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Domestic violence has emerged as a worldwide concern since the 1970s. Although a substantial amount of efforts have been devoted to assessing various aspects of domestic violence, a relatively small number of studies have empirically examined factors that shape public attitudes toward police response to such incidents. Even rarer is investigating the topic from an international, comparative perspective. Based on survey data gathered from approximately 550 college students in China and the United States, this study analyzes the effects of background characteristics, personal and vicarious experiences of crime, and perceptions of gender roles and violence on attitudes toward proactive and traditional police response to domestic violence. Compared to their American counterparts, Chinese students were less likely to favor proactive response and more likely to support traditional response. Chinese and American students' attitudes toward police response to domestic violence were shaped by some different and common factors. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. (Contains 2 notes and 5 tables.)

The widespread use of digital technology and devices has fundamentally transformed people's social life in recent decades, particularly in interpersonal relationships. Two popular social phenomena elucidate how social connections and interactions have dramatically evolved due to technological advancement. Sexting has surfaced as a popular way of getting attention or flirting among young populations over the past decade. Online dating also has emerged as a viable avenue for people to seek interpersonal romantic and/or sexual relationships. Based on survey data collected from two Chinese universities and one U.S. university, this study links sexting and online dating by comparatively assessing the prevalence of sexting victimization and factors influencing such victimization among young online daters. Bivariate and multiple analyses reveal that American college students are more inclined than their Chinese counterparts to be victims of receiving sexts. Chinese students with higher degrees of rape myth acceptance are more likely to experience sexting victimization, but such an association does not exist among U.S. students. Internet-related activities were only weakly connected to sexting victimization among college students. LGBT young adults, regardless of their country affiliation, are at a higher risk for sexting misconduct. Female and younger American students were more likely to experience sexting victimization, whereas Chinese students in a romantic relationship were more inclined to experience sexting victimization. If possible, future research should employ a random sampling strategy to draw a larger number of college students from different types of universities in different regions. Future studies should include other theoretically relevant variables, such as self-control and opportunity variables, into the sexting victimization research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both China and the United States, public attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) have shifted from viewing IPV as a tolerable, private matter to viewing it as a matter of public concern that should be dealt with as a crime. Empirical and comparative examinations of the perceptions of why women stay in physically abusive relationships are lacking. Answering this question calls for comprehensive, methodologically rigorous research. Using survey data collected from approximately 1,000 college students from two Chinese and two U.S. universities, this study empirically compared and contrasted factors that impact U.S. and Chinese students' perceptions as to why women remain in physically abusive relationships. Utilizing a theoretical framework of social constructionism, two common reasons were assessed: Women stay in physically abusive relationships because of learned helplessness and positive beliefs in the relationship/hope for the future. The results show that viewing IPV as a crime, gender, and beliefs of the causes of IPV were robust predictors of college students' perceptions toward why women stay in physically abusive relationships. U.S. college students were more likely to express sympathy and understanding toward why women remain in abusive relationships than Chinese students. Directions for future research and policy implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tolerance for intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important correlate of interpersonal violent behavior. Although a large amount of research on IPV has been conducted in the West and a growing amount of studies on IPV in Chinese societies has been observed in recent years, only a small number of studies have analyzed IPV-related attitudes from an international and comparative perspective. Drawing on survey data collected from 1,178 college students from two Chinese and two U.S. universities, this study empirically compared and contrasted factors influencing students' levels of tolerance for IPV. The results showed that Chinese college students had a higher level of tolerance for IPV than their U.S. counterparts. Regional variation was only detected in China with students in Beijing having a greater tolerance for IPV than students in Hong Kong. Both Chinese and U.S. students' tolerance for IPV was affected primarily by their attitudes toward gender roles and gender-based violence and perceptions of IPV causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using survey data collected from 639 students in a Chinese university and an American university, this study assesses students’ preferences for private, parochial, and public responses to intimate partner violence (IPV). The results show that Chinese students are in favor of a parochial approach, whereas American students prefer a criminal justice intervention to IPV. Preferences for different responses to IPV are predicted by locality, respondents’ attitudes toward gender roles, tolerance for violence, and awareness of IPV. Implications for policies and practices to handling IPV in both societies are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article compares the support expressed by Chinese and U.S. college students for the death penalty. It identifies factors that have similar or distinctive effects on attitudes of college students toward death penalty. It shows that Chinese students have a higher level of support for capital punishment. The impact of gender, victimization and criminal justice-oriented concerns on their attitudes are also stated.

While police attitudes and behaviors have been the subject of a large number of studies conducted since the 1960s, very few studies had assessed Chinese police officers’ work-related attitudes and compared them with those of the U.S. police cadets. Using survey data collected from 263 Chinese and American police cadets, the research empirically tested whether Chinese and American police cadet attitudes differed across four attitudinal dimensions: aggressive patrol, order maintenance, legal restrictions, and distrust of citizens. Bivariate and multivariate results showed that Chinese cadets displayed occupational outlooks that distinguished them from their American counterparts. Chinese cadets supported aggressive patrol and were more distrustful of citizens than their American counterparts. American cadets were more favorable of order maintenance activities and more accepting of legal restrictions compared with Chinese cadets. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines attitudinal differences between Taiwanese and American police officers. Data used in this research were collected from two Taiwanese cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung, and two American cities, Indianapolis and St Petersburg. Occupational attitudes are assessed along four dimensions: order maintenance, community building, selective enforcement and distrust of citizens. The results indicate that, compared with their American counterparts, Taiwanese officers are more likely to support community building and distrust of citizens and less likely to favour selective enforcement. Taiwanese and American officers, however, do not differ much in their attitudes toward order maintenance. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has repeatedly showed that males aged between 16 and 24 years old account for a disproportionately large volume of crime. Armed forces are major employers of young males in their crime-prone ages and thus could play an essential role in crime prevention. The military is a highly structured and regimented total institution in which rigid behavioral norms and very close monitoring are imposed both on soldiers and on officers. Using data from 65 countries for the period of 1995 to 1999, this study assesses the crime-reduction function of the military by testing the influence of the relative size of the armed forces and the existence of conscription on national rates of homicide. The findings show that the size of the military and the existence of conscription are significantly related to homicide rates. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the organizational changes brought about in the American state and local law enforcement agencies after September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. The authors inform that changes in departmental procedures of federal agencies for sharing information and intelligence have affected the way they deal with state and local law enforcement agencies. They state how policy changes in federal agencies have affected state and local police organizations externally.

This article compares attitudinal differences between Taiwanese and American police supervisors. Although a growing number of cross-national studies of police have been conducted, very few have empirically assessed attitudinal distinctions among officers across countries. Using interview and survey data collected from two American and two Taiwanese police departments, this research assessed police supervisors' role orientations and their attitudes toward aggressive law enforcement, legal restrictions, and citizens. The findings show that Taiwanese police supervisors differ significantly from their American counterparts in all attitudinal scales. Compared to American supervisors, Taiwanese supervisors tended to have a broad role orientation, positive attitudes toward aggressive law enforcement and legal restrictions, and negative attitudes toward citizens. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examined the influences of race, gender, and recent court experience on citizens’ perceptions of the courts in their communities. Using national survey data collected in 2000, this research assessed variation in perceptions of the courts along four dimensions: differential treatment, fair procedure and outcome, concern and respect, and overall evaluation. The results showed that racial minorities, including Blacks and Latinos, were more likely than Whites to have negative attitudes toward the courts. While race is generally a better predictor than gender, the interaction between gender and race is important in understanding citizen’s perceptions of the courts. Citizens who have recent personal contact with the courts tend to rate the courts less favorable than those who have no recent contact. Citizens’ opinions of the police and equal opportunity are also significantly related to their perceptions of the courts. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The research assesses whether police respond differently to victims of domestic and non-domestic interpersonal conflicts. Though many laws and policies have been introduced since the 1980s to enhance police responses to and protection of victims of domestic violence, very few studies have empirically examined police assistance or support toward victims of both domestic and non-domestic conflicts. Using data collected by a large-scale observational project, this research analyzes officer-initiated assistances and police responses to victim requests during conflict resolution. Findings show that police are more likely to provide assistances on their own initiative to victims of domestic violence than victims of non-domestic violence. Police, however, do not differ significantly in their responses to requests made by victims of domestic and non-domestic conflicts. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.