Integrating the American criminal justice and mental health service systems to focus on victimization

Although most research and policy in the mental health and criminal justice arenas have operated independently of one another, there is a growing consensus suggesting the need for an integration of these two disparate, yet complementary systems. Furthermore, in light of the adverse mental health consequences that often accompany victimization experiences, it is apparent that these two systems should develop and foster overlapping services for crime victims. The research reviewed herein provides an examination of issues such as these, identifies some of the barriers that stand in the way of a successful integration of the two systems, and attempts to provide some guidance and direction for future integrated mental health and criminal justice system approaches. An outline of research gaps and directions for future study are offered for the integration of criminal justice and mental health systems, as such collaborations are likely to alleviate some of the deleterious mental health outcomes evident among crime victims and at the same time reduce the occurrence of repeat victimization.     

Examining the Influence of Family Environments on Youth Violence: A Comparison of Mexican,Puerto Rican,Cuban, Non-Latino Black,and Non-Latino White Adolescents

Existing research rarely considers important ethnic subgroup variations in violent behaviors among Latino youth. Thus, their risk for severe violent behaviors is not well understood in light of the immense ethnic and generational diversity of the Latino population in the United States. Grounded in social control theory and cultural analyses of familism, we examine differences in the risk for severe youth violence, as well its associations with family cohesion, parental engagement, adolescent autonomy, household composition, and immigrant generation among Mexican (n = 1,594), Puerto Rican (n = 586), Cuban (n = 488), and non-Latino Black (n = 4,053), and White (n = 9,921) adolescents with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results indicate a gradient of risk; White youth had the lowest risk for severe violence and Puerto Rican youth had the highest risk compared to all other racial/ethnic subgroups. Within-group analysis indicates that family factors are not universally protective or risk-inducing. While family cohesion decreased the risk of severe violence among all groups, parental engagement was associated with increased risk among Blacks and Whites, and adolescent autonomy was associated with increased risk among Puerto Ricans and Cubans. In addition, Cuban and White adolescents who lived in single parent households or who did not live with their parents, had higher risk for severe violent behaviors than their counterparts who lived in two parent households. Among Latinos, the association of immigrant generation was in opposite directions among Mexicans and Cubans. We conclude that family and immigration factors differentially influence risk for violence among Latino subgroups and highlight the significance of examining subgroup differences and developing intervention strategies that are tailored to the needs of each ethnic subgroup.     

Assessing the Overlap in Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization among South Korean College Students: The Influence of Social Learning and Self-Control

Research has recently begun to identify an overlap of involvement in offending and victimization and a shared commonality of risk factors for both outcomes. Despite this growing body of evidence, this research has yet to have been extended to dating violence in general and in cross cultural samples specifically. Recognizing these gaps in the literature, the current study examines the correlation between psychological and physical dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of South Korean college students. Results from a series of bivariate probit models suggest that there is a strong degree of overlap between dating violence perpetration and victimization and that social learning theory and self-control theory cannot explain away the overlap. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.     

Identification process in mass graves from the Spanish Civil War II

The identification process of a mass grave from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) is presented. The presumed location of the grave, as well as the presumed number and identities of the persons buried in the grave were obtained exclusively from witnesses' and relatives' testimonies. In agreement with the testimonies, the grave was located at the indicated location and five skeletons were exhumed. Also in agreement with the testimonies, the osteological and DNA study led investigators to propose the identification of two kin groups, a father and his son and a pair of brothers. But the genetic study did not support the identification of a fifth man presumed to have been buried in the grave. The differences and similarities between this case and another case reported earlier are discussed.     

Are there population differences in minutiae frequencies? A comparative study of two Argentinian population samples and one Spanish sample

In recent years, both scientific and judicial sources have highlighted the need for more knowledge about minutiae variability, in order to improve their statistical application to fingerprint identification. In line with this trend toward improving our knowledge of this subject, the aim of the present study was to calculate the frequency with which 20 types of minutiae appeared in 2780 fingerprint impressions obtained from 278 individuals from two Argentinian population samples (100 individuals from Ramal and 178 from Puna-Quebrada). The different types of minutiae were located, identified, and quantified visually in two areas on the fingerprint, the inside and outside of a circle, the radius of which cut fifteen ridges perpendicularly, starting from the center cut of the axes defining the sectors. The non-equiprobability found in both population samples for the different minutiae types studied demonstrated that the evidential weight provided by these characteristics is not the same when applied in identification processes, whether used quantitatively (numerical standard) or qualitatively (holistic method). The results obtained for both populations were compared statistically with those published previously for a Spanish population sample, which had been collected using the same methodology. This comparison has enabled us to demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of significant differences between populations in minutiae frequencies, independently from the main pattern type.     

Intimate Partner Abuse among African American Lesbians: Prevalence, Risk Factors, Theory, and Resilience

The purpose of this article is to present an intersectionality-based model for conceptualizing the risk factors associated with intimate partner abuse (IPA) among African American lesbians. The available literature on prevalence and risk factors associated with IPA suggests that: (a) estimates of prevalence rates for African American lesbian IPA could range from 25?% to 40?%, with the higher end of the range representing the inclusion of nonphysical forms of abuse (i.e., verbal abuse, intimidation, and coercion); and (b) the risk factors most likely to be associated with IPA for this population include poverty, history of trauma and mental health symptoms (including substance abuse), in addition to distress caused by multiple and intersecting forms of oppression (i.e., racialized, classist sexism and heterosexism). The model demonstrates the manner in which all of these risk factors intersect to create disproportionately high risk for this underresearched and underserved population. A psychodynamically based model is also presented that illustrates the cycle of abuse within an African American lesbian relationship. Finally, a model depicting the most likely protective factors segues into a brief concluding discussion about the implications for intervention, prevention, policy, education, and future research.     

College Women’s Experiences of Dating Violence in Casual and Exclusive Relationships

Using a sample of female college students involved in a current dating relationship, we investigate the nature of violence in these intimate relationships to better understand the concept of violence mutuality. To do so we explore womens’ experiences with violence as both perpetrators and victims and examine the prevalence, chronicity, and severity of violence experienced by young women. We also examine whether there are differences in experiences of violence for women in casual versus exclusive dating relationships. Our findings suggest that when violence is present in a dating relationship it is likely to occur within a mutually violent relationship where women are both victims and perpetrators of violence. More importantly, within these mutually violent relationships, women reported being more likely to perpetrate violence at higher rates than they experience as victims. We find no notable differences in experiences with violence among those in casual versus exclusive relationships. The methodological limitations and policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

Are non-traditional security challenges leading regional organizations towards greater convergence?

How are regional organizations responding to the emergence of non-traditional security (NTS) challenges? Are they engaging in more cooperative efforts to meet new threats? Or, on the contrary, do they react in different manners according to their distinctive values, principles and internal structures? This article attempts to investigate how the threats posed by NTS are compelling different regional organizations to reconsider their security thinking and to find new innovative ways of cooperation. This is done by comparing two diverse regional organizations, the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose models of security cooperation have significantly varied reflecting the preference for different security approaches. The EU's security system has been more formalized and institutionalized; conversely, the "ASEAN way" has traditionally been rooted in the principles of informality and consensus. It is argued, however, that the emergence of NTS threats is acting as a catalyst behind a normative and operational shift of the modus operandi of both organizations. In so doing, this empirical analysis will try to shed light on the effects of exogenous factors on the emergence of patterns of convergence within the security sphere of distinctive regional processes.