Suchergebnisse

This study uses 16 years (2002–2017) of federal criminal drug sentences from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) to examine trends in two criminal sentencing outcomes: whether a defendant received a prison sentence and the length of a prison sentence. Logistic and ordinary least squares regression analyses were used to assess criminal sentencing outcomes. Moderation analyses are conducted to assess variation in sentencing for specific drug offenses over time. Results demonstrate that sentencing for federal drug crimes has become less severe over time. However, there is substantial heterogeneity in sentencing across different drug types, with pharmaceutical opioid cases receiving the least leniency over time regarding the incarceration decision and methamphetamine cases experiencing the lowest reduction in the length of prison sentences from 2002 to 2017. Finally, our analysis stratified by race/ethnicity suggested that there is heterogeneity in sentencing outcomes for federal drug offenders, conditional on racial and ethnic background.

In response to several high-profile violent offenses against children over the past two decades, Congress has enacted several pieces of legislation aimed at increasing punishment for those convicted of federal sex offenses. Coinciding with these enhanced penalties was a demographic shift in the composition of those prosecuted for these offenses. In the federal criminal justice system, sex offenses fall into two main categories: child pornography and sexual abuse. The racial and ethnic makeup of individuals charged for federal sex offenses has significantly changed over the past 15 years. The current study utilizes federal sentencing data from the United States Sentencing Commission for the years 2006 to 2017 to explore the nature of punishment for these offenses over time. We also employ multivariate analyses to examine differences in punishment for the two types of offenses and employ disaggregated analyses by offense type to examine temporal change in racial/ethnic disparities in sentence length and departures from the federal sentencing guidelines. Findings demonstrate that convicted individuals who are Black and Hispanic are receiving harsher sentences over time net of controls for other key predictors such as age, sex, criminal history, and presumptive sentence length. Implications for how legislatively enhanced penalties and changing demographic makeup of those convicted for these offenses may have introduced extra-legal disparity into federal sentencing are further discussed.

Purpose To examine whether local blue and green space access was associated with weekly physical activity frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Population-based, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (May and June 2021). Sample Adults, ages 18-94 (N = 1,771). Measures Self-reported data included the presence of blue spaces (e.g., lakes, outdoor swimming pools, riverside trails) and green spaces (e.g., parks, forests, or natural trails) in their neighborhoods, and days of physical activity per week (e.g., running, swimming, bicycling, lifting weights, playing sports, or doing yoga). Analysis Multiple Poisson regression assessed relationships between blue and green spaces and physical activity, with coefficients transformed into incidence risk ratios (IRR). Results Among participants, 67.2% reported living near a blue space and 86.1% reported living near a green space. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to blue and green spaces were observed, with less access among non-Hispanic Black participants and those with lower income and educational attainment. Living near blue (IRR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.39) or green space (IRR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.54) was significantly associated with more frequent weekly physical activity. Conclusion Proximity to blue or green spaces is associated with more frequent physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health promotion efforts should include equitable strategies to improve accessibility to blue and green spaces.

AbstractMessner and Rosenfeld's (2007) institutional anomie theory (IAT) has mainly been applied by criminologists to explain crime rates at various aggregate levels. However, Messner and Rosenfeld also suggest that the same social and cultural forces that lead to high crime may explain differences in punishment, although this latter proposition has yet to be subject to empirical testing. Using a variety of data sources for 41 countries measuring various structural and cultural configurations, in this study we assess the extent to which IAT can explain cross‐national differences in incarceration. Our results indicate that the strength of the economic institution and the extent of institutional imbalance reflecting a dominant economic institution are positively associated with incarceration rates when the national culture is characterized by individualism, a competitive achievement orientation, or both. A national culture characterized by both collectivism and a cooperative achievement orientation, however, serves as a buffer against the punitive effects of an institutional imbalance that favors the economy. Our results are discussed in the context of the extant IAT literature and future research on cross‐national incarceration.

This study assesses the association between the population-level consumption of different types of alcohol and cross-national suicide rates and examines whether this association is moderated by country-specific drinking patterns. We apply negative binomial regression to test whether the consumption of beer, wine, or spirits is predictive of suicide rates. Next, we use interaction terms to examine whether the effect of beverage-specific consumption on suicide rates is moderated by total alcohol consumption, prevalence of consumption, or the riskiness of drinking patterns. We find that only spirit consumption has a positive and statistically significant association with suicide rates. The effect of spirit consumption on suicide is higher among countries where the total alcohol consumption and the prevalence of alcohol consumption are lower, and patterns of drinking are riskier. Future research should continue to investigate this relationship to develop interventions that reduce suicide mortality related to alcohol use.

Cross-national research on the relationship between alcohol consumption and homicide focuses on (a) the amount of alcohol consumed rather than the manner of consumption and (b) the direct relationship between alcohol consumption and homicide rates. The current study addresses these limitations by considering consumption patterns rather than consumption levels and exploring whether the alcohol–homicide relationship is moderated by features of the social structure including youth population size, quality of governance, and the prevalence of drinking. Using a broad sample of 85 countries, we find no relationship between consumption levels and homicide rates. In contrast, hazardous consumption patterns were positively associated with homicide rates. Study results also suggest that the prevalence of drinking and the quality of governance moderate this relationship.

AbstractIn response to the changing nature of policing in the United States, and current climate of police–citizen relations, research has begun to explore the consequences of adolescent police contact for life outcomes. The current study investigates if and under what conditions police contact has repercussions for future orientation during adolescence and the transition into young adulthood. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study, a multisite longitudinal study of serious offenders followed from adolescence to young adulthood, results from a series of fixed‐effects models demonstrated three main findings. First, personal and vicarious police contact, compared with no additional police contact, are negatively associated with within‐person changes in future orientation. Second, any exposure to police contact, regardless of how just or unjust the contact is perceived, is negatively associated with future orientation. Third, the negative association between police contact and future orientation is larger for White individuals compared with that for Black or Hispanic individuals. Considering the importance of future orientation for prosocial behavior, the findings suggest that adolescent police contact may serve as an important life‐course event with repercussions for later life outcomes.

Youth–police encounters are common in the United States, with potentially serious mental health ramifications requiring social supports to cope. Still, no research has examined youth disclosure of these experiences to others. Using a national sample of youth stopped by police (N = 918; 56.09% Black, 20.48% Hispanic), we find that more than two‐thirds disclosed police encounters—most commonly to mothers. Even so, disclosure became less likely as perceptions of procedural injustice, social stigma, and legal cynicism increased. Among youth who disclosed stops but not to parents, disclosure to friends was common (61.18%), whereas disclosure to nonparent adults was not. Enhanced training for teachers, school counselors, and community leaders may improve youth outcomes by facilitating additional opportunities for disclosure and support.