Effects of Judicial Instructions and Case Characteristics in a Mock Jury Trial of Battered Women Who Kill

This study examined the effects of judicial instructions on the outcome of a mock jury trial that involved a woman who pleaded self-defense after killing her abusive spouse. Jurors were instructed to adopt either an objective or a subjective standard of reasonableness when reaching a verdict. Within objective/subjective instruction conditions, half of the juries viewed a case in which the woman killed her abuser while he was attacking her (confrontational) and the remaining half viewed a case in which she killed him while he was asleep (no confrontation). Juries in the subjective conditions returned significantly more not guilty verdicts than jurors in the objective conditions. At the individual juror level, participants hearing subjective instructions were significantly more likely to rate the defendant as not guilty than jurors given objective instructions when the abuse was nonconfrontational.     

Women's participation in national-level politics and government: The case of Costa Rica

It has often been assumed that women in politics in Latin America approach their public responsibilities in a manner consistent with their traditional domestic roles. This article analyzes women's roles in Costa Rican politics and government through an examination of both the positions they hold and the attitudes they maintain regarding these positions. We conducted interviews in Costa Rica with female political elites and gathered data from mail questionnaires. It appears that Costa Rican women in public life are most likely to hold traditionally “female” positions and maintain both a feminine image and traditional family values. However, women in Costa Rican politics and government do not view their participation in the public sphere as an extension of their traditional domestic roles.     

In the eye of the beholder: Meaning and structure of informal status in women's and men's prisons*

Applying an abductive mixed‐methods approach, we investigate the informal status systems in three women's prison units (across two prisons) and one men's prison unit. Qualitative analyses suggest “old head” narratives—where age, time in prison, sociability, and prison wisdom confer unit status—are prevalent across all four contexts. Perceptions of maternal “caregivers” and manipulative “bullies,” however, are found only in the three women's units. The qualitative findings inform formal network analyses by differentiating “positive,” “neutral,” and “negative” status nominations, with “negative” ties primarily absent from the men's unit. Within the women's units, network analyses find that high‐status women are likely to receive both positive and negative peer nominations, such that evaluations depend on who is doing the evaluating. Comparing the women's and men's networks, the correlates of positive and neutral ties are generally the same and center on covariates of age, getting along with others, race, and religion. Overall, the study points to important similarities and differences in status across the gendered prison contexts, while demonstrating how a sequential mixed‐methods design can illuminate both the meaning and the structure of prison informal organization.     

The convergent validities of two measures of dating behaviors related to risk for sexual victimization

The primary purpose of this investigation was to assess the convergent validities of two measures of dating behaviors related to risk for sexual victimization, the Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS) and the Dating Behavior Survey (DBS). Three hundred seventy-seven women responded to measures assessing self-protective dating behavior (DSPARS), risk-related dating behavior (DBS), risk perception in a sexual assault scenario, and history of sexual victimization. The results support the convergent validities of the DSPARS and the DBS. Specifically, the results indicate that scores on the DSPARS were negatively correlated with risk-related dating behavior, delayed risk perception, and history of sexual victimization. In addition, scores on the DBS were positively correlated with delayed risk perception and history of sexual victimization. Scores on the DBS were also negatively correlated with self-protective dating behavior.     

Engaging stakeholders on TikTok: A multi-level social media analysis of nonprofit Microvlogging

Nonprofits are slow adopters of new social media platforms, yet many have joined TikTok. Successful microvlogging on sites like TikTok, Instagram, and SnapChat requires different types of engagement than microblogging on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The authors conduct a mixed-method social media analysis to answer three questions: Do microvlogs support traditional social media functions? How are nonprofits engaging with stakeholders through microvlogging? Which function in the hierarchy of engagement framework best engages stakeholders? The authors qualitatively coded 1160 microvlogs on TikTok from 58 nonprofits. The qualitative dataset was merged with TikTok metadata to capture quantitative measures of user engagement. Findings indicate nonprofits employ community-building strategies more than information-sharing and action strategies. Users engage more often with the nonprofits' community-building microvlogs. The authors conclude that nonprofits adapt their strategy to more effectively engage stakeholders when microvlogging, which suggests there may be a “new hierarchy” of engagement for microvlogging platforms.     

Framing innocents: the wrongly convicted as victims of state harm

We adapt the victimology of ‘state harms’ framework outlined by Kauzlarich et al. (Critical Criminology, 10(3), 173–194, 2001) to understand the post-exoneration experiences of 18 death row exonerees. Kauzlarich et al. develop six points of commonality shared by most victims of state crime. Application of this framework to death row exonerees highlights the role the state plays in creating and exacerbating the harms they suffer. This analysis also lays a foundation for further theoretical inquiry into the wrongful conviction of the innocent as a form of state crime.     

Intergenerational Continuity in Depression: The Importance of Time-Varying Effects,Maternal Co-morbid Health Risk Behaviors and Child’s Gender

Intergenerational continuity in depressive symptoms is well established between mother and child, but there are still important facets of this relationship that are underexplored. We examine intergenerational continuity in depressive symptoms between mother–child dyads as a flexible function of child age and account for the potential moderating role of maternal co-morbid health risk behaviors. Using prospective, self-report data collected yearly from 413 mother–child dyads (210 mother–son dyads and 203 mother–daughter dyads) between child ages 12–17, the results indicate that the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on daughters’ depressive symptoms steadily increases throughout adolescence whereas the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on sons’ depressive symptoms is relatively small, stable, and non-significant during mid-adolescence before increasing in effect in later adolescence. A positive interactive effect between maternal depressive symptoms and intimate partner violence is observed for sons and maternal depressive symptoms and substance use for daughters. A negative interactive effect of maternal depressive symptoms and substance use is observed among sons. Overall, this study identifies particular subgroups for whom intervention programming is most beneficial and suggests targeting health risk behaviors of mothers to lessen the impact of maternal depressive symptoms on offspring.     

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Adolescent Health Risk Problems: The Role of School Engagement

Maternal depressive symptoms disrupt positive youth development, though the pervasiveness of this disruption is understudied. Additionally, it remains unknown whether prosocial factors such as adolescent school engagement may buffer against this risk factor. Using multigenerational, longitudinal data spanning ten years from an ethnically diverse sample of mother-child dyads (66% Black, 17% Hispanic, and 17% White), this study examines the effect of maternal depressive symptoms in late childhood (ages 8–13) on the development and progression of offspring depressive symptoms, substance use, and delinquent behavior during adolescence (ages 14–17). Further, the study examines whether school engagement moderates the ill effects of maternal depressive symptoms. Mother-son (n?=?212) and mother-daughter (n?=?215) dyads are compared to assess for similarities and differences between male and female offspring. The results indicate that offspring of mothers with greater maternal depressive symptoms are more likely to display higher levels of depressive symptoms, substance use, and delinquency throughout adolescence, although important nuances emerge across outcome and child sex. Additionally, while school engagement itself is associated with reduced depressive symptoms, substance use and delinquency among adolescents, it is not profound enough to offset the risk posed by maternal depressive symptoms. The findings of this study reinforce the pervasive, negative, intergenerational impact of maternal depressive symptoms and has implications for prevention and intervention efforts for adolescent health risk problems.

     

Identifying Media Effects Through Low-Cost,Multiwave Field Experiments

Field experiments are notoriously difficult to implement when studying media effects. They are often prohibitively expensive, require the cooperation of a nonacademic entity, and measure effects some time after exposure to treatment. In this article, we outline a design for low-cost, multiwave field experiments of media effects. Researchers can implement this design on their own and can control the timing of when they measure effects. We demonstrate the feasibility of the design with an application to the study of presidential debates.     

A Qualitative Study Exploring Mothers’ Perceptions of Child Neglect

This research explores the experiences and perceptions of mothers receiving services for child neglect. Incidents of child neglect are reaching alarming rates in the United States, now representing 78% of all child maltreatment reports. Although risks factors associated with child neglect are well known, there continues to be uncertainty about how to proceed in assessing and intervening with families. The epistemological stance of constructivism and the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism guided the qualitative methods of this research. Four overarching themes emerged focused on daily struggles, protecting my child, feeling trapped, and mutual trust. Implications for practice are discussed.