Objectives: The first objective of this study is to provide a conceptualization of criminal capital. The second objective is to present an illustrative analysis of dimensionality and concurrent validity of criminal capital acquired in prison. Methods: One hundred eight inmates in three correctional reentry facilities in a mid-Atlantic state were interviewed at two times: in prison and nine months postrelease. Postrelease interviews included six items that tapped into criminal human capital and criminal social capital acquired in prison. Factor structure was examined with confirmatory factor analysis, and item response theory was used to examine each of the items. Regression models examined concurrent validity for the criminal capital construct on the willingness to offend, perceived rewards to crime, illegal earnings expectations, and making money from crime. Results: Criminal human capital and criminal social capital acquired in prison represent a single unidimensional latent construct. Regression models demonstrated concurrent validity for the criminal capital construct. Conclusions: Working toward a consistent conceptualization of criminal capital is important for a cohesive body of knowledge. Future work should investigate how dimensionality and validity differ across contexts.

中文翻译：

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论犯罪资本的概念化

目标：这项研究的第一个目标是提供犯罪资本的概念。第二个目标是对在监狱中获得的犯罪资本的规模和并发有效性进行说明性分析。方法：在大西洋中部一个州的三个矫正再入设施中的一百零八名囚犯接受了两次采访：在监狱和释放后九个月。发布后的采访包括六个项目，涉及在监狱中获得的犯罪人力资本和犯罪社会资本。通过验证性因素分析检查因素结构，并使用项目响应理论检查每个项目。回归模型检查了犯罪资本构筑物的并发有效性，其中包括犯罪意愿，犯罪感知收益，非法收入预期，从犯罪中赚钱。结果：在监狱中获得的犯罪人力资本和犯罪社会资本代表了一个单一的一维潜在结构。回归模型证明了犯罪资本结构的并发有效性。结论：努力对犯罪资本进行一致的概念化对于凝聚性知识体系非常重要。未来的工作应研究在不同情况下维度和有效性如何不同。