Responding to cyberbullying: the case for family conferencing

Cyberbullying is a form of anti-social conduct which is best understood as an online social relationship problem. Because of our growing understanding of the phenomenon, we can now see that any socio-legal response should envisage, therefore, a relationship solution. This article considers how one diversionary criminal justice process is particularly well suited to responding to incidents of cyberbullying where juveniles are involved yet which are deemed to be sufficiently serious to attract a potential criminal penalty. It explores, specifically, the option of family conferences (facilitated by youth justice co-ordinators) within the South Australian youth court framework. It concludes that both young cyberbullies and young victims of cyberbullying may benefit from alternatives to a retributive justice process, given that the primary focus of family conferencing is the repair of harm and the restoration of relationships.Colette Langos, Rick Sarr

Examining the Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors Associated with Adolescent Engagement in Multiple Types of Cyberdeviance: Results from an Australian Study

OnlinePublResearch has shown that psychosocial and behavioral factors are associated with engagement in a range of deviant behaviors across offline settings. To date, however, very little research has explored the impact of these factors in online contexts. This article addresses this gap by examining the psychosocial and behavioral factors associated with common types of adolescent cyberdeviance. This is accomplished through an empirical study of 327 adolescents enrolled in a high school located in a large Australian city. The study assesses various aspects of psychosocial and behavioral functioning using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (total difficulties, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, prosocial behavior), as well as numerous types of cyberdeviance relevant to young people, including cyberfraud, cyberhate, cyberviolence, sexting, digital piracy, hacking, and cyberbullying. A series of multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to demonstrate the association between psychosocial and behavioral difficulties and various types of cyberdeviance, independent of gender, school grade, socioeconomic status, and engagement in offline delinquency. Results indicate that total difficulties, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems were significantly associated with greater likelihood of engagement in most types of cyberdeviance examined in this study, whereas prosocial behavior was associated with a lower likelihood of engagement in digital piracy only. A discussion of the findings highlights the importance of understanding these factors in a digital context, as well as demonstrating the need to account for them when designing targeted interventions.Russell Brewer, Tyson Whitten, Katie Logos, Morgan Sayer, Colette Langos, Thomas J. Holt, Jesse Cale, Andrew Goldsmit

Social and ecological factors influencing offspring survival in wild macaques.

Premature loss of offspring decreases direct fitness of parents. In gregarious mammals, both ecological and social variables impact offspring survival and may interact with each other in this regard. Although a number of studies have investigated factors influencing offspring loss in mammals, we still know very little on how different factors interact with one another. We therefore investigated fetal and infant mortality in 3 large groups of wild crested macaques (Macaca nigra) over a period of up to 5 years by including potential social causes such as maternal dominance rank, male immigration, between group encounters, and ecological conditions such as rainfall in a multivariate survival analysis using Cox proportional hazards model. Infant but not fetal survival was most impaired after a recent takeover of the alpha-male position by an immigrant male. Furthermore, infant survival probability increased when there was an increase in number of group adult females and rainfall. Fetal survival probability also increased with an increase of these 2 factors, but more in high-ranking than low-ranking females. Fetal survival, unlike that of infants, was also improved by an increase of intergroup encounter rates. Our study thus stresses the importance of survival analyses using a multivariate approach and encompassing more than a single offspring stage to investigate the determinants of female direct fitness. We further provide evidence for fitness costs and benefits of group living, possibly deriving from high pressures of both within- and between-group competition, in a wild primate population

Mother-male bond, but not paternity, influences male-infant affiliation in wild crested macaques

In promiscuous primates, interactions between adult males and infants have rarely been investigated. However, recent evidence suggests that male affiliation towards infants has an influence on several aspects of the infants’ life. Furthermore, affiliations may be associated with male reproductive strategy. In this study, we examined which social factors influenced male-infant affiliation initiated by either male or infant, in wild crested macaques (Macaca nigra). We combined behavioral data and genetic paternity analysis from 30 infants living in three wild groups in Tangkoko Reserve, Indonesia. Our results indicate that adult males and infants do not interact at random, but rather form preferential associations. The social factors with the highest influence on infant-initiated interactions were male rank and male association with the infant’s mother. While infants initiated affiliations with males more often in the absence of their mothers, adult males initiated more affiliations with infants when their mothers were present. Furthermore, males initiated affiliations more often when they were in the same group at the time the infant was conceived, when they held a high dominance rank or when they had a close relationship with the mother. Interestingly, paternity did not affect male-infant affiliation despite being highly skewed in this species. Overall, our results suggest that adult males potentially associate with an infant to secure future mating with the mother. Infants are more likely to associate with a male to receive better support, suggesting a strategy to increase the chance of infant survival in a primate society with high infant mortality

Policing young people: can the notion of police legitimacy play a role?

In the eyes of the public, police play an important role in combating crime and maintaining law and order. Yet, according to normative models of behavior, obedience to law is built more upon one’s trust in the agents of law enforcement than fear of police and the likelihood of their detecting one’s criminal activity. This article reviews recent findings relating to the theory of police legitimacy. It applies the theory to police-youth practises. It speculates upon which means of police-youth communication are likely to be most effective in fostering legitimacy, and offers strategies that may best advance it. It concludes that policy-makers ought to consider redirecting a portion of police resources away from practises, which have traditionally been regarded as ‘crime fighting’ and towards developing policies, that are aimed at enhancing value-based motivation in young people and developing their communication skills. It posits the view that building trust in the legal system and agents of the law from a young age can be a key to ‘crime control’ in both the short term (youth offending) and long-term (adult offending).Rick Sarre & Colette Lango