“I’ve Got Something to Live for Now”: A Study of Prison Nursery Mothers

Critical Criminology - This study explored the perceptions of incarcerated women, housed in prison nursery units in three states, of the effects of the nursery units on their parenting and...     

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Intimate Partner Violence Advocates and Agencies

Relatively few studies have considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate partner violence (IPV) advocates or the agencies where they work. In this study, based on United States IPV advocates’ experiences working with survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted interviews to explore: 1) personal challenges and resilience working as IPV advocates during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) how agencies adapted to the pandemic to support IPV survivors and advocates; and 3) specific needs and challenges of culturally-specific agencies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 53 IPV advocates from June to November 2020. Participants were included if they worked directly with survivors, identified as an IPV advocate, worked at a US-based agency, and spoke and understood English. We created a sampling matrix to ensure adequate representation from IPV advocates serving survivors from communities which have been marginalized. Interviews were conducted through a virtual platform by a trained member of the research team. We used an inductive thematic analysis approach, with weekly coding meetings to resolve discrepancies in coding. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) IPV advocates described how working as an IPV advocate during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them personally; 2) agencies developed new methods of addressing IPV advocates’ needs; 3) agencies developed new solutions to address pandemic-related client needs; 4) transitioning advocacy work to virtual formats created challenges but also opportunities and; 5) pandemic limitations and impacts compounded pre-pandemic challenges for culturally specific agencies. IPV advocates are frontline workers who have played essential roles in adjusting services to meet survivor needs during the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously coping with pandemic impacts on themselves and their agencies. Developing inter-agency collaborations and promoting advocates’ safety and wellbeing during future public health crises will help support IPV survivors.

     

Understanding service users’ and therapists’ experiences of pharmacological treatment for sexual preoccupation and/or hypersexuality in incarcerated sex offenders

This research comprises two qualitative studies understanding the experiences of (1) convicted sex offenders voluntarily receiving pharmacological treatment to reduce sexual preoccupation and (2) therapists working with these offenders. The studies form part of a research programme evaluating the use of pharmacological treatment with sexual offenders. In study one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 sexual offenders receiving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In study two, interviews were conducted with eight intervention staff with varying levels of experience of working with offenders taking anti-libidinals. Thematic analysis was used and in study one, two main themes emerged: (i) the impact of the pharmacological treatment on prisoners’ daily functioning; (ii) barriers to compliance/engagement. In study two, three main themes emerged: (i) offenders’ reluctance to engage with pharmacological treatment; (ii) challenges for therapists; (iii) pharmacology: ‘just another piece of the puzzle’. Findings are discussed in relation to practice and future research.     

Influences on substance use cessation during pregnancy: an exploratory study of women on probation and parole

Research suggests that a lack of family support, low self-efficacy, mental illness, and life stressors increase the likelihood of women using illicit substances during their pregnancies. These risk factors often characterize the lives of women on probation and parole. The current study uses data from a larger study of women on supervision to explore the risk and protective factors of substance use during pregnancy. Results highlight the importance of self-efficacy, mental health treatment, and family support; and suggest avenues for intervention to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.     

An Examination of Local Climate Change Policies in the Great Plains

As the United States struggles with national solutions to address climate change, state and local governments have become leaders in both mitigation and adaptation policy. Although a significant and growing body of research targets these policies, most studies have assumed common factors motivating both adaptation and mitigation policy adoption. There remains a need for more research on cities of all sizes, their adoption of specific local policies, the factors motivating those choices, and whether the influences for mitigation differ from those that motivate adaptation. The paper uses data from a new survey of over 200 local governments in eleven states of the Great Plains region, including measures distinguishing between mitigation and adaptation policies. These data are employed to test the relative influence of factors from three areas: the policy environment, the attitudes of governmental actors, and community atmosphere, in explaining observed variation in the adoption of climate change policies.     

Critical evaluation of planning frameworks for rural water and sanitation development projects

Poor initial planning processes have been implicated in the high failure rate of rural water and sanitation development projects. This article critically examines 17 existing planning frameworks for rural water supply and sanitation projects with respect to key attributes of good planning practice, in order to discover the extent to which these address the elements of planning that relate to sustainability. It identifies sustainability-related factors from the sector that have been recognised as such and incorporated into current frameworks, as well as factors that are not yet well covered, and makes recommendations to practitioners wishing to employ such frameworks.     

Typologies of Intimate Partner Violence: Evaluation of a Screening Instrument for Differentiation

Given the prevalence and impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) in both community and therapeutic settings, it is vital that the varying typologies of IPV be identified and treated accordingly. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a screening instrument designed to differentiate between characterologically violent, situationally violent, and distressed non-violent couples; focus was placed on identifying situationally violent couples so that they could be invited to participate in a conjoint pyschoeducational workshop. Couples from two samples were assessed to achieve this goal. Situationally violent couples (N = 115) from Sample 1 were screened into the study via a phone interview and participated in an in-home assessment, which assessed self-reported relationship violence. These couples were compared to a previously collected sample (Sample 2; Jacobsen et al. 1994) of characterologically violent, distressed non-violent, and situationally violent couples. The main hypotheses stated that couples from Sample 1 would report less severe relationship violence than characterlogically violent couples from Sample 2, and would report greater amounts of low-level violence than distressed non-violent couples from Sample 2. Additionally, similar rates of both self-reported violence would be seen for situationally violent couples from Samples 1 and 2. Multivariate analyses supported this with the exception that situationally violent couples from Sample 1 did not differ significantly across all domains from distressed non-violent couples in Sample 2. Implications for the screening instrument’s utility in clinical and research settings are discussed.     

Musculoskeletal stress marker (MSM) differences in the modern American upper limb and pectoral girdle in relation to activity level and body mass index (BMI)

Obesity is a widespread condition affecting modern Americans. The prevalence of obesity has led to questions of how it can affect the skeleton, and if so can it be identified in unknown skeletal material. This study attempts to decipher the effects of activity level and body mass in modern Americans by employing musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) to estimate osseous responses to workload and body weight. A total sample of 108 skeletons of known activity level and body mass index (BMI) was observed for MSM in the upper extremity (excluding hands). The entheses selected included arm muscles used during the sit-to-stand transition, which is common in most persons, regardless of activity level and BMI. Using the three categories: normal, active, and obese, logistic regression was calculated on MSM to ascertain which markers were the best indicators of these three categories. Numerous muscles of the upper limb were significant predictors of activity level and body mass, although they did not perform much better than chance. MSM may be used as predictors of activity level and/or BMI in forensic contexts; however, they should be used in conjunction with other indications of workload and/or BMI.