Benjamin W. Fisher

Leaving Homelessness Behind: Housing Decisions Among Families Exiting Shelter

Because homelessness assistance programs are designed to help families, it is important for policymakers and practitioners to understand how families experiencing homelessness make housing decisions, particularly when they decide not to use available services. This study explores those decisions using in-depth qualitative interviews with 80 families recruited in shelters across four sites approximately six months after they were assigned to one of four conditions (permanent housing subsidies, project-based transitional housing, community-based rapid re-housing, or usual care). Familiar neighborhoods near childrens schools, transportation, family and friends, and stability were important to families across conditions. Program restrictions on eligibility constrained family choices. Subsidized housing was the most desired intervention, and families leased up at higher rates than in other studies of poor families. Respondents were least comfortable in and most likely to leave transitional housing. Uncertainty associated with community-based rapid re-housing generated considerable anxiety. Across interventions, many families had to make unhappy compromises, often leading to further moves. Policy recommendations are offered.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cyber-Victimization and Educational Outcomes for Adolescents:

Adolescents’ Internet use is increasingly mobile, private, and unsupervised, which raises concerns given that the Internet increasingly serves as a medium for experiencing victimization. Although it is widely recognized that in-person victimization has a deleterious effect on adolescents’ educational outcomes, the extent to which cyber-victimization has similar effects is less well known. This systematic review and meta-analysis offers a synthesis of the relationship between cyber-victimization and educational outcomes of adolescents aged 12 to 17, including 25 effect sizes from 12 studies drawn from a variety of disciplines. A series of random-effects meta-analyses using robust variance estimation revealed associations between cyber-victimization and higher school attendance problems (r = .20) and academic achievement problems (r = .14). Results did not differ by provided definition, publication status, reporting time frame, gender, race/ethnicity, or average age. Implications for future research are discussed within context of theoretical, critical, and applied discussions.

Traumatic Experiences and Drug Use by LGB Adolescents: A Critical Review of Minority Stress

High rates of illicit drug use found among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are often attributed to unique and chronic traumatic events tied to sexual minority identity. Although initiation of drug use is relatively common within adolescence, little research contributes to our understanding of the disparities found among LGB adolescents. This review synthesized existing literature to determine if the minority stress model is applicable to LGB drug use disparities and fits within a trauma framework. Findings indicate that minority stress experiences have been inconsistently related to drug use among LGB adolescents. Implications for future research and practice are described.

Examining School Security Measures as Moderators of the Association between Homophobic Victimization and School Avoidance.

Homophobic victimization is a pervasive problem in U.S. schools that leads to negative outcomes for students. Those who experience homophobic victimization are at greater risk for avoiding particular spaces in school because they feel unsafe or afraid. Visible school security measures (e.g., security guards, metal detectors, and cameras) offer spatial guardianship that may reduce students’ place-specific avoidance behaviors. To test this moderating effect of school security, we analyzed data from six panels of the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (N = 41,229). Logistic regression models were used to examine the moderating effect of three types of school security measures on the association between homophobic victimization and avoidance of six specific locations in school and overall fear of victimization at school. Results suggest that visible security measures did not meaningfully moderate the association between homophobic victimization and school avoidance.

A Meta-Analysis Exploring the Relationship Between 12-Step Attendance and Adolescent Substance Use Relapse

This article describes results from a systematic review and meta-analysis of research exploring the relationship between adolescent 12-step program attendance and relapse after treatment. A systematic literature search was conducted resulting in 364 unduplicated abstracts to review. Four studies were eligible and were double-coded for variables. Outcome effect sizes were then analyzed in a random-effects model. The overall mean effect indicated beneficial results for adolescents who attended 12-step programs posttreatment. These findings support the clinical recommendation that adolescents attend 12-step programs, yet the findings highlight the need for future research among this population that clearly documents variables related to recovery outcomes.

Social Control in Schools: The Relationships between School Security Measures and Informal Social Control Mechanisms

ABSTRACT Social control and procedural justice theories indicate that informal social control reduces problem behaviors. However, many schools have implemented formal control mechanisms such as school security measures. This study examines the association between school security measures (security personnel, metal detectors, and surveillance cameras) and students’ perceptions of informal social control (relationships with teachers, other school adults, and the fairness and consistency of school rules). We used structural equation modeling to examine these relationships in a nationally representative sample of 6,547 secondary students surveyed as part of the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (M age = 14.94; 51% male, 60% White non-Hispanic, 14% Black non-Hispanic, 20% Hispanic). The results indicated that the presence of security personnel in schools was associated with poorer student relationships with teachers. Findings for the other school security measures were nonsignificant or inconsistent across models. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.