International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology最新文献

This study examines the victim-offender overlap among incarcerated youth in Taiwan's juvenile correctional facilities, focusing on how violent victimization histories shape their experiences of misconduct and victimization during confinement. Drawing on a national census of youth in custody, multinomial logistic regression was employed to compare victim-offenders with victims-only, offenders-only, and uninvolved youth. Results indicate that violent victimization prior to incarceration is the most consistent factor distinguishing victim-offenders from all other groups. Additional differentiating factors include age, poverty, low self-control, street gang involvement, institutional stressors, and in-facility peer and family support. These findings highlight the need for trauma-informed interventions and early prevention to mitigate cycles of harm and promote rehabilitation.

This paper presents an exploratory study about the experiences of 25 inter-faith chaplains in five Canadian provinces. It utilizes a focus groups methodology. The goal of this qualitative research was to highlight the voices of the chaplains. Hence, the focus groups explored the unique and challenging experiences of chaplains' work in Canadian prisons. Data from all seven focus groups indicated that despite multiple challenges and obstacles, the correctional chaplains remain dedicated to their work and are committed to making a positive impact on their prisoners. Based on the data provided by the chaplains about the intrinsic rewards and various challenges they face in their day-to-day work, the paper makes several research and policy recommendations. The objective of such recommendations is to maximize the role that religion and/or spirituality could play in prisoners' positive adaptation, and eventual criminal desistance in a context of confinement characterized by loss of personal autonomy and self-identity.

We use international survey data recently collected among adults in six countries (Ukraine, Guatemala, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United States) to examine the global variations in interpersonal violent behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that pandemic-related stress is significantly associated with violent behavior in most countries. Depression emerges as a significant predictor of violence across all countries and as a mediator between pandemic stress and violent behavior in multiple* contexts. On the other hand, negative affect and alcohol use predict violent behavior only in non-Western contexts. We provide policy implications focused on prevention and reduction of violence cross-nationally during public health crises.

Forensic case formulation (FCF) is a key activity within the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP), performed by OPDP specialist offender managers (OMs) and psychologists. Although FCF training is provided to OMs, there are a number of questions about the adequacy and effectiveness of this training. Furthermore, it is unclear whether psychologists receive sufficient support to keep their FCF skills relevant and effective over time. This study aimed to investigate the FCF training experiences of OPDP staff, to assess staff satisfaction with this training, to identify ways of improving this training, and to explore the value of FCF from a staff perspective. To meet these aims, OPDP staff were asked to complete an online Qualtrics survey disseminated nationally. Results reveal a lack of standardized FCF training across the OPDP, contributing to poor staff satisfaction and confidence. These results highlight a need for FCF training improvement within the OPDP.

An increasing number of studies has studied the role of procedural justice for reducing recidivism in the probation context. The objective of this study is to contribute to existing knowledge by examining (a) whether people on probation alter their perceptions of probation officer procedural justice over time and (b) the extent to which changes in procedural justice relate to recidivism. This study utilized longitudinal data from 326 adults who were released from Dutch (pre-trial) detention centers and who had contact with the Probation Service. Using the reliable change index, our findings showed that a majority of people on probation changed their procedural justice perceptions over time, which suggested that perceptions of fairness and respect are malleable. Unchanged perceptions of probation officer procedural justice were related to self-reported recidivism, while the likelihood of recidivism did not differ between respondents with decreased and increased perceptions.

This paper provides a detailed summary and discussion of the concept of stress and how it relates to the health, wellbeing, and performance of corrections officers. In line with these objectives, we focus on three areas: (1) providing a more detailed definition of the concept of stress; (2) a discussion of the ways that increased exposure to stress may impact corrections officers' physical and mental health; and (3) a summary of prevention and intervention strategies that are relevant for corrections officers and have shown promise in dampening the consequences of increased stress exposure. More in-depth knowledge of the concept of stress and the underlying processes that link stress to negative outcomes will provide policy makers and corrections departments with an understanding of the characteristics of prevention and intervention strategies that are expected to be most effective in limiting the consequences of stress.

Job stress is a critical factor of concern in police work across the world. While frustrations, exhaustion and emotional burnout in work places, particularly as they relate to police job, have been academically emphasized in more advanced climes, they are marginally addressed in less developed societies like Nigeria. Thus, this paper examines the psychological and physical impacts of job stress, workload, and burnout among police officers in Nigeria. Using a nation-wide cross-sectional survey involving 528 police personnel, this paper notes that the police in Nigeria work longer hours than normal, including working under tensions with poor logistics that expose them to dangers on regular basis. This increases their level of frustrations, exhaustion and emotional burnout in work places besides greatly impacting their service delivery. To ensure effective performance of the police in an atmosphere of increasing complex crime networks, therefore, the study recommends clear strategies for improving police wellbeing.

Both early childhood trauma and insecure attachment styles are linked to psychopathic personality traits. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether insecure attachment styles may serve as mediating variables between childhood trauma and psychopathy in adulthood. Therefore, a potential mediating role of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance within a sample of 355 male inmates was examined by investigating childhood trauma, attachment styles (ECR-R), and psychopathy scores (PCL-R). A significant positive association between childhood trauma and psychopathy was replicated. The mediation analysis did not show a significant mediation effect through the attachment styles; however, a significant contrast between the two attachment styles was found, indicating that attachment avoidance played a more important role than attachment anxiety in explaining the degree of psychopathic traits. The findings of the present study highlight the necessity of thoroughly considering attachment styles in the treatment of individuals with psychopathic personality structures.

Understanding prolonged violent criminality necessitates consideration of a person's cultivated life story, as well as motivations that may not be consciously accessible or explicitly articulated. Crucially, both are shaped within specific sociocultural contexts that impose constraints and provide resources for identity construction. We analyze the life story of "Abdullah," a former child soldier of the Bosnian war (1992-1995) and a chronic violent persister. We examine the manifest text of Abdullah's self-narrative-including the distortions, lies, and hyperbolic statements he uses to construct his identity and justify his crimes-and what we interpret as latent meaning in his omissions and points of contradiction. We show that Abdullah draws from culturally available narratives involving masculinity and heroism, and argue that such narratives are also defenses against his anxiety. This work contributes to scholarship on how broader sociocultural narratives and underlying emotional dynamics sustain chronic violent criminality across the life course.

Studies that compare lone and multiple perpetrator rape offenders often use police files. This study explores the differences between lone and multiple perpetrator rapists using a sample of 172 convicted sexual offenders. The first objective is to explore sociodemographic differences between the two groups of perpetrators. Differences are found in offenders' age, the use of drugs or alcohol, the release phase, sexual behavior, the use of a vehicle, the place and time of the assault, and victim characteristics. The second objective is to explore differences between the two groups regarding the number of perpetrators. No differences are found, except for the presence of a leader in groups of three or more perpetrators. Finally, no differences are found regarding treatment variables (responsibility assumption, treatment program participation, program dropout or expulsion, and reconviction rates) that support a different profile for the purpose of intervention.