Problem solving as reinforcement in adolescent drug use: Implications for theory and policy

The problem of adolescent drug use received a great deal of attention both in criminological theory and public policy. Predominant among theories was Akers' social learning theory which examined the role of learning through a process of imitation, modeling, and reinforcement. Public policy led to the development of programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) that aimed to warn youths of the dangers of drug use. In line with research findings, both theory and policy gave a central role to peers in understanding adolescent drug use. Less attention was given to another important finding in the literature, that those who used drugs often perceived the drugs as solutions to problems. Using social learning theory, the role of perceptions of drug use as an effective problem solver was examined. Results indicated that a more explicit recognition of the use of drugs to deal with problems might inform both theory and policy.     

Short Term Change in Attitude and Motivating Factors to Change Abusive Behavior of Male Batterers after Participating in a Group Intervention Program Based on the Pro-Feminist and Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

The Domestic Abuse Education Project (DAEP), in Burlington, Middlebury, and St. Albans, Vermont, is a group based domestic abuse intervention program, based in a pro-feminist and cognitive-behavioral approach for domestic violence intervention and prevention. A pre and post-test instrument was developed and implemented to determine short-term change in attitude of participants and motivating factors to change behavior, after completing the twenty-seven session program. After the program, participants reported a positive change in attitudes regarding their abusive behavior and stereotypical beliefs about women. Participants were also more motivated to change their behavior by the effect abuse has on their family relationships. However, many participants continued to agree that insecurity, jealousy, and alcohol and drug use can cause violence. The positive changes in attitude and motivational factors show that this is an effective model in changing underlying batterer attitudes that provide rationale for abusive behavior.     

The effect of federal drug law on the incidence of drug abuse

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the prevailing "drug abuse" control statute in the United States. Its manifest objective is to prevent or reduce drug use's "substantial and detrimental effect on the health and general welfare of the American people." Evaluating CSA's effectiveness in 1975, a Domestic Council Task Force reported in a White Paper to President Gerald Ford that its control measures do "reduce abuse of dangerous drugs." The Task Force's evidence was based upon a before-and-after analysis of the frequency of "drug abuse episodes" reported to the nation's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). This research note challenges the conclusion of the Domestic Council Task Force, subjecting the DAWN evidence to more rigorous scrutiny, and concluding that we do not presently have adequate materials to assess whether CSA meets its health objectives. The context of this conclusion is that of drug control, but its implications apply to health policy and health policy evaluation in general.     

The need for child maltreatment research and program evaluation

The knowledge base supporting child abuse treatment and prevention rests upon clinical experience and applied research. An analysis of program funding in the United States indicates that unevaluated clinical programs are funded rather than research or program evaluation projects. Grant funding patterns for the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect were analyzed for 4 years. Overall, 66% of projects had no research or evaluation component. Without such programs, we cannot determine the effectiveness of treatment and prevention efforts that, while well intended, may have no effects on the participating parents and children, or, worse still, may have unintended negative consequences. Quality programs must be based on the maintenance of a balance between research and clinical efforts with evaluation being an important component of the latter.Portions of this paper were presented at the Seventh International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 27 September, 1988.     

Evaluation of a sexual abuse prevention program for preschoolers

Many sexual abuse prevention programs have no research basis to support their claims of effectiveness. The Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for Preschoolers (SAPPP) was developed by modifying a popular prevention program to include behavioral training and rehearsal, and evaluation components. Children were taught to identify different types of touch, to say “no,” and to “tell others.” Each of the six SAPPP lessons included a topic introduction, stories related to the topic, target behavior rehearsal: This was followed by class discussion. Four university preschool children, three females and one male, between the ages of 3 and 4 participated in the program. All of the children showed improvement from pretest to post-test. The improved post-test scores were the result of correct verbal responses. Correct behavior demonstration responses did not increase for any child. A successful child sexual abuse prevention program should train children to demonstrate appropriate preventive behaviors. Suggestions for improving preventive behavior skills demonstrations and increasing the number of children in future research are discussed.     

Race and problem drug use in an English city

The primary aim of this article is to look at the impact of drugs on the drug-using Black population, and in doing so, the article draws comparative attention to drug use within the White community. The article is based on a research study of problem drug users registered with a London drugs project in 2000 and 2001. During the period of fieldwork, the vast majority of clients of the drug project were male, and the gap in the sex composition of the clients was more conspicuous in the Black group. For the sake of clarity in the use of statistical information, the article draws substance solely from information on the Black and White male clients. The findings present the Black community as a group who is also victimised by drugs but whose experiences of drug victimisation have often been undermined in the "war on drugs" rhetoric about drug trafficking.     

Mental health, gender, and drug court completion

Drug-involved offenders report high rates of mental health problems that can negatively impact criminal justice outcomes. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to the mental health issues of drug court offenders. Therefore, this study examined 449 participants in a Delaware drug court and investigated relationships between mental health, gender, and program completion. Bivariate results indicated that gender was related to both mental health status and completion status. Multivariate findings revealed that two indicators of mental health, depression and being prescribed drugs for a psychological or emotional problem, were significant predictors of drug court completion. Policy implications include assessing the mental health status of all drug court participants at program entry so that services can be provided which aim to improve offender health and increase the likelihood of successful program outcomes. Drug courts must better meet the needs of participants with co-occurring disorders if they are to remain an effective and viable criminal justice intervention. This research was supported by grant RO1 DA12424 “Drug Court Offenders in Outpatient Treatment,” by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.     

The association between multiple drug misuse and crime

Research that has investigated the association between specific drug types and crime has tended to focus on the specific drug type in isolation from other drugs. The main problem with this is that it cannot be assumed that the association between specific drug use and crime will be the same regardless of the additional drugs consumed. The research aimed to investigate whether there was a correlation between number and type of drugs used and involvement in crime. The analysis of multiple drug use was based on data collected as part of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program in the United Kingdom. The results showed that both the number of drug types consumed and the particular drug type combinations used explained offending rate. The research concluded that the investigation of links between multiple drug use and crime might help inform antidrugs strategies and treatment services.     

Training of legal professionals in DNA evidence

The South African Criminal Legal System is based on Roman Dutch law. Court proceedings are led by a single presiding officer of the court. Prosecutors and defence advocates present the court with evidence in an adversarial manner. This system has inherent advantages and disadvantages and therefore the training of legal professionals in handling DNA evidence in court is important. The prosecutors resort under the National Prosecuting Authority and the defence advocates act independently or e.g. under the auspices of Legal Aid South Africa.Education curricula of legal professional do not include forensic science evidence. Principles such as evidential value in the forensic context are not addressed. Training of legal professionals with our Essential DNA Evidence™ Course has been a multiplier of forensic science knowledge in the legal profession in South Africa. We present prosecution and defence perspectives in an unbiased manner, compensating for the possible subjective interpretations of evidence that may be presented in court. Forensic evidence is subsequently carefully evaluated prior to being court presentation thus improving court efficiency, and allowing for a more focussed approach to the presentation of evidence. Approaches to the customisation of course content that adds value has been identified via evaluation of training programmes.Experience has shown that legal professionals have the ability to incorporate relatively complex scientific concepts into their legal arguments if provided with the appropriate training opportunity. Appropriate training in DNA evidence has made the court process more effective, both in terms of time and costs, and ultimately serves justice.     

Prevention science,drug abuse prevention,and Life Skills Training: Comments on the state of the science

There has been tremendous growth in the field of prevention science over the past two decades. The defining features of contemporary prevention science are high quality empirical research using rigorous and well-established scientific methods, careful hyphothesis testing, and the systematic accumulation of knowledge. One area where substantial progress has been made is in our understanding of the etiology and prevention of tobacoo, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse. In this paper, we review the growth in prevention as a scientific enterprise, discuss advances in drug abuse prevention research, and review the effectiveness of one approach to the problem of adolescent drug abuse, the Life Skills Traning (LST) program, and the methodological strengths of the LST evaluation research. In addition, we provide a response to criticism regarding two types of data analysis in evaluation research, and show that these analyses can help address a number of important research questions with implications for theory and practice. First, the analysis of high fidelity subsamples can address research questions about the importance of program implementation fidelity; and second, composite measures of concurrent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use (i.e., polydrug use) are useful in testing research questions about program effects on more serious levels of drug involvement. With an increasing number of ramdomized controlled trials underway, the field of prevention science is contributing to a new generation of evidence-based approaches and policies that, if widely utilized, offer the potential of reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with a number of major health and social problems.     

School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs

Early prevention education training has been advocated by scholars and practitioners to intervene with children and youth who have been or are being sexually abused as well as to prevent sexual abuse from occurring. This study identified and surveyed major school-based child sexual abuse prevention programs in the country. Results obtained from 126 prevention programs indicated that most programs are conducted at a local level; that together they reach hundreds of thousands of students, parents, teachers, and other school staff; and that they offer a prescribed curriculum and resource materials. Nearly two-thirds receive state funding assistance, with less than a third charging the schools. Most were established in the early and mid 1980s and have well-educated staff. Further, most work to meet the needs of disabled students and provide means for disclosure of sexual abuse. Training format, duration, and materials vary.This study was supported by Grant #5083B80014, Womens Educational Equity Act Program, U.S. Department of Education.     

Drug abuse's smallest victims: in utero drug exposure

The social and economic impact of drug use on our global population continues to increase leaving no geographical, social or cultural group untouched. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in one of the few large surveys of maternal abuse, found that 5.5% of mothers reported taking an illicit substance during gestation. These figures certainly are underestimates due to the stigma of drug use during pregnancy and the accompanying legal, ethical and economic issues. Although drugs of choice and routes of administration vary by country, exposure of our most valuable resource, our children, to the developmental effects of drugs is an enormous problem. In utero drug exposure can have a severe impact not only on the development of the fetus, but also on the child during later stages of life. More than 75% of infants exposed to drugs have major medical problems as compared to 27% of unexposed infants. The cost of treating drug-affected infants was twice the cost of non-affected infants. Obstetrical complications including placental insufficiency, miscarriage, intrauterine death, and increased incidence of infectious and sexually-transmitted diseases are higher in the drug-abusing mother. Treatment for pregnant addicts should be a high priority for our governments. Increased awareness and improvement in our understanding of drug abuse in the medical, legal and social realms will enable us to reduce the barriers to treatment for this important population.Accurate identification of in utero drug exposure has important implications for the care of the mother and child, but can raise difficult legal issues. Society discourages prenatal care with the infliction of harsh criminal penalties. Maternal drug use during pregnancy can be monitored with urine, sweat, oral fluid and/or hair testing. Detection of in utero drug exposure has traditionally been accomplished through urine testing; however, the window of detection is short, reflecting drug use for only a few days before delivery. Monitoring exposure through testing of alternative matrices, such as neonatal meconium and hair, offers advantages including non-invasive collection and detection earlier in gestation. There are many unresolved issues in monitoring in utero drug exposure that urgently require research. These can be divided into research to definitively differentiate drug exposed and non-drug-exposed fetuses, determine the most efficient methods to routinely monitor women's drug use, and determine how these drug test results relate to neonatal and maternal outcomes. Research in this area is difficult and expensive to perform, but necessary to assess accurately drug effects on the fetus. By increasing our understanding of the physiological, biochemical and behavioral effects of gestational drug exposure, we may ultimately provide solutions for better drug prevention, treatment and a reduction in the number of drug-exposed children.     

Drug screening and confirmation by GC-MS: comparison of EMIT II and Online KIMS against 10 drugs between US and England laboratories

Drug screening through urinalysis is a widely accepted tool for rapid detection of potential drug use at a relatively low cost. It is, therefore, a potentially useful method for detecting and monitoring drug use in a variety of contexts such as the criminal justice system, pre-employment screening and a variety of treatment centers. This article explores the efficacy of two commercially available drug-screening assays: Online KIMS assay (Roche) and EMIT II assays. First, we evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of two immunoassays. A total of 738 urine samples were collected among adult arrestee populations from Chicago, New Orleans and Seattle through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program. Partial samples were split within one laboratory and analyzed by both enzymes multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) II and kinetic interaction of microparticle in solution (KIMS) assays for a 10-drug panel (amphetamine, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, marijuana, cocaine, methadone, methaqualone, opiate, phencyclidine and propoxyphene). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used as a confirmation method for all positives from either EMIT II or KIMS for all experiments. Second, the paper examines whether using different testing laboratories plays a role in the final results. The same experiments were repeated at two different testing locations: one in California and one in London and England. Third, the paper studies whether drug testing results vary between two laboratories when each of them had used their own routine screening method: the Forensic Science Service (FSS) at Birmingham, United Kingdom with KIMS assay and Medscreen Limited at London, United Kingdom with EMIT II. In summary, both EMIT II and KIMS assays generate fairly consistent results. The concordance rate against each of the 10 drugs tested is relatively high (97.4-100%). The discrepancies, in most cases, occurred at drug concentrations near the cut-off levels. There were more discrepant results between two laboratories compared to when specimens were analyzed at the same laboratory using two different assays.     

Self-defense or assertiveness training and women's responses to sexual attacks

Self-defense classes aim to prevent violence against women by strengthening women's capacity to defend themselves; however, little research has examined the effects of self-defense training on women's attempts to fight back during actual attacks. This study investigated the relationship of self-defense or assertiveness training and women's physical and psychological responses to subsequent rape attacks (N = 1,623). Multivariate analyses showed that victims with preassault training were more likely to say that their resistance stopped the offender or made him less aggressive than victims without training. Women with training before their assaults were angrier and less scared during the incident than women without training, consistent with the teachings of self-defense training. Preassault training participants rated their degree of non-consent or resistance as lower than did nonparticipants, perhaps because they held themselves to a higher standard. Suggestions for future research on women's self-defense training and rape prevention are offered.     

Diversion Under Malaysian Juvenile Justice System: a Case of Too Little Too Late?

The concept and practice of diversion are not a novel phenomenon. For many years, diversion from formal adjudication by court has been widely adopted as an important feature of various juvenile justice systems across the countries. There are different forms of diversion programmes which have been designed and implemented with the aim to divert children from direct contact with formal criminal process. Various researches on diversion programmes have disclosed positive impacts on their effectiveness in handling children in conflict with the law. This article focuses on criminal process under current Malaysian juvenile justice, in which the concept of diversion is still a strange subject. It highlights issues under current juvenile criminal justice and examines the possibility of integrating diversion programmes as alternative measures to deal with children in conflict with the law. Introduction of diversion programmes as part of the current system is seemed as potential alternative measures to improve the effectiveness of the current Malaysian juvenile justice system.     

The emotional witness effect: story content,emotional valence and credibility of a male suspect

Abstract

Building on previous research which identified alcohol as the drug of choice for facilitating sexual assaults, this paper analysed 93 rape cases reported to the police in which the victim was under the influence of drugs/alcohol when the assault occurred. The aim was to explore what substances victims consumed to become incapacitated and who induced the state of incapacity. The degree of pre-planning suggests that the offender could be described as opportunistic or predatory. Findings demonstrated that the majority of rapes (coming to police notice) in which alcohol or drugs are implicated, are circumstances where the victim has self-intoxicated through alcohol consumption. There were relatively few cases in which drugs had been administered surreptitiously. The analyses successfully identified differences between rapes that occur when the victim is intoxicated or drugged according to how she consumed that alcohol/drug and what kind of alcohol/drugs she had consumed. The concept of negotiative space is offered as a potential theoretical explanation. The findings are discussed in the light of this and recommendations for crime prevention are made.     

教育在我国禁毒预防中的作用研究

毒品已成为当前全球性最为严重的公害，它危害人们的健康甚至生命，耗费各国大量的人力财力，而毒品犯罪又严重影响了社会的安定，阻碍生产力的发展。禁毒，成了各国政府致力于解决的难题。但国内外的禁毒经验表明，遏制毒品蔓延与降低危害的最有效方法就是开展禁毒教育，因此，必须充分发挥教育在我国禁毒预防中的作用，通过充分运用家庭教育、学校教育、社会教育和媒体的合力，使禁毒预防教育的功能最大化。