Substance-Abusing Female Offenders as Victims: Chronological Sequencing of Pathways Into the Criminal Justice System

This study assesses the entrance of substance-abusing female offenders (N = 1,209) into the criminal justice system through temporal patterns (using age of first victimization, drug use, and arrest). Nine pathways were identified. Unexpectedly, the leading path was a sequence where drug use preceded arrest in absence of childhood victimization. However, women under a path inclusive of victimization possessed more risk factors. Findings support feminist pathway research, which states that childhood victimization is generally present in female offenders’ lives. Nevertheless, results also revealed that a drug pathway without childhood abuse proved to be as important and even more dominant among criminal justice–involved women.     

Associations between Cultural Stressors,Cultural Values,and Latina/o College Students’ Mental Health

Latina/o college students experience cultural stressors that negatively impact their mental health, which places them at risk for academic problems. We explored whether cultural values buffer the negative effect of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms in a sample of 198 Latina/o college students (70?% female; 43?% first generation college students). Bivariate results revealed significant positive associations between cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stress, discrimination) and mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depressive, psychological stress), and negative associations between cultural values of familismo, respeto, and religiosity and mental health symptoms. Several cultural values moderated the influence of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of helping Latina/o college students remain connected to their families and cultural values as a way of promoting their mental health.     

Online Network Influences on Emerging Adults’ Alcohol and Drug Use

Researchers have reported that network characteristics are associated with substance use behavior. Considering that social interactions within online networks are increasingly common, we examined the relationship between online network characteristics and substance use in a sample of emerging adults (ages 18–24) from across the United States (N = 2,153; M = 21 years old; 47 % female; 70 % White). We used regression analyses to examine the relationship between online ego network characteristics (i.e., characteristics of individuals directly related to the focal participant plus the relationships shared among individuals within the online network) and alcohol use and substance use, respectively. Alcohol use was associated with network density (i.e., interconnectedness between individuals in a network), total number of peer ties, and a greater proportion of emotionally close ties. In sex-stratified models, density was related to alcohol use for males but not females. Drug use was associated with an increased number of peer ties, and the increased proportion of network members’ discussion and acceptance of drug use, respectively. We also found that online network density and total numbers of ties were associated with more personal drug use for males but not females. Conversely, we noted that social norms were related to increased drug use and this relationship was stronger for females than males. We discuss the implications of our findings for substance use and online network research.     

The negative impacts of starting middle school in sixth grade

Using administrative data on public school students in North Carolina, we find that sixth grade students attending middle schools are much more likely to be cited for discipline problems than those attending elementary school. That difference remains after adjusting for the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the students and their schools. Furthermore, the higher infraction rates recorded by sixth graders who are placed in middle school persist at least through ninth grade. An analysis of end‐of‐grade test scores provides complementary findings. A plausible explanation is that sixth graders are at an especially impressionable age; in middle school, the exposure to older peers and the relative freedom from supervision have deleterious consequences. These findings are relevant to the current debate over the best school configuration for incorporating the middle grades. Based on our results, we suggest that there is a strong argument for separating sixth graders from older adolescents. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

The Effect of Image Alterations on Identification Using Palmar Flexion Creases

Palmprints are identified using matching of minutia points, which can be time consuming for fingerprint experts and in database searches. This article analyzes the operational characteristics of a palmar flexion crease (PFC) identification software tool, using a dataset of 10 replicates of 100 palms, where the user can label and match palmar line features. Results show that 100 palmprint images modified 10 times each using rotation, translation, and additive noise, mimicking some of the characteristics found in crime scene palmar marks, can be identified with a 99.2% genuine acceptance rate and 0% false acceptance rate when labeled within 3.5 mm of the PFC. Partial palmprint images can also be identified using the same method to filter the dataset prior to traditional matching, while maintaining an effective genuine acceptance rate. The work shows that identification using PFCs can improve palmprint identification through integration with existing systems, and through dedicated palmprint identification applications.     

Assessing the Risk Posed by Terrorist Groups: Identifying Motivating Factors and Threats

While terrorist organizations have been analyzed for their motivations and tactics, little has been done to develop a systematic understanding of what makes some groups more dangerous than others. Knowing what makes some groups more threatening than others, or what conditions can influence a single group to become more or less of a threat, would help governments to prioritize resources during counterterrorism efforts. Using an approach similar to Ted Robert Gurr's assignment of a risk score to identify impending minority group rebellion, this article develops and tests a set of terrorist organizational characteristics. A two-phased approach is used. First, the authors identify key characteristics that could be anticipated to drive groups to be more active or deadly. The characteristics were identified and measured for terrorist groups for 1990–1994. The authors test group characteristics against subsequent group violence intensity from 1995 to 1999. Findings indicate that some group characteristics, such as religious ideology and group size, are important to understanding a group's relative level of violence. Though the study focused on a relatively short period of time, the findings indicate that a more comprehensive study of the impact that group characteristics have on violence levels would be a worthwhile undertaking.     

Negotiating access to populations of concern in South-East Asia

South-East Asia is home to both conflict and ‘natural’ disasters which have caused significant displaced populations. Given this context, there is a need to better understand the motivations of the multiple actors involved in negotiating humanitarian responses, and to account for the impact the finished agreement has on the region both in the short and long terms. This article investigates the motivations behind two humanitarian responses in South-East Asia. The first case is the set of humanitarian responses to the Indochinese exodus in the 1970s and 1980s. The second case is the humanitarian response to those affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar during the late 2000s and early 2010. Both of these agreements have been held up as historic and ground breaking achievements within the international relations of South-East Asia. This article assesses these agreements to identify the multiple levels of governance involved and the individual actors’ motivations behind them. It argues that greater appreciation of these dynamics will contribute to understanding the governance of humanitarian responses to populations of concern in South-East Asia. This will be important to consider as new crises emerge that demand new negotiations within a crowded field of actors governing humanitarian responses in the region.     

Is My Femininity a Liability? Longitudinal Associations between Girls’ Experiences of Gender Discrimination,Internalizing Symptoms,and Gender Identity

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Gender discrimination is a common experience for adolescent girls and has implications for their mental health and identity development. Guided by...