Adolescents within the juvenile system suffer from a multitude of physical and mental health issues. Previous studies have linked incarceration to poor health in juveniles, but very few have been able to claim incarceration is the cause for the mental health issues found in incarcerated juveniles. Whether juveniles go into the system with pre-existing mental health disorders or not, still many factors are associated with the development of mental disorders while incarcerated. Based on what the field knows and does not know about the link between juvenile incarceration and mental health, the goal of this study was to determine if incarceration is directly associated with increases in depression and anxiety among incarcerated juveniles. To explore this issue further, I conducted a study that investigates the relationship using data from the Pathways to Desistance Study. The results of the study established a clear causal ordering between mental health and incarceration demonstrating that mental health appears to deteriorate during incarceration and improve after release. This study can aid in the reform of juvenile detention as mental health programs can be developed in order to assist incarcerated adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to explore police officer perception of body cameras. There had been little previous research done on the police officer perception of body cameras in rural areas. Several research questions were pursued, including the impact of body cameras on citizens, the impact of body cameras on police officers, use of force and body cameras, body cameras effects on calls, and the officers’ support of body cameras. The study gathered data through qualitative interviews with 16 police officers in East Tennessee to address these questions. Results obtained provided interesting and useful information regarding the police perception of body cameras, which are discussed in detail. Implication of the research as well as ways to further the research are discussed as well.

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of flora poaching among conservation officers, park rangers and botanists within Central Appalachia. Though some work has sought to understand poaching in other forms, such as animal poaching, little is known regarding the poaching of plants. This is especially true within the Appalachian Region. Several research questions were explored in this study, including the types of flora being poached, the characteristics of poachers, poaching tactics utilized, and deterrence measures that are currently in place. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals working in the field. Findings contribute to the existing literature surrounding poaching, which can aid conservation efforts across the Appalachian Region.

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African American men have been incarcerated at unprecedented rates in the United States over the past 30 years. This study explored how African American females experience adverse psychosocial responses to separation from an incarcerated mate. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory (GT) study was to construct a theory to explain their responses to separation and loss. Given the paucity of literature on this topic, helping professionals may not understand this problem or know how to support these women. Disenfranchised grief and the dual process model of bereavement were used as a theoretical lens for this study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 African American women over the age of 18, from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, and who had incarcerated mates. Systematic data analysis revealed that women in the sample experienced grief similar to losing a loved one through death. They also were found to engage in prolonged states of social isolation, emulating their mate's state of incarceration. As a result of this study, a grounded theory of symbolic imprisonment, grief, and coping (SIG-C) was developed to answer this study's research questions and explain how loss occurs on psychological, social, symbolic, and physical levels. The findings from this study may promote positive social change by informing the human services research community of SIG-C and assisting helping professionals with a basis for context-specific support for affected women to contribute to their well-being during their mate's incarceration.

Policing in the 21st century is becoming more complex and dynamic as law enforcement executives deal with operational, political, and economic challenges. Organizational theory and research indicate positive relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), leadership effectiveness, leadership styles, and employee outcomes. But these relationships have not been investigated in law enforcement organizations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the above relationships in a sample of law enforcement executives. Situational leadership theory, full range leadership model, and trait EI theory comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected from 139 law enforcement executives from the International Association of Chiefs of Police via an Internet survey. Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Statistically significant relationships were indicated in the studied sample between EI and all the five measures of transformational leadership style and one measure of transactional leadership style - contingent reward; but EI failed to correlate with the laissez-faire leadership style. Social change implications of this study include using the study results to expand leadership development programs that leverage a full range of leadership skills and EI traits to address the new reality of law enforcement for the benefit of American communities and society.

Juvenile delinquency continues to be a major social problem in the United States. One of the more salient problems with the juvenile justice system in the United States is its staggering incarceration rate, which poses a significant problem for youth exposed to the juvenile justice system, and the community as a whole. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perspective of the program facilitators about the effectiveness of the restorative justice program in reducing recidivism for African American males aged 12 to 17 in Baltimore City's urban community. This study relied upon restorative justice theory as conceptualized by Braithwaite as the theoretical framework. Using intrinsic case study design, data were collected from 7 restorative justice facilitators, who participated in face-to-face interviews using semistructured, open-ended questions. Miles and Huberman's qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data and to record emerging themes and patterns. The key finding of this study indicates that facilitators believe restorative justice results in a reduction of the recidivism rate specifically through the conferencing program when Braithwaite's reintegrative shaming is incorporated into the process. According to the program facilitators, the conferencing program is effective in reducing juvenile recidivism as it promotes transparency and openness to all stakeholders through being very clear and upfront on all levels with the juveniles, parents, and volunteers. As such, there are implications for positive social change by involving all the stakeholders---family, community, policy makers, and juvenile justice practitioners---that may result in reduced incidences of juvenile offending, thereby promoting safer communities.

This dissertation examines the influence of competing risks in shaping individuals' choices about potential intimate relationships. According to Ulrich Beck's "risk society" theory, the individualization of social risks has direct and measurable consequences for the ways people organize and evaluate potential intimate relationships (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995, 2002, 2004; Giddens, 1994; Lupton, 2006). This study investigates the ways in which subjective or identity-related risks hypothesized by scholars of late modernity shape the perception and the actual risk of dating violence. Empirical research on dating violence identifies many objective “risk factors” related to a person’s chances of experiencing intimate partner violence; however studies investigating perceptions of dating risk from the subject’s perspective sometimes reveal more personal concerns and priorities. To date, no intimate partner violence research explicitly utilizes a conceptualization of risk informed by risk society theories. The present study explores the potential for utilizing risk society concepts in explaining the relationships between perceptions of instrumental risks and identity-related risks, and how these risk perceptions may impact involvement in dating violence.

Several studies have examined the effect of gang affiliation on jury decision-making. However, none of such studies have examined how jurors perceive female gang members in the legal system, and how such perceptions may differ based on the geographic location of jurors. In the proposed study, jury-eligible participants from Chicago or Los Angeles will read a vignette about a gang member defendant, whose race and gender will vary. After reading the vignette, participants will be asked about the defendant’s guilt, sentence length, verdict confidence, aggression, and their familiarity with gang laws. It is hypothesized that while male gang members will be perceived as guiltier than females, they will receive shorter sentences. Additionally, while racial minority gang members will be perceived as guiltier, they will receive shorter sentences. Lastly, given the differing racial compositions of Chicago and Los Angeles, the combined effect of race and location will be examined on jury decision-making. These results may help in further understanding how certain types of gangs are perceived, and how these perceptions shape the legal outcomes of gang members.

The current study examines the association of macro-level economic factors and the creation or enactment animal cruelty laws across the states at a fixed time. Criminologists have postulated that economic factors influence the legal system (Chambliss and Seidman, 1971). This thesis addresses whether state-level economic and related macro-level factors influences the amount and types of state animal cruelty legislation lawmakers enact. To do so, this thesis examined animal cruelty legislation and their association with measures of agricultural and farm production, Democratic Party, Republican Party, and pro-animal interest groups across all states of the United States for the time period (2012-2013). Findings suggested that three out of the four variables had significant relationships. The Democratic Party had the strongest relationship, but only Animal interests groups had a significant positive relationship. In all, this study explores how economic influence can influence the creation of animal cruelty legislation. Furthermore, the study opened up theoretical methods for more comprehensive analyses on the creation of law.