Naming oneself criminal: gender difference in offenders' identity negotiation

This qualitative research examines gender differences in offenders'ability to negotiate a positive identity once the pejorative labels of criminal, prostitute, drug dealer, and incompetent parents have been imputed onto them. In-depth semi-structured focused interviews were conducted with a purposeful information-rich sample of eight male and eight female offenders. Content analysis reveals that males were much more adept than female offenders at juggling with conventional and street norms to justify and/or resist stigmatizing labels in order to construct a favorable identity. Appeal to such personal strengths as know-how, competence, loyalty, and a code of honor allowed male offenders to challenge the boundaries between conventional and delinquent worlds. Concomitantly such an appeal gave rise to a sense of efficacy perception and an optimistic explanatory style. In contrast, even though female offenders were able to justify the labels of drug dealer, prostitute, and thief by appeal to higher loyalties and reject that of insane, all their justifications collapsed when having to negotiate the identity of incompetent mother. Female offenders' negative internal attributions and deprivation of the normative center-motherhood resulted in apathy, anomie, and lack of confidence in their ability to do something worthwhile. Rehabilitation guidelines would build female offenders' personal strengths while redirecting those exhibited by male offenders into lawful enterprises.     

Concentrations of toluene in the body killed by an injury to the head shortly after ingesting thinner

An autopsy was conducted on a male showing leather-like skin damage, revealing the cause of death to be an injury to the head. Thinner was found scattered around the scene of death, and stomach and intestine contents smelled strongly of solvent. Toxicological analysis was conducted to determine whether or not the solvent was of a lethal level. Using gas chromatography, peaks of toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene were detected in the blood and gastric contents. No toluene was detected in the urine, and therefore it was concluded that the decedent died of a severe head injury shortly after solvent ingestion. In the literature, toluene concentrations in blood and lung samples were determined as both fatal and non-fatal but clear differences in the fatality of toluene in solid organ samples, namely, the brain, liver and kidneys were shown. The brain is especially useful in postmortem analysis. In this case, the concentration of toluene in the brain was 20.0 microl/g, which was considered as a non-lethal level.     

Child physical abuse and self-perceived social isolation among adolescents

This research examines the connection between physical abuse and social isolation. Using data from the National Youth Survey, a measure of self-perceived social isolation was constructed indicating the extent to which respondents feel detached from their friends and from school. Those who had experienced violence were predicted to be more isolated than those who had not. Results strongly supported the hypothesis, controlling for theoretically relevant variables. Explanation is provided in terms of damage to attachment skills, social competence, and self-esteem concomitant to being a victim of abuse. Males were more socially isolated than females, and Hispanics more than Whites. Children with involved parents were less socially isolated; those whose parents experienced normlessness were more isolated. Children who recently experienced a stressful event or were from riskier neighborhoods were more isolated. The number of children in the family was positively related to isolation. Social isolation decreases between seventh and eighth grades.     

"No way out": Russian-speaking women's experiences with domestic violence

This article explores the experience of domestic violence and utilization of domestic violence resources among immigrant women who were Russian speaking. Participants, many of whom came to the United States as so-called mail-order brides, reported diverse forms of abuse, including isolation and financial restrictions, and were reluctant to get outside help because of embarrassment about their circumstances. Survivors stressed the importance of language- and culture-appropriate outreach and services and urged that women receive information about domestic violence services and laws on immigration. Assistance with housing, child care, and job searches is integral to safe transitions out of abusive relationships.     

"Like a bird in a cage": Vietnamese women survivors talk about domestic violence

In recent years, a growing literature has emerged that explores the role of culture in domestic violence for ethnic minority populations, including immigrants and refugees. This article presents qualitative data collected from Vietnamese refugee women through a research project in partnership with the Refugee Women's Alliance in Seattle, Washington. Through the women's stories, their own self-awareness of domestic violence as Vietnamese women residing in the United States is available for reflection and review. Issues of acculturation, changing gender roles, examples of strength, and cultural persistence constitute the thematic structure within which these women articulate their needs for creating and sustaining a life free of abuse for themselves and their children.     

Constructing Joseph Fredericks: competing narratives of a child sex murderer

Joseph Fredericks--one of Canada's most notorious sex offenders--was defined through the institutions that dealt with him from his infancy to his death to the inquest held after his death. In this paper, we locate in historical context and compare the different narratives that were constructed of his life in each of these institutional settings from unwanted child to 'mental defective' to psychiatric offender to criminal recidivist to victim to iconic sexual predator. We show that each of these narratives claimed to capture the essence of Fredericks in terms of what were his core characteristics and what remedies were necessary for the problems he posed only to be superseded by new narratives based on different assumptions. Finally, we show how one of these conceptions of Frederick's essence influenced a shift in Canadian public policy for sex offenders toward the greater emphasis on community protection characteristic of public policy in the United States.     

On intelligence and crime: a comparison of incarcerated sex offenders and serious non-sexual violent criminals

The impact of low IQ on crime has been a focus of debate for several decades now. Although sociologists have virtually removed it from the list of possible factors influencing crime, the impact of IQ on crime continues to generate a significant amount of scientific research and a substantial number of publications. The purpose of this study is to assess intellectual levels and to compare two groups of incarcerated criminals. Using MANCOVA and ANCOVA procedures, 261 sex offenders and 150 non-sexual violent criminals were compared on IQ subscales. The results show significant differences on vocabulary, comprehension, arithmetic, mental math computations, object assembly, letter-number sequencing, and perception subscales, as well as on performance IQ and total IQ. The impacts of penal filtering and sample composition are hypothesized to explain differences between the two subgroups. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Justice in Health Care Decision-Making: Patients’ Appraisals of Health Care Providers and Health Plan Representatives

This study describes the development of two versions of a Health Care Justice Inventory (HCJI). One version focuses on patients interactions with their providers (HCJI-P) and the other focuses on patients interactions with the representatives of their health plans (HCJI-HP). Each version of the HCJI assesses patients appraisals of their interactions (with either their Provider or representatives of their Health Plan) along three common dimensions of procedural justice: Trust, Impartiality, and Participation. Both the Provider and Health Plan scales assess indices that are relatively independent of patients demographic characteristics. In addition, patients appraisals of their interactions with their provider were only moderately related to their appraisals of their interactions with representatives of their health plan, indicating that the Provider and Health Plan scales tap distinct aspects of patients overall experience with the health care system. Overall, procedural justice dimensions were significantly related to patient satisfaction in both the Provider and the Health Plan contexts. As predicted, procedural justice factors were more strongly tied to patient satisfaction in the Provider than in the Health Plan context, and health care decisions based on distributive justice principles of Need (rather than Equity or Equality) were most closely tied to patient satisfaction in both contexts.