No One Type of Intimate Partner Abuse: Exploring Physical and Non-Physical Abuse Among Intimate Partners

Although research into intimate partner abuse has expanded throughout the past several decades and increased our understanding of this multi-faceted phenomenon, the vast majority of empirical work is still focused almost exclusively on physical violence—against women in particular. Although a crucial issue in our society, physical violence against women is only one facet in an array of possible abusive behaviors toward an intimate partner. Researchers have long acknowledged the existence of multiple forms of non-physical abuse. These types of abuse have received little research attention, however, and are commonly lumped together simply as “non-physical” or “emotional” abuse. There is no reason to believe, however, that all forms of non-physical abuse are the same, whether in intensity, frequency, or co-existence with physical violence. The current study attempts to disentangle the multiple types of nonviolent abuse to examine prevalence, differences by sex, and its relationships to physical abuse. Using Tjaden and Thoennes’ (1998) survey data, this study examines the prevalence of different types of non-physical abuse, both in the general population and among those experiencing physical violence Findings indicate that non-physical partner abuse is more common than physical and that non-physical abuse does not show striking sex differences, as is commonly believed. There is strong evidence that some types of non-physical abuse serve as clear risk factors for physical abuse and may increase risk of more frequent violence among those already being abused. These relationships do not, however, differ by sex. Implications for future research are discussed.

有我无我之际:漫说法律与道德的语境差别

道德与法律存在着“有我”与“无我”的语境差别,二者不可随意混淆。历史上的经验和教训充分证明,如果忽视语境差别而将道德与法律混为一谈,便可能产生负面、消极的后果,甚至使道德与法律两败俱伤。道德话语若想实现向法律话语的转换,必须超越“有我之境”,即将特定的主体转换为一般主体,法律才能公平、公正,从而得到尊重和奉行。     

Gender differences and patterns of arrest across two generations of Cuban immigrants in the United States

The present study is based on a secondary-data analysis of a subsample of Cuban immigrants residing in the United States. While there are no significant differences in arrest rates between U.S. natives of Cuban descent and their foreign-born counterparts, life transitions have a differential impact on behavioral outcomes when young men and women of Cuban ancestry are compared. Job instability increases the risk of arrest for men, while being a single parent increases the risk of arrest for women. Growing up in a two-parent family and marriage have crime protective effects for men, while religiosity decreases the probability of arrest for women. In both subsamples, having a family member arrested was the strongest predictor of one’s arrest status in early adulthood.     

THE ROLE OF TURNING POINTS IN ESTABLISHING BASELINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PEOPLE IN DEVELOPMENTAL AND LIFE‐COURSE CRIMINOLOGY

Turning points, between‐person differences, and within‐person changes have all been linked to desistance from crime. Nevertheless, the means through which between‐person differences are frequently captured in life‐course criminology makes them intertwined with, and perhaps confounded by, turning points in life. We propose that a new way of capturing the between‐person effect—the baseline between‐person difference—could benefit theoretically informed tests of developmental and life‐course issues in criminology. Because they occur at one time point immediately preceding a turning point in life, we demonstrate that baseline between‐person differences establish meaningful theoretical connections to behavior and the way people change over time. By using panel data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, we estimate models capturing within‐person change and baseline between‐person differences in social bonds (family support) and differential association (peer criminality) at the time of release from prison. The results demonstrate that baseline levels of family support protect people from postrelease substance use but not from crime. Baseline between‐person differences and within‐person changes in peer criminality, however, are robustly related to crime and substance use. Collectively, baseline between‐person differences seem critical for behavior and within‐person change over time, and the results carry implications for reentry‐based policy as well as for theory testing in developmental criminology more broadly.     

Addressing Gaps in the Maturity of Judgment Literature: Age Differences and Delinquency

Over the past decade, a majority of states have legislated to expand their capacity to try adolescents as adults [Griffin (2003). Trying and sentencing juveniles as adults: An analysis of state transfer and blended sentencing laws. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice]. In response, researchers have investigated factors that may affect adolescent culpability [Steinberg and Scott (Am Psychol 58(12):1009–1018, 2003)]. Research on immature judgment posits that psychosocial influences on adolescent decision processes results in reduced criminal responsibility [Cauffman and Steinberg (Behav Sci Law 18(6):741–760, 2000); Scott, Reppucci, and Woolard (Law Hum Behav 19(3):221–244, 1995); Steinberg and Cauffman (Law Hum Behav 20(3):249–272, 1996)]. The current study utilizes hypothetical vignettes and standardized measures of maturity of judgment (responsibility, temperance, and perspective) to examine gaps in previous maturity of judgment findings (Cauffman and Steinberg 2000). This work suggests that adolescents (ages 14–17) display less responsibility and perspective relative to college students (ages 18–21), young-adults (ages 22–27), and adults (ages 28–40). Further, this research finds no maturity of judgment differences between delinquent and non-delinquent youth, but does find significant maturity of judgment differences between high and low delinquency male youth. Finally, results show that maturity of judgment predicts self-reported delinquency beyond the contributions of age, gender, race, education level, SES, and antisocial decision making. Implications for the juvenile justice system are discussed. This research was conducted in partial fulfillment of the M.A degree in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire.     

Time and crime: The link between teenager lifestyle and delinquency

This paper—based on data from a national survey of 14 and 15 year olds and their parents in England and Wales—examines the relationship between teenager lifestyles and activity patterns and self-report offending. The legal ways in which teenagers spend their time show consistent relationships with involvement in crime. Offenders and nonofienders differ markedly on both general and specific measures where they go, whom they are with, and what they do. Consistent with models of criminal behavior based on group processes, these differences in activity patterns also extend to a number of the major correlates of delinquency whose effects on crime are typically conceived in lifestyle terms. These results further indicate that the link between activity patterns and delinquency is different between males and females in the age group surveyed.     

Are There Ethnic Differences in Levels of Psychopathy? A Meta-Analysis

Although considerable research on psychopathy has been conducted over the past 30 years, relatively few studies have examined key issues related to potential ethnic differences in this constellation of socially maladaptive personality traits. Given recent sociopolitical and scientific developments, an issue of considerable debate is whether Black individuals possess "more" traits of psychopathy than do Whites. To address this issue, a meta-analysis of differences between these groups' scores on the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) was performed, using 21 studies (N = 8,890) of correctional, substance abuse, and psychiatric samples. Blacks exceeded Whites by an average of less than 1 point on the PCL-R total score. Effect sizes for core interpersonal and affective traits of psychopathy (Factor 1) were sufficiently homogeneous to clearly interpret, although other features manifested statistically significant heterogeneity. Our finding that Blacks and Whites do not meaningfully differ in their levels of core psychopathic traits is consistent with community-based findings for self-report measures of psychopathy and clinical diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder.     

男性青少年左右侧骨骺愈合推断年龄的差异

目的比较左右侧骨骺愈合差异对推断年龄的影响。方法观察130名男性青少年全身六大关节及骨盆X线片上27个骨骺愈合指标,比较左右侧骨骺愈合程度有差异的部位及级别;左右两侧分别用多元回归方程推算年龄,做比较分析。结果76例左右侧推算年龄一致,47例左、右侧差值小于0.5岁,7例差值在0.50～1.0岁之间,94.6%左右侧推算年龄误差在0.5岁内。左右骨骺愈合差异多见于肱骨近端、桡骨远端、尺骨远端、髂嵴。结论左右愈合度的细微差异对年龄推断无统计学意义。左右骨骺愈合差别不存在一侧的偏向性。     

The Gender Gap among Teen Survey Respondents: Why are Boys more Likely to Report a Gun in the Home than Girls?

It is a reliable though unexplained feature of national surveys that include items on gun ownership that wives are less likely to report a gun in the home than husbands. In this article we extend the inquiry regarding this gender gap in reporting of household guns to include adolescent children (age 12–17 years). The California Health Interview Survey of 2001, the largest-ever state survey of its kind, includes over 4000 marital households in which both a parent and adolescent child were interviewed and asked whether there was a gun in the home. There is little “age gap” in reporting—California teens are almost as likely to say that there is a gun as are their parents—but there is a gender gap among both the teens and their parents. We also find a large gap in personal experience with guns—boys are three times as likely to report hunting or shooting with a family member than girls. This difference in experience fully accounts for the gender gap in reporting. The relevance of these findings for the interpretation of survey data is clear. Whether there is a gun reported in a home depends to a remarkable extent on which member of the household is asked the question. Hence, the method of selection of respondent(s) from within a household will affect estimates of the patterns and prevalence of gun ownership, and, potentially, the accuracy of case–control studies that use self-report information about guns in the home.

The Effect of Gender in the Perception of Elder Physical Abuse in Court

Two experiments investigated mock jurors' perceptions of elder abuse (EA) in a physical assault case. In Experiment 1, participants read a fictional criminal trial summary of a physical assault case in which the alleged victim was 66, 76, or 86 years old. In Experiment 2, the age of the alleged victim was 76 years old, but the gender of the alleged victim and the gender of the defendant were crossed. The results of the experiments showed that women believed the alleged victim more and rendered a guilty verdict more often than men. Overall, the alleged victim was believed more than the defendant regardless of the age of the alleged victim, and most verdicts were guilty. These results are discussed in terms of the factors that affect perceptions of alleged victims of EA in court.