Support for Balanced Justice and Rehabilitation for Justice-Involved Veterans

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra A. Atkin-Plunk ◽  
Lincoln B. Sloas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Violent Offense ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Oriented Approach

Justice-involved veterans face increased behavioral health (e.g., mental health and substance abuse) issues and are more likely to be incarcerated for a violent offense compared to nonveterans. Despite the large number of veterans involved in the justice system, there is a paucity of research examining public opinion of sanctioning approaches for justice-involved veterans. The current study seeks to fill this gap by sampling 575 undergraduate students at a large university in the south to examine support for sanctioning approaches for nonviolent and violent justice–involved veterans. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine whether beliefs regarding the treatment of justice-involved veterans (e.g., whether veterans deserve access to rehabilitation programs, the ability of veterans to be rehabilitated, whether veterans are willing to work toward rehabilitation, and the effectiveness of treatment programs for veterans) relate to support for balanced justice. Findings suggest support for a balanced justice approach to sanctioning violent justice–involved veterans, while support for a rehabilitation-oriented approach to sanctioning nonviolent justice–involved veterans. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals The Importance of Mental Health Courts for Psychiatry & the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-23
Author(s):  
Alexander Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Mentally Ill Offenders ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Promising Area ◽  
Legal Outcomes

Mental health courts are designed to divert mentally ill offenders away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate treatment programs. This commentary highlights the systemic issues that led to the development of mental health courts as a solution. Research has already demonstrated that these courts are associated with numerous positive psychiatric and legal outcomes. However, further research is required to determine what specifically makes them successful, and who is most likely to benefit from them. Mental health courts have earned their place as an essential part of the criminal justice system and are a promising area of future research.

On Gang Affiliation, Gang Databases, and Prosecutorial Outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan W. Caudill ◽  
Chad R. Trulson ◽  
James W. Marquart ◽  
Matt DeLisi
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Gang Affiliation ◽  
Legal Consequences

Technological advances have enabled criminal justice organizations to collect and share offender data. Accompanying these advances are concerns about how various segments of the criminal justice system utilize these data. Specifically, scholars have expressed concerns about the legal consequences of being included in gang databases. This study explored the use of gang affiliation indicators on prosecutorial outcomes by using a sample of 5,111 urban juvenile cases. Using three binary measures of gang affiliation, multinomial logistic regression analysis suggested indicators of gang affiliation influenced prosecutorial outcomes (dismissal, pre-adjudication informal supervision, deferred prosecution, or petition), but in an unanticipated manner. Confirmed gang affiliates, instead of suspected or non-gang affiliates, were significantly more likely to experience pre-adjudication informal supervision over other forms of case outcomes: case dismissal, deferred prosecution, or court petition. Policy implications focus on the inter-connectedness of the criminal justice system.

“Anything Can Happen at Any Time”: Perceived Causes of Correctional Officer Injuries

2020 ◽  
pp. 073401682095252
Author(s):  
Natalie Goulette ◽  
Andrew S. Denney ◽  
Matthew S. Crow
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Correctional Officers ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Correctional Officer ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Executive Staff ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Prior research finds that correctional officers (COs) often report high levels of stress, poor mental and physical health and are at an increased risk of suffering work-related injuries. However, little is known about the causes of such injuries. In an attempt to fill this large gap in the literature, the current study used qualitative data to explore the perceived causes of work-related injuries according to COs and their executive staff. Officers identified the reasons for injuries as either within their control or outside of their control. Injuries resulting from factors within CO’s control were perceived to be related to complacency and corruption. Injuries stemming from circumstances outside of CO’s control were perceived to be related to the nature of the job, the mental health of inmates, minor events escalating, and what are known as inmate “check-ins.” In consideration of these findings, policy implications and directions for future research are also reviewed.

scholarly journals Traumatic Brain Injury and Recidivism Among Returning Inmates

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Ray ◽  
Nicholas J. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
General Population ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Ohio State University ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
State University ◽  
The Ohio State University ◽  
The Relationship

In recent years, there has been a surge in research that examines the relationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and involvement in the criminal justice system. However, the bulk of this research has been largely retrospective and descriptive, comparing rates of TBI in the offending population with the rates of TBI in the general population. Although findings from these studies indicate a higher prevalence of TBI in the offending population, virtually no studies have examined whether those with TBI are more likely to recidivate. To address this gap, the present study examined rearrest post release from prison among a cohort sample of Indiana inmates who were screened using the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification (OSU-TBI-ID) instrument. Findings indicate that, net of control variables, those with TBI were more likely to recidivate sooner than those without TBI. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Relationships among Executive Function, Cognitive Load, and Weight-related Behaviors in University Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 691-703
Author(s):  
Carol Byrd-Bredbenner ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Eck
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Obesity Prevention Programs

Objectives: College students have high risk of anxiety and weight gain. Understanding how executive function traits, especially with trait anxiety, associates with weight-related behaviors could indicate strategies for improving obesity prevention programs. In this study, we examined links between weight-related behaviors of undergraduate students and executive function traits with and without high cognitive loads in the form of trait anxiety. Methods: Participants (N = 406) completed an online survey assessing health, weight-related behaviors, executive function traits (cognitive self-control, concentration, and flexibility), and cognitive load (trait anxiety). Results: K-means cluster analysis of executive function trait scales yielded 3 homogenous groups distinctly different from each other: Cluster 1 had the lowest cognitive self-control and flexibility and moderate concentration traits, Cluster 2 had the lowest concentration and moderate self-control and flexibility traits, and Cluster 3 had the highest executive function traits. Clusters did not differ on BMI or physical health. Cluster 3 had better mental health, physical activity, sleep quality, and eating behaviors. Across clusters, those with high cognitive loads, as indicated by trait anxiety, had poorer mental health than those with low loads. High cognitive load in Clusters 2 and 3 adversely affected eating behaviors requiring cognitive concentration and self-control. Conclusions: Future research should explore the feasibility of delivering executive control improvement activities and health education simultaneously.

scholarly journals A cross-sectional investigation of parenting style and friendship as mediators of the relation between social class and mental health in a university community.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Parenting Style ◽  
Parenting Styles ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional

Introduction: This study tested a novel explanation for the positive relation between social class and mental healthamong university students. Students with a higher social class were expected to have experienced more authoritativeand less authoritarian parenting styles; these parenting styles were expected to lead to greater friendship and socialintegration at university; and greater friendship and integration were expected to lead to better mental health.Method: To test this model, the researchers asked 397 Australian undergraduate students to complete an online survey.The research used a cross-sectional correlational design, and the data was analysed using bootstrapped multiple serialmediation tests.Results: Consistent with predictions, parenting style, general friendship and support, and social integration at universitymediated the relation between social class and mental health.Conclusions: The present results suggest that working-class parenting styles may inhibit the development ofsocially-supportive friendships that protect against mental health problems. The potential effectiveness ofinterventions based on (a) social integration and (b) parenting style is discussed. Future research in this areashould employ a longitudinal research design in order to arrive at clearer causal conclusions about therelations between social class, parenting styles, friendship, social integration, and mental health.

scholarly journals First Year University Students Self-Reported Health Outcomes Over an Academic Semester

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
P.K Doyle-Baker ◽  
K.M. Verge ◽  
L. McClelland ◽  
T. Fung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
College And University ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

The transition to university can be a stressful time in a student’s life. Recent evidence demonstrates declining mental and physical health in college and university students compared to the general public. A prospective cohort study investigating mental and physical wellness over the course of a semester in a sample of first-year undergraduate students (N=74; 65%F) from nine faculties was completed at a large university in Canada. Sixty-eight (92%) students with a mean (SD, ±) age 18.2 ± 1.1 yrs., weight 67.9 ± 15.5 kg, height, 168.5 ± 11.6 cm and waist circumference 81.3 ± 9.8 cm completed the SF-36V2 quality of life questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester in Fall 2014. A decrease in vitality (p=0.003), social functioning (p=0.004), emotional state (p=0.014), and mental health (p=0.019) outcomes as measured by the SF-36v2 occurred during the semester. In addition, aggregate mental health significantly declined from the beginning to the end of the semester (p <0.001), while physical health did not change (p=0.242). The importance of promoting and increasing awareness of campus wide mental health strategies should be considered a priority for first year undergrad students. Particularly, because students in their first year may take longer than one semester to adjust to the increased work load and although difficult to speculate it is possible that both mental and physical health would decline over the next (second) semester. Future research should aim for longer study duration.

scholarly journals First Year University Students Self-Reported Health Outcomes Over an Academic Semester

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
P.K. Doyle-Baker ◽  
K.M. Verge ◽  
L. McClelland ◽  
T. Fung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
College And University ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

The transition to university can be a stressful time in a student’s life. Recent evidence demonstrates declining mental and physical health in college and university students compared to the general public. A prospective cohort study investigating mental and physical wellness over the course of a semester in a sample of first-year undergraduate students (N=74; 65%F) from nine faculties was completed at a large university in Canada. Sixty-eight (92%) students with a mean (SD, ±) age 18.2 ± 1.1 yrs., weight 67.9 ± 15.5 kg, height, 168.5 ± 11.6 cm and waist circumference 81.3 ± 9.8 cm completed the SF-36V2 quality of life questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester in Fall 2014. A decrease in vitality (p=0.003), social functioning (p=0.004), emotional state (p=0.014), and mental health (p=0.019) outcomes as measured by the SF-36v2 occurred during the semester. In addition, aggregate mental health significantly declined from the beginning to the end of the semester (p <0.001), while physical health did not change (p=0.242). The importance of promoting and increasing awareness of campus wide mental health strategies should be considered a priority for first year undergrad students. Particularly, because students in their first year may take longer than one semester to adjust to the increased work load and although difficult to speculate it is possible that both mental and physical health would decline over the next (second) semester. Future research should aim for longer study duration.

Intensive Supervision Programs and Recidivism: How Michigan Successfully Targets High-Risk Offenders

2017 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen E. DeVall ◽  
Christina Lanier ◽  
David J. Hartmann ◽  
Sarah Hupp Williamson ◽  
LaQuana N. Askew
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
Intensive Supervision ◽  
The Past ◽  
Quasi Experimental

The United States has witnessed enormous criminal justice system growth in the past 60 years. In response to calls for reform, several jurisdictions have implemented programs that provide intensive supervision for high-risk offenders, swiftly responding to violations with sanctions. This quasi-experimental study is the first comprehensive analysis of Michigan’s Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program (SSSPP), an alternative-to-incarceration program. The findings indicate that SSSPP participants had lower recidivism rates compared with individuals sentenced to probation-as-usual. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are offered.

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