On the “Exporting” of Morality: Its Relation to Political Conservatism and Epistemic Motivation

A new phenomenon, moral exporting (ME), is introduced to capture active attempts to promote certain views of morality to others. It was hypothesized that political conservatives would be more likely to exhibit ME, due in part to strong epistemic concerns for certainty that may become attached to the moral domain. Related items from the 1988 and 2006 General Social Surveys were analyzed, and new scales were developed to better assess ME and specific moral-related epistemic concerns (moral absolutism). In a second study, these scales were administered to a large college student sample along with measures of political ideology and need for closure (NFC). Results generally showed that political conservatism was strongly related to the new ME factor. Further analysis determined that both moral absolutism (MA) and NFC accounted for significant portions of this relationship, but that the specific epistemic construct (MA) was a more proximal mediator. Discussion centers on further distinguishing ME and MA from related constructs, as well as on future research and applications.     

Routine activities of delinquent and non-delinquent victims of violent crime

The link between criminal victimization and offending has become increasingly well documented in recent years. Unfortunately, the empirical and theoretical enmeshment of these variables makes it difficult to determine the effect of specific activities purely on victimization. This paper provides an examination of the effect of engaging in specific risky activities on the violent victimization experiences of delinquent and non-delinquent youth. Our results show that there are some modest differences in the effects of risky behaviors on the likelihood of violent victimization for delinquents and non-delinquents.     

Development of a computerized sexual assessment laboratory

Computer-assisted psychological assessment has been operational for 25 years. It has been well received by patients and shows a degree of reliability that is comparable to that of conventional testing. The authors report on the development of a computerized psychosexual assessment laboratory in a forensic facility housing convicted sex offenders who volunteered for treatment. The development of the laboratory was in response to the need for uniform psychosocial data on each resident that can be used for making better diagnoses, developing personalized treatment programs, and assessing treatment outcome. The process of selecting the psychological tests and programming them for interactive administration is described, as are the testing procedures using the penile plethysmograph with stimuli based on the Tanner developmental stages. A computer-assisted psychosocial assessment that produces a psychosocial history was developed. The laboratory's overall value in the treatment program is assessed.     

Factors affecting perception of pregnancy risk in the adolescent

Perception of pregnancy risk, fertility knowledge, and probability-based teaching examples of risk were assessed in 104 primiparous urban adolescents 13–18 years of age in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. Perception of risk was not associated with age, actual frequency of intercourse, or level of fertility knowledge. Sexually active adolescents were surprised at subsequent conceptions. Adolescents were unable to utilize concepts of risk taking, even after concrete examples and teaching techniques had been presented.This study was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, which provides medical faculty to the Harris County Hospital District, Houston, Texas.Received Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Current interests are patterns of adolescent child bearing and rearing.Received M.P.H. from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Current interests are adolescent contraceptive behavior.Received D.P.H. from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Current interests are biological psychiatry and socio-medical research.Received M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine. Current interests are continuing education in medical and nonmedical settings.     

Landmark reforms

After more than one hundred years, the future of a unified Probation Service looks bleak in the face of current proposals by the Ministry of Justice to open up the market for rehabilitation services to new providers from the private, voluntary and community sectors.