More NCJRS Abstracts, November 10, 2007

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NCJ 220177
Raoul A. Walsh; Flora Tzelepis
Adolescents and Tobacco Use: Systematic Review of Qualitative Research Methodologies and Partial Synthesis of Findings
Substance Use & Misuse Volume:42 Issue:8 Dated:August 2007 Pages:1269 to 1321

After an overview of controls to prevent adolescent tobacco use, this article assesses the methodological features and content areas of 78 qualitative studies of adolescent smoking published in English prior to September 2002. The overview of controls to prevent adolescent tobacco use notes that many questions remain about policy and program effectiveness. School-based programs that provide information on the social influences that encourage tobacco use, the modeling and practice of resistance skills, and peer and parent involvement in program delivery have been recommended; however, it is unclear whether such programs have any long-term impact. Multicomponent, communitywide tobacco control programs may be effective in preventing the start of smoking, but the gains are modest. Two broad areas offer promise for improving adolescent smoking control efforts: the improved dissemination of effective programs such as state-of-the-art tobacco prevention curricula, and new research designed to evaluate improved adolescent smoking interventions. The review of 142 publications confirms that qualitative research is increasingly being used to study issues linked to adolescent smoking and that qualitative research can continue to make a substantial contribution to research on adolescent smoking. Regarding study methodologies, however, many studies failed to provide sufficient details on study sampling and subject characteristics. Also, more attention should be given to demonstrating data validity and reliability. For each publication, 29 variables were assessed. These variables were grouped into seven broad categories: study details, type of data, setting and sample, sample number and background, data-collection methods, data analysis, and main content areas. A narrative synthesis is provided for three content areas: peer influences, access/sales, and dependence/addiction issues. 4 tables, a glossary, and 167 references

NCJ 220189
Amy R. Murrell; Karen A. Christoff; Kris R. Henning
Characteristics of Domestic Violence Offenders: Associations with Childhood Exposure to Violence
Journal of Family Violence Volume:22 Issue:7 Dated:October 2007 Pages:523 to 532

This study examined differences in the types, frequency, and severity of violent offenses; nonviolent criminal behavior; and psychopathology within a battering population of 1,099 adult males with varying levels of exposure to violence as children. The study found that the likelihood of a person committing violence against someone other than an intimate partner (general violence) increased as the participants' exposure to violence as a child increased. Batterers who were abused as children were more likely to abuse children than those who were not abused as children. Nonviolent criminal behavior did not increase with exposure to violence as a child. The frequency of domestic violence offenses committed increased as exposure to violence as a child increased, and the severity of domestic violence offenses committed also increased as exposure to violence as a child increased. The level of a batterer's psychopathology increased as exposure to violence as a child increased. Possible explanations for these findings are offered. Study limitations are discussed, and recommendations for future research are proposed. The study involved a sample of 1,099 male batterers (85 percent African-American, 14 percent Caucasian, and 1 percent another race or unreported), who ranged in age from 18 to 65. All participants had been ordered by a court to undergo assessment at a domestic violence center between 1998 and 2002. This article describes the instruments and procedures used to measure the generality of violence and nonviolent criminal behavior, the frequency and severity of domestic violence, and psychopathology as evidenced by personality attributes. Participants were assigned to one of four groups based on their exposure to violence as a child (prior to the age of 16): neither witnessed nor were victims of violence as a child, witnessed only, abused only, both witnessed and were abused. 1 table, 3 figures, and 66 references

NCJ 220199
Laura F. Salazar; James G. Emshoff; Charlene K. Baker; Terrence Crowley
Examining the Behavior of a System: An Outcome Evaluation of a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence
Journal of Family Violence Volume:22 Issue:7 Dated:October 2007 Pages:631 to 641

This study examined whether a coordinated community response (CCR) to domestic violence in two Georgia counties was effective in increasing criminal justice sanctions for male domestic-violence offenders (i.e., arrests, prosecutions, convictions, sentencing, and referrals to batterer intervention programs). Findings show that in both counties there was a significant increase in arrests of male domestic-violence offenders; however, police officers also arrested more women as a result of the CCR to domestic violence. Previous research has also shown an increase in the percentage of women arrested following the implementation of mandatory arrest policies. In the current study, the sheriff of one county expressed to research staff that in many instances women provoked their abuse and were often the primary offenders. In the other county, the observed increase in female arrests for domestic violence reflected a long-term trend in this direction, even prior to the CCR to domestic violence. In one county, more men were sentenced to probation and required to attend a batterer's intervention program. In the other county, there was no change in these measures. The findings suggest cautious optimism for CCR to domestic violence in terms of increasing criminal justice intervention. It remains to be determined whether specific patterns of criminal justice intervention are effective in deterring the initiation and repeat of domestic violence. The CCR to domestic violence in the two counties, called Men Stopping Violence, involved increasing legal sanctions for male domestic violence offenders, raising community awareness of these legal sanctions, introducing and maintaining a male batterer intervention program, and assessing the possible effects on women. The CCR evaluation involved a time series design, which consisted of a series of data-collection points prior to program implementation, which were then compared to a series of data points following the intervention. 2 tables and 39 references