Recollections of a robbery

One week after committing a simulated robbery while intoxicated or sober, each of 142 subjects recalled the event within a “cognitive interview”. In an initial exploratory experiment, alcohol consumption reduced the accuracy of recall of a variety of types of information, in particular, information about persons. In the second experiment, person identification suffered following the consumption of alcohol, but only when arousal was low. Higher levels of arousal appeared instead to minimize the negative impact of alcohol upon encoding and recall. Second, whereas the recollections by subjects of what they saw during the crime were not impaired by alcohol consumption, their recollections of what they did were impaired. Both experiments examined the effects of arousal upon the subjects' recalls, and Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that increased arousal serves to reduce attention to peripheral sources of information. This hypothesis was supported because the identification of persons central to the crime benefited from increased arousal but the identification of persons peripheral to the crime did not. A similar hypothesis about the effects of alcohol received only mixed support because the subjects' behaviors reflected “alcohol myopia” but their identifications of target persons did not. Finally, manipulations at the time of retrieval of the subjects' beliefs about how much alcohol had been consumed also altered accuracy of recall. These experiments were supported by research grants from the Alberta Law Foundation to the first author and from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the second author. The authors are indebted to the following people, whose assistance was invaluable: Matthew Davidson, Vanessa Farr, Corinne Kuzma, Eileen McFadzen, Laura Mensch, Debbie Robb, Todd Schultz, and Evelyn Tan. We also thank John Vokey, Brian Cutler, Beth Loftus, Garrett Berman, Marisa Caiola, and an anonymous reviewer who provided critical comments on an earlier version of this paper. This research was presented at the meetings of the American Psychology—Law Society, Williamsburg, March, 1990.     

Theoretical Foundations for the Design and Placement of Community-Based Treatment Facilities for Juveniles

With deinstitutionalization and community-based treatment of delinquents becoming more common, the need for facilities compatible with re-integration efforts is crucial. In line with the increasing local needs for dealing with juvenile offenders in the community, this paper advocates the use of delinquency theory as the conceptual foundation for the architectural design and placement of community-based alternatives to incarceration. In addition, we present guidelines for the site selection, community acceptance and physical design of a model community-based treatment facility for minor offenders, which are based on a theoretical integration of social control theory and the labeling approach.     

Predicting the Onset of Sexual and Drug Risk Behaviors in HIV-Negative Youths with HIV-Positive Mothers: The Role of Contextual,Self-Regulation,and Social-Interaction Factors

HIV-negative, inner-city adolescents with HIV-infected parents are considered to be at high risk for acquiring HIV themselves. Using a modified theory of health behavior, this study examined the effects of maternal HIV infection and psychosocial variables on the onset of sexual and drug risk behavior in 144 HIV-negative adolescents with and without HIV-positive mothers. Adolescents and their mothers were interviewed when the youths were 10–14 years old and again when they were 13–19 years old. By follow-up, 42% of youths reported the onset of vaginal sex (vs 5% at baseline). Marijuana and alcohol use increased from 6 and 38%, respectively, at baseline to 25 and 60% at follow-up. Among those reporting risk behaviors, 40--50% reported onset prior to 14 years. Youth and family psychosocial variables, but not maternal HIV status, were associated with risk behaviour outcomes. Claude A. Mellins research interests include mental health, psychosocial, and public effects of maternal and pediatric HIV; interventions for HIV-affected families; and adherence. Curtis Dolezal research interests include HIV-related sexual behavior in a variety of populations with a particular emphasis on methodology/measurement issues. Elizabeth Brackis-Cott research interests include impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of children and families directly affected by the disease. Ouzama Nicholson research interests include international public health and pediatric HIV infection and operational issues in developing effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection and pediatric HIV care programs. Patricia Warne research interests include program development, structural interventions for HIV, and policy. Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg research interests include psychosexual assessment, the development and determinants of sexual risk behavior, and the effects of HIV disease on sexual functioning.