ADOLESCENT MARIJUANA AND ALCOHOL USE

Most tests of differential association theory focus on the basic relationships rather than the causal process specified by the theory. This study provides a more thorough test of Sutherland's differential association hypothesis by deriving and testing a causal model of alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents. The findings provide strong support for the causal process specified by differential association theory. However, two unexpected findings suggest that the theory may have to be modified to account for the differential impact of peer pressure, independent of internalized definitions, on individual behavior and for the differential impact of specific primary groups on the formation of individual definitions.     

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES IN THE FAMILY COURT

Child abuse allegations in custody and access disputes are serious matters and present family courts worldwide with major problems. This article reports a large research study just completed that investigated the way the Family Court of Australia managed child abuse cases. The study showed that such cases had become a substantial part of the court's current workload, their "core business" in fact. The families involved had many difficulties, including a history of family violence, and the present system was not appropriate for their particular problems. Thus, as new specialized court lead model of intervention was devised, based on principles relevant to family violence and incorporating the most effective strategies identified in the research.     

FAMILY RELATIONS AND DELINQUENCY IN ISRAEL

Several theoretical approaches (e.g., psychoanalytic theory, learning theory, and social-disorganization) have led criminologists to the belief that harmony in family life prevents delinquency, while disharmony promotes it. Moreover, several studies suggested that there is interaction between the functioning of the family and social class as causes of delinquency. The present study of 414 Israeli adolescents reveals neither interaction between family relationships and social class, nor any substantive main effect, suggesting that (1) Israel's social conditions render the family a relatively less important role as a crimogenic agent, and (2) that family life has previously been idealized. and their role exaggerated due to the theoreticians’ value bias     

IS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ALCOHOL USE AND DELINQUENCY CAUSAL OR SPURIOUS?*

We attempt to isolate the effects of alcohol on different types of delinquent behavior by identifying the spurious portion of the relationship. Using data on adolescents from Finland, we compare the relationship between drinking and delinquent behavior while sober to the total relationship between drinking and delinquent behavior (sober or not). For each type of offense, we find a substantial relationship between drinking and sober delinquency, which suggests a good deal of spuriousness. For crimes of petty theft (shoplifting and stealing from home), the relationship between drinking and sober delinquency is just as strong as the total relationship, which suggests the relationship is almost completely spurious. For violence, vandalism, car theft, and graffiti writing, the alcohol‐sober delinquency relationship is weaker, which suggests that alcohol has a causal effect on these offenses.     

FAMILY DEVIANCE AND DELINQUENCY IN CHINA*

This research explores the relationship between family deviance and delinquency using survey data from Tianjin, a large city in China. We hypothesize that, similar to findings in the West, family deviance will be positively related to delinquency in China. We also hypothesize that the nature of the causal process linking these two variables will differ in certain respects from the pattern observed in Western nations, reflecting the unusually strong emphasis placed on family relations in Chinese society. The results of the analysis are mixed. Consistent with expectations, family deviance is positively related to official delinquency status, exhibiting indirect effects via family controls, moral commitments, and deviant associations, and direct effects that are likely to reflect family group pressures. We also discovered appreciable effects of friends' deviance, which runs counter to our hypothesis that the influence of family variables will significantly diminish the importance of peer associations. In general, our analysis indicates the key role of the family in explaining delinquent behavior in China, and it illustrates the utility of cross-cultural research for assessing the generality of research findings and identifying new directions for criminological inquiry.     

DEVELOPMENTAL PATTERNS OF ALCOHOL USE IN RELATION TO THE PERSISTENCE AND DESISTANCE OF SERIOUS VIOLENT OFFENDING AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN YOUNG MEN*

This study examined the association of alcohol use with the persistence and desistance of serious violent offending among African American and Caucasian young men from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Five violence groups were defined: nonviolent, late‐onsetters, desisters, persisters, and one‐time offenders. We examined alcohol use trajectories for these groups spanning 12 through 24/25 years of age using a four‐piecewise linear growth model s 12–14, 14–18, 18–21, and 21–24/25 years of age. The persisters and desisters reported the highest levels of drinking at 13 years of age. From 14 to 18 years old, however, the late‐onsetters showed a higher rate of increase in drinking, compared with the persisters and desisters. Starting at 18 years of age, the desisters’ drinking trajectory started to resemble that of the nonviolent group, who showed the highest rate of increase in drinking during emerging adulthood. By 24/25 years of age, the persisters could not be distinguished from the late‐onsetters, but they were lower than the nonviolent and one‐timer groups in terms of their drinking. At 24/25 years old, the desisters were not significantly different from the other violence groups, although they seemed most similar to the nonviolent and one‐timer groups. We found no evidence that the association between drinking and violence differed for African Americans and Caucasians. The findings suggest that yearly changes in alcohol use could provide important clues for preventing violent offending.     

SUPPORTING FAMILY STRENGTH: THE USE OF TRANSFORMATIVE MEDIATION IN A PINS MEDIATION CLINIC

This article describes, and explains the rationales for, the establishment of an innovative program in which a law school and two social services agencies are collaborating in a mediation clinic that uses the transformative model of mediation to serve clients in cases that seem ideally suited to benefit from this approach to practice—so-called "PINS" (persons in need of supervision) cases involving conflict within families, between parents and their adolescent children. The article first describes the evolution of the PINS system and the changing views of its purpose, especially in New York State. It then offers a brief introduction to the unique features of the transformative approach to mediation and explains why that approach in particular is likely to mesh with current understandings of the needs of the families involved in these cases. Finally, the article describes the innovative "Family Solutions Program" and how it uses transformative mediation to help these families and suggests that experience of this program shows how use of the transformative model, in particular, could be valuable not only for clinical education but also for effective volunteer training and supervision in mediation programs generally.     

ASSESSMENTS FOR POSTSEPARATION PARENTING DISPUTES IN CANADA

There is controversy in Canada about the use of assessments by mental health professionals to assist in the resolution of postseparation disputes between parents about their children. Although the principles developed by the Supreme Court of Canada to govern the admission of expert evidence in criminal law cases provides guidance for judges in family law cases, in deciding whether to order an assessment or admit expert evidence, family law judges must also take account of the child-related context. Mental health professionals can provide valuable information that would otherwise be unavailable when making prospective decisions about children. Court-appointed assessors also have a significant institutional role in the family law cases that has no equivalent in the criminal law context. Assessors are important not only for the relatively rare cases that go to trial, but they also play a central role in helping to resolve the much larger number of cases that are settled.     

INTRODUCING PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILY LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

This article provides an editorial introduction to the following three related articles on the growing use and influence of social science research in family law. It first considers why this has become problematic and identifies some common strategies used by advocates, sometimes under the guise of scholarship, to destroy the standing of research findings contrary to their ideological or political position. Then it discusses briefly the remedies proposed to mitigate these kinds of problems within the following three articles.