Abstracts of
Articles for the Fall-Winter Issue of
Sociation Today
Special Issue Editor
Monica Bixby Radu
The Focus of this issue is
"The Development of
Policies Addressing Delinquency, Crime
and Violence"
- An
Interdisciplinary Approach and the
Development of Policies Addressing
Delinquency, Crime, and Violence
by Monica
Bixby Radu
This special
issue of Sociation Today highlights
research that addresses a variety of
delinquent and criminal behaviors,
including bullying, bully victims’
perceptions of unsafe schools, the
criminalization of school choice,
adolescent alcohol and drug use, and
intimate partner violence.
Drawing from research in sociology,
criminology, criminal justice, social
work, and public health, these
articles provide an interdisciplinary
approach to understanding delinquency,
crime, and violence. These disciplines
often overlap, and the articles in
this issue demonstrate that these
areas of scholarly research may
benefit from insights offered by the
others.
- Using Social
Capital to Inform Policy Regarding
Bullying Victimization
by Kristen N. Sobba
Bullying victimization is
considered one of the leading causes
of mental health problems among
adolescents. This form of
mistreatment can cause catastrophic
outcomes such as low self-esteem,
depression, and suicidal ideation.
Considering the extreme consequences
of bullying, it is imperative to
address ways to reduce and prevent
this type of abuse from occurring in
the future. In this article, I
outline different characteristics of
bullying victimization and argue how
social capital can potentially abate
this form of victimization. In
addition, implications for
policymakers and ideas for future
research are discussed to better
understand how bullying
victimization should be addressed in
the future.
- Who and What Helps
Bully Victims Feel Safe at School?
How Families and Schools Influence
Youths’ Perceptions of Schools’
Safety
by Monica
Bixby Radu, Kristen N. Sobba and Lisa
McManus
School safety is
an important national issue, and
studies suggest a link between
perceptions of unsafe schools
and negative student outcomes,
including lower levels of
academic achievement and higher
dropout rates. In addition
to perceptions of schools’
safety, bullying is a problem
for many youths and bully
victims in particular may feel
unsafe at school.
Therefore, the goal of our study
is to examine how to improve
bully victims’ perceptions of
schools’ safety. We use a
cross-sectional sample (N =
1,749) from the National
Longitudinal Survey of Youth
(1997) to examine who and what
may help bully victims feel safe
at school. We find that
among our sample of bullied
youths, students who reported
higher levels of family
resources and more positive
perceptions of their schools’
climates are more likely to feel
safe at school compared to their
peers with fewer family
resources and less positive
perceptions of their schools’
climate. Our findings
suggest that implementing
programs that bridge families
and schools may help improve
students’ perceptions of their
schools’ safety and help
stimulate more positive learning
environments.
- Choosing Schools
and Criminalizing School Choice
by Shelly Brown-Jeffy
School choice was
envisioned as a program that would
relieve families of the confinement
of poor quality neighborhood
schools. School choice programs,
however, give only a select few
students the option to escape poor
quality neighborhood schools.
Without viable school choice
options, many low-income parents
become innovative by using the
social capital that is held in the
addresses of friends, family, and
childcare providers who live in
better school districts.
Unfortunately, this choice to engage
their social network has been
criminalized as parents have been
charged with felonies for sending
their children to better quality
schools in other neighborhoods. This
criminalization is an example of
social control for the disadvantaged
and over policing of the poor.
- Towards a
Systems-based Approach for Intimate
Partner Violence Victims in Health
Care Settings
by Shelly A. Maras
This
paper highlights how the health care
sector addresses women who experience
intimate partner violence (IPV).
I begin with a discussion of the
physical, mental, and sexual impacts
of IPV along with the monetary costs
associated with seeking health care
for IPV victims compared to non-abused
counterparts. Within the medical
field, there is a controversy
surrounding universal screening
practices due to a supposed lack of
empirical support for screening.
Beyond this, the literature indicates
there are screening barriers medical
professionals experience which include
victim nondisclosure, suggesting there
are barriers for women to disclose
violence as well. I suggest ways
to improve care to women beyond
screening practices, towards a
systems-based approach. A
systems-based approach includes making
intimate partner violence an
institutional priority and focuses on
connecting patients to appropriate
social services once IPV is detected.
I conclude with directions for future
research.
- Risk Factors
Associated with Alcohol and Drug Use
During Adolescence: Missing
Variables in the Research Field
by Layla A. Martin
In
the United States, alcohol, tobacco,
and marijuana use during adolescence
continues to be an important social
issue that researchers, policy makers,
and practitioners attempt to
address. Substance use and abuse
during adolescence is associated with
both short and long-term negative
social, behavioral, and health
outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of
this study is to review prior
literature that examines the influence
of risk factors associated with
substance use among adolescents
between the ages of 11 to
18-years-old. Drawing from
peer-reviewed scholarly sources, I
find articles that test the influence
of race, age, gender, family
influence, education, history of
mental health disorders, and
peer-to-peer interaction on the
likelihood of adolescent substance
abuse. I conclude with a
discussion focusing on the approach of
usingboth prevention and intervention
strategies.
- Book
Review of Sex Cultures by Amin
Ghaziani
Reviewed by
Kathryn Nutter-Pridgen
Book
Review of Sex Cultures by Amin
Ghaziani, ISBN-13: 978-0745670409
and ISBN-10: 0745670407. Malden,
MA: Polity Press, 2017
©
2018 by Sociation Today
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The Editorial Board of Sociation Today
Editorial Board:
Editor:
George H. Conklin,
North Carolina
Central University
Emeritus
Robert Wortham,
Associate Editor,
North Carolina
Central University
Lawrence M. Eppard
Book Review Editor
Shippensburg University
Board:
Rebecca Adams,
UNC-Greensboro
Bob Davis,
North Carolina
Agricultural and
Technical State
University
Catherine Harris,
Wake Forest
University
Ella Keller,
Fayetteville
State University
Ken Land,
Duke University
Steve McNamee,
UNC-Wilmington
Miles Simpson,
North Carolina
Central University
William Smith,
N.C. State University
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