Showing papers in "International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology in 2021"
TL;DR: The association between traditional and cyberbullying victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality in a national school-based sample is examined, utilizing general strain theory (GST) as a guide to how these variables might relate to each other.
Abstract: Bullying victimization can have serious consequences for adolescents. This article examines the association between traditional and cyberbullying victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality...
24 citations
TL;DR: Overall, RJ in China is primarily promoted as universal top-down national reforms; meanwhile, police discretion, catalyzed by bureaucratic rationalities and the political imperative of social order and stability, is conducive to both the divergence and convergence between RJ in law-books and in action.
Abstract: Based on ethnographic data collected from one local police station in China, this article attempts to examine the use of discretion by Chinese police in three different restorative justice (RJ) pro...
23 citations
TL;DR: The various collateral damages endured by the incarcerated population are explained and the importance of individual, couple, and family therapy and its effectiveness toward improving the lives of those negatively impacted by incarceration is discussed.
Abstract: Exceptionally high rates of incarceration in the United States have caused a need for a major social justice movement. This paper explains the various collateral damages endured by the incarcerated...
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a multi-level meta-analysis tested if evidence-based trauma treatment was effective in reducing trauma symptoms and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents, based on eight independent samples and 75 effect sizes, results indicated that Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) had a large and significant overall effect (d = 0.909).
Abstract: This multi-level meta-analysis tested if evidence-based trauma treatment was effective in reducing trauma symptoms and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents. Based on eight independent samples and 75 effect sizes, results indicated that Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) had a large and significant overall effect (d = 0.909) on reducing trauma symptoms and externalizing behavior problems. Trauma treatment significantly decreased trauma symptoms (large effect) and externalizing behavior problems (medium effect). Age and type of control group moderated treatment effects. Treatment was more effective in older adolescents. Trauma treatment for adolescents with externalizing behavior problems had a larger effect compared to no treatment, but not compared to treatment as usual. It seems important to provide a broad treatment offer for adolescents with severe externalizing behavior problems, in which, besides trauma treatment, attention is paid to reducing relevant individual risk factors for behavior problems.
21 citations
TL;DR: Findings indicate that male adolescents reported significantly higher levels of violent, nonviolent, and general delinquency than female adolescents, and deviant peer influence in addition to alcohol and drug use is found to be general risk factors for engaging in all sorts of delinquent activity.
Abstract: Limited information is known about the offending phenomenon of Hong Kong adolescents, specifically from a theoretical standpoint. Using a sample of 892 secondary school students, this study aims to explore the criminogenic risk factors of juvenile delinquency in Hong Kong adolescents. Grounded in the theoretical propositions of mainstream criminological theories (i.e., self-control, social control, social learning, general strain, and routine activity), the adolescents' types of delinquent behavior (i.e., violent, nonviolent, and general delinquency) are examined. Findings indicate that male adolescents reported significantly higher levels of violent, nonviolent, and general delinquency than female adolescents. Relative to females, males are also reported significantly higher levels of pro-violence attitudes, deviant peer influence, alcohol and drug use, and perceived neighborhood disorganization. However, female adolescents are found to have higher levels of self-control, social bonding, and negative temperament than their male counterparts. Multivariate analyses demonstrate that deviant peer influence in addition to alcohol and drug use is found to be general risk factors for engaging in all sorts of delinquent activity. A high level of pro-violence attitudes is significantly associated with violent offending, while low self-control is a significant predictor of nonviolent offending and general delinquency. Social bonding, negative temperament, and perceived neighborhood disorganization are found to be important factors associated with general delinquency. Implications of the findings are offered to address the adolescents' criminogenic risk factors and prevent their propensity to engage in violent, nonviolent, and general delinquency.
15 citations
TL;DR: The service userVoice within the context of society’s responses to sexual offending is introduced and several ways to promote and privilege the service user voice for those convicted of sexual crimes are suggested.
Abstract: User experience and client satisfaction is capturing more attention in the field of social services. The provision of treatment services to individuals convicted of sexual offenses, in particular, has expanded exponentially over the last 20 years. This growing population is now interviewed, interrogated, investigated, assessed, managed, treated, supervised, and surveilled, while their perspective as "service users" is almost entirely absent from research. To that end, this article introduces the service user voice within the context of society's responses to sexual offending. We conducted thematic analysis on secondary data from interviews with 93 individuals. These include 74 men from the United States and 19 men from the United Kingdom, all of whom had been convicted for sexual offenses. The original qualitative data from the two original studies were freshly analysed, inductively and deductively, using Thematic Analysis so that the themes, as well as resulting codes, were appropriate and fit for purpose. Specific themes emerged from each of three clear stages in their service user journey: (a) Interactions with the formal criminal justice system (police, courts, and custodial corrections), (b) Interactions with community corrections (probation and parole), and (c) Interactions with treatment providers (rehabilitation, therapists, and evaluators). We describe the service user experience at each stage and discuss how policy and practice can resolve areas of disconnection. We suggest several ways to promote and privilege the service user voice for those convicted of sexual crimes.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the dimensions of boldness, disinhibition, and meanness of psychopathy have different relations, and the triarchic model is applied to apply to vocational contexts.
Abstract: Does psychopathy have an upside in vocational contexts? Applying the triarchic model of psychopathy, we propose that the dimensions of boldness, disinhibition, and meanness have different relations...
12 citations
TL;DR: Explorative research in China finds that the criminal division is widely perceived as a masculine setting, and female judges are accustomed to employing mediation as a preferred dispute resolution method to facilitate reconciliation between the two parties and seek civil compensation for victims.
Abstract: Attempts to uncover the “different voice” of female judges through testing the statistical significance of judges’ gender in decision making have offered inconsistent results Meanwhile, a prolifer
12 citations
TL;DR: Though citizens’ perception of police corruption is a significant explanatory variable of trust in police, procedural justice moderates the strength of the relationship of corruption on trust, and the nature of contact experience reveals essential differences in the moderating effect of procedural justice on the relationship between corruption and trust inPolice.
Abstract: This article examines the role of citizens’ contact with police and their assessments of officers’ corruption in police in India. More importantly, we examine whether police procedural justice mode...
12 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that officer trust in citizens mediates the relationship between internal and external procedural justice in both China and Taiwan, but compliance with agency policies does not, and internal procedural justice directly predicts external proceduralJustice among Taiwanese officers, but such a connection is not found among Chinese officers.
Abstract: This study investigates the roles of trust in citizens and compliance with agency policies in mediating the direct and indirect relationships between internal procedural justice and external procedural justice among Chinese and Taiwanese police officers. Based on survey data collected from 1,253 police officers, this study comparatively analyzes whether supervisory treatment of officers is predictive of trust in citizens and willingness to follow agency policies, which in turn is linked to their willingness to act fairly and justly toward citizens on the street. The results indicate that officer trust in citizens mediates the relationship between internal and external procedural justice in both China and Taiwan, but compliance with agency policies does not. Internal procedural justice directly predicts external procedural justice among Taiwanese officers, but such a connection is not found among Chinese officers. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
12 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that post-crime phase factors predicted the most whether the victim’s body was moved in solved cases and within unsolved cases, crime-phase factors contributed the most at predicting whether the body was move post-homicide.
Abstract: The current study investigates body disposal patterns in sexual homicide and examines whether offender’s behavior differ between solved and unsolved cases. To address these two research questions i...
TL;DR: Brief mindfulness interventions could make an important contribution to offender rehabilitation and custodial staff wellbeing, according to the findings.
Abstract: Objectives:This article presents two studies assessing the impact of mindfulness in prison (prisoners and staff) and non-custodial settings.Method:Study 1—prisoners (n = 17) and staff (n = 15) in a...
TL;DR: The correlates of public attitudes regarding the relative acceptance of wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals in contemporary China lend support to both constructionist/conflict and symbolic theories.
Abstract: Two types of judicial errors-convicting an innocent person or acquitting a guilty person-challenge the integrity and legitimacy of criminal justice. How citizens view these errors plays an important role in criminal justice policy. Utilizing data from a national survey, this study applies the established Western theories to explore the correlates of public attitudes regarding the relative acceptance of wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals in contemporary China. The findings lend support to both constructionist/conflict and symbolic theories.
TL;DR: The moderator analyses revealed that juvenile awareness programs are effective in reducing antisocial attitudes, which has not been meta-analytically studied before, and show a more nuanced view on the effectiveness of juvenileawareness programs is necessary.
Abstract: Juvenile awareness programs, such as Scared Straight, remain in use despite the finding that these programs provoke rather than prevent delinquency. The aim of this study was to examine what program components are associated with program effectiveness, which is important for improving these programs. A three-level meta-analysis was conducted. A literature search yielded 13 independent studies (N = 1,536) from which 88 effect sizes could be extracted. A nonsignificant overall effect was found (d = 0.10), indicating that juvenile awareness programs have no effect on offending behavior and other outcomes that are related to delinquency. No significant moderator effects were found for program components. The moderator analyses revealed that juvenile awareness programs are effective in reducing antisocial attitudes (d = 0.46), which has not been meta-analytically studied before. Furthermore, larger effects were found as follow-up length increased. These results show a more nuanced view on the effectiveness of juvenile awareness programs is necessary.
TL;DR: The findings indicated that attitude toward bullying and attachment to school but not negative emotions mediated the strain–bullying relationship, and the mediation model was applicable to both migrant and non-migrant children, albeit with significant differences in certain paths within the model.
Abstract: Based on an integrated general strain theory, this study involved testing negative emotions (i.e., anxiety and depression), a social learning variable (i.e., attitude toward bullying), and a social control variable (i.e., attachment to school) as possible mediators of the strain-bullying relationship. A group comparison was also conducted to examine possible differences between migrant and non-migrant children. Data used in the study were derived from a questionnaire survey with a school-based multistage random sample of 1,666 children in Grades 4 to 9 in Nanjing and Guangzhou, China. Structural equation modeling and group comparison were performed with AMOS 25.0 to test the hypothesized model. The findings indicated that attitude toward bullying and attachment to school but not negative emotions mediated the strain-bullying relationship. The results also revealed that the mediation model was applicable to both migrant and non-migrant children, albeit with significant differences in certain paths within the model. The study's framework bridged the integrated general strain theory and its typical emphasis on crime or delinquency with the pervasive behavior of school bullying in the context of Chinese rural-to-urban migration. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.
TL;DR: Examination of location contingency of parole efficacy in the context of reentry, focusing on the outcomes of recidivism and illicit drug use, suggests that respondents who returned to less cohesive communities reported receiving a significantly lower level of support from parole officers.
Abstract: Compared to a large body of literature on the location-sensitivity of policing, relatively less effort has been made to examine whether parole practice is intertwined with the context of neighborhood. Based on longitudinal data of released prisoners, the current study examines the location contingency of parole efficacy in the context of reentry, focusing on the outcomes of recidivism and illicit drug use. Findings suggest that net of the effects of risk factors such as financial difficulty and insufficient family support, respondents who returned to less cohesive communities reported receiving a significantly lower level of support from parole officers. Moreover, parole officers' support exhibited a significant protective effect against recidivism, and this protective effect was not universal but contextual: Parole officers' support demonstrated a diminished protective effect for released prisoners who returned to disordered communities. Implications for correction practice and policymaking are presented.
TL;DR: This prospective study examined the predictive validity of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS), a sexual recidivism risk/need tool designed to identify dynamic (changeable) risk factors relevant to supervision and treatment.
Abstract: This prospective study examined the predictive validity of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS; McGrath et al., 2012), a sexual recidivism risk/need tool designed to ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the effects of all three forms of organizational justice on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of staff at a medium security prison in southeast Nigeria, and found that procedural and interpersonal justice had positive effects on job satisfaction, while distributive justice had nonsignificant effects.
Abstract: Correctional staff are a necessary and valuable resource for correctional institutions, in both Western and Nonwestern nations; however, studies of correctional staff in Nonwestern nations, particularly those in Africa, are lacking. Improving the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of these staff are imperative, as both of these job attitudes have been linked to many salient beneficial outcomes. Most of the existing empirical research on correctional staff organizational justice explores only the effects of procedural and distributive justice and ignores interpersonal justice. Additionally, there has been little research on how procedural, distributive, and interpersonal justice affect correctional staff in Nonwestern correctional organizations. The current study explored the effects of all three forms of organizational justice on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of staff at a medium security prison in southeast Nigeria. Based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, all three forms of justice had significant positive effects on commitment. Procedural and interpersonal justice had positive effects on job satisfaction, while distributive justice had nonsignificant effects. Correctional administrators need to be aware the importance of procedural, distributive, and interpersonal justice and attempt to improve perceptions of these organizational justice variables.
TL;DR: The results of the study indicate that the aggressors of gender-based violence present personality disorders, such as the compulsive behavior, and the results of intervention program indicates that the users obtain higher scores in social skills and empathy and lower scores in romantic jealousy and anger.
Abstract: Gender-based violence is a phenomenon deeply rooted in social, cultural, psychological, and educational factors. To comply with social demands, Government agencies have promoted numerous developmen...
TL;DR: The study investigates offender, victim, and crime characteristics of sexual homicides where necrophilic acts were perpetrated, to determine whether the primary motivation to kill is associated with the attainment of corpses or whether the post-mortem sexual acts were secondary deviant behaviors.
Abstract: This study aims to empirically explore the patterns of necrophilic behaviors in sexual homicide. More specifically, the study investigates offender, victim, and crime characteristics of sexual homi...
TL;DR: Analysis of different types of offenses in Hong Kong between 1976 and 2017 reveals that the strengths of different social institutions are negatively associated with crime rates, showing strong support to institutional anomie theory and routine activities theory.
Abstract: Although the recent crime drop in Western societies has rejuvenated crime trend studies, little is known about the crime trends and the corresponding explanations in the East. This study aims to fill the gaps by examining different types of offenses in Hong Kong between 1976 and 2017. Specifically, this study tests and evaluates major macro-level theoretical approaches explaining crime trends, including institutional anomie theory, routine activities theory, and deterrence theory. Using Error Correction Models, our analyses reveal that the strengths of different social institutions are negatively associated with crime rates, showing strong support to institutional anomie theory. The results also partially support routine activities theory by demonstrating that levels of economic development are negatively associated with both violent and property crime rates, and the number of mobile cellular subscriptions is negatively related to homicide rates. Deterrence explanations are mainly supported for property crime. These findings provide theoretical insights on the etiology of crime and also yield important policy suggestions on how to sustain the observed decline in crime rates in modern societies.
TL;DR: The article highlights that, although there are similar understandings of sexual abuse prevention internationally, practice is characterised by national differences in the funding of, provision of, and public/policy perceptions of prevention as well as its impact on offending.
Abstract: Sexual abuse is a global issue and, therefore, responding to and preventing sexual abuse are global challenges. Although we have examples of and evidence for sexual abuse prevention initiatives internationally, these tend to come from a small, select group of countries (i.e., United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia) and not from a broader global pool. This article will present the qualitative data from an online study (n = 82), covering 17 countries, on professionals’ (i.e., people working in the arena of sexual offending from a clinical, criminal justice, policy, research, and/or practice perspective) perceptions sexual abuse prevention in theory, practice, and policy. The article identifies three main themes: (a) professionals’ understandings of the prevention of sexual abuse, (b) public understanding of sexual abuse prevention, and (c) governmental attitudes towards, and support of, sexual abuse prevention programs. The article highlights that, although there are similar understandings of sexual abuse prevention internationally, practice is characterised by national differences in the funding of, provision of, and public/policy perceptions of prevention as well as its impact on offending.
TL;DR: Incarceration of a parent is associated with negative consequences for children, such as behavioral problems, the development of antisocial personality traits, and decreased educational attainment as mentioned in this paper, which can lead to depression and suicide.
Abstract: Incarceration of a parent is associated with negative consequences for children, such as behavioral problems, the development of antisocial personality traits, and decreased educational attainment....
TL;DR: A high-profile case of European criminals who hacked into a Taiwanese financial institution and programmed its ATMs to “spit out” cash netting the thieves $2.6 million US dollars in 2016 summer is examined, highlighting the importance of national-local law enforcement collaboration in fighting transnational cybercrime.
Abstract: An increasing number of cybercrimes has presented new global challenges to law enforcement agencies that traditionally operate within designated geographical jurisdictions and patrol territories. T...
TL;DR: The authors examined the association of juvenile psychopathy features and treatment response in a sample of 102 youth, court adjudicated for sexual offenses and followed up more than 11 years, and found that the association was not statistically significant.
Abstract: The present study examined the association of juvenile psychopathy features and treatment response in a sample of 102 youth, court adjudicated for sexual offenses and followed up more than 11 years...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined mental and physical health consequences reported by intimate partners of individuals with psychopathic traits in romantic relationships, and concluded that psychopathy is associated with depression and suicidal ideation.
Abstract: Limited research exists on the impact of psychopathy within romantic relationships. We examined mental and physical health consequences reported by intimate partners of individuals with psychopathi...
TL;DR: The unexplored impact of traumatic instability on risk for recidivism and recommendations for trauma-informed policies and practices with individuals required to register as “sex offenders” are discussed.
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion of increasingly restrictive laws managing the post release behavior and movement of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. In the US, this legislation has led to many barriers for people returning to their community as "registered sex offenders." We consider the often ignored but undeniable traumagenic impact of life on "the list" and conceptualize this experience as Post-Conviction Traumatic Stress. We present a qualitative content analysis of secondary data collected from interviews with over 70 men. Emergent themes were first organized according to the human needs identified in Maslow's hierarchy, and then by the established symptoms of PTSD, and finally in terms of resilient coping versus traumatic coping when basic human needs were unmet. We discuss the unexplored impact of traumatic instability on risk for recidivism and present recommendations for trauma-informed policies and practices with individuals required to register as "sex offenders."
TL;DR: The immigrant-crime relationship is often misunderstood and highly complex to date, and criminological research has largely ignored theory testing of this relationship as discussed by the authors, which is not the case today.
Abstract: The immigrant-crime relationship is often misunderstood and highly complex To date, criminological research has largely ignored theory testing of this relationship This paper examines the extant
TL;DR: Investigation of offenders' perception of their barriers to employment and the role of criminal attitudes in parolees recently released from prison found that criminal attitudes have a positive direct relationship with perception of barriers in work and education, and criminal thinking has an indirect relationship with career aspirations through job search self-efficacy.
Abstract: This study explored offenders’ perception of their barriers to employment and investigated the role of criminal attitudes in parolees recently released from prison. An analysis of open-ended respon...
TL;DR: This study identifies the need to distinguish between physically and psychologically abused male victims of IPV, and seeks to understand the effects of IPv on male victims.
Abstract: The concept of intimate partner violence (IPV) implies gender-neutrality in the experiences of violence. Gender symmetry in IPV implies similar numbers of men and women victims. Data from the 2014 Canadian General Social Survey (Victimization) indicate that 262,267 men and 159,829 women were victims of self-reported spousal violence over the past 5 years. Despite the prevailing notion that IPV predominantly affects female victims, these data suggest that men too are victims of IPV, especially in heterosexual relationships. However, very few qualitative studies have shed light on heterosexual male victims' experiences of IPV. This article describes some of these experiences and also seeks to understand the effects of IPV on male victims. Qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 male victims of IPV were used to explore their experience of physical IPV and psychological IPV, as well as the consequences of such abuse. Results revealed common themes pertaining to the type of abuses (i.e., physical, controlling and threatening behaviours, and verbal abuse) male victims experienced and the subsequent physical and psychological impacts. This study identifies the need to distinguish between physically and psychologically abused male victims of IPV.