Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Identity Change On The Path To Long-Term Criminal Desistance, Leah B. Mazzola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing federal attention to addressing collateral damages of the era of mass conviction and mass incarceration has led to millions in funding allocated to support successful reentry for offenders in contact with the justice system. In line with this initiative, federal agencies have recently turned to criminal desistance research to build on earlier recidivism studies and to inform successful reentry programs. In an effort to contribute to opportunities for future research within the desistance paradigm, this study was designed to explore the identity change process of the offender from deviant to prosocial, a continuously emerging concept within the desistance literature …

False Confessions From The Viewpoint Of Federal Polygraph Examiners, Bradford Beyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While confessions are a powerful form of evidence, innocent people sometimes confess to crimes they did not commit. Many researchers have studied false confessions through laboratory experiments with university students or by focusing on proven cases of false confession. These approaches have led many researchers to form a conceptual framework that law enforcement interrogative methods are a key cause of false confessions. A gap exists in the literature as few researchers have queried law enforcement about false confessions or consulted with officers who specialize in interrogation. For this study, a qualitative case study approach was used to explore the experiences …

A Long-Term Follow-Up Of Crossover Youth: Young Adult Outcomes For Maltreated Youth In The Juvenile Justice System, Carly Lyn Baetz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Crossover youth, those with histories of childhood maltreatment and delinquency, may be at high risk for negative outcomes compared to other youth. However, very little is known about the long-term outcomes for this population. This dissertation compared four groups: youth with histories of child maltreatment and juvenile arrest (n = 180), youth with a history of maltreatment only (n = 428), youth with a history of juvenile arrest only (n = 91), and youth with no history of maltreatment or juvenile arrest (n = 496), on a range of outcomes, including mental health, education, employment, and criminal behavior. Data from …

Psychopathy In The Criminal Justice System, Jillian K. Peterson, Jerrod Brown

College of Liberal Arts All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Decriminalizing Mental Illness: The Need For Treatment Over Incarceration Before Prisons Become The New Asylums For The Mentally Ill, Rebecca L. Brown

Psychology Summer Fellows

Currently, US prisons are home to 10 times more mentally ill individuals than state psychiatric hospitals. Instead of treating those with mental illness, an extremely vulnerable population is being thrown behind bars. Mental illness is often exacerbated during incarceration, leaving inmates much sicker than when they entered. Moreover, upon discharge mentally ill inmates have virtually no support, making recidivism almost inevitable. This lack of treatment has devastating consequences for the mentally ill as well as the community at large. Removing the mentally ill from jails and prisons would reduce recidivism, increase public safety and save money.

The current research explores …

Assumptions Underlying Behavioral Linkage Revisited: A Multidimensional Approach To Ascertaining Individual Differentiation And Consistency In Serial Rape, Marina Sorochinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While investigative use of behavioral evidence to help link and solve serial offenses has been in use for centuries, the empirical and theoretical grounds for whether and how to use this evidence effectively has begun to emerge only in recent years. In order for behavioral crime linking to be validated, two base assumptions must be met: individual differentiation (i.e., that offenses committed by one offender will be distinctly different from those committed by another offender) and consistency (i.e., that a degree of similarity will be apparent across crimes committed by the same offender). The present study empirically tested (a) the …

Psychosocial Sequelae Of Homicide Among Murder Victims' Family Members: An Appraisal Of Depression, Grief, And Posttraumatic Stress, Sarah Kopelovich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current investigation explored what is known regarding the psychological sequelae of the post-homicide experience for murder victims' family members and friends (MVFM). Participants were also asked about whether they felt they had attained closure, a term which populates anecdotal and theoretical accounts of MVFM's experience. Previous literature guided a theoretical definition of closure as a dimensional construct that represents adaptive functioning following a murder, and includes (1) absence of disabling symptomatology, (2) absence of ruminations about the event or murder victim, and (3) subjective return to baseline functioning. This quasi-experiment consisted of a between-subjects cross-sectional design. The dependent variable …

Predicting Solitary Confinement, Bryce Young Roby

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract The rates of incarceration in the United States have steadily increased at an average rate of 3.4% per year since 1995, requiring the majority of federal and state institutions to function at or above capacity (Haun, 2007). This influx of adults entering correctional systems has placed increased pressure on prison officials to efficiently and effectively monitor inmate behavior as maintaining the safety and security of the correctional institution is most often the highest priority of correctional administrators (Cullen, Latessa, Burton, & Lombardo, 1993). One security measure commonly implemented to manage inmate violence and disturbances is solitary confinement. This study …

The Effectiveness Of An Evidenced-Based Decision Making Program In Criminal Justice Systems, Tashina Lorraine Keith

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract The National Institute of Corrections selected the Yamhill County Department of Corrections to implement a new evidenced-based decision making program within their criminal justice system. As part of the new program, every individual who was arrested and placed on probation went through a case analysis assessment and had their treatment programs approved by a judge prior to sentencing. In this study 20 randomly selected individuals who received their treatment programming prior to sentencing were matched to 20 randomly selected individuals who received treatment programs post-sentencing. The hypothesis of this study was that those probationers in the pre-sentencing group who …

Volume 07, Rachel C. Lombardi, Ben Osterhout, Lindsay Graybill, Rebecca E. Dey, Skyler T. Carpenter, Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, Mollie Andrews, James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, Maria Wheaton, Dallas Price, Laura Kahler, Sarah Charlton, Anna Bultrowicz, Emily Spittle, Erin Godwin, Eamon Brokenbrough

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Interim Dean Dr. Jennifer Apperson

Spatial Analysis of Potential Risk Factors Associated with Addition of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Through Virginia by Rachel C. Lombardi

"Delicate Matters with No Speaking," "Hope and Nothing," "Mono Duality" by Ben Osterhout

"Connect" Graphic Design Senior Project by Lindsay Graybill

Phenolic Acids in Brassicaceae Plants: Ovipositional Stimulants or Deterrents for Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris Rapae? by Rebecca E. Dey And Skyler T. Carpenter

"Abecedarian Cards" by Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, And Mollie Andrews

Helvetica: A Type Specimen Book by James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, And Maria Wheaton

“Things Left Behind” by Dallas …

Creating Activating Events For Transformative Learning In A Prison Classroom, Cheryl H. Keen, Robert Woods

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

In this article, we interpreted, in light of Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning, interviews with 13 educators regarding their work with marginalized adult learners in prisons in the northeastern United States. Transformative learning may have been aided by the educators’ response to unplanned activating events, humor, and respect, and assumed roles of role model, and counselor. Teachers presented activating events they perceived supported resistant learners to alter their meaning schemes and revise their frames of reference. Administrators of educational programs for marginalized adult learners can help prison educators develop these pedagogical practices. Practitioners and researchers may wish to explore humor …

Challenging The Political Assumption That “Guns Don’T Kill People, Crazy People Kill People!”, Heath J. Hodges, Mario Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Every time an infamous mass shooting takes place, a storm of rhetoric sweeps across this country with the fury of a wild fire. “Why are we letting these people carry guns?” “Why were they not hospitalized?” “The government needs to crack down on this issue!” What is the government’s response to these cries of concern? Politicians and the media attempt to ease public fears by drawing tenuous connections among a handful of poorly understood tragedies. The salient commonality is that these high-profile shooters had some history of mental illness. A cursory review of the Internet will paint a troubling picture …

Excusing Murder? Conservative Jurors’ Acceptance Of The Gay Panic Defense, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Jessica Salerno, Bette L. Bottoms, B. L. Harrington, Dave Kemner

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We conducted a simulated trial study to investigate the effectiveness of a “gay-panic” provocation defense as a function of jurors’ political orientation. Mock jurors read about a murder case in which a male defendant claimed a victim provoked the killing by starting a fight, which either included or did not include the male victim making an unwanted sexual advance that triggered a state of panic in the defendant. Conservative jurors were significantly less punitive when the defendant claimed to have acted out of gay panic as compared to when this element was not part of the defense. In contrast, liberal …

A Phenomenological Analysis Of African American Students, Delinquent Behaviors And Future Academic Achievement, Jack S. Monelland, Brittany Spencer

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Six Northeast Los Angeles Residents Indicate Reasons Local Youth Join Gangs And Offer Suggestions For Lowering Violence, Fernando Parra, Frank Malgesini, Emma Escobedo, Anna C. Ballesteros

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

The Argument For Moving Away From Residential Placement For Most Juvenile Offenders, Marika Dawkins

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Aggregate Correlates Of Status Offender Case Outcomes Across Counties, David A. Bowers, S.E. Costanza

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Community-Wide Awareness Of Juvenile Justice Best-Practices And Ctc In Texas, Samuel Arungwa

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of A Juvenile's Abuse History On Support For Sex Offender Registration, Cynthia J. Najdowski, M. C. Stevenson, J. M. Salerno, T. R. A. Wiley, B. L. Bottoms, K. M. Farnum

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We investigated whether and how a juvenile’s history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. When asked about juvenile sex offenders in an abstract manner (Studies 1 and 2), the more participants (community members and undergraduates) believed that a history of being sexually abused as a child causes later sexually abusive behavior, the less likely they were to support sex offender registration for juveniles. Yet when participants considered specific sexual offenses, a juvenile’s history of sexual abuse was not considered to be a mitigating factor. This was true when participants …

A Historical Review And Resource Guide To The Scholarship Of Teaching And Training In Psychology And Law And Forensic Psychology, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, Margaret C. Stevenson, Jennifer C. Veilleux

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The field of psychology and law, including forensic psychology, is an exciting concentration of research activity and student training and has grown rapidly, but to what extent have teaching and training efforts in the field been systematically catalogued and evaluated? We conducted a historical review and content analysis of the American and Canadian literature on the scholarship of teaching and training in the field. This review catalogs (a) information related to the development of training and teaching, (b) descriptions of programs and courses at various levels, and (c) articles on teaching resources or techniques in this field. We hope it …

Exploring The Interactive Effects Of Social Learning Theory And Psychopathy On Serious Juvenile Delinquency, Brandy Barenna Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social learning theory continues to be one of the most enduring theories of crime. Psychological criminology, on the other hand, tends to explain crime in terms of behavioral propensities. This research is specifically focused on the generality of social learning theory as it varies across a measure of criminal propensity- in this case, psychopathy. Prior studies have tested various theories with the use of measures of propensity, but the theory is rarely social learning, and the measure of propensity has never been psychopathy. The current study examines three components of social learning theory (definitions, differential association, and differential reinforcement) to …

Stereotype Threat And Racial Differences In Citizens’ Experiences Of Police Encounters, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, Phillip Atiba Goff

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We conducted 2 studies to investigate how cultural stereotypes that depict Blacks as criminals affect the way Blacks experience encounters with police officers, expecting that such encounters induce Blacks to feel stereotype threat (i.e., concern about being judged and treated unfairly by police because of the stereotype). In Study 1, we asked Black and White participants to report how they feel when interacting with police officers in general. As predicted, Blacks, but not Whites, reported concern that police officers stereotype them as criminals simply because of their race. In addition, this effect was found for Black men but not Black …

Bullying Of Disabled And Non-Disabled High School Students: A Comparison Using The Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, Sarah Guckenburg

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Juveniles Who Commit Sexual Offenses, Jennifer R. Arthur

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

The Trouble With Truth-Telling: Preliminary Reflections On Truth And Justice In Post-War Liberia, Gabriel Twose Ph.D., Caitlin O. Mahoney Ph.D.

Peace and Conflict Studies

This study investigates perceptions of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), particularly focusing on understandings of, and the links between, truth, justice, and reconciliation. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted at three research sites in Liberia. Findings indicate that although most Liberians agreed with the TRC in principle, most of those who followed its proceedings saw major problems in its implementation, harming perceptions of reconciliation. Participants expressed concerns that the Commission had failed to discover the full truth of wartime abuses, that the truth that was discovered was not told in the right way, and that there had been problems …

The Effects Of Frequent Exposure To Violence And Trauma On Police Officers, Ternarian A. Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers who maintain negative or traumatic information in long-term memory are vulnerable to mental illness, unstable emotional and behavioral responses, interpersonal problems, and impaired social relationships. The cognitive theory suggests that police officers externalize various negative or maladaptive behaviors as a result of frequent exposure to traumatic events. Researchers have found that police officers tend to either not seek mental health treatment, try to fix their own mental health problem, or if in treatment will not be forthcoming with internalized thoughts of psychological distress. The intention of this research was to examine the relationship between police officers' frequent exposure …

Aboriginal Perspectives About Child Sexual Abuse: Informing The Cultural Dimension In Sex Offending Theories For Use With Aboriginal Offenders, Victoria Elizabeth Hovane

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Child sexual abuse (CSA) and its consequences constitute a serious social issue in Aboriginal and other communities throughout the world. As a result, a number of influential psychological theories about sexual offending have been developed. These theories suggest that the early socialisation and developmental experiences of offenders are implicated in the onset, development and maintenance of sexual offending behaviour. While these theories suggest that culture is important for understanding such behaviour, their specific role has largely been ignored in the literature. Given the paucity of research in this area the aim of this study was to understand the perspectives of …

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 …

Comparison In Personality Profiles Between Child Abusers Versus Child Neglectors, Jodi R. Cuneo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children who suffered parental abuse or neglect can be returned home if their safety can be ensured following offender treatment. However, some caregivers will continue to abuse or neglect their children upon return home, leading to additional treatment, state involvement, and harm to the child. This study assessed personality differences between child abusers and neglectors who were caregivers by applying a binary logistical regression analysis to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2) scores sampled from archival data for 215 caregivers. Analysis showed that the abusers had statistically significant higher scores on the F Scale ('Faking Bad'), but significantly …

The Effect Of Confirmation Bias On Criminal Investigative Decision Making, Wayne A. Wallace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Confirmation bias occurs when a person believes in or searches for evidence to support his or her favored theory while ignoring or excusing disconfirmatory evidence and is disinclined to change his or her belief once he or she arrives at a conclusion. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether emotionally charged evidence and evidence presentation order could influence an investigator's belief in a suspect's guilt. The study included 166 sworn police officers (basic training recruits, patrol officers, and criminal investigators) who completed online surveys in response to criminal vignettes across different scenarios to record their measure of …