Testing the relative importance of contemporaneous offenses: The impacts of fear of sexual assault versus fear of physical harm among men and women

Purpose

The current study tests the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis and extends recent research by examining whether the fear of physical harm or the fear of sexual assault has a greater impact on fear of other crimes.

Methods

To determine the unique interaction between gender and fear, we conduct separate analyses among men and women.

Results

While fear of physical harm and fear of sexual intrusion are both predictive of fear of home invasion, robbery, and murder, fear of physical harm has a significantly greater impact across all types of fear (e.g., home invasion, robbery, murder).

Conclusions

Despite previous empirical evidence that suggests fear operates differently among men and women, our findings suggest that fear of physical harm - rather than fear of sexual intrusion - is a more robust predictor of fear of crime among both men and women.     

Public Private Partnership als „Negotiated Order“ —

Der Beitrag versteht Public Private Partnership (PPP) als negotiated order — als Produkt kontextgebundener Aushandlungsprozesse zwischen Akteuren der öffentlichen und privaten Welt. Am Beispiel der vorvertraglichen Phase von drei Entwicklungspartnerschaften der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) werden auf Grundlage der Negotiated-Order-Theorie drei zentrale Thesen herausgestellt: PPP-Aushandlungsprozesse sind durch informelle Vorverständigungen gekennzeichnet, in denen Legitimationsanforderungen beider Welten frühzeitig auf spezifische Handlungskontexte abgestimmt werden. Diese Vorleistung wird von ?bridging agents“ erbracht, die als Vertreter öffentlicher und privater Organisationen und einer gemeinsamen Fachwelt Handlungskontexte interpretieren und damit Verhandlungsspielräume schaffen ?to get things done“ aber auch beschränken. Sie orientieren sich dabei an kontextbezogenen Praktiken der Zusammenarbeit, die den Charakter — die negotiated order — einer jeden PPP prägen. Bewähren sich diese Praktiken im Rahmen einer PPP, so gehen diese in die Vorstellungswelt der Akteure im Alltag über und geben eine Vorlage für zukünftige (PPP-)Kooperationen.     

Experiences with Parental Aggression During Childhood and Self-Concept in Adulthood: The Importance of Subjective Perceptions

That individuals' realities are subjectively constructed is a basic, fundamental concept in psychology. However, past research examining child maltreatment in relation to psychological functioning has only investigated the frequency with which parental aggression occurs. Here, adults' perceptions of the abusiveness of their parents' aggressive behaviors during childhood were investigated as a predictor of current self-concept. Participants (N = 119) completed questionnaires assessing the extent to which they experienced parental aggression during childhood, their subjective perceptions of their parents' behaviors, and their current self-concept. Results indicated that how participants perceived their parents' aggressive behaviors was a more important predictor of self-concept than was the frequency with which those aggressive parental behaviors occurred. How individuals characterize their experiences with parental aggression should be taken into account when examining the psychological effects of aggressive parental behaviors.     

CJDATS CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS SCREENING INSTRUMENT (CODSI) FOR MENTAL DISORDERS (MD): A Validation Study

Three standardized screening instruments-the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Short Screener (GSS), the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Modified (MINI-M), and the Mental Health Screening Form (MHSF)-were compared to two shorter instruments, the 6-item Co-Occurring Disorders Screening Instrument for Mental Disorders (CODSI-MD) and the 3-item CODSI for Severe Mental Disorders (CODSI-SMD) for use with offenders in prison substance-abuse treatment programs. Results showed that the CODSI screening instruments were comparable to the longer instruments in overall accuracy and that all of the instruments performed reasonably well. The CODSI instruments showed sufficient value to justify their use in prison substance-abuse treatment programs and to warrant validation testing in other criminal justice populations and settings.     

The Quest for Certainty and the Demise of Political Theory

In this paper, I contribute to the ongoing conversation in New Political Science regarding the status of political science in general, and political theory in particular. I argue that the quest for certainty and desire to quantify knowledge has not been limited to empiricist political scientists. The emphasis on quantification and deductive logic is found in many places within the political theory tradition itself. Time and again, mathematics and the physical sciences are held up as the model for all knowledge. I argue that this focus has led theorists to distance themselves from politics, either out of despair or disdain for the ambiguity and variability present in political life. While I do not propose that Aristotle provides a magic remedy for the current problems in the discipline, I suggest that his combined interest in logic and the close examination of material detail provides a perennially viable framework for political theory.