Psychosocial Correlates of Attitudes Toward Male Sexual Violence in a Sample of Financial Crime, Property Crime, General Violent, and Homicide Offenders

Psychological abuse is not a problem! Exploring the role of domestic violence myths in psychological revictimization

Research provided evidence that IPV myths affect women's acceptance of psychological aggression in intimate relationships, increasing revictimization. However, no study to date has investigated how endorsement of IPV myths leads victims of psychological IPV to accept psychological aggression. In the present study (N = 207 young Italian women involved in heterosexual romantic relationships), we assessed acceptance of IPV myths, prevalence of psychological abuse (in the past 12 months), perception of the problematic nature, and acceptance of psychological aggression in intimate relationships. Results showed that the effect of IPV myths on participants' acceptance of psychological aggression was mediated by the tendency to consider psychological aggression as unproblematic. Notably, this effect was significant only for women who had experienced some form of psychological abuse by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. These findings have relevant implications for prevention strategies about risks of revictimization.

Sexual Violence Perpetration Against Intimate Partners: Current Progress and Future Directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The literature on sexual violence perpetration against an intimate partner is reviewed and synthesized. Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is compared to other forms of interpersonal violence, and the heterogeneity of perpetrators is explored through an examination of proposed taxonomies. This review also addresses the applicability of existing risk assessment tools to IPSV perpetrators and identifies criminogenic needs of particular relevance to IPSV.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent research suggests the perpetration of IPSV is heterogeneous in nature, and individuals who perpetrate IPSV present with criminogenic needs consistent with exclusively sexual and violent offenders. There is support for existing risk tools to predict recidivism, but they may not encompass all relevant risk factors specific to IPSV offending. Commonality exists with other forms of interpersonal violence; however, the literature indicates that IPSV is complex and does not wholly resemble other sexual or violent offenses. Although further study is needed to fully understand IPSV perpetration, best practices in risk assessment and rehabilitation should employ tools that capture criminogenic needs.

Relationship between physical activity, screen-related sedentary behaviors and anxiety among adolescents in less developed areas of China

This study aimed to explore the association between physical activity, screen-related sedentary behaviors, and anxiety. The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify homogenous subtypes of anxiety among adolescents in less-developed areas of China. Data were aggregated from 6 schools in the less-developed areas of China in September 2018. In total, 900 students were evaluated using the 100-item Mental Health Test (MHT) and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) questionnaire. The LPA was conducted to explore the potential classification of anxiety, which makes full use of all the sample data and explore heterogeneous classifications within groups. Logistic regression was used for the multifactor analysis. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. The entropy value suggested that the model with 3 latent profile was the best choice. There were 223 adolescents in the severe anxiety group, accounting for 24.78%. Logistics regression analysis of anxiety revealed that the risk of severe anxiety in boys was lower (odds ratio [OR] = 0.317, P < .001) than in girls. Students had a significantly lower probability of suffering from severe anxiety in using cellphones or computers ≤ 2 hours/day than those used cellphones or computers＞2 hours/day (OR = 0.391, P = .004). Decreasing screen-related sedentary behaviors should be a target of community and school-based interventions, because high screen-related sedentary behaviors were associated with higher odds of anxiety among adolescents in less developed area of China.

Masochist or Murderer? A Discourse Analytic Study Exploring Social Constructions of Sexually Violent Male Perpetrators, Female Victims-Survivors and the Rough Sex Defense on Twitter

“Rough sex” can be considered an act of sexual violence that is consensual or non-consensual, often resulting in bodily harm and in rare cases, fatalities. The rough sex defense is typically advanced by male perpetrators in an effort to portray a sexual encounter as consensual, to avoid criminal sanctions for causing injury or death. Public attitudes toward this defense are often reflected on social media following high profile cases and appear to echo dominant discourses that reinforce widely held sexual violence stereotypes. Therefore, this study aims to deconstruct public attitudes surrounding the rough sex defense. Namely, how female victims/survivors and male perpetrators of sexual violence are constructed online, whilst exploring the wider implications upon society. NVivo12 NCapture software was used to collect a sample of 1000 tweets mentioning the terms “rough sex” or “rough sex defense.” Data were examined using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA), underpinned by a social constructionist perspective, to elicit emergent discourses. Findings indicate that Twitter allowed women to resist harmful victim-blaming discourses and constrained binary identities. Opposingly, men were constructed as sexually entitled predators, yet resisted these subject positions by advocating support for male victims/survivors. Additional analyses examine account holders’ constructions of British Parliamentarians (MP’s) and their campaigns against the rough sex defense. These constructions demonstrated a cultural, heteronormative and victim-blaming understanding of sexual violence, which calls for legislative clarity.

Examining the Relationship Between Victimization, Psychopathy, and the Acceptance of Rape Myths

Rape myths are attitudes that implicitly and explicitly blame victims for their own sexual victimization. Greater adherence to rape myths is linked to several negative outcomes, including the neutralization of gender-based violence and the perpetration of sexual violence. Few studies have considered how previous life experiences and individual-level traits influence the development and greater adherence to rape myths. The current study examines how traits associated with the three-factor model of psychopathy (i.e., egocentric, callous, and antisocial dimensions) and adherence to traditional gender roles mediate the relationship between prior childhood/adolescent victimization and the acceptance of rape myths in a sample of college men and women (N = 789). Path modeling indicates that experiences of psychological victimization (before age 16) increased egocentric psychopathic traits, which then increased the acceptance of rape myths in men. In women, however, sexual victimization (before age 16) increased the acceptance of traditional gender roles, which then influenced the acceptance of rape myths. Additionally, the egocentric facet of psychopathy exerted indirect effects on the acceptance of rape myths through traditional views on gender roles in both men and women. These findings highlight the need to continue to examine egocentric personality traits in relation to the development of rape myths in adolescent and young adult populations. Directions for collegiate programming are discussed.

Juror characteristics on trial: Investigating how psychopathic traits, rape attitudes, victimization experiences, and juror demographics influence decision-making in an intimate partner rape trial

INTRODUCTION

Trial by jury is a longstanding legal tradition used in common law jurisdictions to try the most serious of criminal cases. Yet, despite hearing the same trial evidence, individual jurors often arrive at different verdict decisions, indicating that they may be impacted by more than the evidence presented at trial. This study therefore sought to investigate the role of jurors' psychopathology, attitudinal, experiential, and demographic characteristics upon individual verdict decisions.

METHODS

Adopting an improved mock trial paradigm, 108 jury-eligible participants took part in one of nine identical 12-person mock trial simulations depicting a videotaped recreation of an intimate partner rape trial. Pre-trial, mock-jurors completed a psychosocial survey capturing their psychopathic personality traits (affective and cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation; egocentricity), rape myth beliefs, victimization experiences and demographics. Post-trial, jurors deliberated to reach a collective group decision and individual verdict decisions were recorded pre- and post-deliberation.

RESULTS

Binary logistic regression analyses revealed rape myth beliefs and juror ethnicity were significantly related to verdict decisions both pre- and post-deliberation. Post-deliberation, decreased affective responsiveness (empathy) and experience of sexual victimization were also found to be significant predictors of guilty verdict selections.

DISCUSSION

These findings indicate for the first time that within an intimate-partner rape trial, certain psychosocial traits, crime-specific attitudes, and experiences of sexual victimization appear to predispose juror judgments and decision-making even after group-deliberation. This study therefore has important implications for understanding how individual differences among jurors may impact rape trial verdict outcomes and the need for targeted juror reforms.

Gender-Based Violence-Supportive Cognitions in Adolescent Girls and Boys: The Function of Violence Exposure and Victimization

Violence against women and girls is widespread in the Caribbean, which may be due to heightened acceptance of such acts in this specific social context. In spite of this, studies investigating attitudes toward violence and their correlates among participants drawn from the region are missing. To address this void in the literature, we examined associations between violence exposure and victimization and two gender-based violence-related cognitions (attitudes toward male physical domestic violence and social norms regarding physical violence against girls) as well as general beliefs about violence using structural equation modeling. Participants were a sample of adolescent girls (n = 661; M age = 13.15) and boys (n = 639; M age = 13.22) from two Eastern Caribbean countries, Barbados and Grenada, recruited from 10 primary schools, nine secondary schools, and two youth offender centers. In considering that girls and boys were previously demonstrated to differ in their experiences as well as tolerance of violence, structural models were specified and tested separately for the two sexes. Results indicated that violence victimization was positively strongly associated with attitudes toward male physical domestic violence and social norms regarding physical violence against girls among boys. Increased violence victimization among girls, in turn, correlated with increased acceptance of social norms regarding physical violence against girls, but this relationship was weak. Violence exposure did not have any significant associations with any of the attitudinal variables included in the study. We discuss the importance of these findings for the development of appropriate gender-based violence prevention strategies for youths from the Eastern Caribbean.

Is It Harassment? Perceptions of Sexual Harassment Among Lawyers and Undergraduate Students

This study examined differences between lawyers (n = 91) and undergraduate students (n = 120) regarding their evaluation of behavior as sexual harassment (SH) and blame attributions toward offender and victim. The current study used a cross-sectional, comparative, independent measures design. Also examined was the correlation between these perceptions and belief in a just world (BJW) hypothesis. The respondents were presented with case descriptions of SH that were identical in all aspects but the perpetrator and victim's gender (alternately depicted as male/female and female/male). Results showed that both lawyers and students agreed that the described event comprised SH, yet gender bias was evident. Both lawyers and students were more inclined to regard the behavior as SH when the vignette description depicted the perpetrator as a man (i.e., female victim) than as a woman (male victim). Gender bias was also evident in the examination of blame attributions, which were higher toward a male (vs. female) harasser. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that lawyers were less biased than students, manifested in less victim-blame and higher perpetrator blame attributions. No correlation between BJW and perceiving the vignette as SH and blame attribution was found. The findings indicate discriminatory judgments of SH based on gender. Gender-related stereotypes and sociocultural explanations are discussed.

A Latent Profile Analysis of Anxiety among Junior High School Students in Less Developed Rural Regions of China

The purpose of this study is to understand the potential types of anxiety among middle school students by analyzing the current situation of middle school students’ anxiety and its influencing factor. This study used a multistage stratified cluster random sampling to investigate students in grades 9 to 12. Mplus 7.4 was used for latent profile analysis. A total of 900 junior high school students were investigated. The junior high school students were divided into three subgroups by latent profile analysis. A total of 223 junior high school students experienced severe anxiety, accounting for 24.78%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that males are more likely to develop moderate and severe anxiety. The development of severe anxiety (OR = 0.562, p < 0.05) is less likely for students in schools with adequate mental health support. Students who were confident with their academic performances were less likely to develop moderate anxiety (OR = 0.377, p < 0.05). Students with extreme academic pressure are more likely to develop moderate anxiety (OR = 6.523, p < 0.05) and severe anxiety (OR = 11.579, p < 0.05). It is recommended that mental health counseling be set up in schools and to provide professional counselors to prevent serious anxiety for students. This paper also demonstrates a need to reduce students’ academic pressure.

Sincerity Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Using Eye Tracking to Understand How Victims Interpret an Offender's Apology in a Simulation of Victim-Offender Mediation

The objective of this study was to gain insights into how victims use their visual attention to determine the sincerity of an offender's apology during simulated victim-offender mediation. We hypothesized that the victims' visual attention (gaze fixation duration) would be focused more on the offender's upper (than lower) face area, especially the eyes and the eyebrows, to infer the degree to which the offender suffers, takes responsibility, and has empathy for the victim. In turn, we expected these inferences to positively predict the perceived sincerity of the apology. Additionally, we took into account the victims' a priori expectations regarding the sincerity of the apology and (positive) attitudes toward resocialization programs (ARPs). We expected both variables to enhance the above proposed process through which victims determine the sincerity of the apology. Fifty-eight students took the victim's role in a fictitious crime scenario and watched a video in which the offender offered a remorseful apology. We obtained eye tracking data to determine the participants' fixation and attention distribution. As expected, the participants' gaze fixated significantly longer on the upper face. The results also showed that their prior expectations, positive ARPs, and inferences of suffering and responsibility taking after the apology all positively predicted the perceived sincerity. However, unexpectedly, gaze duration was not directly associated with these inferences. The fixation duration on the upper face instead appeared to moderate how ARPs predicted inferences of responsibility taking. More concretely, the exploratory path model analyses revealed that when the participants had more positive a priori ARPs, the longer they focused on the offender's eyes and eyebrows and the more they concluded that he took responsibility for his actions (which in turn predicted more sincerity). However, for those with relatively negative ARPs, it was the other way around: the more they focused on the eyes and the eyebrows, the stronger they inferred that the offender did not take responsibility (which predicted less sincerity). Our findings demonstrate the vital role of the victims' a priori attitudes, expectations, and eye gaze behavior in understanding the reception and the evaluation of offenders' apologies. This study also suggests how novel technology can be used to investigate gaze behavior in the field of victim-offender mediation.

Prevention of child physical and verbal abuse from traditional child discipline methods in rural Thailand

Background

In rural areas of Thailand, physical and verbal abuse are accepted as child discipline strategies due to the strong influence of religious beliefs and social norms.

Objective

To investigate the effects of a nonviolent parenting program on subject's knowledge and attitudes regarding physical and verbal abuse in child discipline.

Participant

This randomized controlled trial enrolled the villagers who had children under care in a rural area of Thailand.

Methods

This study was scheduled in the following three stages with 3-month intervals: before the program (P0); 3 months after the program (P1); and 6 months after the program (P2). We compared knowledge and attitude scores of subjects at each stage.

Results

A total of 85 subjects were enrolled in this study: 50.6% (n = 43) in the control group and 49.4% (n = 42) in the intervention group. In the intervention group, the knowledge score increased after the intervention (P1), decreased 3 months later (P2), but was still higher than the score at P0 (p = < 0.001). The attitude score increased after the intervention at P1 and was maintained at P2 (p = < 0.001). In the control group, data did not demonstrate any difference regarding knowledge and attitude toward child discipline.

Conclusions

The nonviolent parenting program was effective in increasing knowledge and changing attitudes in this study. The intervention can be applied effectively in rural communities because of its simplicity, ease of use, and no required technology.

Is Female Psychopathy Linked with Child Abuse? An Empirical Investigation using a Person-Centered Approach

Childhood abuse is associated with increased psychopathic features among girls, but most prior research is based on data from correctional samples of female delinquents and less is known about how specific forms of childhood abuse affect specific features of psychopathy. Using a school-based community sample of 696 girls aged 9-17 years from Barbados and Grenada, the current study examined latent profiles of psychopathic personality traits and their associations with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed four distinct psychopathy groups among girls, including a 'low psychopathy' group (41.9% of girls), 'high psychopathy' group (4.8%), 'high interpersonal manipulation and egocentricity' group (37.4%), and a 'moderate psychopathy' group (16%). There was considerable evidence of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse among participants. Sexual abuse was associated with a 116% increased likelihood of membership in the high psychopathy group and a 57% increased likelihood of membership in the high interpersonal manipulation and egocentricity group. These results indicate that sexual abuse is a powerful distal factor in the development of psychopathic personality functioning, especially more severe variants.