Suchergebnisse

The fairness of our legal system is often judged by individuals and the public at large along dimensions of procedural and distributive justice. People seem to care about how legal decisions are made as well as about the specific outcomes reached by juries and judges. In fact, perceptions of procedural and distributive justice or injustice may influence public perceptions and confidence in the legitimacy of our legal system. This paper focuses mainly on procedural justice. Using an ecological framework, we tested the hypothesis that older adolescents use the same or similar criteria for evaluating fairness in the context of family decision making that people in general use to evaluate the fairness of legal processes and decisions. We also tested the hypothesis that family decision‐making procedures that are perceived to be unfair contribute to increased risk for acting out and deviant behavior among older adolescents. Principal components analysis confirmed that older adolescents use several distinct criteria for evaluating procedural fairness in the family context and that these criteria are comparable to those that people use to evaluate the fairness of legal procedures (rational and objective treatment conveying personal respect, consistent and non‐discriminatory treatment reflecting social status or standing, and instrumental participation or having "an opportunity to be heard"). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis confirmed that procedural justice factors are associated with adolescent deviant behavior. We discuss implications for adolescent deviance and youth violence prevention.

Brings together theoretical and empirical papers prepared by noted researchers and theoreticians. The first part includes chapters by criminological theorists who apply their theory of crime particularly to violence. The second part contains chapters by researchers who look at the substantive area of their expertise through the lens of theories of violence. Each chapter is original and was written specifically for this book

1. An introduction to the Prison Rape Elimination Act -- 2. Methodology -- 3. The sexual behavior of incarcerated men and women -- 4. Childhood adverse life experiences and adolescent violence as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization -- 5. Community and institutional violence as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization -- 6. Patterns of sexual adaptation as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization -- 7. Affective and perceptual states as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization - 8. Dimensions of personality as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization - 9. Structured and Actuarial violence risk instruments as risk markers for sexual predation and victimization -- 10. CHAID classification for sexual behavior in prison -- 11. Conclusions and recommendations.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper was to test whether differences in attributions between caseworkers and their elderly clients regarding the cause of reported elder abuse occurring in a domestic setting impact the ability of caseworkers to effectively intervene in elder abuse cases.


Design/methodology/approach
– Interviews were conducted with 63 pairs of caseworkers and either the elderly client with a substantiated report of elder abuse or their surrogate.


Findings
– Initially, 61.9 percent of the pairs of interviewees held discordant attributions regarding the cause of the elderly person's abuse. However, at the close of the investigation, only 41.3 percent of the pairs of interviewees held discordant causal attributions, with 13 elderly persons having changed their attributions to be in alignment with the caseworker. Discordant causal attributions at the close of the investigation was related to an inability to find a resolution and achieving cessation of abuse.


Research limitations/implications
– It will be beneficial to determine methods APS caseworkers can employ to narrow the causal attribution gap.


Practical implications
– Reconciling discordant causal attributions while maintaining victim autonomy can enhance the likelihood of effective interventions and lead to greater victim safety. However, this takes more time than most APS caseworkers in the USA are allowed by statute to allocate to one case and may necessitate statutory changes that accompany changes in practice.


Originality/value
– This is the first study to assess differences between caseworkers and their elderly clients regarding their causal attributions of reported abuse occurring and whether those differences are related to the likelihood of reaching a resolution and the cessation of abuse.

PurposeLittle empirical attention has been given to adult protective services (APS) investigations and the clients involved in those investigations. The purpose of this study was to explore aspects of the APS investigation of and response to reported elder maltreatment, the perceptions of elderly victims and their refusal of services, and to compare findings by the type of maltreatment involved (financial exploitation, physical abuse, neglect, and hybrid financial exploitation).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from two sources over a two‐year period: in‐depth interviews with 71 APS caseworkers and 55 of the corresponding elderly victims who experienced substantiated elder maltreatment; and a statewide database that contained 2,142 substantiated cases of elder abuse.FindingsMany aspects of the APS investigation and response differed by the type of maltreatment involved. While elderly victims were generally cooperative and satisfied with the APS intervention, 38 percent would have preferred APS not to investigate their case. Elderly clients responded differentially to offers of assistance, depending on the type of abuse involved, with victims of physical abuse most likely to refuse services.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research will want to understand why elderly victims refuse services in order to develop appropriate interventions.Practical implicationsNew approaches may be required for intervening in physical abuse cases, including collaborations between APS and domestic violence advocates and the inclusion of services for perpetrators.Originality/valueThis is the first large‐scale study to examine elderly victims' refusal of services, further enhanced by the analysis of refusal of services by type of abuse, thereby revealing a group of victims for which changes in intervention strategies may be necessary.

Purpose. In most states, smoking has been curtailed to some extent in public buildings, workplaces, and restaurants. The next frontier for smoke-free policies is the multiunit dwelling industry. However, the extent to which smoke-free housing currently is available is unknown. The purpose of this study was to measure the market for smoke-free housing in Virginia and to identify barriers to adopting smoke-free policies. Design. Telephone interviews were conducted with property managers of rental apartments, townhouses, senior housing, and public housing in four Virginia cities. Setting. Four cities in Virginia. Subjects. Two hundred sixty-three property managers in four cities in Virginia (approximately 75 property managers per city). Measures. Property managers were administered a brief telephone survey. Results. Only 33.8% of property managers reported some type of smoke-free policy, with only 15% of those policies prohibiting smoking in residential units. Most property managers without a smoke-free policy were not considering adopting such a policy for a variety of reasons. Conclusion. The availability of smoke-free multiunit dwellings is severely lacking. This study identified a number of science-based and legal misperceptions that may prevent the adoption of smoke-free policies. Correction of these misperceptions is warranted to increase the availability of smoke-free housing. Such policies will be useful in creating environments that support good health practices while simultaneously protecting tenants from exposure to secondhand smoke.

The responses of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 parents to a survey concerning parent attitudes, disciplinary practices, and other predictors of competent parenting were analyzed. Cluster analysis identified three subgroups based on their profiles of parenting attitudes and discipline. The first was high on physical discipline, neglect, verbal abuse, and attitudes that devalue children. They reported childhood abuse and domestic violence, marital difficulty, and problems managing anger. The second group was high on nonphysical as well as physical discipline, and had a more positive attitude toward children but also had a profile of psychosocial risk. The third group had low scores on all disciplinary practices, low perceived disciplinary efficacy, and a healthy marital and personal history. These groups are different from traditional parenting typologies, and the findings confirm theoretical predictions concerning the correlates of parenting problems and raise new questions concerning the convergence of physically punitive with nonpunitive discipline practices.