Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Gender Affirming Care Affects The Current Sex Estimation Standards In Forensic Anthropology: A Preliminary Study, Dakota Taylor

Anthropology Department: Theses

Current sex estimation standards in forensic anthropology are based on individuals whose gender matches their biological/osteological sex, also known as Cisgendered individuals. Recently, transgender individuals have started to become more common in the forensic context due to the increase in hate crimes and violence. This research builds upon past research done on how facial feminization surgery can affect both visual and metric methods, where it was found that forensic anthropologists should rely on the visual methods if they suspect someone to be transgender due to it being more accurate and being able to clearly state the scars left on the …

Injustice In The Field? A Look At Field Booking Arrests In A Southeastern City, Deena A. Isom, Kaitlen E. Hubbard, Hiuxuan Li

International Journal on Responsibility

Issuing citations in lieu of arrests, or field booking arrests, is touted as beneficial by reducing the costs for the criminal legal system; reducing the burdens placed on individuals by avoiding arrest records, possible pretrial detention, and financial obligations; bettering community relationships with officers; increasing officer safety and efficiency; and reducing jail overcrowding. Yet, there are still substantial concerns that the practice may be disproportionately utilized and lead to net-widening. Using data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we assess a snapshot of field booking arrests in a Southeastern city. Specifically, we assess if there are racial …

Firearm Deaths In The Mountain West, 2020, Lana Kojoian, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet examines data from the RAND Corporation report “Understanding Firearm Deaths by State—and How to Reduce Them,” which provides data on state and national rates of firearm related deaths, including suicides and homicides for 2020 This fact sheet includes firearm death data for five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Problem Gambling, General-Strain Theory, And Gender, Michelle Malkin

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Prior research identified a host of factors that increase the likelihood that an individual will become a problem gambler, most of which would be identified by criminologists as “strains” under the framework of General Strain Theory (GST). Yet, GST has not been widely used as a possible explanation for why people become problem gamblers. In addition, there has been little examination of how gender interacts with those variables to affect problem gambling. In this research, I display how propositions from GST provide a framework for understanding why people become problem gamblers and whether gender is a moderating factor in this …

Coercive Sexuality: The Effect Of Early Victimization On One’S Views And Attitudes Toward Sex, Kevin Elias Hoover

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse is difficult to assess but research is growing on possible long-term consequences of this victimization. Two areas of concern are potential repeat victimization and changed attitudes toward the coercive nature of sexuality. Children who have their sexual boundaries violated at a young age may be more likely to experience sexual assault later in life (Scoglio et al., 2021). Research continues to confirm that many sexual abusers were in fact abused themselves as children (King et al., 2019). This research seeks to make connections between these experiences of sexual victimization and support for coercive sexual …

The Invisible Victims Of Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Boys And Their Barriers To Access To Services, Amanda L. Connella

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While there has been a large body of research conducted on girl (under the age of 18) victims of commercial sexual exploitation, boy (under the age of 18) victims do not seem to receive the same attention. From the few studies that have been conducted, boys and young male victims of commercial sexual exploitation have been shown to have gender specific barriers that prevent them from getting help, yet not many papers explore this unique problem. Using survey data from key providers that work in programs that serve commercially sexually exploited boys, the present study fills this hole in the …

Women’S Sexuality And The State: A Beginning Look At Virginity’S Relationship To The Law, Ariana Strieb

Senior Projects Spring 2023

This is a beginning look at the relationship the state has with women's sexuality in the United States, specifically looking at how virginity animate the way rape trials are prosecuted.

Examining Victim-Worthiness And The Court Systems In Massachusetts Domestic Abuse Cases, Natalie Johns-Suriel

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This study investigates the relationship between victims of intimate partner violence and legal actors within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine participants, eight were advocates for victims and one was an attorney for victims at an advocacy center. Interviewees recall their experience aiding victims both in and out of the courtroom, noting differences depending on how the victim’s race, gender, or sexuality interact with social structures and legal actors. Narratives provided by advocates reveal a difference in treatment for victims of domestic abuse depending on their social categories, including race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. My analysis …

Anger In The Overlooked: A Gendered Analysis Of The January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill Breach, Elizabeth Bender

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The violence seen at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 has sparked concern at the threat of domestic violent extremism (DVE) within the United States. Over 700 individuals have been federally charged in connection with the events of January 6 including almost 100 women. Women’s involvement in DVE is underestimated and understudied. This project utilized a corpus of over 1,000 court documents to content code variables relating to violence and DVE affiliation for the individuals who have been federally charged in relation to January 6th. The results of the coding process were then used to compare the rates …

Deficiencies Within Guatemalan Criminal Justice Institutions When Detecting And Prosecuting Sextortion Crimes, Julia A. Bolotovsky

Student Theses

Sextortion is a form of corruption involving sexual exploitation, in which requests for monetary bribes are replaced by requests for sexual acts. Within Latin America, this crime is especially pertinent in Guatemala. Therefore, this study aims to identify which factors contribute to the occurrence of sextortion within Guatemala, while also analyzing the larger realm of violence against women. Based on semi-structured interviews with local experts and civil society activists, this study argues that sextortion is enabled by deficiencies within Guatemalan criminal justice institutions when detecting and prosecuting this crime. In order to effectively counter sextortion, more emphasis needs to be …

Mediators And Moderators Of The Associations Between Unstructured Socializing With Peers, Substance Use, And Handgun Carrying Among Adolescents, Anna Leimberg

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to provide an important addition to previous research on unstructured socializing with peers, adolescent substance use, and handgun carrying while also adding to future policy by providing new avenues by which to better identify the predictors of drugs use and handgun carrying.

The study contributes to knowledge in four ways. First, identifying variables that moderate and/or mediate the association between unstructured socializing and substance use and handgun carrying have theoretically relevant implications. Second, using a fine-grained measure of unstructured socializing with peers provides more precise results and greater insight for the line of research focusing on gender …

Hispanics And The War On Drugs: An Explanation For The Rise In Hispánica Imprisonment, Bryan James Haakma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to understand racial disparities that persist throughout the criminal justice system. Since the early 1970s, the U.S. female prison population has risen at a faster rate than the male prison population (Harmon & Boppre, 2016; Morín, 2008, 2016). Overall, a plethora of research has linked the rise in imprisonment to the War on Drugs and the criminalization of drug use. This thesis examined these questions: 1) are drug crime initiatives driving the rise in Hispanic female imprisonment in comparison to Black and White females and 2) using Blalock’s (1967) theory on group threat, do …

Mental Health And In-Prison Experiences: Examining Socioeconomic And Sex Differences In The Effect Of Mental Illness On Institutional Misconduct And Disciplinary Segregation, Rachel E. Severson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health problems have become a common occurrence in American correctional settings. This occurrence is not equally distributed in terms of gender; incarcerated women have higher rates of mental illness incarcerated men (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017; James & Glaze, 2006). This phenomenon is problematic as research suggests that American correctional institutions are ill equipped to treat and manage inmates with mental health problems (Arrigo & Bullock, 2008; Bennion, 2015; Clark, 2018). This is also true in women’s prisons as they are often tasked to deal with strict budgetary restrictions and have fewer resources compared to men’s prisons (Holsinger, 2014; Stephan, …

Recidivism, Gender, And Race: An Analysis Of The Los Angeles County Probation Department’S Risk And Needs Assessment Instruments, Robert V. Howard

Masters Theses

This study assesses the predictive validity of an adult risk need assessment, the Los Angeles Probation Department’s Risk and Needs Assessment Instruments, on 793 clients using several logistic regression models. Models were generated to look for a relationship between risk score and recidivism. This relationship is further explored across gender and race. There are two separate risk assessment instruments used in this study and the sample is separated into two separate groups. The first risk assessment instrument was based on static risk factors such as history of drug or alcohol use, age of first conviction, and conviction history. This assessment …

A Seasonal Crime?: A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Criminal Charges In The City Of Lynchburg And Seasons Of The Year With Reference To Gender And Race, Caitlin Ann Ann Dorsch

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Previously, many criminologists have focused on the intersectionality of gender and race with reference to only one or a few specific crime categories, such as theft or illegal drug use (Sommers et al., 1996; Bushman et al., 2005; Stalans & Ritchie, 2008). According to Sommers & Baskin (1992), gender causes misinterpretation without the inclusion of race when researching violent crime because both characteristics are inherently linked to an individual’s identity. Furthermore, there is a seasonal component to analyzing crime (Hipp et. al., 2004). Using data from the City of Lynchburg Office of Corrections in Virginia from January 2010 to July …

Racial-Ethnic Differences In Punitiveness Among American Adults, Helena Pittroff

Honors Projects

It is believed that the punitive values of the United States have had a direct positive correlation with the mass incarceration rates experienced in the United States. Many studies have attempted to understand variation in punitiveness across social groups, and have found that there are consistent racial differences that exist. Past research mostly focused on differences between Black and White individuals, but none has included the analysis of those of Hispanic origin. Using pooled data from the 2014, 2016, and 2018 General Social Survey (N = 7,753), the current project examines racial/ethnic differences in punitiveness for White, Black, and Hispanic …

Gender Differences In Confidence In Jury Decision Making, Rachel Silverthorn

2020 Symposium Posters

Men tend to be more overconfident than women in settings typically perceived as masculine (Lichtenstein et al, 1982; as cited in Baldiga, 2014). Women are also more likely to defer to men in mixed-sex group situations than men are to women (Hopcroft, 2009) Deference is correlated with women having lower self-esteem and lower confidence than men, both beginning to show around puberty. In same sex situations, deference is related to social ranking and physical features, but in mixed-sex situations it tends to be sex-based. Propp (1995) found that in mixed-sex groups men tend to verbally contribute more than women, whereas …

The Role Of Women In Terrorism, Zeynep Bayar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The main purpose of this paper is to understand what motivate women to join terrorist groups and why these organizations prefer to work with female terrorists. Although each woman has different reasons to involve in terrorist groups, this research demonstrates 'religious, political and personal' reasons as the major motivating factors. This study also focuses on the question of why women are the targets of terror recruiters. In order to answer these, the research analysis examines 'psychological, gender, and media' factors as major recruitment reasons of terrorist organizations. This study also analyzes the similarities and differences between female terrorists' profiles of …

Symbolically Annihilating Female Police Officer Capabilities: Cultivating Gendered Police Use Of Force Expectations, Howard Henderson

Center for Justice Research Reports

This first step cultivation analysis examines the quantity, temporal dynamics, and stance of muni-cipal police officer use of force depictions based on the gender of the officer. The 112 theatri-cally released films that comprise the core cop film genre were systematically identified. Subsequently, a population of 468 police use of force scenes was identified to serve as the units of analysis for this study. Findings revealed male officer use of force scenes appeared across all 40 years of films. Female officer use of force scenes, however, were highly restricted to specific films, years, and often dwarfed by male scenes within …

Sentencing Length Disparities: Assessing Why Race And Gender Influence Judges’ Decisions, Janna Akers

Scripps Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess why the race and gender of defendants influence judges’ decisions using the focal concern theory. This study will require around 84 participants. Participants will be federal judges who will be recruited via email. In an online survey, participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions . Participants will all read a vignette which an individual was convicted for in trafficking of Xanax. The vignette will be manipulated by the name and accompanying a mugshot based on the race (Black/White) and gender (male/female) of the defendant. The expected result is that …

Exploring The Effect Of Gender Roles On Female Drug Users In Appalachia, Lauren Fowler

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Drug abuse is an ever-growing problem in the United States and in other parts of the world. The Appalachian region is one of the areas hit hardest by this epidemic. Since 2000, the number of overdose deaths in Appalachia has steadily risen while state and city governments analyze the potential causes for such a widespread issue. Many economic and medical explanations have been suggested, but it is also imperative to examine the cultural belief systems that might play a role in the persistent drug use. This study looks at the influence traditional Appalachian gender roles have on female drug users. …

Juror Gender And Confession Evidence: An Exploratory Study Of Effects On Empathy And Trial Outcomes For Juvenile Defendants, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Jennifer N. Weintraub

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: We explored how relations among juror gender, confession evidence, and empathy impacted verdicts for a juvenile defendant accused of a serious crime. Methods: Jury-eligible women and men (N = 128) participated in a mock trial involving a girl defendant who had either maintained her innocence, confessed voluntarily, or confessed under coercion. Participants reviewed case materials, received juror instructions, and reported their verdict and empathy for the girl defendant. A manipulation check ensured participants attended to details surrounding the confession and participants were grouped by whether they perceived the confession as voluntary or coerced. A logistic regression analysis examined main …

‘Affluent’ Justice: The Role Of Ses In Sentencing Severity, Sonia Pappachan

Student Theses

Imprisonment is the harshest punishment the law can give a defendant; it has considerable consequences on the incarcerated, during and after. Therefore, the sentencing phase of the criminal proceedings should be fair and balanced. However, the literature and researches that have explored the biases in sentencing found that there is a disparity in sentencing due to the characteristics of both the victim and the defendant. The current study used a sample of 209 online survey participants to explore the effect of the socioeconomic status of the victim and defendant on sentencing length. Participants reviewed a vignette of a criminal offense …

Gender And Terrorism: A Homeland Security Perspective, Diana Rosa Rodriguez-Spahia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While scholars have been studying the growing trend of female terrorists for several years, their research has not permeated politics or the media to help inform our Homeland Security policies. The findings from this body of research indicate that there is hesitance on behalf of the public (especially politicians and law enforcement) to acknowledge that women can be terrorists due to deeply engrained gender norms and expectations about gender roles. Terrorist groups are exploiting this unwillingness by recruiting more women to perpetrate terrorist acts (Lele, 2014; Bloom, 2011). Against the backdrop of the changes in gender norms and expectations that …

Boys To Men: Masculinity, Victimization, And Offending, Shon Michael Reed

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Male victims are an underrepresented group within society as research within victimology primarily focuses on female victims and services available typically cater to female populations. This study focuses on male victims and draws attention to the role that victimization may play in criminal offending. Prior research has found that male victims may feel a diminished sense of their own masculinity. While other studies have noted that masculinity plays a role in some men’s decisions to engage in criminal behavior (Messerschmidt, 1993, 2016). It seems logical that these two concepts (masculinity and victimization) would be related. Utilizing self-reported data from 135 …

Now You See Me: Problems And Strategies For Introducing Gender Self-Determination Into The Eighth Amendment For Gender Nonconforming Prisoners, Lizzie Bright

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

As the fight for transgender rights becomes more visible in the United States, the plight of incarcerated transgender individuals seeking medical care behind bars is likewise gaining attention—and some trans prisoners are gaining access to gender-affirming care. However, progress for incarcerated members of the trans community has been slow, piecemeal, and not without problems. As federal court opinions in Eighth Amendment access-to-care cases brought by trans prisoners show, how a court interprets the subjective intent requirements of the Eighth Amendment and how the imprisoned plaintiff pleads his/her/their case can make or break the claim. Further, courts and plaintiffs rely on …

The Long-Term Consequences Of Child Abuse And Neglect In Men, Robert A. Beattey Jr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research indicates that the annual incidence of child maltreatment is around 10% and that more than one-quarter of children have, at least indirectly, experienced some form of violence. Prospective studies find that in high-income countries, like the United States, there are moderate correlations between childhood maltreatment and low educational achievement, low skilled employment, depression, suicide attempts, and alcohol problems, as well as strong correlations with obesity, behavior problems in childhood and adolescence, and criminal behavior. Despite the high costs of child abuse and neglect—both direct and indirect—and decades of research and public health, justice, and social service investment in prevention …

Expanding Coercive Mobility Theory: Women's Forms Of Capital And Neighborhood Social Control, Jaclyn Marie Cwick

Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a gendered theory of coercive mobility, synthesized from the collateral consequences of incarceration, along with coercive mobility theory and literature on forms of capital. Previous work has shown that the removal of residents due to mass incarceration contributes to disruptions in neighboring relationships and therefore, impedes the community’s ability to prevent crime, commonly referred to as informal social control. This involuntary mobility due to prison admissions and returns, known as coercive mobility, has focused almost entirely on the collateral consequences to the incarcerated, a predominantly male population. However, those who remain in the community, primarily women, also …

Loss, Hope, And Redemption: The Consequences Of Methamphetamine Use In A Sample Of Incarcerated Women, Mikhial Vincent Gunderman

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the consequences of methamphetamine use in a sample of 40 incarcerated women who were court-ordered to participate in a correctional drug and alcohol treatment program in Missouri. Using interview data from this sample, I examine their perceptions of the consequences of their methamphetamine use. The negative consequences I focus on include experiences of violence, damage to interpersonal relationships, and more personal consequences related to health, employment, housing, and the criminal justice system. In this pursuit, I explore the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between the accumulation of negative consequences and continued and/or increased involvement …

The Effects Of Gender, Race, And Age On Judicial Sentencing Decisions, April Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found significant effects of gender, race, and age on sentencing decisions made by state and local court judges (e.g. Johnson, 2003; Mustard, 2001; Steffensmeier, Ulmer, & Kramer, 1998). The current study used criminal district court data from two counties in western North Carolina to further research of the effects of the aforementioned variables on sentencing. Using knowledge acquired from past studies, the hypotheses for the current study asserted that younger offenders, male offenders, and nonwhite offenders would be more likely to be found guilty of their offense and receive fines than their respective offender counterparts. The results …