Jaya Davis

Disproportionate Juvenile Minority Confinement A State-Level Assessment of Racial Threat

Research regarding disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and the juvenile justice system has concentrated on the extent to which DMC exists instead of why it exists. There remains a dearth of discussion on the theoretical underpinning of the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. The current research addresses this theoretical gap by examining the relationship between the racial threat hypothesis and Black–White disparity in out-of-home placements in the juvenile justice system. State-level panel data were used in the comparison of juvenile arrests to placement data. The study yielded mixed support for the racial threat hypothesis, finding percentage Black to be significantly related to racial disparity in placement rates but the ratio of Black to White employment not significant. The results showing that crime-prone, urban areas exhibit higher rates of Black–White placement disproportionality indicate that some portion of the disproportionality stems from broader social inequalities.

Effects of Homelessness and Child Maltreatment on the Likelihood of Engaging in Property and Violent Crime During Adulthood

The current study employs data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 10,818; 56% female; 21% African American) to test how experiencing homelessness through emerging adulthood and child maltreatment predict adult property crime and violent crime. Unlike many published studies on homelessness, we used propensity score matching to correct for selection bias between homeless and nonhomeless individuals. Logistic regression models were run to predict violent and property crime in adulthood, controlling for child maltreatment. Participants who experienced homelessness by age 26 were 1.6 times more likely to commit violent crime in adulthood and almost 30% more likely to commit property crime. Those who were victims of child maltreatment were 15 times more likely to commit property crime, but no more likely to commit violent crime. Findings show that comparing statistically equivalent groups, homelessness through emerging adulthood significantly predicted adult criminality while child maltreatment showed more variable results. Greater prevention efforts aimed at children and adolescents at high risk of experiencing homelessness, as well as more intensive outreach services to homeless youth, may moderate exposure and reduce reliance on criminal survival behaviors.

What Makes Them More Vulnerable Than Others? Obesity, Negative Emotions, and Peer Bullying Victimization

Negative impacts resulting from peer bullying victimization include psychological stress, emotional and academic maladjustment, decreased self-esteem, relational problems with peers, and may also lead to suicidal ideation and behavior. Therefore, efforts have been concentrated toward identifying characteristics of victims and perpetrators of bullying to allocate resources for preventive strategies. The current study adds to this ongoing research by using a nationally representative sample of adolescents to identify health-related correlates (obesity and negative emotions) of students vulnerable to peer bullying victimization, as well as exploring individual and school-related characteristics. Findings suggest that negative emotions are related to peer bully victimization, but a relationship between obesity and victimization is not clear. In addition, students attending schools with bullying prevention programs were more likely to report physical victimization. Discussion is offered regarding these findings and suggestions for future research in this area.

Engaging Criminal Justice Students through Service Learning

The increasing popularity of service learning has led to the implementation of the pedagogy across educational levels and disciplines. Evidence of its utilization in criminal justice education spans two decades, most of which include case studies of service-learning courses or projects. These examples of service-learning implementation seem to serve as a best practices guide for other faculty and researchers interested in adopting the pedagogy. By examining responses to offender populations and policy areas by students (n = 37) involved in a service-learning course, the current research adds to this “best practices” approach and is intended to instigate further examination of the benefits of service learning for criminal justice students and the discipline.

A comparative analysis of service learning in social work and criminal justice education

The current study sought input from a national sample of social work (SW) and criminal justice (CJ) educators (N = 276) to explore characteristics of those who use service learning in the two disciplines, differences in the conceptions of and beliefs about service learning, and distinctions in how it is used and implemented. This study offers the first explicitly cross-disciplinary comparison of service learning within two related, but distinct disciplines. The results indicated that SW educators, compared to their CJ peers, used service learning more frequently and perceived fewer barriers to using it. Additionally, a higher percentage of SW faculty members reported using service learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, suggesting that SW educators may be more likely to see the value of service learning across education levels. Among those who reported that they have used service learning, few differences were found between the two disciplines.

Service-learning Use in Criminal Justice Education

Using an exploratory, cross-sectional, survey design (N = 142), the current study explored the use of service learning in criminal justice education by examining how faculty members perceive the pedagogy, how often they implement it, and when they do so, how they implement it. The majority of respondents reported using service learning occasionally or regularly. The perception that service learning has a positive impact on student outcomes was generally supported, even among faculty who report never using service learning. Instructor unfamiliarity with the community and service learning being unfeasible were cited as the most common barriers, especially by those that never use service learning. The results suggest that universities and administrative leadership may foster greater use of service learning by reducing these barriers rather than extolling the already well-established benefits of service learning.

Childhood Maltreatment and Child Protective Services Involvement Among the Commercially Sexually Exploited: A Comparison of Women Who Enter as Juveniles or as Adults

Abstract A risk for commercial sexual exploitation is childhood maltreatment. It’s unknown whether juveniles in commercial sexual exploitation experience more childhood maltreatment than adults or how involved child protective services is in investigating maltreatment, a focus of this study. Women (N = 96) who sold sex commercially completed a cross-sectional questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t tests, chi-squares, and odds ratios were used to examine differences in background, childhood maltreatment, and child protective services involvement by juvenile or adult entry. Although 93% of participants experienced child maltreatment, juveniles had increased odds of parent/caregiver sexual abuse, being left alone, being kicked out, and running away from a parent/caregiver. There were no differences in cumulative childhood maltreatment resulting in an investigation or removal, indicating that juveniles not investigated or removed by child protective services had as much childhood maltreatment as juveniles who were investigated or removed by child protective services. Results highlight the need for child welfare staff to recognize childhood maltreatment as risks for commercial sexual exploitation.

Entering Prostitution in Adolescence: History of Youth Homelessness Predicts Earlier Entry

ABSTRACT The effect of youth homelessness on age of entry into prostitution was tested, controlling for other known covariates using a multivariate model. Women (N = 96) who self-identified as having engaged in prostitution completed cross-sectional standardized questionnaires (Mage = 42.6, SD = 9.18; 62% African American). Women with a history of youth homelessness entered prostitution nearly 8 years earlier than their peers without this history (at 18 vs. 25 years old). Lack of a high school degree or equivalent also predicted an earlier age of entry (at 20 vs. 28 years old). Findings highlight the poverty dynamics that underlie the relationship between early entry into prostitution and homelessness. Young women, living on the street or in shelters, with limited education and employment opportunities, are at high risk of entering prostitution when they are barely out of adolescence. Future research will be better able to design age-specific prevention strategies.

Making Service-Learning Partnerships Work: Listening and Responding to Community Partners

This study explored community partners’ perspectives regarding the motivations and barriers to engaging in service-learning partnerships. Three focus groups (N = 19) were held with representatives from diverse nonprofit organizations recruited from a university-based center for community service learning. Desire for expanded organizational capacity emerged as the strongest motivator, although enjoyment of mentoring students and the ability to acquire new knowledge also motivated individuals above and beyond the needs of their organizations. Faculty engagement presented the greatest barrier, which poses questions about the power dynamics of service learning and the extent to which faculty respect the community in these relationships.

Factors Influencing Service-Learning Utilization in Social Work: Results from an Online Survey of Faculty

The current study (N = 209) explored service-learning utilization in social work education by examining the influence of personal and institutional characteristics, perceived barriers, and beliefs about service-learning outcomes. Results of an online survey of social work educators showed that neither personal nor institutional characteristics influenced service-learning use. Rather, the use of service learning was driven primarily by social work educators’ beliefs about the effect of service learning on student outcomes and perceived barriers to implementation. Additionally, questions regarding service-learning implementation (such as hours required) suggest that not all social work educators using service learning correctly distinguish it from field practica.