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Witnessing victimization in prison is a relatively new area of research. Prison victimization research focuses on direct experiences of victimization and its attending consequences; however, studies have not focused on the vicarious victimization experiences of prisoners. Drawing from the prison victimization, witnessing/exposure to violence, and offender reentry literature, this study will investigate the link between witnessing victimization in prison and individual post-release outcomes. Using multivariate analyses, I examined the extent to which individuals witness victimization in prison and the effects of witnessing victimization on individual post-release outcomes using The Prison Experience and Reentry study, a longitudinal study of 1613 males residing in Ohio halfway houses. The findings suggest that a significant proportion of offenders witness victimization while incarcerated. Furthermore, witnessing victimization, particularly witnessing sexual victimization and stealing, was significantly related to post-release outcomes. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

No description available.

Studies show that teachers lack training and confidence when it comes to intervening effectively in bullying situations. The goal of this study is to respond to the appeals of pre-service teachers for more formal training on bullying, including prevention and intervention strategies. A two-hour PREVNet workshop that provides information on bullying, bullying prevention and bullying intervention is offered in four Canadian Teacher Education classes. Two unique questionnaires, each consisting of simulated bullying incidents in a school context and a set of teacher interventions, were developed, piloted with a group of experienced teachers, and used to assess the effect of the workshop on teachers’ reported interventions in bullying situations. The results of a series of repeated measures ANOVAs reveal a marginally significant effect of the workshop on pre-service teachers’ reported interventions (N = 66), with the greatest improvements revealed in participants’ responses to children who bully.

Researchers have consistently shown that as a society, we have failed to protect a large number of Aboriginal children and youths from violence and aggression across multiple contexts. Aboriginal children and youth are at a disproportionate risk of being involved in violent victimization ranging from homicides, family violence, and physical and sexual abuse compared to the rest of Canadian children and youth. However, the extent to which Aboriginal children and youths are involved in bullying remain largely unknown. In the present study, data from a Canadian population-based study was used to examine ethnic and sex differences in children’s and youths’ involvement of different forms of bullying (general, physical, verbal, social). Participants were categorized into three broad ethnic groups: Aboriginal, Caucasian, and ethnic minority. Results indicated that across the forms of bullying, Aboriginal children and youths were more frequently involved than their non Aboriginal peers. Sex differences also emerged, such that, Aboriginal boys were more frequently physically victimized than their non Aboriginal, same sex peers while no ethnic group differences were found for girls. The results highlight the need for an Aboriginal-specific bullying policy and specialized programs and services at school to support this vulnerable group of Canadian school-aged children.

Studies show that teachers lack training and confidence when it comes to intervening effectively in bullying situations. The goal of this study is to respond to the appeals of pre-service teachers for more formal training on bullying, including prevention and intervention strategies. A two-hour PREVNet workshop that provides information on bullying, bullying prevention and bullying intervention is offered in four Canadian Teacher Education classes. Two unique questionnaires, each consisting of simulated bullying incidents in a school context and a set of teacher interventions, were developed, piloted with a group of experienced teachers, and used to assess the effect of the workshop on teachers’ reported interventions in bullying situations. The results of a series of repeated measures ANOVAs reveal a marginally significant effect of the workshop on pre-service teachers’ reported interventions (N = 66), with the greatest improvements revealed in participants’ responses to children who bully.

Researchers have consistently shown that as a society, we have failed to protect a large number of Aboriginal children and youths from violence and aggression across multiple contexts. Aboriginal children and youth are at a disproportionate risk of being involved in violent victimization ranging from homicides, family violence, and physical and sexual abuse compared to the rest of Canadian children and youth. However, the extent to which Aboriginal children and youths are involved in bullying remain largely unknown. In the present study, data from a Canadian population-based study was used to examine ethnic and sex differences in children’s and youths’ involvement of different forms of bullying (general, physical, verbal, social). Participants were categorized into three broad ethnic groups: Aboriginal, Caucasian, and ethnic minority. Results indicated that across the forms of bullying, Aboriginal children and youths were more frequently involved than their non Aboriginal peers. Sex differences also emerged, such that, Aboriginal boys were more frequently physically victimized than their non Aboriginal, same sex peers while no ethnic group differences were found for girls. The results highlight the need for an Aboriginal-specific bullying policy and specialized programs and services at school to support this vulnerable group of Canadian school-aged children.

The study of victimization among the elderly crosses multiple disciplines. A large body of research focuses on identifying the nature of and risk factors for elder abuse, while theory has remained relatively underdeveloped in the elder abuse literature. In comparison, the criminological literature is characterized by a plethora of theoretically-driven studies that explore the causes of crime and victimization. Criminology, however, is heavily focused on crimes committed by and against younger individuals. The current study filled a gap in both bodies of work by using the lifestyles/routine activities theoretical (L/RAT) framework, a widely-used criminological perspective, to understand victimization risk among a sample of 1,257 younger and older adults. Using multivariate logistic regression models, it was found that age was a significant predictor of victimization risk. Consistent with findings from the criminological literature, victimization risk generally declines with age. Findings also suggested that the effects of L/RAT variables vary across offense type, as well as across the lifecourse. Implications for theoretical development, policy, and practice are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

No description available.

This longitudinal study investigated the course and changes in the time-varying covariation between peer victimization and internalizing problems among adolescents who were transitioning into young adulthood, and proposed that initial levels of emotional support from fathers, mothers, and friends diminished the relation between peer victimization and internalizing problems over a four-year period. Sex and developmental transition group differences (for mid-adolescent transition group aged 12-15 years and late adolescent transition group aged 16-19 years) were explored. Participants included 639 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years at baseline testing. Physical and relational victimization, emotional support, and internalizing problems were assessed from adolescent‟s self-reports. Overall, findings revealed that on average internalizing problems increased over time, but also differed by developmental transition group. For the mid-adolescent transition group, increases in physical and relational victimization were significantly associated with increases in internalizing problems. For the late adolescent group, increases in relational victimization (and not in physical victimization) were significantly associated with increases in internalizing problems. Emotional support from fathers, mothers, and friends significantly impacted the time-varying covariation between peer victimization and internalizing problems, and findings differed by sex and transition group. For the mid-adolescent transition group, high levels of mother and father emotional support were associated with decreases in the association between peer victimization and internalizing problems for girls. High levels of friend emotional support were protective for boys, but were associated with increases in the association between peer victimization and internalizing problems for girls. For the late adolescent transition group, high levels of mother emotional support remained protective for girls, but high levels of father and friend emotional support were associated with increases in the association between relational victimization and internalizing problems. High levels of friend emotional support remained protective for boys. / Graduate / 0620