Matching Items (11)
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- All Subjects: criminology
- Genre: Masters Thesis
- Creators: Young, Jacob
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The prison classroom offers a transformative educational opportunity for incarcerated and non-incarcerated students alike. The current study uses place-conscious educational theories and the intergroup contact theory to examine how a prison education program can offer deeply impactful experiences for students. Using a pre/post-intervention survey design, this thesis analyzes differences in attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about crime and criminal justice between and within groups of incarcerated (n=24) and university (n=20) students participating in two semester-long prison-based criminal justice courses in Arizona. Results show that prior to participating in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange programs, inside students had less favorable views about the criminal justice system compared to outside students, and outside students had less favorable attitudes about people who are incarcerated. Throughout the course, positive attitudes toward the criminal justice system increased for inside students and positive attitudes about incarcerated people increased among outside students, such that at the end of the course, the differences in attitudes between the two groups were no longer significant. Additionally, outside students’ punitive attitudes decreased throughout their participation in the course. Overall, the magnitude of the changes experienced by each student group were different, such that outside students experienced more significant changes in attitudes and beliefs about crime and criminal justice than did inside students.
ContributorsPhilippon, Cassandra Nicole (Author) / Wright, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
While there is a good amount of research focused on sex offenders as a whole, only a limited number of studies examine variations within these offenders, how people view the variations, and why their opinions may differ. This study focuses on the interconnections among gender norms, rape myth acceptance, and the perception of sex offenders by administering an online student survey. The survey measured rape myth acceptance and adherence to traditional gender roles to see how they affected perceptions of sex offenders. Perceptions were measured using vignettes that were varied by gender and the situation described. Results showed that higher rape myth acceptance would decrease the blameworthiness of the offender, that the offender was seen as more blameworthy when the offender was a male, and that women tended to see the offender as more blameworthy than men did. The type of sexual situation did not have an impact on blameworthiness, nor did adherence to gender roles. The findings support past research that suggests that rape myth acceptance can impact people’s opinions about offenders in sexual situations and specifically that these opinions differ depending on the gender of the offender. With some offenders being viewed as more blameworthy than others, it is necessary to examine sex offense laws to see how they may disproportionately affect some offenders and implement harsher punishments than the public may deem necessary.
ContributorsArenas, Lauren (Author) / Spohn, Cassia (Thesis advisor) / Fradella, Henry F. (Committee member) / Stolzenberg Roosevelt, Stacia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Child advocacy centers provide a safe, child-friendly environment for the forensic interview and subsequent investigation of child victimization cases. However, very little research has examined the effects of burnout, secondary trauma, and organizational stressors on forensic interviewers. The goal of the present project was addressing the following research questions. Do forensic interviewers experience burnout and secondary trauma associated with their profession? How do organizational stressors mitigate or increase these effects among forensic interviewers? Data was collected by conducting an online survey of forensic interviewers working at child advocacy centers across the United States. Specifically, burnout was measured with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and secondary trauma was measured with the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS). The current study utilized bivariate correlations, and OLS regression models to analyze the effects of burnout, secondary trauma, and organizational stressors on forensic interviewers. The results indicate burnout and secondary trauma among interviewers in the sample. Job support, funding constraints, and heavy caseloads all influence the outcome measures. Policy recommendations include continued education, training, and mental health services for forensic interviewers. Future researchers should conduct qualitative interviews and expand on variables within the current dataset such as note taking, peer evaluations, and forensic interviewing protocols in order to gain further insight into this population.
ContributorsStarcher, Destinee (Author) / Stolzenberg, Stacia (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Mentally ill offenders continue to contribute to mass-incarceration within the United States. The cost, both social and economic, of housing a large number of mentally ill inmates in our prison system has reached a breaking point. The need for empirically founded correctional research, with an emphasis on individuals who suffer from a mental illness, is crucial to reducing the number of incarcerated individuals in the United States. The current study analyzes whether mentally ill inmates reported statistically significant differences in levels of perceived reentry social support, when compared to their non-mentally ill counterparts. The current study utilized data from the APVP. The APVP contained a sample of 231 individuals, 121 female and 110 male, from two Arizona Department of Corrections facilities. The majority of respondents were white (44.58%), medium security (40.26%), non-married (77.49%), and had a mean age of 36.04 years (SD=11.74). The current study conducted both bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine whether mentally ill inmates perceived differences in the reentry social support available to them as compared to non-mentally ill inmates. Further multivariate analyses were conducted to determine whether there were any significant differences the key independent variable and the dependent variables across gender. Mentally ill female inmates reported significantly lower rates of perceived reentry social support in a number of emotional support factors. The findings of this study are a crucial first step for future empirical research on inmate perceptions of social support—perceptions that may directly affect successful reentry.
ContributorsOstertag, Nathan L (Author) / Wright, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The question of how to reduce the recidivism rates among IPV offenders is one that plagues criminologists to this day. Though a difficult issue to address, educational treatment programs have started to gain popularity as one idea to achieve this reduction. By examining the dataset from the “Domestic Violence Experiment in King's County (Brooklyn), New York, 1995-1997,” conducted by Robert C. Davis et al. (2000), it was found that the results of the educational program showed a great promise in reducing recidivism rates. Though it is important to focus on and analyze the results from this study, it is also important to extrapolate from them by running and examining specific models and variables with the dataset. Focusing on specific variables within the dataset allows researchers to find different themes and results in smaller ideologies of research, versus trying to find one overall answer on how to reduce recidivism.
By examining specific variables such as length of relationship, I wonder how length of relationship between an IPV offender and victim impact recidivism rates? This thesis will discuss IPV history and theoretical perspectives, history of educational programs, length of relationship, and the dataset conducted by Davis et al. (2000).
This thesis examines how the likelihood of IPV recidivism is effected by length of relationship, the different length of treatment programs (overall, eight-week, or twenty-six-weeks), and the interaction between length of relationship and the different treatment programs. The results show overall that length of relationship slightly decreases the rate of recidivism for IPV. When length of relationship is ran in the models with the separate treatment programs, it is found that the overall treatment and twenty-six-week programs have drastic and significant reduction results on recidivism, but that the eight-week program actually increases recidivism rates slightly. The results also indicate that when examining the interaction between length of relationship and the different treatment programs, length of relationship slightly moderates the reduction of the recidivism rates for the individuals enrolled in the overall treatment and eight-week programs, but slightly increases the rates for those in the twenty-six-week program.
By examining specific variables such as length of relationship, I wonder how length of relationship between an IPV offender and victim impact recidivism rates? This thesis will discuss IPV history and theoretical perspectives, history of educational programs, length of relationship, and the dataset conducted by Davis et al. (2000).
This thesis examines how the likelihood of IPV recidivism is effected by length of relationship, the different length of treatment programs (overall, eight-week, or twenty-six-weeks), and the interaction between length of relationship and the different treatment programs. The results show overall that length of relationship slightly decreases the rate of recidivism for IPV. When length of relationship is ran in the models with the separate treatment programs, it is found that the overall treatment and twenty-six-week programs have drastic and significant reduction results on recidivism, but that the eight-week program actually increases recidivism rates slightly. The results also indicate that when examining the interaction between length of relationship and the different treatment programs, length of relationship slightly moderates the reduction of the recidivism rates for the individuals enrolled in the overall treatment and eight-week programs, but slightly increases the rates for those in the twenty-six-week program.
ContributorsWeldon, Shelby (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Pizarro, Jesenia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Intelligence, consisting of critical products that facilitate law enforcement decision-making, is a crucial component and tool in the criminal justice system. However, the ways in which intelligence is gathered and used has gone largely unevaluated, particularly at the local level of law enforcement. This thesis begins to address the sparsity of literature by investigating the Intelligence Officer function in the Phoenix Police Department. More specifically, this study explores their roles; perceptions on information they are gathering, namely reliability and validity; and their effectiveness in terms of both intelligence and case successes. Different aspects of roles and perceptions are also examined in terms of their ability to predict these outcomes. Data reflect a 22-month sample of officer reports from the Phoenix Police Department Intelligence Officer Program. Descriptive analyses suggest that Intelligence Officers typically work specific cases with varied and different natures of crime. Generally, officers seem to be confident in the information they collect in terms of reliability and validity, and also appear to be relatively successful in achieving both broad intelligence successes and more tangible case successes. However, the relationships between role and perception variables and results vary in terms of both impact and significance for each type of success. Future research is required to better understand these relationships and to continue building a foundation of knowledge on Intelligence Officer effectiveness, so their impact can be optimized.
ContributorsBottema, A. Johannes (Author) / Telep, Cody (Thesis advisor) / Terrill, William (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Many authors have shown that "real victim," "real rape," and traditional gender role stereotypes affect how people attribute blame to victims and perpetrators of sexual assault, and that jury decisions in rape cases are likewise influenced by extralegal factors, such as how much the victim resisted. Most studies only focus on the acceptance of rape myths and stereotypes about female victims, while myths and stereotypes about male victims are largely ignored. It is unknown how female rape myth acceptance (FRMA) and male rape myth acceptance (MRMA) may differently affect victim and perpetrator blame attributions. Whether the juror influences the effect of extra-legal factors on rape perceptions is also unknown. Using a randomized vignette design, the current study investigates 1) the effect of rape myth acceptance and gender attitudes on victim and perpetrator blame attributions, 2) how blame attributions differ by victim gender, level of resistance, and victim-perpetrator relationship, and 3) how the juror role influences the effects of rape myth acceptance and extra-legal factors on blame attributions. Results show that FRMA and MRMA are both positively associated with victim blame and negatively associated with perpetrator blame, that male victims are blamed more than female victims, and that jury membership does not influence the effect of extra-legal factors on blame attributions. Victim resistance and victim-perpetrator relationship also affected rape perceptions in unexpected ways. Implications for rape prevention programing, police and prosecutor decision-making, and jury selection are discussed.
ContributorsCoble, Suzanne St. George (Author) / Spohn, Cassia (Thesis advisor) / Stolzenberg Roosevelt, Stacia (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Many working in the criminal justice system and beyond are trying to ascertain whether there should be continued use of restricted housing or solitary confinement. This study examines knowledge of and general support for restrictive housing. Using randomly assigned, factorial vignettes, the survey manipulates populations and reasons for placement in restrictive housing to determine situational support for the correctional practice. Results indicate that among a sample of students (N=363), little is known about restrictive housing, despite substantial exposure to both fiction and nonfiction media on the subject. Averages of approval ratings indicate the public is neutral on whether the practice is humane, including its placement procedures and conditions, though there was slight disapproval of the placement of mentally ill inmates in segregation. Analysis shows that age, some reasons for placement, whether placement is voluntary, and extreme durations of time in isolation are significantly associated with public approval.
ContributorsRuffner, Chelsea (Author) / Wright, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
People who participate in correctional treatment programming are viewed as making positive steps towards their reentry into society. However, this is often assessed through a simple “yes” or “no” response to whether they are currently participating without much emphasis on how, why, or to what degree that participation is meaningful for reentry preparedness. The present study aims to a) identify to what extent there is variation in the degree to which women participate in programming and are prepared for reentry, b) identify the characteristics that distinguish highly-involved programmers from less involved programmers, c) identify the characteristics that distinguish women who are highly-prepared for reentry from women who are less prepared, and d) assess whether levels of involvement in programming relates to levels of reentry preparedness. The sample comes from interviewer-proctored surveys of 200 incarcerated women in Arizona. Two indices were created: one for the primary independent variable of program involvement and one for the dependent variable of reentry preparedness. Logistic and multivariate regressions were run to determine the indices’ relatedness to each other and the characteristic variables. The two indices did not have a statistically significant relationship with each other. However, variation across them is found. This indicates that programmers may not be a homogenous group and that they may engage with programming to varying degrees based on a multitude of indicators.
ContributorsRodriguez, Bianca (Author) / Wright, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Academic deviance is a potentially detrimental behavior for students and universities alike in that it causes credit to be given to individuals where it is not due. Furthermore, it is a common occurrence, with around half of college students admitting to engaging in this behavior at least once. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between perfectionism, strain, and academic deviance. In doing this, this study uses data from a primary data collection effort in Arizona State University, with a final sample of 696 students, to answer three research questions: Are there differences in the likelihood of engaging in academic deviance by maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists? Are there differences in the perceptions of the wrongness of academic deviance between maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists? Are there differences in how context dependent maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists view academic deviance the wrongness of academic deviance? Ordered logistic regression are used to access these research questions. Results suggest that neither perfectionism nor strain were a significant factor in determining the likelihood that a participant would engage in an academically deviant behavior, or how wrong they believed that behavior to be. However, perfectionism did seem to have a mild impact on how context dependent individuals felt the wrongness of their behaviors, meaning that if the cause of the strain was due to the professor’s actions, students viewed academic deviance as less wrong, and self-control explained at least part of this effect. Strain, on the other hand, did not have a significant effect. Overall, the results suggest some legitimacy to the use of general strain theory to explain the potential relationships, given the relationship between perfectionism and context dependency. Additionally, the results support policy implications designed to reduce maladaptive thoughts and subsequently academic deviance, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Future research should examine the link between perfectionism and other types of academic strain.
ContributorsAllen, Savanna Marie (Author) / Pizarro, Jesenia (Thesis advisor) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / Young, Jacob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020