Parolee Perceptions of Case Management Practices during Reintegration

Researchers argue that the therapeutic alliance is a crucial ingredient for successful releasee treatment outcomes, and more recently in effective correctional treatment. Within the context of the criminal justice system, I illustrate the value of the therapeutic alliance in effective case management and in supporting desistance from crime for reintegrating parolees. The study involved in-depth, semistructured interviews with 56 high-risk/high-need federal male parolees and three parolee case studies. Releasees reported an appreciation for their relationship with their caseworker(s), which they described as supportive and without judgment. I argue this relationship reflects the social dimensions of responsivity and embodies the valued treatment components, optimized through a therapeutic alliance, that foster pathways to releasee reintegration. I conclude by discussing the role of therapeutic alliances in processes of and implications for effective correctional treatment.     

A Longitudinal Study of Body Change Strategies Among Adolescent Males

This study was designed to examine the factors predicting a range of body change strategies among adolescent males over an 8-month time period. This is the first published longitudinal study of body change strategies to increase weight and muscles among males. The 5 body change strategies in the present study were eating and exercise to lose weight, increase weight, increase muscles, bingeing, and use of food supplements. The extent to which Body Mass Index (BMI) and these body change strategies predicted each other over an 8-month period was evaluated. The role of pressure from parents and peers to lose weight, increase weight, or increase muscles was also evaluated. After controlling for the Time 1 level of each variable, only bingeing, and use of food supplements were predicted by other Time 1 body change variables. Bingeing at Time 1, and a combination of all of the other variables predicted bingeing at Time 2; use of food supplements and bingeing at Time 1 predicted the use of food supplements at Time 2. Perceived pressure from parents and peers to lose weight at Time 1 predicted strategies to lose weight at Time 2; perceived pressure from parents and peers to increase weight at Time 1 predicted strategies to increase weight at Time 2; and perceived pressure to lose weight, increase weight, and increase muscles at Time 1 predicted the use of food supplements at Time 2. These results indicate that extreme body change strategies are predicted by the adoption of more normative body change strategies at an earlier point in time, and that a range of body change strategies among adolescent males are affected by perceived pressures from parents and peers.     

A Prospective Study of Extreme Weight Change Behaviors Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

This study examined changes in extreme weight change attitudes and behaviors (exercise dependence, food supplements, drive for thinness, bulimia) among adolescent boys and girls over a 16 month period. It also investigated the impact of body mass index, puberty, body image, depression and positive affect on these attitudes and behaviors 16 months later. The participants were 847 young adolescents (411 boys, 436 girls). Participants completed questionnaires evaluating the above variables on three occasions, eight months apart. Girls obtained higher scores on exercise dependence, drive for thinness and bulimia. Changes in depression and body image importance were the strongest predictors of changes in these extreme attitudes and behaviors among boys; changes in depression, body dissatisfaction and body image importance were the strongest predictors for girls. The need for gender specific educational and intervention programs for adolescents are discussed.Marita McCabe PhD, Professor in Psychology in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. She has completed her PhD in 1981 on adolescent development, and has been completing research on various aspects of adolescent adjustment for 30 years. To whom correspondence should be addressed at 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia;Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne Australia. She completed her PhD in 1990 on Childrens Language Development. In the last 10 years she has been researching body image concerns in adolescents and children     

Former Canadian Federal Prisoners’ views of wrongful conviction: experiences,interpretations, and governmentality

Crime, Law and Social Change - Wrongful convictions continue to occur, with over 350 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States, and a collection of over 2500 known cases of presumed...     

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Development of Weight and Muscle Concerns Among Preadolescent Boys

The study examined the impact of body mass index (BMI), negative affect, self-esteem, and sociocultural influences in the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Body dissatisfaction, importance placed on weight and muscles, weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles were evaluated. Participants were 237 boys aged between 8 and 11 years who were tested at three assessment periods 8 months apart. The main predictor of boys’ body change strategies was their perceived pressures to modify weight and muscles from parents, peers, and the media. The other main predictor of boys’ body change strategies and the sole predictor of body dissatisfaction was BMI. Self-esteem and negative affect were found to be weak and generally nonsignificant predictors of boys’ body image concerns and body change strategies. Additional studies that examine the risk and protective factors associated with boys’ weight and muscle concerns are needed to assist in the development of prevention programs for preadolescent boys.Lina Ricciardelli is an Associate Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1990 from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research interests are body image concerns, disordered eating and substance abuse among youth.Marita McCabe is a Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1981 from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests are in body image across the lifespan, sexuality, and chronic illnessJess Lillis is graduate student at Deakin University, She completed her undergraduate work in 2000 at Deakin University, Her research interests are body image concerns and negative affect among youthResearch Fellow at Deakin University, She received her D Psych in 2000 from Deakin University, Her interests are in disordered eating and depression among adolescents     

‘If a girl’s photo gets sent around,that’s a way bigger deal than if a guy’s photo gets sent around’: gender,sexting, and the teenage years

Youth, particularly female teens, are encouraged to self-monitor and be responsible for their actions online in order to avoid harm from cyberbullying, ‘sexting,’ and other forms of cyber-risk. Highlighting findings from 35 focus groups with Canadian teens regarding sexting, we show the continued saliency of a gendered double standard applied to the online distribution of nudes. Our sample of male and female teens (n = 115) from urban and rural regions, aged 13–19, underscores the relatively lower ‘stakes’ involved with sexting for male teens. We explore this trend with specific reference to the salience of hegemonic masculinities and the gendered aspects of public and private spaces, both online and offline. Public exposure of nudes has potentially serious stigmatizing consequences for youth. We highlight teen experiences sending and receiving images of male penises (‘dick pics’), which is an under-researched aspect of sexting. We show the relative ubiquity of receiving ‘dick pics’ among female teens, exploring various reactions, and male motivations for doing so from male and female standpoints. Policy implications are discussed with specific reference to school-based cyber-safety programs, which our participants indicate remain highly gendered, neglecting epistemological questions around male experiences and responsibility.