Kristina N. Block

Kristina N. Block

Assistant Professor

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A list of all the posts and pages found on the site. For you robots out there, there is an XML version available for digesting as well.

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publications

Professional sports and crime: Do professional hockey games increase city-level crime rates?

Published in Crime & Delinquency, 2021

Previous research has found that sports games increase certain crimes including theft and vandalism, but the relationship between sports and other offenses such as motor vehicle theft, robbery, and assaults is mixed. Using regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game data and city-level, incident-level crime data from four large U.S. cities, this paper estimates if professional ice hockey games played at home is associated with increases in property crimes, alcohol-related crimes, and assaults during and right after games the over course of four NHL seasons. Results show that NHL games lead to small but significant increases in property crimes and assaults. There is no significant effect for alcohol-related crimes. Implications and suggestions for future work are discussed.

Recommended citation: Block, K. (2021). Professional sports and crime: Do professional hockey games increase city-level crime rates? Crime & Delinquency, 67(12), 2069–2087.
Link to Publication

The role of changes in sleep on the development of self-control and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood

Published in Journal of Criminal Justice, 2022

Objectives Much remains unknown about the potential role of changes in poor sleep on the well-established association between changes in components of low self-control, such as impulsivity and sensation seeking, and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood.

Recommended citation: Connolly, E. J., Schwartz, J. A., & Block, K. (2022). The role of changes in sleep on the development of self-control and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Criminal Justice, 82.
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A test of the Cinderella effect: Measuring victim injury in child abuse cases

Published in Journal of Criminal Justice, 2022

Past research finds that stepparents harm and kill their partner’s children at higher rates than biological parents do to their own children, a phenomenon called the “Cinderella effect.” Yet one major limitation of these studies is that reporting biases may account for a large share of the effect observed if reporting rates differ based on the victim-offender relationship. As abuse cases with serious injuries are more likely to be disclosed to police than ones with no injuries or minor injuries, using cases where the victim is seriously injured allows us to minimize the impact of differential reporting. Using data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) which covers over 500,000 cases of child abuse from 1991 through 2019, we find that, relative to biological parents, unmarried partners, but not stepparents, are significantly more likely to seriously injure the child, partially supporting the Cinderella effect.

Recommended citation: Block, K., & Kaplan, J. (2022). A test of the Cinderella effect: Measuring victim injury in child abuse cases. Journal of Criminal Justice, 82.
Link to Publication

Adolescent delinquency

Published in Encyclopedia of child and adolescent Health, 2023

Recommended citation: Connolly, E. J., Block, K., & Royle, M. (2023). Adolescent delinquency. In P. Cabral and A.V. Song (Eds.), Encyclopedia of child and adolescent Health. Elsevier.

The association between professional sporting events and police calls for service in San Antonio, Texas

Published in Journal of Crime & Justice, 2023

The influence of sporting events on crime is an important but under-researched area in criminology. Although this literature is growing, it mostly focuses on whether crime changes in the city/area where a sporting event is taking place. Thus, it is unclear whether crime in a different city/state can be affected by airing a sporting event on television. The current study contributes to the literature by investigating the impact of televised professional sporting events by the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL on calls for police service in San Antonio, Texas. Specifically, this study examines whether five categories of police calls for service in San Antonio increase or decrease on days in which NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games take place compared to days with no games. This study examines this association between March 2020 and March 2021 during which in-person sporting events were not permitted in San Antonio because of COVID-19 restrictions. Results indicate that days with particular sporting events are associated with increases in certain calls for police service, while others are associated with decreases. Our findings suggest that police departments may consider increased patrol on days that certain sporting events take place.

Recommended citation: Bagwell, R., Block, K., Leal, W. E., & Piquero, A. (2023). The association between professional sporting events and police calls for service in San Antonio, Texas. Journal of Crime & Justice. 46(5), 579-592.
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Frequency of adequate sleep and different forms of delinquency across adolescence: Evidence from nationally representative samples of youth

Published in Youth & Society, 2023

An emerging body of research documents a relationship between sleep quantity and delinquency during adolescence. Absent from this line of research, however, is an evaluation of whether the associations between sleep duration and different forms of delinquency vary across periods of adolescence and sex. The current study aimed to address this gap in the body of literature by analyzing data from nationally representative samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from the 2010 to 2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) surveys. Multivariate regression models reveal that relations between getting less than 7 hours of sleep and violent and non-violent delinquent behavior vary across grade level. Specifically, associations between less sleep and forms of delinquency are stronger for males in grades 8 and 10 compared to males in grade 12 or females. Implications of the results for future research and policies designed to increase sleep quantity during adolescent development are discussed.

Recommended citation: Block, K., & Connolly, E. J. (2023). Frequency of adequate sleep and different forms of delinquency across adolescence: Evidence from nationally representative samples of youth. Youth & Society, 56(3), 622-646.
Link to Publication

An analysis of National Hockey League playoff games and city-level crime counts

Published in Crime & Delinquency, 2023

Past research indicates that when professional sports games are played, crime increases. Yet, little is known about how playoff games affect crime. As many criminal events associated with sports games, such as riots, occur during playoff games, this is an important gap in the literature. Using data from 15 National Hockey League (NHL) teams from 2013 through 2019, we examine how assault, disorder, and property crimes change when playoff games are played at home relative to when they are played away. We find that during home games there are 7% more disorder crimes and 4% more property crimes than during away games which suggests that city responses to playoff hockey games should prioritize crime reduction strategies to improve public safety.

Recommended citation: Block, K., & Kaplan, J. (2023). An analysis of National Hockey League playoff games and city-level crime counts. Crime & Delinquency, 69(11), 2194-2217.
Link to Publication

It’s all in your head: Unpacking what’s known about head injuries in correctional settings

Published in Handbook on contemporary issues in health, crime, and punishment, 2024

Recommended citation: Block, K., Narvey, C. S., Leal, W.E., & Formaro, H. (2024). It’s all in your head: Unpacking what’s known about head injuries in correctional settings. In N. Link, M. Novisky, & C. Fahmy (Eds.), Handbook on contemporary issues in health, crime, and punishment (pp. 274-288). Routledge.
Link to Publication

Examining PM2.5 concentrations in counties with and without state-run correctional facilities in Texas

Published in Punishment & Society, 2024

A high percentage of people who are incarcerated suffer from health problems that affect them both in prison and after they are released. Environmental hazards and pollutants can exacerbate these problems as well as contribute to the development of new health conditions. One specific type of pollutant that is associated with a wide array of health problems including decreased lung function, cancer, and asthma is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5). While prior research indicates that PM2.5 is not equally distributed throughout space, it remains unknown if levels of PM2.5 differ in areas with and without correctional facilities. The current study aims to address this gap by examining if counties with state-run correctional facilities have higher concentrations of PM2.5 relative to counties without state-run correctional facilities in Texas. Results of OLS regression models indicate that counties with one or more state-run correctional facilities have higher concentrations of PM2.5 relative to counties without these facilities. These findings highlight the importance of improving prison healthcare and addressing issues of environmental injustice in correctional facilities.

Recommended citation: Block, K. (2024). Examining PM2.5 concentrations in counties with and without state-run correctional facilities in Texas. Punishment & Society, 26(1), 32-52.
Link to Publication

The geospatial distribution of crime against persons calls for service on days with Sam Antonio Spurs Games

Published in Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2024

Objectives Examine how crimes against person (CAP) calls are spatially patterned around the Spurs’ arena and city. Using data from 2019–2021, we investigate the geospatial clustering of CAP calls when fans are and are not present.

Recommended citation: Bagwell, R., Leal, W. E., Sen Roy, S., Flanagan, H., Britton, L., Piquero, A.R., & Block, K. The geospatial distribution of crime against persons calls for service on days with Sam Antonio Spurs Games. Journal of Experimental Criminology. OnlineFirst.
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Head Injury, Sleep Disturbance, and Delinquent Offending: Evidence from a Longitudinal Sample of Juvenile Detainees

Published in Journal of Criminal Justice, 2024

Juvenile youth are disproportionately more likely to experience head injury (HI), and HI is associated with reoffending. Yet, little is currently known about the extent to which common symptoms of HI – such as sleep disturbance – condition this relationship. The current study uses prospective data to investigate within-individual changes in HI and reoffending and the moderating role of sleep disturbance on these associations across males and females. Data are drawn from the Northwestern Juvenile Project (NJP), a longitudinal sample of previously adjudicated juveniles. Random intercept cross-lagged models are estimated to assess within-individual changes in HI, violent offending, and nonviolent offending over a two-year period as well as the moderating role of sleep disturbance. Findings indicate that within-individual increases in HI are associated with within-individual increases in violent, but not nonviolent offending. The relation between HI and violent offending is stronger at higher levels of sleep disturbance for males, but not females. Taken together, the results suggest that relations between HI and offending are complex, with different mechanisms likely explaining associations across males and females.

Recommended citation: Block, K. & Connolly, E. J. (2024). Head Injury, Sleep Disturbance, and Delinquent Offending: Evidence from a Longitudinal Sample of Juvenile Detainees. Journal of Criminal Justice, 95.
Link to Publication

Sports Involvement, Head Injury, and Delinquency: Evidence From a Sample of Juvenile Justice Involved Youth

Published in Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2024

Previous research suggests that youth sports participation is moderately associated with reduced delinquency. However, little is known about whether head injury dampens this protective role of sports involvement. This study analyzes data from a sample of juvenile justice involved youth to assess (a) the relationship between sports involvement and head injury, (b) whether groups of sports involved youth with and without a head injury report varying levels of general, violent, and/or nonviolent delinquency, and (c) potential sex differences across these group. Results suggest that sports participation is not associated with head injury. Nonsports involved youth with a head injury report higher levels of general and violent delinquency, compared to nonsports involved youth without a head injury. Sports involved females with a head injury report higher levels of general and violent delinquency, compared to sports involved males with a head injury. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Recommended citation: Block, K. & Connolly, E. J. (2024). Sports involvement, head injury, and delinquency: Results from a longitudinal sample of juvenile justice involved youth. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51(8), 1219-1236.
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