The use of computer-based interventions in cognitive behavioral therapy: policy implications for violence and delinquency prevention in community corrections

Abstract: This thesis tests the applicability of computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy for building skills that prevent deviancy and delinquency among youth. This is accomplished by first understanding cognitive behavioral therapy through an extensive literature review and then through data analysis of the SMART program which emphasizes anger management and conflict resolution skills using a pre- and post-test questionnaire. This thesis uses the SMART program as a self-administered cognitive behavioral intervention with youth between the ages of 12 and 17 who are on juvenile probation with a juvenile delinquent status. This is an innovative way of using the SMART program from previous studies. Results of this effort reveal that participants exhibited modest improvements from pre-test to post-test, although results were statistically insignificant. However, this thesis finds that there are important applications for computer-based methods of cognitive behavioral therapy in juvenile delinquency prevention which are currently underutilized as exemplified in Monroe County, New York. It is suggested that the local community corrections consider implementing cognitive behavioral programs using an action research model which emphasizes youth, family and community collaboration

Deconstructing the LGBT-Victimization Association: The Case of Sexual Assault and Alcohol-Related Problems

Research on lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) students has been gaining traction in the fields of criminology, victimology, and education, but available data lag behind the demand for studies on this underserved population. While LGBT students are often perceived to face greater risk of victimization and subsequent health problems than their counterparts, little research has investigated the mechanisms behind problematic outcomes for LGBT students. This research uses data from a Southeastern University to examine sexual assault among LGBT students and their experiences with alcohol-related problems. The results show that LGBT youth are at an increased risk for sexual victimization but that LGBT status does not have a direct effect on alcohol-related problems

Can Systemic Interventions Designed to Reduce Reoffending by Youth also Reduce their Victimization?

Previous research indicates considerable overlap between populations of boys who are victimized and boys who victimize others. This study was concerned with whether a systems-focused treatment program designed to address individual and systemic risk factors associated with the perpetration of sexual and violent crimes might also be successful in reducing boys’ victimization by others. Boys adjudicated for sexual offences who received ‘treatment as usual’ (TAU; n = 335) were compared with similarly adjudicated boys who completed the treatment program (n = 200) on their histories of contact with police either as offenders or victims. Despite their higher rates of pre-intervention victimization, the treatment group were victimized less frequently post-intervention than the TAU group. Continued offending was the strongest predictor of victimization post-intervention. These findings suggest that offending and victimization share common risk factors that may be addressed simultaneously within offence-focused treatment

Improving risk management for violence in mental health services: a multimethods approach

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Exposed and Vulnerable: The Consequences of Violence and What Schools, Families, and Communities Can Do to Keep Children Healthy

This Lecture was given at Georgia Southern University by Chad Posic

Deviant Places

Book Summary: Social deviance—any behavior that violates a cultural norm—can involve something as major as crime or as minor as consistently and deliberately wearing lively mismatched socks. Whether a crime, a sin, or simply unique taste, what’s considered deviant at one time and place can change, as when extensive tattooing and body art evolved from a sideshow carnival spectacle to a nearly universal rite of passage within U.S. culture. Drawing contributions from across the social and behavioral sciences, including sociology, anthropology, criminology, politics, psychology, and religion, the Encyclopedia of Social Deviance introduces readers to the lively field of rule-making and rebellion that strikes at the core of what it means to be an individual living in a social world

Reappraising the Impact of Offending on Victimization: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

Existing evidence clearly supports an empirical connection between offending and victimization. Often called the “victim–offender overlap,” this relationship holds for both sexes, across the life course, and across a wide range of countries and cultural environments. In addition, the relationship is sustained regardless of the study sample and statistical methods applied in the analyses of the sample data. However, there has yet to be a study that examines this relationship for violent and property crime using quasi-experimental methods accounting for a wide range of potential confounders including individual differences and cultural contexts. This study subjects the victim–offender relationship to testing through propensity score matching for both violent and property crimes using an international dataset. The results show that previous violent and theft offending increases the odds of victimization when matching on individual and contextual factors. This finding supports previous literature and suggests that delinquent behavior may act as a “switch” that exposes one to subsequent violent and theft victimization

A Propensity Score Matching Approach for Exploring the Victim-offender Overlap

The relationship between victimization and offending is now well established. Research has shown, using comparative, cross-sectional, and longitudinal data, that victims are more likely to become offenders and vice-versa. To-date, a rigorous, quasi-experimental method has not yet been employed to estimate this effect of one variable on the other. This study uses propensity-score matching to investigate the robustness of the victim-offender overlap in a longitudinal, nationally-representative sample of adolescents. Results support the extant body of research on a victim-offender overlap

An Integrated Theory of Victimization

Institutional Anomie Theory and Situational Action Theory have received much support as explanations of criminal behaviour. However, they have not been integrated and extended to inform the field about victimization risk. This paper uses macro-level data and individual-level data from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study to develop an integrated theory of victimization