Violence Increases Psychological Distress Among Women Trafficking Survivors in Ghana

Human trafficking is a crime that is often shaped by violence, particularly for women who are trafficked. Additionally, trafficking survivors often report severe psychological distress, though research on the causes of this psychological distress is lacking, as there is little longitudinal data available on trafficking survivors. Informed by past literature on the links between violence and mental health among other traumatized groups of women, we investigate how experiences of violence influence posttraumatic stress, depression, and suicide ideation among a unique longitudinal sample of 116 labor-trafficked women in Ghana. We find that experiencing sexual violence while being trafficked is associated with higher levels of both depression and posttraumatic stress years after the trafficking period ended. This indicates both the long-term effects of stress and the enduring nature of psychological distress among the women in this study. Our analytic account of how violent experiences while trafficked impact mental health over the period of reintegration contributes to the general literature on violence and mental health among women, as well as to literature on the health implications of human traffickin

Rape Reporting: Classic Rape and the Behavior of Law

Two theories of rape reporting, the Classic Rape perspective and Black\u27s Theory of the Behavior of Law, are tested in this article. We offer the first comprehensive multivariate test of Classic Rape predictions among a nationally representative sample of victims, as well as the first test of Black\u27s predictions for rape reporting. Through the construction of multinomial regression models, we are able to examine reporting patterns for both victims and third parties. Weapon use and physical injury consistently predicted reporting. The likelihood of victim reporting significantly increased when assaults occurred either in public or through a “home blitz,” whereas place of assault did not affect the likelihood of third-party reporting. On the other hand, victim-offender relationship significantly affected the likelihood of third-party reporting but was not significant in the victim-reporting models. There were mixed findings regarding Black\u27s stratification and morphology predictions, and we found no significant effects for culture, organization, or social control. Overall, these findings lend greater support to the Classic Rape perspective than to Black\u27s model

Criminalizing Spousal Rape: The Diffusion of Legal Reforms

While efforts to criminalize spousal rape began in the 1970s, by 2002 only twenty-three states had adopted laws that allow for the full prosecution of sexual assault by a spouse. The authors present the first analysis of martial rape law reform to incorporate insights from research on diffusion. The authors find that states are more likely to criminalize spousal rape when women in the state have more economic power. Conversely, states are less likely to criminalize spousal rape when the legislature passed previous incremental reforms or when a neighboring state already criminalized spousal rape. The authors also find that states that criminalize spousal rape under a split-party government are particularly influential in the spread of such reforms and that the processes driving early diffusion are different than the processes driving later diffusion. Overall, results suggest that understanding law reforms requires greater attention to incremental change, negative effects of spatial diffusion, and the importance of time

inmate_mental_health_appendix – Supplemental material for Inmate Mental Health and the Pains of Imprisonment

<p>Supplemental material, inmate_mental_health_appendix for Inmate Mental Health and the Pains of Imprisonment by Timothy G. Edgemon and Jody Clay-Warner in Society and Mental Health</p

Differential Vulnerability: Disentangling the Effects of State Dependence and Population Heterogeneity on Repeat Victimization

It is well established that victimization is associated with increased risk of future victimization. According to state dependence arguments, this occurs because the victimization event changes either the individual or the social environment in ways that elevate risk. In contrast, the population heterogeneity perspective argues that the association between victimization events is spurious. Empirical research finds that state dependence and population heterogeneity jointly contribute to risk of repeat victimization, but research has not been able to specify the nature of the relationship between state dependence, population heterogeneity, and repeat victimization risk. Here, we propose that state dependence processes vary across levels of underlying propensity for victimization. Using propensity score matching with longitudinal data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, we find that state dependence effects operate differently depending upon one’s underlying risk of victimization and that the pattern of these effects differ for property and violent victimization

When child trafficking and informal fostering intersect: A mixed methods study

Informal fostering is an important tradition for many communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the intersections of poverty and social circumstances may increase the risk of exploitation for informally fostered children. We used mixed methods to estimate the prevalence of child trafficking within informal child fostering placements in Sierra Leone, to document vulnerability factors and explore perceptions of key stakeholders. Data were collected through 1) a household survey (N= 3,070), 2) interviews (N= 41) with young adults who experienced child trafficking in informal fostering, parents of children who experienced trafficking in foster placements, and key informants, and 3) focus groups with community members (N= 23). We found that informal fostering increases the likelihood for children to experience trafficking. Although there are significant associations between child trafficking and informal fostering, social (gender and cultural traditions) and economic factors (poverty and school access) appear to be drivers for both. Our results suggest that strengthening poverty reduction measures, expanding opportunities for schooling and vocational training for children and young adults, and improving safety for children in informal fostering arrangements through reporting and monitoring are essential to mitigate the high rates of child trafficking in Sierra Leone, and to ensure children’s well-being in informal fostering placements

Justice Standard Determines Emotional Responses to Over-Reward

How do people feel when they benefit from an unfair reward distribution? Equity theory predicts negative emotion in response to over-reward, but sociological research using referential standards of justice drawn from status-value theory repeatedly finds positive emotional responses to over-reward. Researchers have proposed methodological explanations for these different findings, but we propose a theoretical explanation—that over-reward based on local comparisons with an interaction partner creates guilt and other negative emotions, while over-reward relative to an abstract justice standard leads to more positive emotion. We describe two experiments that address methodological explanations for the status value findings: (1) lack of tangible rewards and (2) lack of sufficiently large over-rewards. We find that people who are over-rewarded relative to their referential expectations still report less negative emotion and more positive emotion than those who receive expected rewards. We report results from a third experiment that demonstrate support for our theoretical argument