<p> In criminological research, scholars present learning and social control theories as competing explanations for criminal behavior. While this has extended to specific offenses and analogous behaviors, it has less frequently been related to ideologically-motivated extremist behavior. This study considers the explanatory power of these two schools of criminological thought as they predict individual participation in violent ideologically motivated extremist behaviors using a recently collected individual-level dataset. A combination of Multivariate Imputation through Chained Equations (MICE), Exploratory Factor Analysis, and logistic regression is used to examine the relationship between theoretical measures and the probability of violent extremist behavior. Ultimately, this thesis finds: (1) having stronger social bonds is associated with a lower probability of violent ideologically motivated behavior, (2) the social learning of violence is associated with a higher probability of violent ideologically motivated behavior, and (3) these relationships depend somewhat upon the ideological milieu of the individual.</p><p>

<p> Research on bystanders&rsquo; willingness to intervene in intimate-partner violence (IPV), particularly among young adults, is lacking. Thus, a survey regarding bystander intervention willingness was administered to 318 college students at a large, public university. Various individual and contextual factors were analyzed to understand what makes college students more or less willing to intervene. Participants generally reported high intervention willingness when the IPV incident included the following: a female victim, a friend or acquaintance as the victim, disclosed or suspected IPV behavior, and a private setting. In general, participants were more willing to directly intervene; however, female participants were more willing to offer the victim emotional support. Therefore, bystander intervention willingness depends on gender (victim and bystander); setting (public vs. private); closeness to the victim (friend, acquaintance, or stranger); bystander&rsquo;s level of awareness (IPV disclosure, suspicion, or observation); level of involvement (direct vs. indirect); and intervention response (direct vs. emotional support). Colleges should implement comprehensive programs that improve guardianship, bystander competency, and collective efficacy by focusing on how and when college students can help (e.g., identifying IPV signs, clarifying common misconceptions, and offering resources, and modifying social norms).</p><p>

<p> While there is considerable research on active shooters, civil liberties, and security in school, there is only limited research that focused upon the parent&rsquo;s perceptions. Parent&rsquo;s perceptions affect children&rsquo;s success in learning and influence children&rsquo;s perceptions on feeling safe in school. The purpose of this study is to use a quantitative correlational study to evaluate the parent&rsquo;s perceptions as they relate to sacrificing civil liberties for increased school security. A specific focus is upon parents with children in high schools within the United States. The theoretical basis for this study is the decision making theory which assumes rational behavior. The study required the creation, validation, and testing for reliability of the sacrificing civil liberties for security survey instrument. The sampling of 254 parents from throughout the United States was completed utilizing a web-based survey. The results of this study identified a significant relationship between every subscale of sacrificing civil liberties (SCL) and both predictors Trust in Government (TIG) and Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). No relationship was found between educational levels and SCL. A relationship with the predictor age was found with the SCL subscales active monitoring and passive monitoring. Finally, a relationship with the predictor gender was found with the SCL subscale active monitoring. These findings indicate that parents are willing to sacrifice some of their children&rsquo;s civil liberties within certain constraints. Based upon the results of this study, a conclusion can be drawn that parent&rsquo;s perceptions are influenced by many of the predictors. The largest relationship was with the predictors TIG and RWA. School officials, law enforcement, and government officials can use these results to assess the acceptability of their actions of increased security while carefully limiting the impact upon student&rsquo;s civil liberties.</p>

Research on the cessation of violence is important in light of the dramatic increase in public and scientific interest on family violence. Although the marital violence literature more than tripled during the eighties, much of the work has focused solely on the correlates and determinants of marital violence, ignoring the issue of how couples eliminate violence from their relationships. This is an exploratory study of the cessation of men's use of violence against their female partners. Longitudinal survey data were used to evaluate cessation rates, the relationship between demographic characteristics and risk factors for wife abuse and cessation, and the help seeking behavior of partners who ceased the violence. In depth interviews with two couples who had ceased the use of violence were used to elucidate the characteristics of the cessation process. It was found that contextual factors such as financial hardship, increased number of children at home, increased levels of marital conflict, and inadequate conflict resolution skills were negatively related to the cessation of violence. On the other hand, cessation was associated with immersion into a social network that supports nonviolence, development of alternative ways to resolve conflict, and the partners' commitment to the relationship.