More NCJRS Abstracts, Friday, September 14, 2007

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NCJ 219508
James F. Anderson; Kimberly Kras
Revisiting Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory to Better Understand and Assist Victims of Intimate Personal Violence
Women & Criminal Justice Volume:17 Issue:1 Dated:2005 Pages:99 to 124

Using Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, this paper explains interpersonal and intergenerational violence in order to better understand and assist victims of intimate personal violence. In summation, it is argued that effective treatment and prevention should include both criminal justice and public health strategies. Intimate personal violence is a major public health problem that affects men, women, and children. It also spills over into the criminal justice system. Social service agencies and the public health system get involved when the victims of abuse need assistance or treatment for injuries sustained as a result of violence. Preventions should be threefold. It should target resocializing children who are exposed to violence, punishing offenders, and better assisting the women who face both physical and psychological victimizations. Strategies should be employed using both the criminal justice and public health systems or uniting a host of people and agencies to work together toward its prevention. Domestic violence or intimate personal violence, a matter once considered private, has gained increased attention as a public health crisis. In their efforts to better understand and prevent this behavior, social science researchers and epidemiologists have discovered the link between early exposure to violence and spousal abuse. The intent of this paper is to explain violence and aggression toward intimate partners through learning models. Part 1 of this paper revisits Albert Bandura’s social learning theory to explain the process by which individuals learn aggressive behaviors, as well as how the theory explains intimate partner violence. Part II discusses the cycle of spousal abuse. Part III offers viable policy recommendations to prevent intimate personal violence. In the final analysis, the paper presents measures that can be taken to counteract the effects of negative social learning and some criminal justice and public health approaches to prevent intimate personal violence. References

NCJ 219499
Karen S. Hayward; Susan Steiner; Kathy Sproule
Women's Perceptions of the Impact of a Domestic Violence Treatment Program for Male Perpetrators
Journal of Forensic Nursing Volume:3 Issue:2 Dated:Summer 2007 Pages:77 to 83

This descriptive analysis presents women’s perceptions of the impact of a domestic violence treatment program on their male partner. Results indicated that the women did perceive an impact of the treatment program on their partner. Most reported that the program had in some ways positively impacted the relationship between the female victim and her abusive partner. Specifically, all the women reported that the program had reduced the physical violence within the relationship but that emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse remained a problem. The findings suggest that domestic batterer intervention programs can be effective at reducing physical violence. The findings underscore the need for more intensive treatment regarding the use of emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse within intimate relationships. Future research should focus on developing treatment models that address emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse as well as physical abuse for perpetrators who abuse their intimate partners. Participants were eight women who were recruited through purposive sampling techniques. The participants were identified by reviewing the files of men who completed the Men’s Nonviolence course offered through a nonprofit organization in southeast Idaho. The participant women were identified in the police reports as the victim of the perpetrators charged with domestic battery. Participants were interviewed using a guided response, open-ended, focused exploratory format that probed the participant’s perceptions of the impact of the treatment program. Data were analyzed using the data spiral technique in which analytic circles are used to move the data from the transcribed interview to a narrative. References


NCJ 215646
Matthew R. Durose; Patrick A. Langan
Felony Sentences in State Courts, 2004
US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

This report presents statistics for adults who were convicted of a felony and sentenced in State courts in 2004. Data were collected through a survey of a nationally representative sample of State courts in 300 counties in 2004. The number and characteristics (age, sex, and race) of offenders who were sentenced to prison, jail or probation are reported for the five major categories. Trends from 1994 to 2004 highlight the number of adults convicted of felonies as well as the types of conviction offenses and sentence lengths imposed. See also: State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 2004--Statistical Tables. Report highlights include: (1) between 1994 and 2004, the number of felony convictions in State courts increased 24 percent; (2) 94 percent of felony convictions occurred in State courts, the remaining 6 percent in Federal courts; and (3) 7 in 10 convicted felons in State courts were sentenced to incarceration. Tables

NCJ 218451
Mike Males
Analyzing U.S. Prison Growth
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice

This paper briefly examines race, gender, and age in an analysis of the United States prison population growth. Today’s American prison population is much older, somewhat Whiter and more female, and less African-American and Hispanic. Race and gender disparities in imprisonment have diminished significantly but still remain large. Examples of this include: (1) compared to Whites, African-Americans and Hispanics are respectively 6.2 times and 3.0 times more likely to be imprisoned today, compared to 9.5 and 3.6 times in 1979 and (2) the gap between the rate of imprisonment for individuals younger than 25 and those older than 45 dropped to 2.1, down from 6.8 a quarter century ago. The larger number of aging prisoners has contributed to the increase in arrests for violent, property, and drug offenses compared to younger age groups. In addition, while recent declines in crime among younger offenders have brought down crime rates, rising numbers of older offenders are cycling in and out of prison, boosting incarceration rates. Tables, references