This study examined the knowledge relevant to reducing crime affecting urban Aboriginal people through a risk-focused approach to prevention and a growing body of knowledge about how it gets implemented. It then examined this knowledge in a case study of its application in Winnipeg. Interviews were undertaken using a structured questionnaire with program stakeholders and policy planners involved in crime prevention initiatives, programming and policy in Winnipeg. Approximately half of the stakeholders were involved primarily with Aboriginal people and the other half were involved with programs that included both Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people. The interviews took place from September to November 2009. The interviews show that many stakeholders agree with the risk-focused prevention literature on risk factors and that there are prevention programs operating in Winnipeg serving at-risk Aboriginal people. Therefore, there exists the possibility of reducing crime given that they are tackling risk factors in a way which is consistent with crime prevention research. However, when the interviews turned to issues of implementation, it showed: • There is no responsibility centre to mobilize different sectors to tackle crime • Many programs are not implemented comprehensively • There is a lack of localized coordinated action (including support from the police chief and public engagement) • There is a lack of political leadership • There is no city-wide strategic plan, and • Programs are in constant competition for funding in order to continue operations. If we are to reduce the disproportionate rates of victimization and offending affecting urban Aboriginal peoples, we need to find more effective ways to implement the strategies that are proven to tackle risk factors. There must be support from the mayor and police chief, training and capacity development, and public engagement which fosters strong use of proven strategies. A responsibility centre with Aboriginal representation must be created. Funding must be expanded to support the community based organizations that are tackling established risk factors. Finally, sustained and adequate funding must be provided to these programs and the responsibility centre.

The number of women who are incarcerated has increased significantly in the past few decades. Originally designed to manage male offenders, jails and prisons are ill-equipped to address the unique needs of women inmates whose paths to incarceration often include histories of trauma, abuse, and addiction. This qualitative study investigated the lives of 13 women who while incarcerated at Dallas County Jail, participated in an educational program, Resolana. The purpose of this study was to understand the women’s lives prior to incarceration, as well as the impact of the program and changes they experienced, if any, as a result of what they were learning. Data were collected using semi-structured, life history interviews, and by engaging in field observations as a volunteer for each class for a period of one week. An in-depth analysis through a critical lens, using a holistic-content narrative analysis method, was done with one participant’s life history. The findings are presented as an ethnodrama illuminating the cultural, social, personal, and legal systems of oppression that she survived and that contributed to her path to incarceration. Analyzed through a lens of agency and resistance, the findings that emerged from an analysis of all the participant’s life histories reveal that the women’s criminalized actions were often survival responses. The women employed various strategies, both legal and illegal, in response to people or situations involving control, power or domination over their lives. An analysis of the women’s experiences with Resolana through a transformative learning theoretical framework indicates that the women experience transformation in various ways and to varying degrees. The learning environment served as a container in which transformative learning could be cultivated through opportunities for interpersonal and intrapersonal engagement. The results of this study reveal the need for more and targeted advocacy and education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. The results also indicate that the process and content of Resolana’s programming had a transformative impact on participants, and for some, the transformation was enduring. Finally, the results challenge definitions of criminal behavior in the context interlocking systems of oppression, and encourage thinking about alternatives to incarceration.

The past decade has seen a rise in research on social, relational and indirect aggression, with a burgeoning focus only recently on the psychosocial consequences of being a target of such behaviours. It is widely understood that experiencing social aggression can trigger internal distress for children and adolescents, but far less is known about the nature and extent of longer-term psychosocial consequences. In this qualitative study, I aim to begin filling this gap by exploring how young women make meaning from experiences of social aggression in adolescence, with a particular focus on how they understand the impact of these experiences on their sense of self and relation to others in adulthood. Seven women between the ages of 25 and 32 were interviewed using a modified collaborative narrative method (Arvay, 2003). Interviews were transcribed and interpreted in narrative form to preserve the unique voice and experience of each participant. Five themes emerged through a process of categorical-content analysis as described by Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach & Zilber (1998). Themes address participants' meaning-making following experiences of social aggression in terms of the (1) struggle to understand, (2) loss of trust in relationship, (3) changes in sense of self, (4) psychosocial responses, and (5) process of reframing of the experience in adulthood. The themes are discussed within the context of relevant qualitative and quantitative literature on the psychosocial consequence of social, relational and indirect aggression in adolescence and adulthood. Implications for school and community counselling practice and suggestions for future research are examined.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-40).

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-28). Also available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-28).

Adolescence heralds a unique period of vulnerability to depressive symptoms. The current study examined relational victimization, targeting adolescents’ interpersonal relationships, as a unique predictor of depressive symptoms in a broad age range of adolescents. Past research shows that interpersonal resources—particularly emotional support—are negatively related to depression. In this study, the moderating effects of emotional support from mothers, fathers, and peers on the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms were investigated. As expected, high levels of maternal and peer emotional support buffered the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. Emotional support from fathers did not moderate this relationship. Findings also suggest that while support from peers is protective against concurrent depressive symptoms, it can be detrimental to adolescent’s mental health over time. In contrast, maternal emotional support buffers future depressive symptoms associated with past experiences of relational victimization.

Chefer har enligt svensk lag ett särskilt ansvar att förebygga, uppmärksamma och hantera kränkande särbehandling på arbetsplatsen. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka hur chefer inom en offentlig förvaltning upplevde de krav som kommer med detta särskilda ansvar samt vilket stöd som cheferna upplevde sig behöva i sitt arbete mot kränkande särbehandling. För att undersöka detta genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio chefer på vald förvaltning. Intervjuerna analyserades med en induktiv tematisk analys. Resultatet visade på att cheferna upplevde de krav som ställs på dem att arbeta med frågor som rör kränkande särbehandling som ett naturligt ansvar som medföljer i chefsrollen. Vidare upplevde cheferna en del utmaningar i sitt arbete mot kränkande särbehandling och de betonade betydelsen av kommunikation för ett välfungerande arbete. Det stöd som cheferna främst upplevde sig behöva i arbetet mot kränkande särbehandling var stöd från avdelningen för Human Resources. / Managers have in according to Swedish law a particular responsibility to prevent, pay attention to and deal with matters regarding victimization at work. The purpose of this study was to investigate how managers within a public administration was experiencing the demands that accompany this particular responsibility, As well as the support managers felt was necessary in order to conduct their work against victimization at work. The method used in this study were semistructured interviews with nine managers within a chosen public administration, the interviews were then analyzed with a inductive thematic analysis. The result showed that managers were experiencing the demands that were put on them in order to work with issues regarding victimization at work as a natural responsibility accompanying the managerial role. In addition managers were experiencing certain challenges in their work against victimization and they highlighted the meaning of communication for the establishment of a well functioning working environment. The main support managers felt was necessary for their work against victimization was the support from the Human Resources Department.

abstract: Despite some prevailing attitudes that bullying is normal, relatively innocuous behavior, it has recently been recognized as a serious problem in schools worldwide. Victimized students are more likely to evidence poor academic and semi-academic outcomes, experience social difficulties, and drop out of school in comparison to their non-victimized peers. Although anti-bullying programs have proliferated during the last decade, those aimed at helping children cope with bullying often suffer from a lack of basic research on the effectiveness of children's responses to bullying. The focus of this study was to delineate the ways in which elementary school-aged children typically cope with peer victimization, then to examine which strategies reduce future risk for harassment and associated adjustment problems to inform prevention and intervention program development. A cohort-sequential design was used to examine the effectiveness of children's strategies for coping with peer victimization. The sample included 317 children (157 boys; 49.5% Caucasian, 50.5% Hispanic; M age =10 years 5 months at T1) who were surveyed in the Fall and Spring of two academic years. Confirmatory factory analysis was used to validate the factor structure of the coping measure used and internal reliability was verified. Comparison of means indicated differences in children's coping based upon sex and age. For example, girls tend to cope more emotionally and cognitively, while boys are more behavioral in their coping. Regression results indicated that a number of specific relationships were present between coping, victimization, loneliness, and anxiety. For example, support seeking behavior was effective at decreasing victimization for younger children (fourth graders) who experienced high initial victimization. In contrast, revenge seeking behavior was predictive of increased victimization for both girls and highly victimized students. Problem solving was effective at reducing adjustment problems over time for younger students and, although results for older students were non-significant, it appears to be a promising strategy due to a lack of association with negative future outcomes. Results highlight the importance of identifying influential characteristics of individual children in order for prevention and intervention programs to successfully decrease the incidence and adverse impact of bullying behavior. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2010

abstract: The link between victimization and offending is well established in the literature, yet an unexplored causal pathway within this relationship is concerned with why some individuals engage in maladaptive coping in response to victimization. In particular, those with low self-control may be attracted to problematic yet immediately gratifying forms of coping post-victimization (e.g., substance use), which may increase their likelihood of violent offending in the future. Using three waves of adolescent panel data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, this research examines: (1) whether individuals with low-self control are more likely to engage in substance use coping following violent victimization, and (2) whether victims with low self-control who engage in substance use coping are more likely to commit violent offenses in the future. The results from negative binomial regressions support these hypotheses, even after controlling for prior offending, peer influences, prior substance abuse, and other forms of offending. The implications for integrating general strain and self-control theories, as well as for our understanding of the victimization-offending overlap, are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2011