<p>As rates of incarceration have risen, so has interest in the children of incarcerated individuals. This quantitative study examines the relationship between parental incarceration and adult children&rsquo;s resiliency and psychological well-being. It compares demographic characteristics and parental incarceration status according to two scales: the Brief Resilience Scale and the Flourishing Scale. Of the 38 individuals over the age of 18 who completed the survey, 12 reported having a parent who has been incarcerated. Of these 12, 83.3% (<i>n</i> = 10) were not present while their parent was being detained, and 58.3% (<i>n</i> = 7) had contact with their parent during their incarceration. The study found no significant difference between the resiliency of those who have had a parent incarcerated (<i>M</i> = 18.58, <i> SD</i> = 1.62) and those who have not (<i>M</i> = 17.96, <i> SD</i> = 2.32). There was also no significant difference in the overall psychological well-being of those who have had a parent incarcerated (<i> M</i> = 46.50, <i>SD</i> = 8.31) and those who have not (<i> M</i> = 48.58, <i>SD</i> = 5.47) in their overall psychological well-being. </p>

<p>In forensic psychology, adolescents who display psychopathic traits could be distinguished from other peers by the early onset of their violent criminal behaviors and repetitiveness of unlawful actions. These adolescents tend to demonstrate expressions of psychopathic traits such as manipulative tendencies, deceitfulness, lack of empathy and remorse, impulsiveness, and irresponsibility in relations with others. Examining early expressions of psychopathy may help clinicians better understand how psychopathy manifests and develops, and perhaps identify the developmental period when the traits are least stable and potentially more responsive to treatment. It is still unclear if psychopathic traits in adolescent females can be measured by the same factor structures present in current measurement tools, and whether or not psychopathic behaviors seen in adolescent males are the same in adolescent females. Interpersonal and affective deficits within psychopathy also overlap with several forms of relationally aggressive behaviors seen in adolescent females; therefore, relationally aggressive behaviors could contribute to or correlate with psychopathy. This study examined the relationship between relational aggression and psychopathic traits amongst a sample of incarcerated adolescent females. An exploratory factor analysis was executed to determine the reliability and validity of the Youth Psychopathic Inventory (YPI) and Diverse Adolescent Relational Aggression Scale (DARAS) with an incarcerated adolescent female population. Correlational analyses were completed to demonstrate a positive relationship between relational aggression and psychopathic traits. Finally, a factorial MANOVA was performed to demonstrate no distinguishable significant differences with age and race/ethnicity in regard to relational aggression and psychopathic traits within this population. </p>

<p> This work describes prison chaplains and chapel volunteers from three perspectives: (1) a historical perspective which is used to investigate the role of religion in prisons, (2) the chaplains&rsquo; perspective on the partnership between chaplains and chapel volunteers, and (3) the volunteers&rsquo; perspective on the predictors of volunteering in prison ministry. </p><p> First, the study provides a historical perspective on the role of prison ministry workers in prisons by examining: (a) the role of religion in the philanthropic life of John Howard, an eighteenth century prison reformer, (b) the role of religion in satisfying socio-economic pre-conditions that led to prison reform during the period of the Industrial Revolution, and (c) the role of religion during the development and evolution of the penal systems in the USA. </p><p> Second, the study explores the partnership between paid chaplains working for over three months at ten state, medium to high-level security, men&rsquo;s prisons in Indiana, and chapel volunteers providing in-person ministry work. The study is primarily based on in-person, in-depth interviews with 25 chaplains. Using modified analytic induction, the research leads to identification of four roles adopted by chaplains: Pastoral Counselor, Religious Coordinator, Administrative Minister, and Advocate for Prisoners. The study describes the partnership in general and explains how chaplains in each of these different roles perceive conflict and collaboration with volunteers. </p><p> Third, the study constructs a sampling frame consisting of an estimated 916 to 1,132 chapel volunteers working in the ten prisons. The study is based on responses to a survey based on a convenience sample of 106 of these volunteers. The study uses OLS regression to test 32 hypotheses. Among other things, the study finds that statistically significant predictors of higher amount and higher frequency of volunteering to prison ministry include: being retired, shorter length of commute to prison, tenure as prison ministry volunteer, lower motivation to develop and strengthen social ties, and higher frequency of attending religious services. </p><p> The work concludes with a summary and discussion of the findings, implications for theory and practitioners (including policymakers, prison administrators, chaplains, and volunteers), as well as limitations and suggestions for future research.</p>

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Lisa Melander / The media has a substantial role in providing knowledge about criminality to the public. Previous research has demonstrated that many media representations of crime and criminality perpetuate racial stereotypes and myths. The current study examines photographs in newspapers to investigate if a person of color has a higher chance of being presented by their mugshot over White individuals in crime stories. In addition the analysis examines how female offenders are presented in newspaper crime stories compared to men. To date, there has been no published research on the influence gender and race has on mugshot portrayals in newspaper media. The current study addresses this gap through an ethnographic content analysis of newspaper crime stories from widely circulated newspapers published between August 1, 2014 and October 31, 2014. The analyses are also informed by social constructionism and labeling theory.

<p> The juvenile system is no longer perceived as a social welfare model, but has become more punitive approximating a crime control model. Juveniles are not responsible for the majority of crime in the United States and are not the most serious and violent demographic; however, they are incarcerated at a higher rate than adults. Incarceration is an element of deterrence currently used by the juvenile justice system without a clear conclusion of whether or not it works to reduce juvenile crime. </p><p> The goal of this research was to first conduct a systematic review of prior studies on the effectiveness of incarceration on recidivism rates for juvenile offenders. A meta-analysis design was used on selected studies that met the inclusion criteria to determine if a relationship exists. This study compared and reviewed the recidivism rates of juvenile offenders sentenced to incarceration with a comparison group as identified in each study. The method for statistical measurement to test the research questions focused on analyzing effect sizes with a mean effect size through a meta-analysis. Moderators were analyzed across groups on their effect on recidivism. The length of the sentences for juveniles were examined and the results showed an association between longer sentences and reduced recidivism. Additionally, the effect sizes comparing recidivism between incarceration with non-incarceration resulted in negative relationship. Incarcerating juveniles is not a deterrent for criminal behavior, rather incarceration increased recidivism. It is time for policy makers to adhere to the evidence that incarceration does not deter crime and accept that imprisoning juveniles does not fulfill the promises of reducing crime and increasing public safety.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to design a 3-year pilot program, identify funding sources, and write a grant proposal to fund an extended services reentry program, Helping Hands to New Beginnings (HH2NB), in Los Angeles, California. A review of literature revealed that the City of Los Angeles does not have sufficient reintegration programs to compensate for the influx of parolees. The proposed program would provide male parolees with reintegration services that target their criminogenic needs over a 3-year period. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was selected as the most appropriate funder to support this program. The identified host agency is the Weingart Center that provides homeless individuals with the skills necessary to rehabilitate and re-stabilize their lives, secure employment, and find long-term housing. The actual submission or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</p>

<p> Since deinstitutionalization, the responsibility for mentally ill members of society has shifted to the criminal justice system in a process of trans-institutionalization or &ldquo;criminalization of mental illness&rdquo; (Slate &amp; Johnson, 2013, p. 28). Though various groups have been studied to ascertain their perception of mentally ill individuals and offenders, previous research focuses largely on students of psychology, social work, and medicine. Little research has been conducted regarding the perceptions of criminal justice students toward mental illness, despite the increasing involvement of the criminal justice system in treating and handling mentally ill individuals in the past thirty years. This exploratory research serves as a replication to a study which was conducted by Thompson, Paulson, Valgardson, Nored, and Johnson (2014). </p>

<p> Bloodstain evidence can be obscured and lost when deposited on dark surfaces where there is no contrast between the bloodstain and the surface. This can also occur when criminals attempt to conceal bloodstains by painting over them. This research investigated the detection and visualization of bloodstains deposited on dark surfaces and concealed under paint with the use of an infrared (IR) alternate light source produced by the Foster and Freeman company under the name Crime-lite^&reg; 82S Infrared. </p><p> The results show that the Crime-lite^&reg; 82S Infrared in conjunction with an IR sensitive camera can aid in the detection and visualization of bloodstains best on porous surfaces such as indoor carpets and most clothing as well as on and under red-tinged paints with the more flat or matte finishes. The results also suggest the component within blood responsible for absorbing IR light is hemoglobin present in red blood cells. Further, the findings indicate that when hemoglobin is present in too low of a quantity, it falls below the detection threshold to absorb IR light and bloodstains will not be visualized. Given its ease-of-use and portability, combined with the support of the findings from this collaborative study with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Field Investigation Unit (FIU), the Crime-lite^&reg; 82S Infrared and camera is recommended as an additional tool in the search for bloodstain evidence that may otherwise go undetected.</p>

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