The subjective acceptability of vandalism as a violation of public order: development of a construct and its empirical verification

Context and relevance. The study is driven by an increase in crimes against public order, which result in damage or destruction of property committed in Russia between 2022 and 2024. The lack of elaboration of ideas about vandalism as an encroachment on public order makes it difficult to solve this issue and constitutes a scientific problem. Objective. The aim is to develop a theoretical model of the concept of vandalistic behavior as a threat to public order and its operationalization in the form of a scale of subjective assessment of vandalized objects of state, municipal and private property. Methods and materials. The group of experts consisted of 27 police officers from various regions of the country; the group of respondents consisted of 417 people (mean age: 21.3 years, SD = 4.1 years, 50.3% male participants, studying at higher education institutions in Kaluga, Sverdlovsk, Ulyanovsk regions, St. Petersburg. Methods Assessment of antisocial creativity (N.V. Meshkova et al.), the scale of legal nihilism (E.V. Raspopin, V.O. Ermosh), the scale of criminalization risk (K.V. Zlokazov) were used. Data were analyzed using reliability assessment procedures (Cronbach’s alpha, correlation analysis), group comparisons (Kruskal—Wallis H test), structural studies (exploratory factor analysis, EFA). Results. Verification of the construct of the perception of vandalism as a meaningful, attractive and permissible illegal act, confirmation of the reliability of the scale for studying ideas about vandalism. It is shown that the prerequisites for vandalism that encroaches on public order are antisocial creativity, legal nihilism, and a set of personality attitudes that contribute to the criminalization of behavior. Conclusions. The construct and the scale of subjective acceptability of vandalism have sufficient potential for application in scientific and practical activities. Identified psychological prerequisites for vandalistic behavior can be used in preventive work with diverse groups of the population to reduce acts aimed at violating public order.

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