Search

This mixed-methods study examines the marketing of, and toxic ingredients found in, common personal care products (PCPs) such as shampoos or deodorants that are sold in the United States. Through qualitative analyses of the messaging presented by PCP packaging and quantitative analyses of the prevalence of toxic ingredients by product and target consumer, we reveal what we term "toxic personal care": the usage of products sold to consumers as minimally necessary, and perhaps even beneficial, to their personal well-being through gendered messaging, yet introduce consumers to chemical toxicity. Supporting research on postfeminist sensibilities, we find that products marketed to women are no more likely to contain toxic ingredients than those marketed to men, nor do lower-priced products contain more toxic ingredients. Instead, product descriptions perpetuate a "cult(ure) of confidence" that not only encourages the usage of PCPs equally across women and men through drawing from traditional gendered stereotypes, but also masks the similarities in ingredients and toxins. These findings have implications for understanding consumption, well-being practices, gendered marketing, and constructions of confidence in the United States, including monetary and possible health costs to consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victimization of college students is widespread, and it is not uncommon for students to disclose these experiences to faculty. Given that how faculty respond to disclosures may have implications for students' psychosocial and academic outcomes, it is key to know more about disclosures to help faculty prepare a supportive response. This study used data from an online survey of members of two U.S.-based professional scholarly associations for criminal justice and criminology (N = 637) to look at the nature of student disclosure of victimization and which faculty are more likely to receive such disclosures. Disclosure to faculty was widespread (87% of faculty had received at least one disclosure of victimization from a student), and disclosures were mostly made in person. Over half the time (52.3%), participants thought the disclosure was prompted by an incident in class or another aspect of the course, and more than a quarter of the time (28.8%), the disclosure came from a student in a course that utilized trigger warnings. A faculty member's individual identities, such as gender or race and ethnicity, did not appear to render them more or less likely to receive student disclosures. However, faculty with victimization experiences who had links to victim services organizations, who were teaching in a Sociology department, or who had been teaching longer were more likely to have received a disclosure. Graduate student instructors were less likely to have received a disclosure, even controlling for years of teaching. This suggests widespread training of college-level instructors in how to respond to a student's disclosure of victimization may be warranted, at least for faculty teaching courses focusing on criminology and criminal justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explored Black college students' perceptions of developing their postsecondary motivation and aspirations via in-depth qualitative interviews (N = 14). Use of the grounded theory method produced a three-stage developmental process for nurturing a college-going identity that aligned with the initial phases of the plant life growth cycle. The initial phase for participants occurred during their childhood, with parents planting seeds of college-going aspirations for their children. The second phase of cultivating the soil for postsecondary ambitions occurred during high school, where participants' self-motivation was bolstered within their familial and educational environments. The third phase also occurred in high school with germinating seedlings that produced concrete college-going plans by delineating potential fields of study and completing college applications. Intervening conditions promoted optimal (i.e., resource access) or adverse (i.e., COVID-19 pandemic) growth environments. Implications include delineating pathways to postsecondary success for Black emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research literacy for graduate social work students may be enhanced by approaching the process of teaching research methods from an experiential learning perspective. This article provides an overview of an introductory MSW research course where students investigated adverse life events (ALEs) and their association with mental health outcomes in social work majors (N  = 51). MSW students’ inquiry into ALEs helped to increase their understanding of the practical elements of trauma exposure and aftermath, along with conducting research that adds to the knowledge base of the topic. The findings on childhood maltreatment, adult interpersonal violence, and mental health outcomes are presented, along with students’ process of constructing and implementing their research studies. ALEs were common across the lifespan. However, few associations were found between ALEs, whether in childhood or adulthood, and mental (depression, anxiety, stress) and behavioral (alcohol use, cannabis use) health. Such findings underscored for students the complex relationship between psychological distress and resilience for social work trainees. Implications include further investigation to examine how positive coping skills may serve as essential moderators that create stress-buffering effects for social work trainees in the context of risk. Such information may enhance curricula to prepare students better to achieve professional competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trigger warnings are written or oral notifications of course content meant to provide students advance notice of sensitive material that may produce adverse health responses and, therefore, inhibit academic performance. This study examined trigger warning use in an academic discipline that includes a substantial amount of graphic content regarding violence and victimization using survey data from criminal justice and criminology faculty (N = 791). Trigger warning use was widespread − 61.9% of faculty had used a trigger warning. They were largely used to allow students to prepare for upcoming material and because in the faculty's judgment, the content warranted a trigger warning. Use was highest in Victimology courses, but trigger warnings were used in a wide array of courses. Most faculties had not changed anything in their teaching over concerns about potentially triggering material. Research is needed to see if trigger warnings are helpful to students in criminal justice and criminology courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the special issue of Journal of Criminal Justice Education titled Teaching About Victimization in the #MeToo Era focuses on the justification for the special issue and provides an overview of the included articles. The #MeToo social movement, changes in college campus policies and procedures (e.g. Title IX), and social and political unrest in the larger community (e.g. Black Lives Matter, the Insurrection), and the COVID pandemic have inevitably changed students and faculty personally, as well as impacted teaching both in the classroom and online. The articles in the special issue provide faculty with an opportunity to think about their teaching about victimization, including providing specific approaches to adopt or build upon. The introduction concludes with recommendations for how to elevate the importance of pedagogical work done by faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, a debate has raged over trigger warnings in college courses. Proponents see trigger warnings (oral or written advance notification of course content with the potential to trigger adverse health responses, and therefore, inhibit academic performance) as supportive of students, particularly those who have experienced trauma. Critics see them as harmful to those same students, and as a threat to learning and academic freedom. Using data from a survey of criminal justice and criminology faculty (N = 791), this study found three domains of faculty attitudes, with trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice, an academic harm, and compromising content. Female faculty, those who had taught victimology, those in criminal justice departments, and those who identified as more liberal had more positive views of trigger warnings. Only attitudes viewing trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice predicted use of trigger warnings. Future research should undertake inter-disciplinary comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of sexual violence crimes on U.S. college campuses is prompting institutions of higher education to increasingly invest in centers to support survivors and programs to prevent the violence before it happens. Understanding bystanders to sexual violence and what may motivate them to step in and help is a promising prevention strategy. The purpose of this study was to understand how potential active bystanders' (first-year college students) perceptions of community (including a sense of one's influence in the community and positive peer norms for helping) and individual beliefs about self (including sense of responsibility and self-efficacy) affect their self-reports of performing bystander behavior to address sexual violence risks. Participants were 948 students at two different universities (one a rural, primarily residential campus and the other an urban, mostly commuter campus) in the northeastern United States. Regression and path analysis quantitative results suggest that individual-level characteristics may mediate some of the impact that community-level norms and perceptions have on bystander outcomes, explaining some of the mixed findings in previous research. Prevention strategies should work to change community norms and perceptions of mattering and perceptions of community influence in addition to the more traditional focus on individual-level violence specific attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last five years, vigorous debate has been waged about the purpose, use, and impact of trigger warnings in courses offered at institutions of higher education. This debate has been largely uninformed by research findings. This study fills this gap using quantitative and qualitative data collected via surveys in a large undergraduate victimology course to explore student attitudes toward trigger warnings. Findings revealed considerable, but nuanced support for trigger warning use in victimology courses. Support does not appear to differ between crime victims and non-victims; support is higher among females than males. These findings underscore that universal decisions mandating or advocating for or against the use of trigger warnings are premature. Further study is needed with a diverse range of samples to gain a fuller picture of student attitudes about trigger warnings as well as to assess any impact of trigger warnings use on student behavior and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on restitutions, that are economic sanctions which include costs and fees, fines, surcharges. It notes restitution as restorative sanction which means that one who restores victims to their previctimization financial state and allows offenders, upon repayment of their debt. It notes unique positive effects of payment of restitution on recidivism.

Restitution is a court-ordered payment by offenders to their victims to cover the victims' economic losses resulting from the crime. These losses can be substantial and can harm victims and victims' families both directly and indirectly. But most victims do not receive reparation for their injuries, both because judges do not always impose restitution and because of problems with collecting restitution payments, even if there is a court order to do so. In this article, we review the literature on restitution and suggest that this compensatory mechanism is necessary to restore victims to where they were before the crime occurred. But monetary restitution alone is not sufficient. Making victims whole requires not only financial compensation from the offender but also procedural, informational, and interpersonal justice from the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the significant increase in online education, particularly in the field of criminal justice, guidance on migrating instruction from a face-to-face format to an online format is needed. This is especially the case for courses focused on topics with the potential to elicit a strong emotional reaction from students, such as victimology. This article presents a framework for teaching a victimology course that allows for the full discussion of ideas in a manner that is supportive of victims of crime and does not inflict additional harm. It shares tips on what to include on a syllabus, guiding discussion and responding to student disclosures of victimization. In doing so, this contributes to the emerging pedagogy on teaching about trauma and victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary Economic sanctions, particularly restitution, can help juvenile offenders both learn the extent of the harm they caused and assume responsibility for repairing that harm. If that assumption is true, then restitution should be imposed in every case for which it is appropriate, other factors should not affect imposition, and paying restitution should be negatively related to recidivism. This analysis of 921 juvenile cases in five Pennsylvania counties found that restitution was imposed in only 33% of cases for which it was appropriate, whereas fees were imposed in 66% of cases. Consistent with expectations, restitution was more likely to be imposed for property offenses, but contrary to expectations, restitution was more likely to be imposed for felonies and for males. Judges were less likely to revoke the sentences of juveniles who paid a greater percentage of their total economic sanctions and of juveniles whose violation of sentencing conditions was for nonpayment of economic sanctions. Policy Implications Given that support for both punitive and progressive policies exists, policy makers have a unique opportunity to pursue alternatives, like economic sanctions, that appeal to both perspectives. Economic sanctions are particularly important for juveniles because they are less likely to interfere with other financial obligations (in large part because juveniles have fewer financial obligations than do adults) and because they avoid the stigma associated with more punitive sentences, such as incarceration. The negative relationship between payment of economic sanctions and recidivism, found in this study and in other studies, also suggests that, in both the short and the long term, economic sanctions are more cost-effective. Furthermore, the restorative aspect of economic sanctions, particularly restitution, suggests that policy makers should consider how best to impose and collect economic sanctions, as they also are consistent with efforts to improve the treatment of crime victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Office for Victims of Crime recommends that victims should be informed, consulted, respected, and made whole, rights that relate to informational, procedural, interpersonal, and distributive justice. We surveyed 238 victims in two Pennsylvania counties to test whether crime victims' satisfaction with the criminal justice system was related to their perceptions of the fairness of the process and of their outcomes in their case, particularly with regard to restitution. Results indicated that payment of restitution, perception of fair process, and good interpersonal treatment were positively related to victims' willingness to report crimes in the future but that satisfaction with information about the process was not. Victims' understanding of the restitution process was a significant predictor of willingness to report in a multivariate analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the results of a survey which determined the views of offenders from two Pennsylvania counties on payment of economic sanctions. It discusses the three reasons the use of economic sanctions is likely to increase. It explores the factors behind the high rates of nonpayment of economic sanctions. It presents an overview of the survey's hypothesis, method used and discusses its key findings, which includes the fact that most offenders did not understand how the amounts they owed were determined.