Latest Criminal Justice and Behavior

Via Psychology and Crime News, we get a head's up on the latest issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior. Abstracts of lots of good articles and the way to get the full texts. Here are some of the corr sent-related ones:

Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 588-599 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296830
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Physical Violence Inside Prisons
Rates of Victimization
Nancy Wolff
Rutgers University

Cynthia L. Blitz
Rutgers University

Jing Shi
Rutgers University

Jane Siegel
Rutgers University

Ronet Bachman
University of Delaware

This study estimates prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate physical victimization. Inmate participants were drawn from 13 adult male prisons and 1 female prison operated by a single mid-Atlantic state. A total of 7,221 men and 564 women participated. Rates of physical victimization varied significantly by gender, perpetrator, question wording, and facility. Prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate physical violence in the previous 6 months were equal for males and females. Men had significantly higher rates of physical violence perpetrated by staff than by other inmates. By facility, inmate-on-inmate prevalence rates ranged from 129 to 346 per 1,000, whereas the range for staff-on-inmate was 83 to 321 per 1,000 (but the difference was not statistically significant).


Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 600-615 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296897
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Effects of Prison Drug Treatment On Inmate Misconduct
A Repeated Measures Analysis

Wayne N. Welsh
Temple University

Patrick McGrain
DeSales University

Nicole Salamatin
New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission

Gary Zajac
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

A small body of research supports the "treatment hypothesis" that participation in prison treatment programs reduces inmate misconduct, although methodological weaknesses have limited generalizable conclusions. Using general linear modeling repeated measures techniques, this study examined pre- and posttreatment misconduct for 1,073 inmates who participated in therapeutic community (TC) drug treatment (n = 294) or a comparison group (n = 779) at five state prisons. Predictors included age, length of sentence, drug dependency, and prior and current criminal history. The hypothesis that TC treatment alone would significantly reduce misconduct over time was not supported. Instead, changes in misconduct over time interacted with individual characteristics and time served posttreatment. The article discusses implications of these results for treatment policies and future research.


Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 616-640 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806296851
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Reliability and Validity of the Static-2002 Among Adult Sexual Offenders With Reference to Treatment Status

Calvin M. Langton
University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada, University of Nottingham and Peaks Unit, Rampton Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Nottinghamshire, UK

Howard E. Barbaree
University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

Kevin T. Hansen
University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

Leigh Harkins
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Edward J. Peacock
Correctional Service of Canada, Ontario, Canada

Psychometric properties were reported for the Static-2002 using a sample of 464 sexual offenders followed for an average of 5.9 years after release. Correlations between theoretically relevant variables (using indices of lifestyle instability, sexual deviance, psychopathy) and the Static-2002 content area subscales reflected the conceptual emphasis underlying the content areas. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a five-factor solution generally congruent with the conceptual structure of the Static-2002. Survival analyses indicated not all of the content areas had incremental validity in the prediction of either sexual or any violent recidivism. Moderate-to-high levels of predictive accuracy for total score were achieved for treatment completers, dropouts, and refusers across four recidivism outcomes. Three risk categories were identified with significantly different rates of both sexual and any violent recidivism; failure rates and likelihood ratios for these risk categories over 5-, 7-, and 10-year follow-up periods were reported.


Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 661-679 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806293485
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Religiosity and Desistance From Drug Use

Doris C. Chu
Arkansas State University

Recent research acknowledges an inverse relationship between religiosity and crime (though some claim it is a modest one), but no desistance theories to date include religiosity in their model to help explain desistance from drug use. A better understanding of how religiosity is related to the initiation of and desistance from drug use can lead to more effective preventive and rehabilitative interventions. Data derived from Wave 5 to Wave 7 of the National Youth Survey are employed to test whether religiosity exerts an effect on initiation of and desistance from drug use. The findings suggest religious behavior has a direct effect on individuals' desistance from marijuana and hard-drug use. On the other hand, religious salience has a significant deterrent effect only on the onset of drug use; it does not have a significant effect on individuals' desistance from drugs. Policy implications are discussed, and future research suggestions are offered.


Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 34, No. 5, 697-708 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854806298468
© 2007 American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

Inmate Emotion Coping and Psychological and Physical Well-Being
The Use of Crying Over Spilled Milk

Frenk Van Harreveld
University of Amsterdam

Joop Van der Pligt
University of Amsterdam

Liesbeth Claassen
Free University of Amsterdam

Wilco W. Van Dijk
Free University of Amsterdam

The study investigated the relation between coping strategies of inmates and their psychological and physical well-being. General affective states such as optimism were related to both psychological and physical well-being. Moreover, inmates who experienced specific negative emotions such as regret, anxiety, and sadness reported more psychological and physical complaints. The way in which inmates coped with these negative emotions was also important. Inmates who used an active emotion-focused coping strategy were in better health than inmates inclined to keep their negative feelings to themselves. Emotion-focused coping by sharing negative emotions with people in one's social network can help to increase both psychological and physical well-being. Engaging in emotion management in a more cognitive way, by emphasizing positive aspects of the situation, can help to reduce the intensity of negative emotions. Possible research and policy implications of these results are discussed.