Self‐control,peer relations,and delinquency

This paper addresses gender-specific treatment in juvenile justice processing, an important topic in view of new funding opportunities to develop female-specific programs. This topic is controversial and includes many unresolved issues. To provide context, we relate this study to lessons from the initiative to address disproportionate minority confinement: that it is impossible to understand confinement without understanding the process by which youths are confined, that structural and demographic traits facilitate the process, and that benevolent interventions can have unintended negative consequences. We present empirical findings that juvenile justice cases are “gendered,” but that court treatment of those cases shows more gender similarities than differences. In contrast, interviews with officials suggest large gender gaps in opportunities for services, and indicate some gender biases. Bias and disparity also are themes among delinquent and “at-risk” girls who participated in focus groups; in addition, girls expressed preferences for treatment comparable to that given to boys. Finally, we evaluate what has been advocated as female-specific programming and recommend how best to proceed.     

Evidence of Negligible Parenting Influences on Self‐Control,Delinquent Peers,and Delinquency in a Sample of Twins

Behavioral genetic findings continue to call into question the dominant role of parental influence. Utilizing a sample of twins from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we assess the association between parenting behaviors and child self‐control, delinquent peer formation, and delinquency. Our results indicate that genetic influences and non‐shared environmental influences account for variation in these outcomes. We discuss these findings as they relate to theorizing about the role and function of parenting in the etiology of unique traits and behaviors.     

Mental Health Problems among Prison Inmates: the Effect of Welfare Deficiencies,Drug Use and Self‐Efficacy

In this paper, we investigate the differential contribution of accumulated welfare deficiencies, drug use, and self‐efficacy on inmates' current symptoms of mental health problems. Few studies so far have investigated inmates' mental health based on empirical data covering both social and psychological predictors. Our analyses are aimed at the following research questions: (a) what is the relationship between welfare deficiencies, drug use, and symptom reporting among prison inmates? (b) is this relationship influenced by inmates' perceived self‐efficacy? and (c) how might this information be used to inform the discussion of challenges in prisoner re‐entry? Findings are based on a national survey among prison inmates in Norway, focusing on living conditions generally, as well as mental distress, drug use, and self‐efficacy. The findings indicate serious accumulation of disadvantage, and more welfare deficiencies among drug users and those suffering from mental distress. When it comes to prediction of mental distress, accumulation of welfare deficiencies and self‐efficacy both turned out as significant contributors. The findings are discussed both in terms of practical implications, and in terms of how they illustrate some of the shortcomings inherent in a traditional welfare research perspective.     

The Competition–Violence Hypothesis: Sex,Marriage, and Male Aggression

Sexually active men, who are not in a monogamous relationship, may be at a greater risk for violence than men who are sexually active within monogamous relationships and men who are not sexually active. The current study examines changes in sexual behavior and violence in adolescence to early adulthood. Data on male (n = 4,597) and female (n = 5,523) respondents were drawn from four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health (Add Health). HLM regression models indicate that men who transition to a monogamous, or less competitive, mode of sexual behavior (fewer partners since last wave), reduce their risk for violence. The same results were not replicated for females. Further, results were not accounted for by marital status or other more readily accepted explanations of violence. Findings suggest that competition for sex be further examined as a potential cause of male violence.     

Buster,Maranzano and the Castellammare War, 1930–1931

More than most issues surrounding the American Mafia, the history of the Castellammare War is contestable at both theoretical and empirical levels. As the alleged pivotal event in the creation of the contemporary structure of the US Mafia or Cosa Nostra, it is of obvious importance as a topic of historical investigation. But a survey of published works on the War and its consequences reveals confusion, inaccuracies, erroneous assumptions and missing information. This is the first major systematic attempt to explore the War and its consequences made since the 1970s. Aside from adding substantially to the stock of knowledge of the War and its participants, debates on the War are critically evaluated, using original source materials where possible. The Castellammare War did not have the ramifications assumed, when placed either in a broader context or from the vantage point of internal American Mafia dynamics.     

Children’s Aggression, Parenting Styles, and Distress for Hong Kong Parents

This study examined the connection between parental perceptions about their children’s reactive and proactive aggression, parenting styles, parent–child communication, and parental distress. A total of 1,485 Hong Kong parents and guardians with children 8 to 17 years old completed the Reactive and Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Adjective Checklist, and Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. When reactive and proactive aggression responses were used to predict parental distress, a significant regression model was obtained with both predictors making a contribution. A significant model also was discovered when parenting styles and parent–child communication were used to predict parental distress. Authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting contributed significantly to this model. One final regression was performed with the significant predictors from the two previous equations. This model was significant, with reactive and proactive aggression, and authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles making significant contributions. Practice and research implications are briefly discussed.     

Masculinities,Money, and Mosques in Algeria’s Civil War

To what extent did economic marginalization and political crisis activate prejudice, violence, and religious faith in Algeria’s civil war during the 1990s? The Algerian novel Les Agneaux du Seigneur (In the Name of God), by Yasmina Khadra offers a glimpse. The novel shows how political and economic disparities intertwined with an increasingly strict interpretation of Islam. In turn, Islam’s political applications and its militarized enforcement soon drew the country into a veritable civil war. The resulting breakdown of the cultural order simultaneously increased the pressure on men to fulfill a socially prescribed gender role and made the fulfillment of that role more difficult.     

Anger and Aggression: A New Beginning?

Within our civilian population, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has become a major health problem. Consequences of anger and aggression have resulted in incarceration rates which place the United States as the world's leader with 2.2 million people in prisons and jails. The current treatment of anger and aggression is based primarily on theories that were developed in the early 1980s. Advances in neuroscientific knowledge have exponentially added to our understanding of the underlying biological basis and neuroanatomy of violence and aggression. Through a binaural sound‐based non‐verbal intervention, we have found a key to unlock long‐term memory (Reconsolidation) that facilitates rapid remediation of anger and violence issues. Within our Pilot Study findings, a number of our combat‐veterans with Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) experienced a positive transformation in their capacity to evidence empathy, intimacy and social engagement as contrasted with their prior isolative tendencies. We extrapolate how this intervention might positively impact those engaged in Anger Management (AM) and IPV programs.     

A Test of Self‐Control Theory Across Different Socioeconomic Strata

The current investigation examined the relationships between family processes, self‐control, and adolescent deviance in a sample of N = 3,764 Swiss male and female youth pursuing an apprenticeship (lower SES) or attending a Gymnasium/teacher’s college (higher SES). Participants completed a questionnaire that included measures of family processes, self‐control, and deviant behaviors. Results indicated that self‐control predicted adolescent deviance in both groups, and that direct and indirect effects existed in the relationships between family processes, self‐control, and deviance. Findings provided evidence of comparatively few differences in the observed associations by SES, though the magnitude of the positive effect by low self‐control on deviance was more modest in male apprentices as compared to non‐apprentices. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications for Self‐Control Theory.     

Saṅghabhadra’s and Śubhagupta’s Defence of Atomism,Their Similarities and Differences

Journal of Indian Philosophy - As Buddhist externalists, both Sa?ghabhadra and ?ubhagupta claim the existence of an external object on the basis of atomism. In this paper, I will show...     

Low Self‐Control and Contact with the Criminal Justice System in a Nationally Representative Sample of Males

Prior research on law enforcement and court system actions suggests that offender demeanor influences practitioner decision making. However, few studies have examined a key implication of this body of work—namely, criminogenic factors associated not only with offending but also with demeanor may result in a greater likelihood of contact with and formal processing by law enforcement and the courts. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we test the hypothesis that low self‐control, which is associated with a range of characteristics that might influence practitioner perceptions of individual offenders’ demeanors, will predict greater contact and formal processing. Briefly, we found that low self‐control was consistently related to criminal justice system involvement as measured by police contacts, arrests, age at first police contact, and arrest onset. The implications of the findings for theory and research are discussed.     

Citizenship,Belonging and Attachment in the ‘War on Terror’

The ‘war on terror’ has had an enormous impact on citizens’ legal rights and legal status. Using data from interviews with British Pakistani Kashmiri Muslims, this paper explores how the change to citizens’ legal rights and legal status in the ‘war on terror’, the legal dimension of citizenship, has impacted the psychological dimension of citizenship. Through denoting legal rights, equality and status the study revealed the powerful role of the state and the police in shaping citizens’ perceptions of the legal dimension of citizenship. The paper explores how changes to participants’ perceptions of their legal status and legal rights are instrumental in shaping the psychological dimension of citizenship—participants’ sense of loyalty, belonging and attachment to their British identity and their Islamic identity.     

Defence lawyers and probation officers: offenders' allies or adversaries?

The shift in recent decades towards an explicitly punitive agenda for criminal justice in Western jurisdictions has been well-documented in the criminological literature. People accused of offences and convicted offenders progress through a punitive criminal justice system replete with crime control values. Furthermore, in criminal justice policy development, the notion of victims' rights and the quest to rebalance the system in favour of victims now override concerns about rights. In the light of this state of affairs, it seems necessary to assess the role of practitioners within the criminal justice system who, by virtue of their professional mandates, can be expected to act as much needed allies for defendants as they progress through the system. These practitioners are defence lawyers and probation officers. Insufficient attention has been paid to the role of both and they have not previously been considered as two parts of a greater whole despite their obviously complimentary nature. In an effort to address this gap in knowledge, this article draws on two different studies to offer an exploratory discussion of how both practitioners interact with their clients and whether or not the practitioners can be viewed as effective allies of those implicated with the criminal process.     

Ideology and Anti‐Utopia

A recent film adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, makes a number of seemingly minor changes in the novel’s characters, setting, and plot. Together, however, these changes transform the novel’s theme into its polar opposite. As a result, the dystopian novel is transmuted into an anti‐utopian film. After examining these changes in detail, I analyze the contrasting world views that lie behind the two texts and argue that they are based upon opposing views of human nature and society. I then reflect on the meaning of this transformation, arguing that it reflects a fundamental transformation in our society, one which undermines the possibility of using political action to attain social justice. Moreover, it is just this transformation which Huxley, in writing Brave New World, had hoped to warn us against.     

A cross‐cultural comparison of the self‐concepts of imprisoned young offenders by country,race, and parental status

The Tennessee Self‐Concept Scale (TSCS) was administered to 193 imprisoned male youthful offenders in a southern U.S. state and to 161 male young offenders in one of Her Majesty's young offender institutions in England. The purpose of the study was to determine if the self‐concept scores of the subjects differed significantly according to the subject's ethnicity (Country), whether the youth resided with one or both parents or separate from either parent (Parental Status Residence) at the time of imprisonment, and Race. Analyses reveal the Total Self Concept scores of the U.S. and English offenders, as well as the sub‐scale scores, which together make up the Total Self Concept score, are significantly lower than for normal subjects. The U.S. offenders’ scores were more abnormal than the English offenders, often falling below the lowest normal range score, in some instances so low as to suggest serious psychopathological conditions. Discriminant function (DF) analysis was used to analyze the effects of the 12 self‐concept measures in distinguishing subjects by Country, Race, and Parental Status. Analyses correctly classified group membership more than two thirds of the time for each of the three variables and produced moderate to strong correlation coefficient values for various sub‐scales on each of the three variables. Black subjects in both cultures were found to score significantly lower than their White counterparts, a finding that contradicts numerous earlier studies. Findings also question the labeling theory proposition that the stigma of delinquency and subsequent imprisonment with other delinquents exacerbates one's negative regard of self. And perhaps more important, the findings suggest that cultural influences in both countries, rather than the effects of the stigma of the delinquent label and imprisonment, operate to cause low‐self‐concept long before one becomes involved in the justice system. Findings also reveal that delinquent youths from intact families have significantly higher self‐concepts than those from fragmented families.