Behavioral Sciences & the Law最新文献

This study examines the potential associations between anxiety and aggressive behaviors in college students with high-risk adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and explores how this relationship may be influenced by bullying perpetration, applying general strain theory. A sample of 282 college students aged 19 to 29 (M_age = 21.59, SD_age = 2.48; 74.5% female; 66.3% White) was analyzed. Results indicated a positive association between anxiety and aggressive behaviors among college students with high-risk ACEs. Higher levels of anxiety were linked to increased bullying perpetration, which, in turn, was associated with greater aggressive behaviors. These findings suggest that college students with high-risk ACEs who experience negative emotions, such as anxiety, are more likely to engage in bullying perpetration, which subsequently contributes to higher levels of aggressive behaviors. To mitigate the consequences of delinquency (e.g., bullying perpetration and aggressive behaviors), ongoing attention and intervention from school personnel, social workers, human service professionals, community leaders, and policymakers are essential to supporting and protecting students with high-risk ACEs.

Previous research on the mediating role of the quality of social relationships between material deprivation and adolescent health has predominantly utilized samples from mainstream populations to examine mental health outcomes, neglecting the critical need to explore behavioral health outcomes, such as substance use, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents. Using structural equation modeling with data from 1329 Taiwanese adolescents living in poverty and receiving social assistance, the study found that the quality of social relationships with family members, teachers, and peers significantly mediated the association between material deprivation and substance use. The family-adolescent relationship quality significantly mediated the association between material deprivation and psychological distress, while the quality of peer and teacher-student relationships did not. The mediating mechanisms of social relationships are similar across different age subgroups and sexes. This study informs practices addressing psychological distress and substance use issues via family and relational pathways.

How do people judge criminal offenders whose early lives were marked by hardship? In three preregistered studies (total N = 893), we explored how emotional adversity (abuse and neglect) and economic disadvantage (poverty) shape judgments of criminal behavior. Participants evaluated fictional offenders after learning about their upbringing. Study 1 showed that both types of hardship independently reduced blame for criminal behavior, though neither reduced punishment. Mediation analyses indicated that the reduction of blame was driven by increased sympathy, diminished perceptions that the behavior expressed the offender's moral character, and reduced perceived control over moral self-formation. Study 2 replicated the mitigating effect of abuse and neglect on blame but again found no moderation by economic status. Study 3 showed that poverty reduced both blame and punishment, especially for crimes plausibly motivated by financial need. Together, the findings suggest that emotional and economic hardship independently mitigate moral judgment through overlapping psychological mechanisms.

Bullying perpetration and substance use are two prevalent and concerning forms of delinquent behavior worldwide. Although parent-child communication has been theorized to reduce adolescents' involvement in these behaviors, empirical evidence remains mixed. Teacher-student relationship quality has been proposed as a potential mediator, but evidence from cross-national studies is limited. Using data from the 2017/2018 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study, this study examined a theoretical model in which teacher-student relationship quality mediates the associations of parent-child communication with bullying perpetration and substance use. Potential sex differences in these interrelationships were also examined. Results indicated that parent-child communication was negatively associated with bullying perpetration and substance use, with teacher-student relationship quality partially mediating these associations. Moreover, multi-group analyses showed that the model fit well for boys and girls. These findings underscore the significance of fostering positive parent-child communication and teacher-student relationships to reduce adolescent bullying perpetration and substance use.

The current study proposes pathways from bullying victimization to sexual coercion victimization mediated by using drugs and engaging in sex with drugs. The study sample included heterosexual or LGB youth. Measures included bullying victimization, using drugs, engaging in sex with drugs, sexual coercion victimization, and the covariates, which are sex and age. Path analyses were conducted for heterosexual and LGB adolescents. Among heterosexuals, bullying victimization was positively associated with sexual coercion victimization. Using drugs and engaging in sex with drugs were also positively associated with sexual coercion victimization. Among LGBs, bullying victimization was positively associated with sexual coercion victimization. Using drugs and engaging in sex with drugs were also positively related to sexual coercion victimization. Findings from the study have implications for juvenile justice and school-based practice.

Intellectual disability (ID) equivalence describes conditions in which individuals function cognitively and adaptively at levels comparable to ID without meeting IQ-based diagnostic criteria. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is characterised by impaired executive and adaptive functioning despite IQs often above the ID threshold, suggesting functional overlap with ID. This meta-analytic study is the first to examine whether FASD and ID share vulnerabilities in interrogative suggestibility. Two PRISMA-guided systematic searches of six databases were undertaken, and identified studies involving FASD or ID. Bayesian random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale-2 outcomes: Yield 1, Yield 2, Shift, and Total Suggestibility. Individuals with FASD showed levels of interrogative suggestibility comparable to, and sometimes exceeding, those with ID across all indices. Effect sizes were large for both groups, with particularly elevated Shift scores in individuals with FASD. Both groups are highly vulnerable to leading questions and interrogative pressure. Individuals with FASD may be especially prone to changing responses following negative feedback, highlighting important forensic interviewing implications.

Youth justice systems are frequently justified by reference to developmental change, yet chronological age is often treated as a proxy for underlying psychological processes. This paper develops a Developmental Retribution and Reciprocity Model (RRM), integrating evolutionary criminology with contemporary developmental neuroscience to clarify how reciprocity, retribution, and cooperation are expressed across development. Behavioural economic tasks and hypothetical crime scenarios from an adult sample (N = 300), spanning late adolescence and early adulthood, are used to examine whether age is associated with positive reciprocity, negative reciprocity, retaliatory punishment, and offending-related tendencies. Developmental theory would predict age-related differences across this period; however, no meaningful associations with age (from the age of 16 onward) were observed. The absence of age-graded variation in reciprocity and retributive responding within adulthood is consistent with the possibility that the underlying motivational structures captured by RRM stabilise earlier in development, whilst their behavioural expression continues to be shaped by regulation and context. The paper therefore emphasises the importance of focussing youth justice interventions and future research on these earlier developmental periods, where socialisation, legitimacy, and cooperative norms may be most effectively shaped.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of rape myth acceptance (RMA), as measured by a relatively new 'subtle' RMA scale, and an experimental empathy manipulation on juror verdicts in a mock sexual assault trial. A sample of 260 Canadian citizens/permanent residents were recruited through Qualtrics, where they were randomly assigned to read a fictional sexual assault trial transcript that either contained an empathy inducing statement or asked participants to remain objective. As hypothesised, scores on the subtle measure of RMA predicted participants' likelihood to provide not guilty verdicts. However, the empathy prime was ineffective in inducing more empathy for the complainant. Importantly, participants whose open-ended answers contained evidence of RMA also scored higher on the self-report RMA scale, demonstrating the validity of the subtle measure. Our findings advance the literature on RMA measurement and provide evidence for the continued impact of RMA on juror verdicts.

In Australia, judges may issue judicial directions during a trial to counter the rape myth that resistance is required for a rape to be legitimate, despite many victim-survivors freezing. Drawing on inoculation theory, this study tested whether the timing of such directions influences verdicts and perceptions of complainant credibility in an acquaintance rape trial. Australian community members (N = 250) were randomly assigned to receive directions before, during, after, or both before and after cross-examination, or to a no-direction control. Judicial direction timing had no significant effect on verdicts or complainant believability. Higher rape myth acceptance was associated with a lower likelihood of conviction, with men scoring significantly higher on rape myth acceptance than women. Exploratory analyses showed that complainant believability predicted verdict outcomes, while prior jury service was associated with a lower likelihood of conviction. These findings suggest that rape myth acceptance may outweigh the influence of judicial directions.

This study examined how male rape myths, racial/ethnicity biases, and sexuality stereotypes influence verdicts in male-on-male rape trials-an area that is currently under-researched. A sample of 463 participants read a mock rape trial, where both the defendant and complainant were male, with defendant ethnicity (White, Black, Asian) and complainant sexuality (homosexual, heterosexual) manipulated across conditions. Participants completed the Male Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (MRMAS) before the trial and the Juror Decision Scale (JDS) afterwards. Results showed that defendant and complainant believability (subscales of the JDS) mediated the relationship between rape myth acceptance and verdicts, indicating that pre-trial biases shape jurors' story formation and verdict-making. Qualitative data demonstrates divergent narrative logics between high and low MRMA participants. Further, it was also found that both defendant ethnicity and complainant sexuality did not significantly influence verdicts. Findings highlight how underlying biases affect juror judgements and underscore the implications of this research are considered in the context of jury-reform initiatives already underway across the UK. Limitations and future research discussed within.