Conditional openness: young people define practices for successful child protection interventions

Taking the reforms of child protection legislation that have occurred since the 1980s as a backdrop, this paper considers young people’s perspectives on the factors that facilitated their engagement with child protection services and the barriers they perceived to effective service delivery. Drawing on findings from a New Zealand study of young people’s experience of multiple service use (child protection, mental health, youth justice and remedial education), the paper identifies that that rather than being ‘resistant’ or ‘hostile’ to statutory child protection intervention, young people reported a ‘conditional openness’. This conditional openness was characterised by three themes: communication; continuity and consistency; and contextual and cultural responsiveness. Interventions with these characteristics activated this conditional openness allowing effective interventions to occur. Using a series of case studies, comprising interviews and agency case file records; the paper considers the experiences of 109 young people (12–17 years) as well as those of the ‘person most knowledgeable;’ an adult nominated by young people because they knew the young person’s situation well.     

The Importance of the Caregiver and Adolescent Relationship for Mental Health Outcomes Among Youth in Foster Care

Youth in foster care have often been exposed to in-home violence and violence exposure is associated with higher mental health concerns. This study used multiple regression mediation analyses with bootstrapping to identify specific current foster caregiver-adolescent relationship factors and their mediating qualities between in-home violence exposure and adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and trauma symptoms. Using a national dataset of adolescents in foster care (n?=?175), the results of this study suggested that an adolescent’s perception of feeling emotionally secure in their relationship with their caregiver mediated the relationships between exposure to violence and youth internalizing, externalizing, and trauma symptoms. Additionally, current foster caregiver involvement and structure mediated the associations between exposure to violence and adolescent internalizing and externalizing outcomes, but not trauma symptoms. Further discussion of the results is included. Findings have important implications for mental health interventions aimed towards youth in foster care.     

Limitations on the ability to negotiate justice: attorney perspectives on guilt,innocence, and legal advice in the current plea system

In the American criminal justice system the vast majority of criminal convictions occur as the result of guilty pleas, often made as a result of plea bargains, rather than jury trials. The incentives offered in exchange for guilty pleas mean that both innocent and guilty defendants plead guilty. We investigate the role of attorneys in this context, through interviews with criminal defense attorneys. We examine defense attorney perspectives on the extent to which innocent defendants are (and should be) pleading guilty in the current legal framework and investigate their views of their own role in this complex system. We also use a hypothetical case to probe the ways in which defense attorneys consider guilt or innocence when providing advice on pleas. Results indicate that attorney advice is influenced by guilt or innocence, but also that attorneys are limited in the extent to which they can negotiate justice for their clients in a system in which uncertainty and large discrepancies between outcomes of guilty pleas and conviction at trial can make it a sensible option to plead guilty even when innocent. Results also suggest conflicting opinions over the role of the attorney in the plea-bargaining process.     

Cyberbullying Among Chilean Students and the Protective Effects of Positive School Communities

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that involves the use of technology to harm other students. Most researchers have examined individual-level characteristics, but the perception of school climate and school characteristics such as type, size, and level of vulnerabilities have not been considered using multilevel methods. Using a sample of 8,237 Chilean seventh graders from 1,322 schools we examined individual- and school-level predictors of cyberbullying perpetration. Cyberbullying perpetration was predicted by prior victimization, interpersonal relationships, and gender. We found an interaction effect between interpersonal relationships and teacher support for victims. Our findings support the notion that school policies and culture can play a vital role in the prevention of cyberbullying, supporting a protective resilience model.     

Perceptions of Older Adult Eyewitnesses: Will You Believe Me When I'm 64?

Participant-witnesses (young adults/young seniors/older seniors) viewed one of two versions of a simulated videotaped crime (crime context either familiar to young or older adults). The witnesses were videotaped responding to direct and cross-examination questions about the video. The older seniors were significantly less accurate than the young adults and young seniors. Familiarity of the crime context did not affect testimony accuracy. However, the older seniors were more verbose when describing a familiar context. Participant-jurors viewed the testimony videotapes and evaluated the witnesses' credibility. All witnesses were regarded as equally credible in testifying and less accurate in response to cross-examination questioning.     

Perceptions of Political Corruption in Latin American Democracies

Political corruption poses a serious threat to the stability of developing democracies by eroding the links between citizens and governments. Using data on national levels of corruption (Transparency International 1997 CPI index) and individual opinion (1995-97 World Values Survey), this study finds that Latin Americans are quite aware of the seriousness of corruption in their countries. The ensuing question is whether citizens can connect their views about corruption to appraisals of their authorities and institutions and of democracy more generally. Collectively, the findings suggest that they can, and that the necessary ingredients for accountability are present in Latin America. The possible dark side of mass opinion on corruption is that pervasive misconduct may poison public sentiment toward democratic politics. On this score, the analysis found that this attitude affected only support for specific administrations and institutions.     

When doctors shape policy: The impact of self‐regulation on governing human biotechnology

This paper investigates the development and adoption of governance modes in the field of human biotechnology. As the field of human biotechnology is relatively new, voluntary professional self‐regulation constituted the initial governing mode. In the meantime, with the exception of Ireland, all Western European countries have moved toward greater state intervention. Nevertheless, they have done so in contrasting ways and the resulting governance modes for assisted reproductive technology and embryonic stem‐cell research vary greatly. Instead of imposing their steering capacity in a “top‐down” fashion, governments have taken pre‐existing self‐regulatory arrangements in the field into account and built up governance mechanisms in conjunction with private actors and pre‐existing modes of private governance. Our analysis demonstrates that the form and content of the initial self‐regulation explain why the self‐steering capacity of the medical profession was largely or at least partially preserved through hybrid governance systems in Britain and Germany, while in France the self‐regulation was entirely replaced by governmental intervention.     

Udder justice: the dairy cow’s experience of milk production regulations in Canada

Abstract

In a world continually (re)structured through neoliberal organization, processes of food production and consumption are increasingly market-oriented within an agribusiness-structured system. This paper provides an exploratory analysis of the role of the Canadian dairy cow as both a producer and a consumer through questioning how the production–consumption roles are structured within federal legal regulations governing the dairy cow’s life on a modern farm. Particularly, this paper explores whether there is a difference between how the dairy cow is defined and treated through regulations governing consumption, such as feed and care, versus production laws, including impregnation and milking processes. This inquiry will be answered by examining literature and data describing Canadian dairy farms, combined with a discourse analysis of federal regulations governing the consumption and production activities of dairy cattle. The results will be presented from the perspective of the Canadian dairy cow, followed by a discussion of how regulations may best represent the just treatment of the dairy cow within both roles.     

The Impact of Television,Electronic Games,and Social Technology Use on Sleep and Health in Adolescents with an Evening Circadian Preference

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - There are mixed findings when examining if technology use is harmful for adolescent sleep and health. This study builds on these mixed findings by examining the...     

Negative Inferential Style Mediates the Association between Racial Identity and Depressive Symptoms among African American Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Negative inferential style is a cognitive vulnerability for depression. Yet, few studies have explored how this risk factor intersects with culturally-specific...