate in a downstream deliberation process.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Sattler, Sebastian UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-6491-0754 UNSPECIFIED Graeff, Peter UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Sauer, Carsten UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Mehlkop, Guido UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-183144
DOI:	10.1515/mks-2018-1013-408
Journal or Publication Title:	Monatssc. Kriminol. Strafrechtsreform
Volume:	101
Number:	3-4
Page Range:	S. 352 - 380
Date:	2018
Publisher:	CARL HEYMANNS VERLAG KG
Place of Publication:	COLOGNE
ISSN:	0026-9301
Language:	German
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SELF-CONTROL; INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES; GENERAL-THEORY; CHOICE THEORY; NORMS; DETERRENCE; MORALITY; STUDENTS; CRIME; ENHANCEMENT Multiple languages Criminology & Penology Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/18314