Does breaking gender stereotypes contribute to victimization at school?

Victimization is a serious problem facing youth in American public schools. Prior research demonstrates that victimization is stratified by sex/gender; however, few studies consider factors that may moderate this relationship. This research investigates if victimization occurs when students break sex/gender stereotypes at school among female and male youth. The broad research question for this study is – are breaking sex/gender stereotypes regarding academic activities, math, and sports associated with victimization for female and male students at school? To address this research question, this study employs nationally representative data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) of 2002 to investigate if breaking sex/gender stereotypes contributes to the likelihood of victimization for female and male students at school. The study finds that females who have favorable attitudes toward math and participate in math-related activities are less likely to be victimized, while students of both sexes who participate in female dominated sports (i.e. cheerleading and softball) have a higher risk of victimization, as do females who participate in male dominated sports (i.e. football and baseball). The implications for future research and policy implementation are discussed.     

Preventing suicide in prisons, part I. Recommendations from the International Association for Suicide Prevention Task Force on Suicide in Prisons

In 2000 the Department of Mental Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) published a guide named Preventing Suicide. A Resource for Prison Officers as part of the WHO worldwide initiative for the prevention of suicide. In 2007 there are new epidemiological data on prison suicide, a more detailed discussion of risk factors accounting for the generally higher rate of suicide in correctional settings in comparison to the general population, and several strategies for developing screening instruments. As a first step, this paper presents an update of the WHO guide by the Task Force on Suicide in Prisons, created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. A second paper, by the same Task Force, will present some international comparisons of suicide prevention services in correctional facilities.     

Identification Accuracy of Children versus Adults: A Meta-Analysis

Identification accuracy of children and adults was examined in a meta-analysis. Preschoolers (M = 4 years) were less likely than adults to make correct identifications. Children over the age of 5 did not differ significantly from adults with regard to correct identification rate. Children of all ages examined were less likely than adults to correctly reject a target-absent lineup. Even adolescents (M = 12–13 years) did not reach an adult rate of correct rejection. Compared to simultaneous lineup presentation, sequential lineups increased the child–adult gap for correct rejections. Providing child witnesses with identification practice or training did not increase their correct rejection rates. Suggestions for children's inability to correctly reject target-absent lineups are discussed. Future directions for identification research are presented.