Sentencing Domestic Violence Offenders: A Vignette Study of Public Perceptions

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988853
Author(s):  
Nicole J. Horstman ◽  
Christine E. W. Bond ◽  
Li Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Domestic Assault ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
Vignette Study ◽  
Personal Attitudes ◽  
Domestic Violence Perpetrators

This study examined public perceptions of sentencing severity for males convicted of domestic violence assault compared with non-domestic violence assault. Over the years, surveys have reported changes in community attitudes toward seeing domestic violence as a more serious issue and an increased understanding of what acts constitute a domestic violence offense (Carlson & Worden, 2005). This study aimed to (a) examine whether public perceptions of sentencing severity differ between domestic and non-domestic violence assault offenses committed under similar circumstances; and (b) whether these perceptions remain after adjusting for personal attitudes, victimization experiences, and sociodemographic factors. After reading vignette scenarios depicting domestic and non-domestic assault, 284 undergraduate students responded to a survey about their perceptions of appropriate sentence outcomes and length. Results found that regardless of participants’ punitiveness (and other factors), the manipulation of the victim–offender relationship was a significant predictor for judgments of sentencing severity. Notably, the results highlighted a leniency effect in the perceptions of participants toward perpetrators of domestic violence when compared with those who received the non-domestic violence scenario. These findings imply that undergraduate students judge domestic violence as less serious and hence not warranting as severe sentencing as non-domestic violence assault perpetrators. The study indicates that public perceptions of sentencing severity for domestic violence perpetrators are not consistent with the reported shift in public perceptions toward seeing domestic violence as a serious public issue. These findings highlight the importance of continued community education about domestic violence as well as the need to take care when considering engaging public opinion in sentencing practices for domestic violence perpetrators.

The Influence of Gender and Ethnicity on Judgments of Culpability in a Domestic Violence Scenario

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Ferguson ◽  
Charles Negy
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
European American ◽  
Domestic Assault ◽  
European Americans ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Ethnicity And Gender

Using an experimental analog design, in this study we examined 503 European American, African American, and Latino undergraduate students’ responses to a domestic violence scenario in which the ethnicity and gender of the perpetrator were manipulated. Results indicated that participants perceived perpetration of domestic assault significantly more criminal when committed by a man than when committed by a woman. That finding was robust across European Americans, African Americans, and Latinos and was expressed by both genders. Also, European American participants expressed significantly more criticism toward African American perpetrators of assault than they did toward European American and Latino perpetrators of the exact offense, suggestive of racial bias consistent with stereotypes about African Americans being excessively aggressive. Finally, Latino participants expressed significantly more sympathy toward women who assault their husbands than toward assaulting husbands. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Suicide in China: Community Attitudes and Stigma

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282199131
Author(s):  
Robin E. Gearing ◽  
Kathryne B. Brewer ◽  
Monit Cheung ◽  
Patrick Leung ◽  
Wanzhen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Public Stigma ◽  
Stigma Reduction ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Receive Treatment ◽  
Attitudes Toward Suicide ◽  
Male Subjects

China accounts for an estimated third of the world’s suicides, yet individuals experiencing suicidality typically do not seek out or receive treatment. This study examines community perceptions and public stigma toward suicide. In Shanghai, China 186 adults were recruited to participate in a survey with an experimental vignette describing a suicidal individual, manipulated on gender and age, followed by questions eliciting attitudes toward suicide. Most participants agreed that the suicidal subject had a serious problem, with seriousness of the problem decreasing with participant’s age. Participants reported moderate levels of public stigma. More stigma was found toward adolescent subjects rather than adult. Male subjects were perceived as being more likely to change than females. The public’s accurate view of suicide without biases could help prevent suicide from getting worse. Public perceptions regarding a suicidal individual’s likelihood to change could lead to stigma reduction, which can subsequently help with effective crisis intervention.

An Explanatory Model of Problematic Internet Use of Southern Spanish University Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932199865
Author(s):  
José-María Romero-Rodríguez ◽  
José-Antonio Marín-Marín ◽  
Francisco-Javier Hinojo-Lucena ◽  
Gerardo Gómez-García
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Problematic Internet Use ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Cross Sectional

The problematic Internet use (PIU) has become a topic of special relevance since it is a problem that affects the whole world. It has been detected that the population at greatest risk is university students along with adolescents. At the same time, Spain is one of the countries with the highest PIU rate. The purposes of this article were to analyze the presence and degree of Internet addiction among university students and to check the sociodemographic factors that influence the PIU. To this end, 13 hypotheses were put forward and contrasted using a structural equation model. The study adopted a cross-sectional approach by applying the Internet addiction test to a sample of undergraduate students in southern Spain ( n = 1,013). The results indicated a prevalence of PIU among students of almost 12.5% and with a moderate degree of addiction. In turn, the following hypotheses that had a significant effect on the PIU were supported: gender; field of knowledge; living in the parents’ home; Internet daily use for leisure; Internet daily use for academic purposes; number of social networks; sexual orientation; marital status. Finally, the main findings of the study were reviewed, and the main recommendations and implications for mitigating the negative effects of technology and enhancing the positive ones were established.

scholarly journals A prospective study to find the prevalence of domestic violence against married females of rural India

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 495
Author(s):  
Rutuja Dinkar Pundkar
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
First Century ◽  
Literacy Rate ◽  
Systematic Random Sampling ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Education Of Women ◽  
Tight Rope ◽  
A Prospective Study

Background: Starting from Vedic age to twenty first century, women have never been given equal freedom as of males. It is always the women who have to be on the tight rope, subject to inequality and looked down as an inferior sex. The aim and objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence.Methods: 776 married females were selected by systematic random sampling from the field practice area under primary health care. Prior a pilot study was carried out among 25 married class IV female workers. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used and all the confidentiality was maintained. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 21 software.Results: Average age of the respondents was 28.13 years with range 18 to 56 years. Overall 96% respondents were literate, whereas literacy rate in rural population in parent district was 67.8%. Majority number of respondents were housewives i.e. 58.37%.Conclusions: Various sociodemographic factors like age of the women, education of women and perpetrator, age at marriage of women, and the socio-economic status shows inverse relationship with occurrence of domestic violence. More economic empowerment, along with higher education, may provide women with the ground of awareness protesting platform eventually promoting protective factors against domestic violence.

scholarly journals ‘It’s a work in progress’: men’s accounts of gender and change in their use of coercive control

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Downes ◽  
Liz Kelly ◽  
Nicole Westmarland
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
Coercive Control ◽  
Masculine Norms ◽  
Work In Progress ◽  
The Past ◽  
Letting Go ◽  
Domestic Violence Perpetrators

Over the past ten years the theoretical framework of ‘coercive control’ has been increasingly applied, critiqued and now underpins a criminal offence. While many argue that it more accurately reflects experiences of victimisation, there has been little exploration of coercive control through the accounts of perpetrators. Through two phased interviews with 64 men attending UK Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes, we examine how and why men use coercive tactics and how unpicking gender norms enabled some men to recognise and reduce their use of coercive control. We argue that coercive control is more dynamic, contestable and open to change than previous research has suggested. Some men did manage to take steps away from investing in traditional masculine norms and reduce their use of coercive tactics. However, this was an uneven and contradictory process which took time ‐ involving painful realisations of loss and harm alongside a discovery of the benefits associated with letting go of restrictive gender norms. Understanding how and why men invest in or dismantle gender norms that underpin coercive control has important implications for theory and for practice, particularly the content and focus of work with domestic violence perpetrators.

Community police academies: Assessing the effect of education on public perceptions of police

2020 ◽  
pp. 0032258X2092693
Author(s):  
Nicholas M Perez ◽  
Trinh Nguyen ◽  
Brenda Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Community Police ◽  
Perceptions Of Police ◽  
Attitudes Toward The Police ◽  
Police Practices

Citizens often have misconceptions about law enforcement. This misinformation may contribute to distrust and heightened concerns about force and misconduct. Agencies attempt to address this by promoting procedural justice and providing community education on police practices. Thus far, past research has not been clear on the actual utility of community education on changing public perceptions. Recent funding has allowed one department to host 14 one-day community police academies (CPAs) to educate residents about policing topics to enhance trust and improve public perceptions of the department. The current project analyzes data collected CPA events to determine the effects on citizen knowledge of police procedures and the effect of this knowledge on attitudes toward the police. Results indicate that while CPAs were effective at educating citizens about practices and improving trust in law enforcement, the increased knowledge was not associated with improvements to public trust. The knowledge obtained at the CPA was, however, predictive of lower concerns about use of force. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Is Smartphone Addiction Associated with a Younger Age at First Use in University Students?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Jaalouk ◽  
Jocelyne Boumosleh
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Smartphone Addiction ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Smartphone Use ◽  
Independent Association

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence highlighted the potential of habitual smartphone use among youth to become an addiction analogous to established behavioral and substance-related addictions. While investigators revealed independent predictive effects of several sociodemographic factors, personality traits, psychological conditions, and smartphone usage patterns on smartphone addiction (SPA) in university students, none examined the independent effect of age at first smartphone use, a potential predictor variable, on subsequent development of SPA.OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the independent association between age at first smartphone use and SPA score in a sample of 688 Lebanese undergraduate university students.METHODS: A random sample of 688 undergraduate students selected from Notre Dame University, Lebanon filled out survey forms that included a) questions on socio-demographics, academics, smartphone use, personality type, depression, anxiety, and lifestyle habits; b) 26-item Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) Scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the independent association between age at first use and SPA level.RESULTS: Mean age at first smartphone use was about 15 years. Younger age at first use of smartphone was found to be significantly associated with several SPA symptoms and correlated with higher total SPAI score. In the unadjusted regression model, higher total SPAI scores were found to be significantly associated with younger age at first smartphone use. This association remained significant in the partially adjusted model, but disappeared in the fully adjusted one when controlling additionally for smartphone use habits.CONCLUSION: Younger age at smartphone use did not independently predict SPA in this sample of students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document