Reducing Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Experimental Evidence from Basic Information Treatments

We study basic information treatments regarding sexual orientation using randomized experiments in three countries with strong and widespread anti-gay attitudes: Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Participants who received information about the economic costs to society of sexual orientation discrimination were significantly more likely than those in a control group to support equal employment opportunities based on sexual orientation. Information that the World Health Organization (WHO) does not regard homosexuality as a mental illness increased social acceptance of sexual minorities, but only for those who reported trust in the WHO. Our results have important implications for policymakers aiming to expand the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people worldwide.     

Paths of Recruitment: Rational Social Prospecting in Petition Canvassing

Petition canvassers are political recruiters. Building upon the rational prospector model, we theorize that rational recruiting strategies are dynamic (Bayesian and time‐conscious), spatial (constrained by geography), and social (conditioned on relations between canvasser and prospect). Our theory predicts that canvassers will exhibit homophily in their canvassing preferences and will alternate between “door‐to‐door” and “attractor” (working in a central location) strategies based upon systematic geographical variation. They will adjust their strategies midstream (mid‐petition) based upon experience. Introducing methods to analyze canvassing data, we test these hypotheses on geocoded signatory lists from two petition drives—a 2005–6 anti–Iraq War initiative in Wisconsin and an 1839 antislavery campaign in New York City. Canvassers in these campaigns exhibited homophily to the point of following geographically and politically “inefficient” paths. In the aggregate, these patterns may exacerbate political inequality, limiting political involvement of the poorer and less educated.     

Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Current Levels of Domestic Violence: A Possible Elaboration of Intergenerational Transmission Processes

Research conducted on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence has framed much of its inquiry from within the context of social learning theory. Although consistently significant, the effect size of social learning-derived intergenerational transmission variables is often small. This study was undertaken in an effort to broaden the theoretical basis of intergenerational transmission of family violence by assessing if incorporating parental substance abuse variables with exposure to violence in family of origin would increase the predictive power of a multiple regression model. Subjects (N = 74) were men in treatment for domestic violence. Paternal substance abuse was found to exert effects on respondents' violent behavior comparable to those from exposure to family of origin violence. Findings supported a need to broaden theoretical views of the etiology of domestic violence perpetration.     

Interprofessional and interagency training for working with young people with harmful sexual behaviours: An evaluation of outcomes

Abstract

This study evaluates the outcomes of short interagency training courses provided by six Local Safeguarding Children Boards in England. The aim was to develop practical skills in recognising and responding to the needs of children with harmful sexual behaviour in an interagency context. The courses all employed interactive learning and teaching methods as well as presentations of case studies, research findings and statutory guidance. Professionals (n=147) from a range of agencies participated in the evaluation. Their attitudes, knowledge and self-confidence were assessed using a specially designed 20-item self-report scale. Scores at registration 6 weeks in advance and at the start and end of the course were compared in a double-baseline, time–series design. There was strong evidence of overall improvements in scores on most of the scale items, which are attributable to the course. However, concerns are also raised about the small numbers of criminal justice professionals participating compared to child welfare professionals.