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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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- Crime (3)
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Articles 1 - 26 of 26
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Resource Scarcity Caused By Environmental Changes: Driving Factor In Terrorism Attacks In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Amaris Bustamante
Resource Scarcity Caused By Environmental Changes: Driving Factor In Terrorism Attacks In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Amaris Bustamante
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Climate change, resource scarcity, and terrorist attacks are ever-growing crises that disproportionately impact different states. They are crises that can impact the stability and resilience of humanity in the following decades if they are not addressed and mitigated. This study addresses the impact of resource scarcity caused by climate change that can then serve as a driving force in terrorist attacks in climate-sensitive and conflict-prone states. The objective of this mixed-methods study is to identify the correlation between climate changes that lead to resource scarcity such as rainfall and surface temperatures with terrorist attacks when taking into consideration other demographic, …
Race, Severe Mental Illness, And Crime: An Intersectional Look Into Stigma And Policy Implications, Elena Therese Vaudreuil
Race, Severe Mental Illness, And Crime: An Intersectional Look Into Stigma And Policy Implications, Elena Therese Vaudreuil
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Criminal behavior has been a long-discussed topic in the United States and often is tied to characteristics such as race and mental illness. The presumed connection between criminal behavior and being a member of a racial minority group or having a mental illness have been researched for years, however few researchers have sought to take an intersectional approach to investigate the unique experiences of people belonging to both groups in the criminal legal system. Using the lenses of attribution and intersectionality theories, the proposed studies sought to understand the effect of race that influences policy support of justice-involved people with …
Exploring The Mediating Link Between Stressful Life Events, Adverse Psychological Effects, And Ipv Victimization, Valeria Torres-Rivera
Exploring The Mediating Link Between Stressful Life Events, Adverse Psychological Effects, And Ipv Victimization, Valeria Torres-Rivera
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Purpose: Research has established that violent victimization is influenced by a variety of life events and psychological effects. However, limited research has examined this relationship with a specific type of victimization, such as intimate partner violence (IPV). To fill this gap in the literature, this study aims to test whether stressful life conditions induce adverse psychological effects on a person, which then may lead to IPV victimization. Methods: To test this, a series of regression analyses are conducted. Data from the American subsample of the International Dating Violence Study (n = 4,162) are analyzed to test the link between stressful …
Effects Of Witnessing Terrorist Attacks On Perceived Causes Of Terrorism And Support For Security Measures, Austin Trevor Sullivan
Effects Of Witnessing Terrorist Attacks On Perceived Causes Of Terrorism And Support For Security Measures, Austin Trevor Sullivan
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The following research aims to understand how individuals who were aware of, and affected by, terrorist attacks at the time they took place perceive the causes of terrorism and support security measures. It is hypothesized that the extent to which one â??witnessedâ?? attacks characterized by more traditional forms of terrorism, such as bombings and religiously motivated and affiliated perpetrators (Wave four), versus new forms of terrorism, such as shootings and lone wolves (Wave five), would be affected by the age of the witness. This research proposes an indirect pathway from age to "witnessing" terrorist attacks to attributions for the attacks …
The Effects Of Identity Conflict And Identity Salience On Job Satisfaction And Vocational Connectedness In Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Kityara James
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Law enforcement agencies are having trouble recruiting, hiring, and maintaining ethnic minority officers. Although the Department of Justice identified multiple issues minorities face while pursuing and engaging in the profession, there have been few efforts to determine the source of these problems and how to overcome them. In a stressful profession that doesn't historically align with being a minority, the difference between staying with that job or going to another one may lie in how connected to the job and how satisfied with that job minority law enforcement feel. The current study explores how ethno-racial and police identity salience and …
The Real Face Of Borderline Personality Organization Within Intimate Partner Violence, Adriana Isabel Patino
The Real Face Of Borderline Personality Organization Within Intimate Partner Violence, Adriana Isabel Patino
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
This study tests the relationship between IPV perpetration and victimization with BPO. Results indicate that, as predicted, BPO is positively associated with both IPV perpetration and victimization and is more prevalent in female perpetrators and victims than in male perpetrators and victims. However, contrary to what previous literature says, self-control does not show enough significance to state that it is one of the leading causes of IPV perpetrated by those who present traits of BPO. In addition, results also indicate that having suffered from physical abuse during childhood diminishes the probability of perpetrating IPV. To fully understand these results, future …
Looking At Latino Communities: Legal Cynicism, Acculturation, And Their Willingness To Cooperate With Police, Shayla Salais
Looking At Latino Communities: Legal Cynicism, Acculturation, And Their Willingness To Cooperate With Police, Shayla Salais
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Numerous studies have examined how acculturation affects Latino neighborhoods and how legal cynicism affects Latino neighborhoods. Acculturation has been linked with low crime levels, meanwhile legal cynicism is attributed to high crime levels. This study aims to address this contradiction in the literature. Based on 1059 surveys, 46 neighborhood clusters were used to examine how legal cynicism and acculturation to Mexico impact a neighborhoods willingness to cooperate with police. A multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression found that acculturation to Mexico results in higher levels of legal cynicism and less willingness to cooperate with police. The OLS regression also found …
"And Some, I Assume, Are Good People:" A Closer Look At Hispanic Immigration And The Code Of The Street, Nicole Cebak
"And Some, I Assume, Are Good People:" A Closer Look At Hispanic Immigration And The Code Of The Street, Nicole Cebak
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Although research shows that increasing neighborhood levels of immigration tend to be associated with lower crime, little attention has been paid to why this is the case-- in essence what variables might help account for, or explain, these findings. Thus, the focus of this study is to explore a cultural explanation, specifically whether adherence to the code of the street helps to explain this relationship. Further, this study is looking to find the differences between immigrant generations as well as recent and established immigrants as it pertains to adherence to the code of the street. Using a random sample of …
Defining Intelligence Failure: A Puzzled Discourse, Gabriel Isaiah Koshinsky
Defining Intelligence Failure: A Puzzled Discourse, Gabriel Isaiah Koshinsky
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
A specter is haunting the U.S. Intelligence Community, and this specter is intelligence failure. Up to the present day the Intelligence Community (IC) continues to be mired with allegations of intelligence failure from the media, policymakers, academics, and practitioners alike. An initial review of literature shows a common definition of intelligence failure remains elusive and deficient. This study seeks to add to the scholarly discourse and benefit continued research around intelligence failure, through an attempt to produce a working definition through a systematic review of existing definitions. This study used a systematic review method to examine over 210 sources from …
Understanding The Association Between Routine Activities, Social Bonds, Violent Victimization, And Violent Offending, Caleigh D. Lynch
Understanding The Association Between Routine Activities, Social Bonds, Violent Victimization, And Violent Offending, Caleigh D. Lynch
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
No abstract provided.
Social Cohesion Among Individuals Participating In Re-Entry Groups, Todd Reiser
Social Cohesion Among Individuals Participating In Re-Entry Groups, Todd Reiser
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
When prisoners are released from incarceration they enter a social landscape that holds unique challenges. One of the ways humans living within social systems understand their place and role is through the mechanism of religion. This study investigates how group religious practice establishes a shared worldview among those recently released from prison; a worldview that promotes the creation of positive social cohesion which contribute to life improvements, social mobility, and social status changes. "Social networks may include friendship circles in local congregations, scripture study groups and relationships with religious leaders who serve as role models for individuals" (Kerley et al …
Do Coaches Practice What They Preach? An Evaluation Of The Usage Of Evidence-Based Practices Among Probation Officer Coaches, Tamara Kang
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Probation supervision has the potential to serve a rehabilitative function through the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs; practices supported by empirical research). Often, when administrators adopt EBPs in their agency, these programs may not be implemented with fidelity by probation officers who interact with offenders. Thus, there is a critical need to examine methods of increasing the effectiveness of implementing EBPs among officers. One method, peer mentoring (i.e., coaches), is gaining popularity; however, little is known about the highly-motivated officers who volunteer to be coaches. Consequently, this Dissertation investigates compliance with EBPs among officers who have volunteered to become coaches …
The Risk Principle Paradox: A Multilevel Approach To Examine Which High-Risk Offenders Successfully Change During Rehabilitation Programs, Cole Higley
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The empirically supported risk principle demonstrates that correctional agencies can reduce recidivism by providing greater supervision and rehabilitation services to higher-risk offenders. The current study examined the paradox that offenders with the greatest risk to reoffend also have the most potential to successfully change; yet, little research has examined why some high-risk offenders succeed in programs, while others do not. Analyses examined whether certain demographic, motivation, and rehabilitative group features were related to program performance and post-release recidivism. Results showed that in certain rehabilitation types, statistically significant interactions were observed, such that the relationship between individual risk and outcome (either …
Using Dynamic Risk To Predict Violent Recidivism In "Real Time": Applying A Framework For Proximal Assessment Of Risk Of General Recidivism To Predict Violent Outcomes, Ariel G. Stone
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
In correctional psychology, risk factors are offender characteristics and contexts that increase the likelihood of reoffending. Risk is generally conceptualized as being either static or dynamic (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Static risk factors are variables that cannot change, such as one's criminal history or gender. Dynamic risk factors must, by definition, be able to change across time. Perhaps more importantly, changes in dynamic risk factors must correspond to changes in the likelihood of an offender committing a new offense. Although static risk is a more robust predictor of recidivism, dynamic risk is important, in that it (a) has clearer theoretical …
Racial Injustice In Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against The Police Killing Of Joe Campos Torres, Melanie Rodriguez Rodriguez
Racial Injustice In Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against The Police Killing Of Joe Campos Torres, Melanie Rodriguez Rodriguez
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
This study examines the Houston Police Departmentâ??s (the HPD) relations with the ethnic-Mexican community across four decades to consider how the police killing of Joe Campos Torres sparked a wave of protest that ensured that cityâ??s long history of police brutality against ethnic Mexicans and other minorities (especially African Americans) came to the forefront in Texas, if not the nation in general. The HPD was a mechanisms of the cityâ??s status quo that reinforced the racial dominance of white Houstonians. From 1940 to 1970, the HPD found it necessary to implement effective police models to control wayward minorities and uphold …
The Persistent Fear Of Crime In A Safe Metropolitan Area: The Continual Impact Of Social Disorganization, Guillermo Rivas
The Persistent Fear Of Crime In A Safe Metropolitan Area: The Continual Impact Of Social Disorganization, Guillermo Rivas
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
While the association between physical and social disorder on crime have been established (Skogan, 1990), it is less clear how they influence fear of crime. Fear of crime is important to consider given that is can decrease both physical and mental health (Gee & Payne-Sturges, 2004). Utilizing data based on a randomly selected household survey in El Paso County, Texas (N= 1,070) I seek to examine the influence of physical and social disorders and social cohesion on fear of crime. OLS linear regression results illustrate the persistent impact of physical and social disorders regardless of neighborhood characteristics of poverty and …
Echoes, Sarah Abigail Adleman
Echoes, Sarah Abigail Adleman
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
When I was sixteen, my mother was killed one evening while running on the bayou behind our house in Houston. The man, who is now on Death Row in Texas, beat, raped, and then strangled her to death. Writer Mary Cappello says of Creative Nonfiction, to compose discursively requires that we turn in the direction of the discourses that have made us who we are rather than start from a place of what we think happened to us in the course of our lives. She goes on further to say, Creative nonfiction appreciates the power of prepositions. Instead of writing …
Immigration And Family Violence At The Household Level Of Analysis: Examining The Effects Of Immigrant Culture And Neighborhood Structure, Jorge Luis Hernandez
Immigration And Family Violence At The Household Level Of Analysis: Examining The Effects Of Immigrant Culture And Neighborhood Structure, Jorge Luis Hernandez
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
This study concerns the relationship between immigration and family violence at the household level of analysis. Previous studies have suggested that immigrant status - particularly first generation immigrant status - is not associated with crime. However, the same cannot be said about their descendants the second and third generations; as they are not as insulated from crime as their forefathers. This study measures the following variables which are relevant to the immigration and family violence relationship; immigrant generational status, acculturation levels, patriarchy, family oriented values, collective efficacy, surveillance, and measures of informal social control. This study finds that there is …
The Rock And The Hard Place: How The Prison Psychotherapist Balances Treatment Needs With Security Needs, Elijah Paige Ricks
The Rock And The Hard Place: How The Prison Psychotherapist Balances Treatment Needs With Security Needs, Elijah Paige Ricks
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Research on traditional psychotherapy suggests that the quality of the relationship between the therapist and client is the most important element of effective mental health work. In contrast, prison policies often require that staff maintain an emotional distance from offenders, and many elements of the prison environment and characteristics of the offenders may be counterproductive to the therapeutic relationship. Due to the competing demands of psychotherapy and prisons, it is important to understand how prison psychotherapists reconcile the aims of both in their work. This Dissertation examined the psychometric properties of a new measure of how prison therapists balance the …
The Strength Of Family Bonds: A Look Into The Lives Of A Family That Has Overcome Adversity And Marginality, Angelique Nevarez Maes
The Strength Of Family Bonds: A Look Into The Lives Of A Family That Has Overcome Adversity And Marginality, Angelique Nevarez Maes
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
In the recent literature that entails the effectiveness of parent/child bonds in deterring children from crime and related deviant activities, little information is mentioned about the effectiveness of Kinship (extended family members) and its possible effectiveness in deterring an individual from crime and related deviant activities. Adverse events such as drug abuse, early death, prostitution and gang activity can plague a family and threaten its unity when parental bonds are absent or non-consistent during adolescence. Marginalities such as poverty and racism take the family unit to the edge of society only serve to further the extent of the damage that …
Life And Health Outside Prison, Tiffany Amorette Young
Life And Health Outside Prison, Tiffany Amorette Young
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
This qualitative study explores the subjective understandings of formerly incarcerated individuals' experiences of health and healthcare prior to, during, and post release. The study incorporates in depth ethnographic interviews, participant observation, and life charting to formulate a holistic understanding of how incarceration has impacted the health and lives of the participants recruited for this study. All participants were incarcerated for a minimum of one year in the U.S. prison system. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the fields of sociology, criminology, and public health, and builds on the literature of race, health, and corrections in the United States.
Al-Shabaab's American Recruits: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Radicalization Pathways, Matthew Wade Richardson
Al-Shabaab's American Recruits: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Radicalization Pathways, Matthew Wade Richardson
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
From 2005 to 2011, at least 41 Americans joined, or attempted to join, al-Shabaab, Somalia's preeminent terrorist organization. This thesis examines the radicalization process for al-Shabaab's American recruits by dividing the sample into two groups: non-Somali and Somali. The author employs causal flow diagramming as a means of visualizing each group's unique radicalization pathway. While most of the non-Somali recruits were motivated by political grievances and Salafism, most of the Somali recruits were motivated by identity conflict and nationalism. Considering al-Shabaab is both a religious and an ethno-nationalist terrorist organization, these results make sense. Radicalization within diaspora communities is a …
The Effects Of Defendant And Juror Language Use On Sentencing Recommendations, Victoria Christine Estrada
The Effects Of Defendant And Juror Language Use On Sentencing Recommendations, Victoria Christine Estrada
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Spanish-language testimony is an extra-legal variable not widely studied in the legal psychology field. More emphasis has been placed on the translation of the testimony as well as accent attitudes. The current study extended research conducted by Stephan and Stephan (1986) to investigate the impact of Spanish-speaking defendants and mock-juror's language use and proficiency on sentencing recommendations. Two hundred and seventy-seven participants from the University of Texas at El Paso read a case vignette of a first-degree aggravated assault and asked were asked to provide sentence recommendations for the defendant. The defendant's testimony was presented in English or Spanish with …
Studying Rape Through A Theorectical Lens: The Development Of A Serial Rape Model Using Fbi Data, Brooke Smith
Studying Rape Through A Theorectical Lens: The Development Of A Serial Rape Model Using Fbi Data, Brooke Smith
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The current study assessed whether there is an empirical foundation for different theories of rape including the feminist, evolutionary, social disorganization, psychopathy, and rapist type theories. Using a data set from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on serial rapists collected in the early 1990's, the study included two phases. The first phase assessed whether FBI data supported the previously mentioned theories of rape by analyzing associations between individual variables that are thought to support each theory. Support was demonstrated for the evolutionary and psychopathy theories. Using MPlus statistical software to accommodate the multi-level nature of the data, the second …
Social Disorganization And The Spatial Distribution Of Homicides In El Paso, Nicholas Andrew Emerick
Social Disorganization And The Spatial Distribution Of Homicides In El Paso, Nicholas Andrew Emerick
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Recent research on social disorganization theory shows general support for economic and stability measures of disorganization, but spatial dispersions and the disaggregation of homicides of crime have not been fully examined. 1985-1995 homicide data from the El Paso Police Department's detective logs and US Census data are combined to explore social disorganization in El Paso, the impact of ports of entry, and how motive interacts with social disorganization. Findings for total homicides in El Paso support existing social disorganization research. Motive specific homicides displayed distinct relationships to the disorganization measures. The concentrations of homicides near ports of entry can be …
Understanding Deviant Behaviors Through Coercion And Social Support Theory, Maria Nicte-Ha Uribe
Understanding Deviant Behaviors Through Coercion And Social Support Theory, Maria Nicte-Ha Uribe
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Mark Colvin, Francis T. Cullen and Thomas Vander Ven (2002) developed an integrated theory of crime called "coercion, social support, and crime" which hypothesizes that coercion and social support are inversely related and that these variables have direct effects on criminal and deviant behavior as well as a combined effect. Specifically if an imbalance between coercion and social support exists, crime is more likely to occur because coercion induces weak social bonds and low self control thereby increasing crime. On the other hand, social support prevents criminal involvement through organized networks of human relations that assist people in meeting their …