Seen but not heard: Native people in four Canadian inner cities

This essay provides an overview of research on Native people in the inner core of four cities. This research was funded by the Aboriginal Justice Directorate, Department of Justice as part of the Aboriginal Justice Initiative. The objective of the research was to elicit information along a number of dimensions including: background, coming to the city, life in the city, experiences with the criminal justice system, and aspirations for the future. The information was used to compare east/west differences in Aboriginal incarceration levels, to explore urban and rural/reserve offences, and social stratification within the inner-city population. The findings revealed that social stratification exists in the inner-city Native population and that the more marginal the position, the greater the involvement with the criminal justice system. The findings also showed the relationship between childhood and adult experiences. East/west variation in Native incarceration levels can be explained by the findings that more people in the west belonged to the most marginal group in terms of education, employment, skills, and childhood disruption and violence. The findings argue for policy and program attention to be directed to those whose needs are greatest. When ‘broad brush’ solutions are applied, those with the most and least needs are treated equally. This essay is an overview of research contained in a three part volume,Seen but not Heard: Native people in the Inner City. Ottawa: Justice Canada. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justice Canada or of the people involved in the project.     

Applying the Skill-Deficit Concept of Deviance to Juvenile Delinquents

Many theories have been advanced to account for juvenile delinquency. Most theories provide convincing partial explanations for some phenomena, but not others. Furthermore, most theories of delinquency offer only vague guidelines for treatment. The social learning school of psychology has developed a skill-deficit conception of deviance which has implications for treatment. In order to determine the applicability of this approach, a sample of 411 adjudicated male delinquents was obtained. They were assessed along a number of dimensions, and were found to be deficient as a group in all the skill areas measured. Implications for delinquency theory are discussed, as are treatment recommendations.     

The wisdom of solomon

The results of the analyses of items common to two separate surveys, one with judges/commissioners and one with mental health professionals, regarding the standards to be used in determining child custody in a divorce are reported. Although there were more areas of agreement between the two groups, group differences did emerge on a few items. Mental health professionals tended to give significantly greater emphasis to the quality of the relationship between parent and child, whereas the judiciary tended to give more emphasis to the legal/biological status of the parent-child relationship and to traditional family roles and structures. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Fragmented pathways to care: the experiences of suicidal men

Using qualitative methods, this study examined how, and under what circumstances, suicidal men used mental health services. In particular, the analyses focused on fragmented pathways to care. Fifteen men with a history of suicidal and aggressive behaviors and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and/or antisocial personality disorder participated in semistructured interviews that consisted of questions about their mental health status and experiences with mental health and addiction services. Interviews were taped and transcribed. An iterative, inductive qualitative analytic process was used. Men followed a cyclical pattern wherein negative experiences with health care providers were said to be followed by avoidance of health care settings, crisis, and then by involuntary service utilization. Men identified five health care provider and three personal practices, and two types of episodes they believed to contribute to their fragmented pathways to care. Implementation of specialized interventions, and providing patients with more information and more opportunity to participate in decisions, may improve interactions between patients and providers and improve patients' mental health status.     

Fatal dog maulings associated with infant swings

We present three cases of fatal dog maulings of infants placed in mobile infant swings, a phenomenon not previously described in the literature. In each case, the victim was left in a mobile swing, unsupervised by an adult, and the attacking dog was a family pet. Case 1 involved an 18-day-old male infant attacked by a pit bull; Case 2 involved a 3-month-old male infant attacked by a Chow Chow and/or a Dachshund, and Case 3 involved an 18-day-old female infant attacked by a Labrador-pit bull mix. These cases not only underscore the importance of not leaving young children unattended in the presence of pet dogs, but also raise the possibility that mobile swings may trigger a predatory response in dogs and thus may represent an additional risk factor for dog attack.     

Violent Sex Offenses: How are They Best Measured from Official Records?

In the United States, sexually violent predator (SVP) commitment statutes generally require assessment of an offender's risk of subsequent sexual violence. Current actuarial methods for predicting sexual reoffending were actually designed to predict something else—charges or convictions for offenses deemed sexual based on information obtained from police “rapsheets” alone. This study examined the referral and past offenses of 177 sex offenders. Results showed that police rapsheets (and data based on them) underestimated the number and severity of sexually motivated violent offenses for which sex offenders were actually apprehended. Rapsheet violent offenses seemed a more accurate index of the conduct addressed by SVP legislation than were rapsheet sex offenses. We suggest that, when evaluating sex offenders for SVP status, actuarial instruments designed to predict violent recidivism (as measured by rapsheet violent reoffenses) might be preferable to those designed to predict sexual recidivism (as measured by rapsheet sexual reoffenses).

Distribution of income sources of recent retirees: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

Using data from the New Beneficiary Survey, this article examines income received by the newly retired from assets, employer-provided pensions, and social security. Today's retirees commonly possess pension or asset income to supplement social security. The proportions with asset income were 83 percent for married men and their wives and 69 percent for the unmarried. The proportions with pension income were 56 percent for the married couples and 42 percent for the unmarried. The article finds that up through the middle of the income distribution, social security remains the main income component. In addition to these traditional income sources of the retired, the data also highlight the important role of earnings among many of the new beneficiaries--44 percent of the married couples and 27 percent of the unmarried had current earnings.     

Income of new retired workers by age at first benefit receipt: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

Using data from the New Beneficiary Survey (NBS) of the Social Security Administration (SSA), this article examines how income sources and total monthly income received by newly retired social security beneficiaries vary with the age at which the first benefit check was received. The NBS respondents who received a first benefit at age 65 or older were better off economically than were those who received a first benefit at ages 62-64. At the time of the interview, 18-30 months after receiving a first benefit, these older beneficiaries had higher levels of total income and were more likely to have income from earnings and assets. Pension receipt rates did not vary by the age at which the first social security benefit was received except for married women retired workers, for whom the rate was higher at the older ages. The largest proportion of aggregate income (slightly more than one-third) was derived from social security benefits. More than 90 percent of the NBS Medicare-only respondents--a sample of nonbeneficiaries who were eligible for monthly cash benefits but had established their entitlement only for the purpose of enrolling in the Medicare program--reported earnings income. They had lower rates of pension receipt and higher rates of asset income receipt than the retired workers. The Medicare-only respondents had substantially higher incomes than did retired workers, and most of their aggregate income was from earnings. The NBS retirees were generally in better financial condition than a group of social security beneficiaries aged 65 or older from all benefit categories in the Current Population Survey Income Supplement with whom they were compared.