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Housing Discrimination And Negative Attitudes Towards Ex-Offender Parents, Julie Wertheimer-Meier

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of race, gender, religion, sex, disability, family status, and national origin, it allows housing providers to discriminate on the basis of criminal history. Prior research shows that housing providers disproportionately deny housing to ex-offender applicants and single parent applicants with young children. An ex-offender parent’s inability to acquire safe and affordable housing decreases the potential for reunification with their children and increases the risk of lost custody or parental rights termination. This dissertation consisted of two experiments that examined the effects of negative attitudes towards ex-offender parents on those parents’ ability …

The Intersecting And Additive Nature Of Vulnerability: Dehumanizing Or Protecting?, Megan Berry-Cohen

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent research has examined how extra-legal factors such as emotions and stereotypes impact legal judgment decisions regarding traditionally vulnerable populations. Less work has explored not only what makes a group vulnerable, but how people perceive, interpret, and apply that vulnerability. The current research therefore integrates psychological theory and legal models to understand vulnerability and its implications. Three studies examined the roles of various factors, including dehumanization and empathy, in understanding how people respond to vulnerable individuals in general and then to women who have survived sexual violence.

In Experiment 1, I manipulated sex (female vs. male), age (older: 60 years …

Victim Or Offender? The Response To Sexually Exploited Minors, Taylor Petty

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite US Federal legislation mandating legal professionals treat anyone under the age of 18 involved in commercial sex acts as a victim and not an offender of prostitution, US States differ in their treatment of sexually exploited youth. One potential explanation for the differing treatment of sex trafficked youth could arise from the decision-makers emotional reaction towards these youth. Thus, I conducted two experiments to explore the impact of negative moral emotions on decisions involving child sex trafficking under varying case fact patterns. In Experiment 1, I manipulated youth sex, vulnerability background, and prior arrest history, and trafficker sex to …

Creating A “Good” Olmstead Plan For People With Serious Mental Illness: An Empirical Evaluation Of The Legal Frameworks, Andrea Avila

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel Zimring (1999) was a landmark US Supreme Court decision holding that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is impermissible discrimination; specifically, if the clinician and client believe community integration to be appropriate, the state must have reasonable accommodations in place for the client to be in the community. Enforcement of the Olmstead decision for people with serious mental illness has taken many shapes, from the DOJ’s settlement agreements requiring substantive development of community mental health services and aggressive community integration protocols, to the Third Circuit approach which requires only lower census numbers in the state …

Increasing Students’ And New Professionals’ Knowledge Of Child Sexual Abuse Outcomes: An Evaluation Of An Online Intervention, Kate Theimer

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Following disclosure, support from professionals (e.g., mental health clinicians, social workers, health care providers, teachers) can help increase resiliency in youth who experience child sexual abuse (CSA). Particularly, those who respond compassionately and competently, believe and report the abuse, do not blame the victim, and increase the family’s protective factors are best suited to decrease negative outcomes. Yet, research shows that many professionals are not adequately prepared to support families due to insufficient knowledge and misinformed beliefs (Pelisoli, Herman, & Dell’Aglio, 2015). Moreover, few assessments measure knowledge specific to the aftermath of CSA and few interventions aim to increase professional …

Examination Of Methamphetamine Reinstatement In Female And Male Rats: A Pre-Clinical Model Of Relapse, Steven T. Pittenger

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Methamphetamine (meth) dependence is often characterized by persistent and chronic relapse (i.e., return to drug use). There is growing pre-clinical and human evidence suggesting females are at greater risk to relapse. The set of studies presented in this dissertation extended this limited evidence by identifying sex-dependent neural substrates correlated with meth-triggered reinstatement (Experiment 1) and by examining sex-differences in reinstatement triggered by drugs of abuse that are commonly co-abused with meth (Experiment 2). Female and male rats were trained to self-administer meth, received subsequent extinction sessions, and then tested for reinstatement. In Experiment 1, rats were perfused following reinstatement testing …

A Comparison Between Telehealth And Face-To-Face Brief Alcohol Interventions For College Students, Sarah Christine King

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Problematic alcohol use is a common occurrence among college students. While empirically supported interventions exist, their access is typically limited to those who attend large universities. In the health care field there has been an expansion of services provided via telehealth to increase client access to treatment. However, the evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of face-to-face versus telehealth interventions and there is a gap in the literature regarding the use of telehealth interventions for brief alcohol interventions in college students. As such, the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a well-validated brief alcohol screening and …

Procedural Due Process In Modern Problem-Solving Courts: An Application Of The Asymmetric Immune Knowledge Hypothesis, Leah C. Georges

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Problem-solving courts, such as drug and mental health courts, function under the model of therapeutic jurisprudence—the idea that legal policies and procedures should help and not harm clients, within the confines of the law (Winick & Wexler, 2002). Although it would seem that the lack of procedural due process in most problem-solving courts is in direct opposition to the best interests of a client, it is possible that observers find this more of a problem than do the court clients themselves. This two-experiment study applied Igou’s (2008) AIK hypothesis to problem-solving courts’ practice of sanctioning in the absence of due …

Understanding The Role Of Trust In Cooperation With Natural Resources Institutions, Joseph A. Hamm

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation investigates the role of trust in predicting cooperation with a natural resources management institution. It begins with an exploration of the legal landscape against which the relationship between land owners and natural resources management institutions is contextualized, presents a review of the often ostensibly disparate trust literature and a framework for its integration, and proposes and tests a model of trust and cooperation in the natural resources context. The results provide mixed support for the model as proposed but confirm the importance of trust in this context and suggest implications for policy, especially the potential importance of increasing …

Emotional, Social, And Cognitive Correlates Of Stalking And Intrusive Harassment., Allissa Marquez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although stalking has been recognized as social problem for the last twenty years, few studies have examined the treatment needs or effectiveness with these persistent offenders. The dearth of information on appropriate intervention is in part related to the difficulty of operationalizing stalking behavior in empirical studies. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine clinically relevant indicators of functioning using both categorical and continuous definitions of stalking behavior. Two hundred and fifty male prisoners were surveyed about their engagement in intrusive and aggressive behaviors during a significant conflict, as well as their social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Results indicated quantitative …

Juror Perceptions Of Juveniles Transferred To Criminal Court: The Role Of Generic Prejudice And Emotion In Determinations Of Guilt, Megan Beringer Jones

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research examining juror perceptions of juveniles tried as adults has provided mixed results, with some studies providing evidence of bias against juveniles tried as adults, and others finding no evidence of this bias. The present research aimed to clarify this issue by examining the roles of generic prejudice and emotion in jurors’ judgments of juveniles tried as adults. Study 1 assessed which stereotypes people associate with juveniles tried as adults compared to juveniles tried in juvenile court and adults tried in criminal court. Study 2 examined to what extent angry, fearful, sad, and neutral mock jurors used these stereotypes to …

Predicting Problematic Approach Behavior Toward Politicians: Exploring The Potential Contributions Of Control Theory, Douglas Owen Cacialli

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The potential merits of Carver and Scheier's (1981) control theory in the prediction of targeted violence are reviewed and several novel indicators of risk that are consistent with this theory are suggested for study. It was hypothesized that: (a) similarity between inappropriate contact with politicians and extremist group literature and writings; (b) the temporal proximity to violent or otherwise criminal actions and notable anniversaries of such groups; (c) detailed specification of a plan to engage in problematic approach behavior, and; (d) self-focus, will be significant predictors of problematic approach behavior. A sample of 506 individuals who engaged in threatening or …

Distinguishing Civil And Criminal Institutional Deprivations Of Liberty: An Analysis Of Expressive Functions, Marc W. Pearce

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A basic function of the criminal justice system is to impose legal punishment through deprivations of liberty. Because deprivations of liberty that flow from civil institutions are not punitive, the distinction between civil and criminal institutional deprivations of liberty arguably hinges on the concept of punishment. Punishment, in turn, may be distinguished from non-punitive sanctions based on its unique expressive function; that is, punishment is defined in part by the special feelings of resentment and judgments of disapproval that it expresses. These feelings and judgments have been labeled “condemnation.” This dissertation explores whether condemnation can be translated into an empirical …