John M. Stogner

Investigating friendship quality: an exploration of self-control and social control theories' friendship hypotheses.

While associations with deviant peers are well understood to impact individual development, less is understood about the relationship between friendship quality and delinquency. Two criminological theories—social control theory and self-control theory—are able to offer an explanation for the latter relationship. Social control and self-control theories both premise that delinquents will have largely fractured, weak, and “cold and brittle” friendships. This study investigates how variations in perceptions of friendship quality are related to the delinquency, maternal attachment, school attachment, and self-control levels of both a participant and his/her close friend. To explore these relationships, we use a diverse (14% black; 18% Hispanic; 9% Asian) sample of 2,154 emerging adults within 1,077 friendship pairs (66% female). In each dyad, both members perceived the friendship’s quality and reported personal markers of delinquency, social bonds, and self-control. Several series of multilevel models are estimated that regress each participant’s friendship quality perception onto the participant’s and their friend’s delinquency, attachments, self-control, and demographic characteristics. Results show that delinquents have as intense, or more intense, friendships as non-delinquents. However, low levels of both actor and partner attachments and self-control are independently related to low friendship quality, and this is especially true for self-control. Supplemental analyses demonstrate that the effect of self-control on friendship quality may be reduced when individuals in dyads are delinquent. In conclusion, studies that address friendship quality without including characteristics of multiple members of the friendship are only capturing part of one’s estimate of friendship quality.

Examining the Measurement of Novel Drug Perceptions: Salvia divinorum, Gender, and Peer Substance Use

Researchers commonly use a persons perception of the drug use of friends to determine the impact that peers exert on ones own behavior. Recently, there has been concern over this measures validity. Novel drugs, which are either newly discovered drugs or existing substances only recently used for recreational purposes, may be used so infrequently that people have too few observable opportunities to accurately develop perceptions of their peers use. Employing survey data collected in 2009 from 2,154 individuals within friendship pairs in the Southeast United States, we explore how gender affects perceptions of the infrequently used, novel drug Salvia divinorum. The studys limitations are noted.

Emerging Trends in Drug Use and Distribution

Emerging trends in drug use and distribution / , Emerging trends in drug use and distribution / , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز

Perception vs. Reality: An Investigation of the Misperceptions Concerning the Extent of Peer Novel Drug Use.

Misperceptions of peer substance use have previously been implicated as significant influences on individual use of both alcohol and illicit drugs. However, research on perceived social norms and related interventions are typically limited to binge drinking and marijuana and no empirical studies have explored misperceptions related to “novel drugs.” The present study explored the extent of use and perceptions of use among a college sample (N = 2,349) for three categories of novel drugs: synthetic cannabinoids (Spice, K2, Mr. Miyagi, Pot-Pourri, etc.), synthetic cathinones (commonly known as “bath salts”), and Salvia divinorum. Results indicate that overall perceived use was significantly higher than actual reported use. The frequency of overestimation of peer use was particularly large for the emerging drugs when compared to alcohol and marijuana. This finding is concerning as these misperceptions have the potential to influence students toward experimentation with these substances and suggests that a possible target for intervention is misperceptions of emerging novel substances.

A NEW TRICK FOR AN OLD DOG: APPLYING DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES TO INFORM DRUG USE PROGRESSION

The frequent criticisms of the “gateway hypothesis” have led scholars to note the importance of considering the role of intra-individual change for drug use progression. While studies employing drug use trajectories have added considerably to our understanding of drug use comorbidity, the extent to which trajectories inform drug use progression remains largely unknown despite the fact that there are several theoretical reasons to suspect that intra-individual change is important to the gateway phenomenon. The current study employs latent class growth models using a sample from the Boys Town study of adolescent drug and drinking behavior. The results demonstrate that knowing how gateway drug use changes over time provides important information above and beyond knowing frequency of gateway use for predicting harder drug use trajectories. Implications of the empirical findings and directions for future research are discussed.

The Night the Raving Died: The Social Construction of a Local Drug Panic

Scholars have recently reformulated the moral panic framework (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994, 2009). We employ this new framework in an evaluation of Gainesville, Floridas adoption of the anti-rave law. Our findings suggest that both individuals and groups were vital in the construction of an interest group model moral panic that led to the adoption of this law. Although researchers have utilized the moral panic framework in analyzing many social and legal changes over the past 40 years, it has also garnered much criticism. In an effort to further advance the framework, we provide several modifications to Goode and Ben-Yehudas (2009) most recent reconceptualization and recommendations for future moral panic research.

Assessing the objective measures of the evolving standards of decency: the history of measuring a moving target with an elastic ruler

In the 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that the Eight Amendment’s guarantee against cruel and unusual punishments must be interpreted using the evolving standards of decency of a maturing society, scholars have frequently argued over how those standards should be measured. Justices have assessed the contemporary standards of decency using both subjective interpretations and a variety of objective measures in death penalty cases. Different objective indicia of these standards often support conflicting conclusions. Some decisions even may have been more the result of the measure chosen than the actual morality of society. The measures used to evaluate the use of the death penalty may be largely flawed. This creates a need for the evaluation and appraisal of each objective measure in order to determine which methodology best yields results that represent the views of society. The following analysis examines the strengths and weaknesses of the objective measures used in capital cases so that future decisions may utilise the most accurate and reliable measures.

Book Review: Erin, C., & Ost, S. (Eds.). (2007). The Criminal Justice System and Health Care. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, xxiv, 286pp

The set of twin chapters is bookended by an introductory chapter setting out the themes of the book and a final chapter that draws together the results of the analyses and evaluations. These chapters are particularly useful for setting out an agenda for refining best practice principles and strategies suitable for application to other cities and municipalities. Overall, this is a book rich in detail, with extensive and useful comparative information about different approaches to local government integrity issues and corruption control. Given the quantity of material, a larger and crisper font would have made for a more reader-friendly format. In terms of content, I would have liked to see more attention to types of performance indicators; assessments of different forms of complaints disposition, including mediation; and questions of more proactive and intrusive misconduct identification and prevention techniques, such as covert operations and drug and alcohol testing. Nonetheless, the book makes a major contribution to raising the issue of local corruption and the profile of the anticorruption imperative; describing a basic set of essential standards, laws, institutions, and techniques; and in outlining areas requiring further research and testing.