Exploring the factor structure of a new self- and other-oriented alcohol expectancy scale relating to sexual coercion and vulnerability

Introduction and Aim: Sexual assaults commonly involve alcohol use by the perpetrator, victim, or both. Beliefs about alcohol’s effects may impact on people’s perceptions of and responses to men and women who have had such experiences while intoxicated from alcohol. This study aimed to develop an alcohol expectancy scale that captures young adults’ beliefs about alcohol’s role in sexual aggression and victimisation. Design and Methods: Based on pilot focus groups, an initial pool of 135 alcohol expectancy items was developed, checked for readability and face validity, and administered via a cross-sectional survey to 201 male and female university students (18-25 years). Items were specified in terms of three target drinkers: self, men, and women. In addition, a social desirability measure was included. Results: Principal Axis Factoring revealed a 4-factor solution for the targets men and women and a 5-factor solution for the target self with 72 items retained. Factors related to sexual coercion, sexual vulnerability, confidence, self-centredness, and negative cognitive and behavioural effects. Social desirability issues were evident for the target self, but not for the targets men and women. Discussion and Conclusions: Young adults link alcohol’s effects with sexual vulnerabilities via perceived risky cognitions and behaviours. Due to social desirability, these expectancies may be difficult to explicate for the self but may be accessible instead via other-oriented assessment. The Sexual Coercion and Vulnerability Alcohol Expectancy Scale has potential as a tool to elucidate the established tendency for observers to excuse intoxicated sexual perpetrators while blaming intoxicated victims

After the Left–Right (Dis)continuum: Globalization and the Remaking of Europe’s Ideological Geography

This article examines the status of globalization as a causal factor in political mobilization and proposes a research agenda for diagnosing the impact of global socio-economic dynamics on ideological orientation in national polities. Focusing on Europe’s established democracies, the article outlines recent shifts in Europe’s ideological landscape and explores the mechanisms generating a new pattern of political conflict and electoral competition. It advances the hypothesis that the knowledge economy of open borders has brought about a political cleavage inti- mately linked to citizens’ perceptions of the social impact of global eco- nomic integration. In this context, the polarization of life chances is determined by institutionally mediated exposure to both the economic opportunities and the hazards of globalization. Fostered by the increas- ing relevance of the international for state-bound publics, new fault-lines of social conflict are emerging, giving shape to a new, ‘‘opportunity- risk,’’ axis of political competition. As the novel political cleavage challenges the conventional left–right divide, it is likely to radically alter Europe’s ideological geography

Drink driving among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: what has been done and where to next?

The Australian Government will set the direction for addressing road safety over the next decade with its 2021–2030 National Road Safety Strategy. This road map will detail objectives and goals agreed upon by all Australian states and territories. Similar to previous national strategies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians are a high priority population. Indigenous Australians are over-represented in serious injury and fatal road crashes, with alcohol a leading factor. Therapeutic and educational programs are a major strategy among the suite of measures designed to reduce and prevent drink driving in Australia. The release of this new strategy provides a timely opportunity to reflect on what is known about drink driving among Indigenous Australians and to consider the suitability of existing therapeutic and educational drink driving programs for Indigenous Australian contexts. Here, we summarise factors that contribute to drink driving in this population and identify outstanding knowledge gaps. Then, we present an overview of drink driving programs available for Indigenous Australians along with suggestions for why tailored programs are needed to suit local contexts. The response to address drink driving among Indigenous Australians has been fragmented Australia-wide. A coordinated national response, with ongoing monitoring and evaluation, would improve policy effectiveness and inform more efficient allocation of resources. Together this information can help create suitable and effective drink driving programs for Indigenous drivers and communities Australia-wide

The feasibility, delivery and cost effectiveness of drink driving interventions : a qualitative analysis of professional stakeholders

Many intervention programs have been designed to decrease the rate of drink driving by altering the behavioural characteristics that may lead a person to drink and drive. However, most programs target high risk and repeat offenders. There is very little research on the feasibility and effectiveness of first offender programs. This project is part of a larger program of research that focuses on first time offenders, in order to reduce the rate of subsequent drink driving which may result in a repeat offence. A number of professional stakeholders were approached and interviewed with a view to capturing and reflecting current drink driving related concerns while developing an intervention in the context of Australian drink driving related legislation. The qualitative interviews involved open ended questioning which led to the themes discussed in the analysis. Included in the interviews were senior representatives from the Magistrates Court, Queensland Transport, Probation & Parole, Queensland Corrective Services, Royal Automobile Club Queensland (RACQ), Intraface Consulting (drug & alcohol EAP), Brisbane Police Prosecution Corps, Queensland Police Service and private practice psychology. Issues such as delivery of interventions, feasibility and cost-effectiveness were discussed, as were potential content and design. It was generally agreed that a tailored online intervention imposed as a sentencing option would be the most effective for first time offenders in terms of cost, ease of delivery and feasibility. The development of an online intervention program for first offenders is widely supported by professional stakeholders

Independent review of ACT Corrective Services\ud Alexander Maconochie Centre [Interim Report]

Under a Services Agreement dated 16th April 2010 the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) engaged Knowledge Consulting Pty Ltd to conduct an independent review of operations at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) in the ACT. The Review was commissioned following a motion passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly as follows:\ud “That this Assembly:\ud (1) notes:\ud (a) concerns regarding the operation of the AMC;\ud (b) the unanimous findings of the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety report, Inquiry into the delay in the commencement of operations at the Alexander Maconochie Centre; and\ud (c) the Government’s intention to have a review into the operation of the AMC after its first year of operation; and\ud (2) calls on the Government to:\ud (a) commission an independent reviewer to conduct the one year review into the AMC;\ud (b) ensure that the review be open and transparent and public, and include input from community and non-government groups with an interest or involvement in the AMC, including on the terms of reference for the review;\ud (c) ensure the review is completed in a timely manner and be tabled in the Legislative Assembly immediately upon completion; and\ud (d) report upon the progress of the review in August 2010;

Drink driving after the first offence: Characteristics of offenders who continue to drink and drive

Drink driving remains a significant problem on Australian roads, with about a quarter to a third of fatal crashes involving drivers or riders who have a BAC of 0.05 or greater. Last available data in the state of Queensland (2003) of the major factors involved in road fatalities and injuries indicated that alcohol and drugs were noted as one of the contributing factors in 38% of fatalities and 11% of all crashes, making it the highest single contributing factor to road fatalities. Until this point, there has been little information about first time offenders as a group, but it is known that offenders typically are not first time drink drivers but rather ‘first time apprehended’, in that most have engaged in drink driving in the years leading to the first offence. This paper follows 89 first time drink driving offenders who were interviewed at the time of court mention and followed up around 6 months following the court hearing. Of the offenders, 27% reported to have driven over the limit in the time between initial contact and follow up. The paper demonstrates the characteristics and offending patterns of first offenders who engaged in drink driving following conviction and those who didn’t, providing suggestions on how to target those at high risk for the behaviour and subsequent offending

Sociopathic attitudes to road safety

Injuries and deaths due to unsafe driving practices are a substantial health and socioeconomic burden to the community. Young socially disadvantaged males who are involved in a lifestyle of risky behaviour, crime and motor vehicle accidents seem unaffected by educational campaigns to improve safer driving. The aim is to develop a driving and social behavioural profile that may explain the lack of effectiveness of road safety advertising and suggest ways to refine educational strategies to reduce the risky lifestyle and associated harms among those most vulnerable, the 15-25 year olds. The procedure involved a quantitative and qualitative analysis through questionnaires, surveys and focus groups involving a comparison of populations (n = 668) by age, gender and socioeconomic status in three discrete Australian sites. Information gathered included issues related to road safety awareness, knowledge of advertising, personal and peer group attitudes as well as driving and life style history. The results indicate that within the community a highly visible profile of strong anti-social road safety activities by an educationally and economically disadvantaged sub-culture exists and this group seem impervious to road safety advertising and education initiatives. As the overall unsafe driving and risky antisocial behaviour is significant among 15-25 year olds within the community the solution is seen to be community based. A long-term (five to ten year) program has been posited; promoting community partnerships through consultative and local action committees at all levels creating locally designed formal and informal educational and mutual support programs

Reducing alcohol-related injury and harm: The impact of a licensed premises lockout policy

Objective. Alcohol-related incidents remain a considerable burden on policing resources in a number of Australian States and often involve injury and distress. This paper reports on a study designed to determine the impact of a lockout policy on levels of alcohol-related offences in and around licensed premises. The lockout policy prevented patrons from entering or re-entering late night trading licensed premises for a specific period prior to closure i.e., between 3am-5am. Material and methods. A modified police activity log was utilized by all first response operational police to record the reason for their attendance at incidents in and around licensed premises in an Australian tourist city. Results. Chi-square analyses of the prevalence of incidents before and after implementation of the lockout policy demonstrated that the overall number of alcohol-related incidents requiring police attention was significantly proportionally lower following the introduction of the lockout policy. More specifically, alcohol-related incidents that involved general disturbances and sexual offences were significantly reduced after the policy was implemented. However, it is noted that offences that related to property, stealing and assaults experienced a reduced trend, but they did not reach statistical levels of significance. In contrast, traffic offence rates were unchanged. Discussion and conclusions. The findings of the study provide initial supportive evidence regarding the value of lockout initiatives to reduce injury and harm in and around licensed premises. The paper will further outline the major implications of the policy as a major crime prevention technique and highlight the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the approach by the major stakeholders

Habituation of deviant sexual arousal in sex offenders: The role of cognitive processes

Habituation of sexual arousal to deviant fantasy in a sample of sex offenders was examined. In addition self-reports of attentional and affective states were monitored to observe if changes in these states parallelled shifts in sexual arousal. Eight male sex offenders were presented with a constant deviant erotic fantasy described on audiotape. The same fantasy (habituation stimulus) was presented for 18 trials within a session followed by a different fantasy (novel stimulation) and then the habituation stimulus was presented again. Penile tumescence and subjective reports were used to measure sexual arousal. Skin resistance was recorded, as well as self-reports of how vivid the images were and how absorbed participants became in the depicted fantasy. A repeated measures analysis of variance showed that penile tumescence was the only dependent variable to vary significantly across habituation trials. Penile tumescence increased over trials and was higher at the end of the series than at the beginning. Attentional and affective responses did not change significantly or parallel the shifts in penile tumescence across the 18 trials of repeated stimulation. There were no increases in penile tumescence during novel stimulation or following the reintroduction of the original fantasy. These results contrast with those reported by Kounkounas and Over (1993) for nonoffenders of decreases rather than increases in sexual arousal paralleled by shifts in attentional and affective states. The discrepant findings are discussed with reference to the role of cognitive processes and the possibility that there are fundamental differences in the way sex offenders and nonoffenders process the information in erotic fantasy