Prison labor and recidivism

This study examines recidivism among inmates who participated in prison industry programs during confinement and a comparison group of inmates who were not employed in prison industry. Industry participants had lower recidivism rates than nonparticipants, but when differences between the groups on other characteristics associated with recidivism were controlled, the recidivism rates of participants and nonparticipants were virtually identical. A proportional hazards regression model was estimated that showed that, net of other variables, the effect of prison industry participation on the probability of postrelease felony arrest was small and insignificant. The findings are discussed in the context of existing correctional outcome research and recent developments in prison work programs.     

CAPINDEX: Abstract descriptors

Both research and public policy efforts to determine levels of spouse abuse have been compromised, with significant incidence either uncounted or undercounted, owing to numerous factors: social stigma, victim guilt, evasive public policy, and sparse and/or technically inadequate research attempts. The CAPINDEX (Crimes-Against-Persons Index) is an estimation technique that tackles this persistent problem by using rates of well-reported violent crimes to predict the incidence of poorly reported violent crimes like spouse abuse. The numerical bases of the CAPINDEX, murder and aggravated assault, are well-reported and not subject to social class skewing. The relational approach of the technique is consistent with structural, cultural consistency, and ecological theories of violence. The technique is not only efficacious in estimating spouse abuse, but applicable to estimating sexual assault rates.     

Humiliation,Manipulation, and Control: Evidence of Centrality in Domestic Violence Against an Adult Partner

This paper describes two related studies. Study 1 is a literature review of existing adult partner domestic violence assessment scales. Results of the review revealed that the scales varied on the available amount of empirical evidence for validity and reliability. More importantly, results showed that the content of the scales focused most heavily on the physical abuse aspects of domestic violence. Study 2 is a factor analysis performed on the results of 64 items taken from the Artemis Intake Questionnaire, a clinically relevant tool constructed by treatment providers used in working with the victims of domestic violence. Results indicate that reported humiliation and blame of the victim accounted for the largest amount of variance, followed by controlling the victim, and then physical violence. Results of this factor analysis suggest that greater emphasis must be put on factors other than physical violence in the construction of future domestic violence scales.     

The effects of multiple objectives in the theory of public sector supply

This paper incorporates objectives of both legislators and bureaucrats in a model of public sector decisionmaking. Existing models assume that either bureaucrats control production information and decisions, (Niskanen-type models) or legislators control production decisions (legislative models). My model explicitly incorporates imperfect agent behavior and corresponding preferences of both legislators and bureaucrats to reflect the bilateral nature of appropriations. The analysis shows that output levels generally differ from politically and socially efficient levels and depend on the relative weights of legislative and bureaucratic interests. Accordingly, Niskanen-type and legislative models are viewed as special cases of this more general approach.     

Gender-role identity and psychological adjustment in adolescence

The relationship between gender-role identity (traditional, androgynous, cross-gender, and undifferentiated) and psychological adjustment among adolescents was examined. Hypotheses were derived from theories of gender-role identity development. One hundred and three high school students completed a measure of gender-role identity (the Bem Sex-Role Inventory) and four measures of adjustment (three Offer Self-Image scales and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). Findings indicate that traditional, androgynous, and cross-gender identities are each associated with some aspect of superior adjustment. Undifferentiated adolescents are poorly adjusted. When the independent contribution of masculinity, femininity, and gender-role identity to adjustment was assessed, masculinity and femininity had greater predictive power than gender-role identity. The relationship of findings to gender-role identity development is discussed.This paper was written while the author was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Mental Health Research Program in Sociology and Psychiatry at Duke University Medical School. Support for this work was provided by NIMH Grant MH14670-01.Received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Colorado. Major research interest is personality development across the life-span, particularly the development of gender-role identity in adolescence and adulthood.