A Cross-National Comparison of the Internal Effects of Participation in Voluntary Organizations

This article draws on two recent and largely untapped sources of data to test empirically the Tocquevillian argument about the impact of involvement in civic organizations on individual attitudes and behaviors. Our analysis is based on two related studies – the European Social Survey (ESS) and the US 'Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy' (CID) survey – that incorporate innovative and detailed measures about respondents' involvement in voluntary associations in nineteen European countries and in the United States. These surveys provide us not only with rich individual-level data within a cross-national comparison, but they also allow us to develop and test a new measure of civic involvement that distinguishes between different levels of participation. After employing our 'civic involvement index' in pooled and individual country analyses, we find general support for the Tocquevillian argument. On average, those persons with greater levels of involvement in voluntary organizations also engage in more political acts, have higher life satisfaction and are by and large more trusting of others than those who do not. These findings highlight the general importance of actual involvement as opposed to nominal membership.     

The MMPI-2 and statisfactory police academy performance: Differences and correlations

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and its later revision (MMPI-2) have been the most frequently employed psychological instrument in the selection of law enforcement officers (Bartol, 1996). In this study, state police trooper cadets were given a broad number of measures including the MMPI-2 prior to academy admission. Their performance at the police academy was then analyzed and related to their performance on the MMPI-2. Using step-wise multiple linear regression. Hy3 and Sc4 scores produced significant negative correlation’s with academy final grade point average. Student’s unpaired 1-tests between successful and unsuccessful cadets revealed differences between the groups for several MMPI-2 subscales including, but not limited to, K, MA, and SI, Lastly, logistic regression revealed no single subscale, or combination of subscales, which significantly predicted classification of the cadets as either successful or unsuccessful based on their MMPI-2 scores alone. Author Note: Elements of this article have been presented at the 27^th Annual Conference of the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology in Portland, OR, October 1998.     

Persistence of Polydimethylsiloxane Condom Lubricants

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is commonly used to lubricate condoms. The detection of PDMS on swabs from complainants can be used to support an allegation of sexual assault. Previous research has focused on establishing analytical techniques for detecting PDMS. This research examined the persistence of PDMS on the penis, in the vagina, in the mouth, and on skin. The longest PDMS detection times were 20 h on the penis, 35 h in the vagina, and 52 h on skin. PDMS was detected up to 4 h in the mouth if the participant did not eat or drink and up to 9 h if the participant slept. PDMS was not detected in the mouth after eating or drinking. The presence of biological fluids had no detrimental effect on the analysis. Aqueous extraction of swabs for DNA did not remove any significant amount of PDMS; hence, swab remains could be subsequently analyzed for PDMS.     

Self-Control,Violent Offending,and Homicide Victimization: Assessing the General Theory of Crime

Criminologists have long recognized that offending and victimization share common ground. Using Gottfredson and Hirschis general theory of crime, with its emphasis on self-control as a theoretical backdrop, we examine the extent to which self-control is related to both violent offending and homicide victimization. To examine this issue, we use 5-year post-parole data on violent offending and homicide victimization from a sample of parolees from the California Youth Authority. Using rare-events logistic regression models, results indicate that self-control is related to each outcome, but that other risk factors are also uniquely related to each outcome. The implications of this study for theory and future research are addressed.To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of Florida, P.O. Box 115950, 201 Walker Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-5950; Phone: +1-352-392-1025, ext. 213; E-mail: apiquero@ufl.edu     

Aboriginal women and everyday racism in Alberta: From lived experiences of racism to strategies for personal healing and collective resistance

This ethnographic study of Aboriginal women in southern Alberta analyses how racism is experienced in everyday life and highlights personal and community responses to racism. The stories of fifteen women who were interviewed in 1992–93 provide us with a new understanding of everyday racism: how racism is experienced daily in many aspects of Native people's lives, and how this racism causes pain and loss for Native people. The women's stories also reflect their sense of agency as they respond to racism with efforts for personal healing and anti-racist organizing.     

Racial attitudes and belief in redeemability: Most Whites believe justice-involved Black people can change

Public belief in redeemability reduces punitiveness and increases support for policy measures such as rehabilitation, expungement, and housing and employment opportunities. Although racial attitudes are known to influence a wide range of criminal justice policy opinions, their effects on beliefs about redeemability and condemnation have not been fully explored. Using data from a 2019 YouGov survey of a national sample of White U.S. adults (N = 766), the current study estimates the effects of three distinct racial attitudes—racial resentment, racial sympathy, and White nationalism—on three measures of belief in redeemability: 1) a race-neutral measure, 2) a measure of belief in redeemability of Black offenders, and 3) a measure of condemnation of Black offenders. The results indicate that belief in redeemability is high—for offenders in general and for Black offenders. These findings are supported by a second 2022 YouGov survey of White U.S. adults (N = 1,505). Racial sympathy and White nationalism have significant effects across all three outcomes, with the positive effect of White nationalism on condemnation of Black offenders being the largest across the three models. These findings suggest that although most Whites agree that formerly incarcerated people are redeemable, racial attitudes influence these beliefs, especially for Black offenders.     

Comparing Gender Across Risk and Recidivism in Nonviolent Offenders

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender differences exist in the rate, type, and general predictors of recidivism for nonviolent offenders. A total of 328 male and female Texas state jail offenders were matched on current offense, total number of arrests, age, and race. Contrary to previous findings, the results demonstrated no significant gender differences for recidivism rates, although significant gender differences were found for those who had reoffended with property and prostitution offenses. Similar to previous findings, age and total arrests were significant predictors for both male and female offenders. In the current sample, substance abuse was predictive for male offenders only. Although no gender differences were found across the recidivism predictors of static and criminogenic need, the protective factors of positive social support significantly predicted recidivism for female offenders and not male offenders. The current results add to the understanding of gender differences for the assessment, risk prediction, and treatment of offenders.