Romantic Relationship Aggression and Attitudes in High School Students: The Role of Gender,Grade, and Attachment and Emotional Styles

Use of aggressive behaviors in adolescent romantic relationships, the endorsement of attitudes that promote such behaviors, and the extent to which attachment and emotional styles are related to these behaviors and attitudes were examined in 254 high school students. In general, aggressive behaviors and attitudes were not common. As expected girls were somewhat more likely to report being the perpetrator of physical aggression and boys were somewhat more likely to endorse the acceptance of aggression and dysfunctional sexual attitudes. For girls, a less secure relationship with best friends and lower levels of shame and guilt were related to the use of aggression in romantic relationships and endorsing less healthy attitudes about these relationships. For boys, externalizing responsibility for harm to others was related to using physical aggression in romantic relationships and lower levels of guilt and shame were related to the justification of sexual aggression. Intervention implications discussed include the need to employ programs that are grounded in the nature of adolescent relationships where aggression is more often mutual between partners, and the potential benefit of targeting emotional styles.     

Three ecologies, transversality and victimization: the case of the British Petroleum oil spill

A number of critiques of the burgeoning field of green criminology have recently been articulated in the literature. The aim of this article is to begin to demonstrate what green criminological work responsive to these critiques might look like. The two primary critiques we are concerned with here are (1) that there has been little intellectual sharing between the fields of green criminology and victimology, and (2) that green criminological work has failed to be reflexive about the modernist assumptions it has largely adhered to. In response to these critiques, we draw on the theorizing of poststructuralist Felix Guattari to analyze the various interrelated layers of victimization in the 2010 British Petroleum oil spill case in the Gulf of Mexico.     

Juror Perceptions of the Legitimacy of Legal Authorities and Decision Making in Criminal Cases

Literature on trust in legal authorities and institutions demonstrates that trust affects individual behavior, yet there is little research on whether attitudes toward legal authorities such as the police or courts influence juror behavior as a third party assessing evidence and determining legal outcomes for others. Additionally, the literature on juror decision making confirms that juror race is an important predictor of juror decisions, but explanations for differences among racial groups are not clear. Since minority groups hold less favorable attitudes toward legal authorities generally, legitimacy theory may help explain racial differences in decision making among jurors. Using data from nearly 2,000 jurors in felony trials, this research utilizes multilevel modeling techniques to find that jurors' trust in legal authorities is related to juror outcomes, though the effect of juror trust and confidence in the police is opposite that of juror trust and confidence in the courts. Additionally, juror race conditions the effect of trust in police and courts. Trust is a stronger predictor of both perceptions of evidence and voting for black jurors than it is for white jurors.     

Reflections on partner violence: 20 years of research and beyond

The authors reflect on past research and technology as well as their hopes for future innovations within the field of intimate partner violence. They review work that has contributed to current conceptual definitions of partner violence, particularly those that have shaped the field's broadened perspective. They discuss technological and measurement innovations that have contributed to more accurate assessments of violence prevalence. The authors believe that via these technologies, the true extent of violence within the home has been made known. In conclusion, the authors argue that to reduce violence between partners, there is an overwhelming need for future researchers to build on past data, develop improved theories, and apply those ideas to prevention and intervention techniques and programs. Furthermore, they believe that it is imperative for current and future programs to be extensively evaluated and tested for their effectiveness.