Psychosocial influences that motivate young offenders to engage in a non-custodial community intervention

Offender programmes do not fully consider how psychosocial factors influence individual engagement within interventions. While factors associated with offending behaviour are well-known, their influence on motivational engagement is not clear. The present study of 109 adolescent offenders in a non-custodial community intervention explored the influence of aggression, antisocial behaviour in the community, problematic and disruptive behaviour in school, and parental bonding and self-esteem on reported motivation to engage with a non-custodial intervention. Regression and correlational analysis revealed relationships between these variables and four subtypes of motivation (i.e. intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, identified regulation and amotivation), although results in respect of self-esteem were mixed. The findings highlight the multidimensional and complex nature of motivation, and support the need to internalise extrinsic motivations through the promotion of self-autonomy and competence within intervention programmes in order to maximise engagement.     

State-led wage devaluation in Southern Europe in the wake of the Eurozone crisis

South European labour markets have gone through a substantial level of downward adjustment in wages (internal devaluation) and liberalisation in the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis. Yet, there have been differences in the extent of change between Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy. These differences cannot be explained by the size of the economic crisis alone. While existing analyses focus on the extent of external pressure or party ideologies, this article focuses on the pre-existing level of regulation by the state as opposed to regulation by social partners. It shows that devaluation and liberalisation were the most extensive in countries where governments possessed more tools to force down wages (statutory job protection, state regulations of collective bargaining, minimum wages), sometimes even against the will of employers. In contrast, countries with a higher level of autonomy for social partners (and fewer policy instruments available to governments to influence wages) devalued less. In some cases, the crisis led to more power to the state, rather than less. The article shows that state intervention can be a facilitator rather than a barrier to wage adjustment.     

A Family Affair: The Juvenile Court and Family Violence Cases

Little attention has been devoted to studies of adolescent family violence offending, yet research on adult populations show that victim relationship may make a difference in how offenders are treated in the criminal justice system. Given that the intergenerational transmission of violence may operate through adolescent family violence, a detailed examination of these youth is warranted. Through an analysis of detained youth in a small northeastern state, this study examines differences in court treatment between family and non-family offenders. Family violence offenders are significantly more likely to be minor offenders and to be female than are non-family offenders. Results of logistic regression show that, all else being equal, family violence youth are treated more leniently by the court than non-family offenders. Finally, while most youth are released to community dispositions, there are no differences in court-ordered family counseling between family and non-family offenders. These findings point to areas of needed research on adolescent family violence offenders and larger policy questions about how such youth should be treated relative to other youth. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Denver, CO.     

三农问题的宪法学思考

由于不能解决地方机构臃肿、地方政府腐败和滥权以及地方财政困境,取消农业税的税制改革难以应对“税费反弹”现象,仅仅是暂时缓解农民负担的权宜之计,并不是解决“三农”问题的长久之道。从宪法学角度看,“三农”问题的解决,有赖于完善地方民主与法治,从以行政为主导的中央控制模式转向以司法为主导的权利保障模式。中央干预的目的不在于亲自解决十分具体的问题,而应指向提供解决问题的制度。     

论保安处分中国化——以立法模式为分析视角

在社会主义法治理念,宽严相济刑事政策,建设和谐社会的大政治背景下,我国已具备保安处分中国化的良好环境。基于对保安处分的基本理论和保安处分中国化的立法模式的分析,保安处分中国化应是刑法化而不是行政法化,应采用二元制而不是一元制立法模式,应纳入刑法典采用单行刑法而不是采用刑法修正案的模式。     

大学生自杀行为的因素分析及其干预

近年来,大学生中自杀死亡的人数呈上升趋势,其危害与后果极为严重,已经引起全社会的广泛关注。大学生自杀的心理过程包括：动机阶段、冲突阶段、平静阶段。引发大学生自杀行为的主观因素有自我认知的失调、承受挫折能力较差等,客观因素有家庭环境、学校环境、社会环境等。大学生自杀行为的预防和干预需要多种策略。     

Development of a Marketing Campaign to Recruit Non-adjudicated and Untreated Abusive Men for a Brief Telephone Intervention

Although voluntary enrollment by abusive men in domestic violence perpetrator treatment programs occurs, most men enter treatment only after they have injured a partner or family member and have been arrested, convicted and sentenced. This leaves a serious gap for those who engage in abusive behavior but who have not been served by the legal or social service systems. To address this gap, the researchers applied social marketing principles to recruit abusive men to a telephone-delivered pre-treatment intervention (the Men’s Domestic Abuse Check-Up—MDACU), designed to motivate non-adjudicated and untreated abusive men who are concurrently using alcohol and drugs to enter treatment voluntarily. This article discusses recruitment efforts in reaching perpetrators of intimate partner violence, an underserved population. Informed by McGuire’s communication and persuasion matrix, the researchers describe three phases of the MDACU’s marketing campaign: (1) planning, (2) early implementation, and (3) revision of marketing strategies based on initial results. The researchers’ “lessons learned” conclude the paper. This project is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 RO1 DA017873.     

警察危机干预研究

危机干预在警务工作中主要体现在两个方面:一是对个人危机的处理,二是对公共危机事件的干预。无论是从公安实战需要出发,还是从世界警察教育、培训的趋势来看,进行警察危机干预的研究和加强对警察危机干预能力的培养都具有十分重要的意义。     

谈工读教育的重要性与对策

工读学校是矫治未成年人严重不良行为的特殊教育部门。发挥教育集体的功能,针对特点实施教育与转化,是工读教育矫治未成年人严重不良行为的重要经验。只要领导重视,措施得力,在湖南省恢复工读教育是完全可行的。     

SUMMIT ON UNIFIED FAMILY COURTS: SERVING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES EFFICIENTLY,EFFECTIVELY, AND RESPONSIBLY

As president of the American Bar Association when the “Summit on Unified Family Courts” convened in May 2007, Karen J. Mathis welcomed summit attendees. Recounting the many reasons children wind up in court, Mathis observed that society is lucky if these problems even come before the courts. Too often, she said, the underlying problems of destructive behavior among youth are lost in the shuffle of too many lawyers, case workers, and judges. “Many times they’re ignored by the professionals among us who are not trained to be aware that the problems even exist,” she said. The solution to this fragmented approach is unified family courts, she concluded.