- School of Psychology
University of Kent
Canterbury
Kent
CT2 7NP
United Kingdom
jane wood
University of Kent, Psychology, Faculty Member
- Chartered Forensic Psychologist examining the psychology and mental health of youth offenders, particularly gang members.edit
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This report presents results of research commissioned by the police to evaluate their use of polygraph testing with individuals convicted or suspected of committing a sexual offence. Police areas involved in this research were: Greater... more
This report presents results of research commissioned by the police to evaluate their use of polygraph testing with individuals convicted or suspected of committing a sexual offence. Police areas involved in this research were: Greater Manchester (GMP), Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, South Yorkshire, and Northumbria. Additional areas (i.e., Lancashire, Norfolk, and Staffordshire) supplied data on polygraph tests conducted for them. The University of Kent was commissioned to evaluate police use of polygraph testing from 3rd July, 2017 to 15th July, 2019. The evaluation described in this report refers to analyses of: • Strand 1 (Supervisees): 557 individuals convicted of sexual offending and undergoing police supervision who were randomly assigned to polygraph testing (voluntary or mandatory1 depending on police area) or comparison groups. • Strand 2 (Suspects): 142 individuals suspected of committing online sexual offences and undergoing police investigation who were assigned to polygra...
Research Interests: Psychology and Polygraph
That gangs facilitate increased levels of deviancy in members is a consistent research finding. However, it is not fully clear why this is so. This chapter seeks to explain this effect by examining first the likely impact that group... more
That gangs facilitate increased levels of deviancy in members is a consistent research finding. However, it is not fully clear why this is so. This chapter seeks to explain this effect by examining first the likely impact that group processes have on gang members and second the likely social cognitive effects that gang membership is likely to elicit. It concludes by noting the importance of psychology in gang membership and how psychologists need to develop further research to explain the specifics of gang membership as it impacts on youth.
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Adult gang involvement attracts little empirical attention, so little is known about how they compare to nongang violent men in social harms beyond gang contexts. This study, based on unpublished data of 1,539 adult males, aged 19 to 34,... more
Adult gang involvement attracts little empirical attention, so little is known about how they compare to nongang violent men in social harms beyond gang contexts. This study, based on unpublished data of 1,539 adult males, aged 19 to 34, from the Coid et al. national survey, compared gang members’ (embedded in a gang; n = 108), affiliates’ (less embedded in a gang; n = 119), and violent men’s (no gang association; n = 1,312) perpetration of social harms by assessing their violence-related dispositions and beliefs, victim types, and locations of violence. Results showed that compared with violent men, gang members and affiliates were equally more likely to: cause social harms to a wider range of victims, including family and friends; seek violence; be excited by violence; and carry weapons. Gang members and affiliates were equally more likely than violent men to be violent at home, in friends’ homes, and at work; they also thought about hurting people, but felt regret for some of the...
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Mental health difficulties, conduct problems, and emotional maladjustment predict a range of negative outcomes, and this may include gang involvement. However, few studies have examined how behavioral, mental health, socio-cognitive, and... more
Mental health difficulties, conduct problems, and emotional maladjustment predict a range of negative outcomes, and this may include gang involvement. However, few studies have examined how behavioral, mental health, socio-cognitive, and emotional factors all relate to adolescent gang involvement. This study examined 91 adolescents to compare non-gang with gang-involved youth on their conduct problems, emotional distress, guilt-proneness, anxiety and depression, and use of moral disengagement and rumination. Analyses revealed that gang-involved youth had higher levels of anxiety, depression, moral disengagement, and rumination. Gang-involved youth also had higher levels of conduct disorder and exposure to violence, but they did not differ from non-gang youth on levels of emotional distress and guilt-proneness. Discriminant function analysis further showed that conduct problems, moral disengagement, and rumination were the most important predictors of gang involvement. Discussion foc...
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The literature on Multiple Perpetrator Rape (MPR) is scant; however, a significant proportion of sexual offending involves multiple perpetrators. In addition to the need for research with apprehended offenders of MPR, there is also a need... more
The literature on Multiple Perpetrator Rape (MPR) is scant; however, a significant proportion of sexual offending involves multiple perpetrators. In addition to the need for research with apprehended offenders of MPR, there is also a need to conduct research with members of the general public. Recent advances in the forensic literature have led to the development of self-report proclivity scales. These scales have enabled researchers to conduct evaluative studies sampling from members of the general public who may be perpetrators of sexual offenses and have remained undetected, or at highest risk of engaging in sexual offending. The current study describes the development and preliminary validation of the Multiple-Perpetrator Rape Interest Scale (M-PRIS), a vignette-based measure assessing community males’ sexual arousal to MPR, behavioral propensity toward MPR and enjoyment of MPR. The findings show that the M-PRIS is a reliable measure of community males’ sexual interest in MPR wi...
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This study examined the behavioral, social and psychological factors associated with gang-related crime. By comparing group crime committed by non-gang youth and gang members, this study sought to identify the kinds of criminal activity... more
This study examined the behavioral, social and psychological factors associated with gang-related crime. By comparing group crime committed by non-gang youth and gang members, this study sought to identify the kinds of criminal activity gang members engage in and identify the specific characteristics that differentiate gang-related crime from other group crimes. We found that gangs map out their territory with
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Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Forensic Psychology, Law, Juvenile Delinquency, and 15 moreSocial Determinants of Health, Group Processes, Adolescent, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Prisons, Humans, Crime, Animals, Male, Crime Victims, Great Britain, Prisoners, Prison Gangs, Social Dominance, and Psychosocial deprivation
Research Interests: Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Juvenile Delinquency, Adolescent, Social Identification, and 15 moreAggressive Behavior, London, Students, Humans, Child, Crime, Aggression, Female, Male, Peer group, Questionnaires, Poison Control, Social Behavior Disorders, Adolescent Behavior, and Residence Characteristics
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This study examines some of the individual, social, and environmental factors that differentiate gang-involved youth (both gang members and peripheral youth) and nongang youth in a British setting. The authors found that gang-involved... more
This study examines some of the individual, social, and environmental factors that differentiate gang-involved youth (both gang members and peripheral youth) and nongang youth in a British setting. The authors found that gang-involved youth were more likely than nongang youth to be older, and individual delinquency and neighborhood gangs predicted gang involvement. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examined the relationships between social/environmental factors and gang involvement. As a result, this article found that parental management, deviant peer pressure, and commitment to school had indirect relationships with gang involvement. These findings are discussed as they highlight a need to address the mechanisms in which protective and risk factors function collectively.
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Tackling street gangs has recently been highlighted as a priority for public health. In this paper, the four components of a public health approach were reviewed: (1) surveillance, (2) identifying risk and protective factors, (3)... more
Tackling street gangs has recently been highlighted as a priority for public health. In this paper, the four components of a public health approach were reviewed: (1) surveillance, (2) identifying risk and protective factors, (3) developing and evaluating interventions at primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary intervention stages, and (4) implementation of evidence-based programs. Findings regarding the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs for street gang members were mixed, with unclear goals/objectives, limited theoretical foundation, and a lack of consistency in program implementation impeding effectiveness at reducing street gang involvement. This paper proposes that the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strengths-based framework for offender rehabilitation, provides an innovative approach to street gang intervention. Utilizing approach-goals, the GLM assumes that improving an individual’s internal skills and external opportunities will reduce the need t...
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Tackling street gangs has recently been highlighted as a priority for public health. In this paper, the four components of a public health approach were reviewed: (1) surveillance, (2) identifying risk and protective factors, (3)... more
Tackling street gangs has recently been highlighted as a priority for public health. In this paper, the four components of a public health approach were reviewed: (1) surveillance, (2) identifying risk and protective factors, (3) developing and evaluating interventions at primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary intervention stages, and (4) implementation of evidence-based programs. Findings regarding the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs for street gang members were mixed, with unclear goals/objectives, limited theoretical foundation, and a lack of consistency in program implementation impeding effectiveness at reducing street gang involvement. This paper proposes that the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strengths-based framework for offender rehabilitation, provides an innovative approach to street gang intervention. Utilizing approach-goals, the GLM assumes that improving an individual’s internal skills and external opportunities will reduce the ...
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Background Gang members engage in many high-risk sexual activities that may be associated with psychiatric morbidity. Victim-focused research finds high prevalence of sexual violence towards women affiliated with gangs. Aims To... more
Background Gang members engage in many high-risk sexual activities that may be associated with psychiatric morbidity. Victim-focused research finds high prevalence of sexual violence towards women affiliated with gangs. Aims To investigate associations between childhood maltreatment and psychiatric morbidity on coercive and high-risk sexual behaviour among gang members. Method Cross-sectional survey of 4665 men 18–34 years in Great Britain using random location sampling. The survey oversampled men from areas with high levels of violence and gang membership. Participants completed questionnaires covering violent and sexual behaviours, experiences of childhood disadvantage and trauma, and psychiatric diagnoses using standardised instruments. Results Antisocial men and gang members had high levels of sexual violence and multiple risk behaviours for sexually transmitted infections, childhood maltreatment and mental disorders, including addictions. Physical, sexual and emotional trauma w...
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Effectively recognizing, identifying, and utilizing emotional stimuli is essential for successful social interactions, with deficits in these robustly identified as risk factors for offending. Psychological understanding of street gang... more
Effectively recognizing, identifying, and utilizing emotional stimuli is essential for successful social interactions, with deficits in these robustly identified as risk factors for offending. Psychological understanding of street gang membership is limited, particularly surrounding emotional dispositions distinguishing street gang from non-gang offenders. This study examined how street gang members compare with non-gang offenders on trait emotional intelligence (TEI), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), callous-unemotional traits, anger rumination, and aggression. Recruited through volunteer sampling, participants included 73 (44 street gang and 29 non-gang) male offenders incarcerated at a U.K. Category C prison. Participants completed seven questionnaires assessing emotional dispositions, social desirability, and, consistent with the Eurogang definition, street gang membership. To compare participants' demographics and identify the predictors of street gang membership, ch...
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Gang membership inherently links to violence, and violent experiences strongly relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and paranoia. Yet to date, gang members' mental health has received little attention, and their... more
Gang membership inherently links to violence, and violent experiences strongly relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and paranoia. Yet to date, gang members' mental health has received little attention, and their paranoia has not been examined. This study, using established measures, assessed street gang and nongang prisoners' levels of violence exposure, symptoms of PTSD, paranoia, and anxiety, forced behavioral control, and segregation in prison. Participants were 65 (32 gang and 33 nongang) prisoners, recruited using opportunity sampling. Participants provided informed consent and were interviewed individually. Interviews were anonymized to maintain confidentiality. Chi-square and discriminant function analyses were used to compare participants' demographics, segregation levels, mental health symptoms, and to identify predictors of street gang membership. As compared to nongang prisoners, street gang prisoners have higher levels of exposure to viole...
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Research Interests: Criminology and Probation
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Foreign National Prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13 per cent of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever... more
Foreign National Prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13 per cent of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever present in the Safer Custody statistics, accounting for nearly a quarter of self-harm incidents and self-inflicted deaths (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2009). Recent Inspectorate Reports (2006, 2007, 2010) and a handful of research studies (Bhui, 2009 for a review) outline the lack of support facing many Foreign National Prisoners, in terms of language problems, social and cultural isolation, family support, immigration uncertainties and diversity issues. This paper reviews the current context of the Foreign National Prisoner population in England and Wales, paying particular attention to their experiences, specific needs and potential threat to their mental health from being imprisoned in a foreign country. We then offer suggestions as to how these issues can be addressed by reviewing existing initiatives and making recommendations for future research.
The emotion of anger has gained researchers' interest in recent years [Novaco (1994) In: J. Monahan & M. J. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: developments in risk assessment. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; (1997)... more
The emotion of anger has gained researchers' interest in recent years [Novaco (1994) In: J. Monahan & M. J. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: developments in risk assessment. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; (1997) Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2, 77]. However, it is still unclear what influences the expression of anger. The current study investigated the relationship between anger, personality and blame attribution in Icelandic prisoners. Sixty-nine male offenders completed the Gud-jonsson Blame Attribution Inventory, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Novaco Anger Scale. No differences were found in the anger levels of violent/non-violent offenders. Results indicated that reci-divism, psychoticism and neuroticism were predictive of anger levels, but no relationship was found between blame attribution and anger. The findings of this study suggest that in terms of anger management programmes in prison, it might be advantageous to target repeat offenders and take into account personality factors that seem to influence anger. #
The aim of this study was to examine whether street gang membership, psychological factors, and social factors such as preprison experiences could predict young offenders' involvement in prison gang activity. Data were collected via... more
The aim of this study was to examine whether street gang membership, psychological factors, and social factors such as preprison experiences could predict young offenders' involvement in prison gang activity. Data were collected via individual interviews with 188 young offenders held in a Young Offenders Institution in the United Kingdom. Results showed that psychological factors such as the value individuals attached to social status, a social dominance orientation, and antiauthority attitudes were important in predicting young offenders' involvement in prison gang activity. Further important predic-tors included preimprisonment events such as levels of threat, levels of individual delinquency, and levels of involvement in group crime. Longer current sentences also predicted involvement in prison gang activity. However, street gang membership was not an important predictor of involvement in prison gang activity. These findings have implications for identifying prisoners involved in prison gang activity and for considering the role of psychological factors and group processes in gang research.
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ABSTRACT Gang researchers have robustly established that gangs facilitate increased criminal activity in members—even those who were prolifically delinquent before gang membership (Klein, Weerman, & Thornberry, 2006). This... more
ABSTRACT Gang researchers have robustly established that gangs facilitate increased criminal activity in members—even those who were prolifically delinquent before gang membership (Klein, Weerman, & Thornberry, 2006). This suggests that there is something about gang membership, specifically, that influences individuals’ criminality. However, so far it is not clear what this influence is. This paper, taking a social psychological perspective on gang membership considers the potential influence that group processes exert on gang members to identify with a gang, to conform to group norms, become cohesive and to strive to acquire group goals—such as status. It further speculates that adherence to group norms may cultivate gang members’ social cognitions such as moral disengagement, offense supportive cognitions, and rumination. Conclusions note how group processes deserve closer research attention due to their potential for informing more accurate gang interventions to deter potential members and to reduce existing gang membership.
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Research has focused on the environmental causes of bullying in prison, but neglected the intrinsic characteristics of bullies. Although the importance of social status in prison has been noted as one factor that may influence bullying,... more
Research has focused on the environmental causes of bullying in prison, but neglected the intrinsic characteristics of bullies. Although the importance of social status in prison has been noted as one factor that may influence bullying, no empirical research has yet addressed this. The ...
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The current study investigated the effects of state and trait empathy in legal judgments and tested the relationship between trait and state emotion in one hundred and fifty eight students aged 18-59. Assessments were taken of... more
The current study investigated the effects of state and trait empathy in legal judgments and tested the relationship between trait and state emotion in one hundred and fifty eight students aged 18-59. Assessments were taken of participants’ trait empathy and then state empathy was induced in half the sample. Following this all participants read a trial transcript and made judgments regarding: the verdict decision; the defendant’s responsibility for the offense; what would be an appropriate punishment; the likelihood that the offender would offend in the future; and whether the defendant felt remorse for committing the offense. Findings showed that both trait and state empathy predicted attributions of offender remorse. State empathy also predicted judgments of offender responsibility and agreement with verdict decisions in a lenient direction. Findings also showed that state and trait empathy did not interact. The results indicate that trait and state empathy work independently to influence legal judgments and that inducing empathy in decision-makers can impact on trial outcomes above and beyond the facts of the case.
Keywords: empathy; state; trait; remorse; judgments.
Keywords: empathy; state; trait; remorse; judgments.
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ABSTRACT Foreign national prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13% of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever... more
ABSTRACT Foreign national prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13% of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever present in the Safer Custody statistics, accounting for nearly a quarter of self-harm incidents and self-inflicted deaths (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2009). Recent , and and a handful of research studies outline the lack of support facing many foreign national prisoners, in terms of language problems, social and cultural isolation, family support, immigration uncertainties and diversity issues. This paper reviews the current context of the foreign national prisoner population in England and Wales, paying particular attention to their experiences, specific needs, and potential threat to their mental health from being imprisoned in a foreign country. We then offer suggestions as to how these issues can be addressed by reviewing existing initiatives and making recommendations for future research.
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This study investigated the relationship between cognitive mechanisms, applied by people to rationalize and justify harmful acts, and engagement in traditional peer and cyber aggression among school children. We examined the contribution... more
This study investigated the relationship between cognitive mechanisms, applied by people to rationalize and justify harmful acts, and engagement in traditional peer and cyber aggression among school children. We examined the contribution of moral disengagement (MD), hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies, and we further explored the individual contribution of each MD mechanism. Our aim was to identify shared and unique cognitive factors of the two forms of aggression. Three hundred and thirty-nine secondary school children completed self-report measures that assessed MD, hostile attribution bias, outcome expectancies, and their roles and involvement in traditional and cyber aggression. We found that the MD total score positively related to both forms of peer-directed aggression. Furthermore, traditional peer aggression positively related to children's moral justification, euphemistic language, displacement of responsibility and outcome expectancies, and negatively associated with hostile attribution bias. Moral justification also related positively to cyber aggression. Cyber aggression and cyber victimization were associated with high levels of traditional peer aggression and victimization, respectively. The results suggest that MD is a common feature of both traditional and cyber peer aggression, but it seems that traditional forms of aggression demand a higher level of rationalization or justification. Moreover, the data suggest that the expectation of positive outcomes from harmful behavior facilitates engagement in traditional peer aggression. The differential contribution of specific cognitive mechanisms indicates the need for future research to elaborate on the current findings, in order to advance theory and inform existing and future school interventions tackling aggression and bullying.
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The attitudes of 66 ethnic minorities and 152 Cypriots toward the police were examined according to age, experience of criminal victimization, and race. Questions were based on the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the National Crime... more
The attitudes of 66 ethnic minorities and 152 Cypriots toward the police were examined according to age, experience of criminal victimization, and race. Questions were based on the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and were translated ...
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Untreated imprisoned sexual offenders (N = 42) completed interviews and questionnaires to establish the priority they assigned, at the time of their offending, to three... more
Untreated imprisoned sexual offenders (N = 42) completed interviews and questionnaires to establish the priority they assigned, at the time of their offending, to three "goods" from the good lives model and to gain insight into how they operationalized these goods at that time. The relationship between the priorities offenders assigned to the goods of (a) agency, (b) relatedness, and (c) inner peace at the time of offending and their problem-solving ability was also explored. A measure of problem-solving ability was obtained with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised, and a measure of functional and dysfunctional problem solving was obtained from its scales. The results suggest that sexual offenders tend to experience problems in prioritizing, rather than operationalizing, inner peace, as this good is not related to problem-solving ability but tends to be assigned lower priority than agency and relatedness. Although agency and relatedness tend to be given higher importance, and this is related to better problem-solving ability, there appear to be problems with scope in some offenders' good lives conceptions and problems with the capacity, means, and conflict among the means used to achieve these goods. Directions for future research are suggested.
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ABSTRACT Foreign national prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13% of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever... more
ABSTRACT Foreign national prisoners represent an increasingly significant and vulnerable proportion of the prison estate in England and Wales, accounting for 13% of the population in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). They are ever present in the Safer Custody statistics, accounting for nearly a quarter of self-harm incidents and self-inflicted deaths (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2009). Recent , and and a handful of research studies outline the lack of support facing many foreign national prisoners, in terms of language problems, social and cultural isolation, family support, immigration uncertainties and diversity issues. This paper reviews the current context of the foreign national prisoner population in England and Wales, paying particular attention to their experiences, specific needs, and potential threat to their mental health from being imprisoned in a foreign country. We then offer suggestions as to how these issues can be addressed by reviewing existing initiatives and making recommendations for future research.
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This study investigated the relationship between cognitive mechanisms, applied by people to rationalize and justify harmful acts, and engagement in traditional peer and cyber aggression among school children. We examined the contribution... more
This study investigated the relationship between cognitive mechanisms, applied by people to rationalize and justify harmful acts, and engagement in traditional peer and cyber aggression among school children. We examined the contribution of moral disengagement (MD), hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies, and we further explored the individual contribution of each MD mechanism. Our aim was to identify shared and unique cognitive factors of the two forms of aggression. Three hundred and thirty-nine secondary school children completed self-report measures that assessed MD, hostile attribution bias, outcome expectancies, and their roles and involvement in traditional and cyber aggression. We found that the MD total score positively related to both forms of peer-directed aggression. Furthermore, traditional peer aggression positively related to children's moral justification, euphemistic language, displacement of responsibility and outcome expectancies, and negatively associated with hostile attribution bias. Moral justification also related positively to cyber aggression. Cyber aggression and cyber victimization were associated with high levels of traditional peer aggression and victimization, respectively. The results suggest that MD is a common feature of both traditional and cyber peer aggression, but it seems that traditional forms of aggression demand a higher level of rationalization or justification. Moreover, the data suggest that the expectation of positive outcomes from harmful behavior facilitates engagement in traditional peer aggression. The differential contribution of specific cognitive mechanisms indicates the need for future research to elaborate on the current findings, in order to advance theory and inform existing and future school interventions tackling aggression and bullying.
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Purpose: Research has demonstrated that girls are involved in gangs as members and affiliates. However, the psychological processes related to female gang membership has, to date, not been examined using a rigorous comparative design. The... more
Purpose: Research has demonstrated that girls are involved in gangs as members and affiliates. However, the psychological processes related to female gang membership has, to date, not been examined using a rigorous comparative design. The main purpose of this study was to assess whether female gang members exhibit distinct psychological and behavioral features when compared to female non-gang youth.
Design/methodology/approach: 117 female students were recruited from all-girls’ secondary schools in London, United Kingdom. Gang members (n = 22; identified using the Eurogang definition) were compared to non-gang youth (n = 95) on self-report measures of criminal activity, sexual activity, self esteem, anti-authority attitudes, their perceived importance of social status, and hypermasculinity, using a series of MANCOVAs.
Findings: The results found that gang members reported significantly more criminal activity, sexual activity, unwanted sexual contact and held more anti-authority attitudes when compared to their non-gang counterparts.
Practical implications: These findings support Pyrooz et al.’s (2014) findings that gang membership contributes to the theoretical conceptualization of the victim-offender overlap. Practitioners need to take this into consideration when working with female gang members.
Originality/value: There is very little research that explicitly examines the characteristics of female gang members with suitable comparison groups. This study adds to the growing literature on female involvement in gangs and highlights the distinct psychological and behavioral characteristics of this group. In summary, these findings support the notion that female gang members are both at risk of being sexually exploited and engaging in criminal activities.
Design/methodology/approach: 117 female students were recruited from all-girls’ secondary schools in London, United Kingdom. Gang members (n = 22; identified using the Eurogang definition) were compared to non-gang youth (n = 95) on self-report measures of criminal activity, sexual activity, self esteem, anti-authority attitudes, their perceived importance of social status, and hypermasculinity, using a series of MANCOVAs.
Findings: The results found that gang members reported significantly more criminal activity, sexual activity, unwanted sexual contact and held more anti-authority attitudes when compared to their non-gang counterparts.
Practical implications: These findings support Pyrooz et al.’s (2014) findings that gang membership contributes to the theoretical conceptualization of the victim-offender overlap. Practitioners need to take this into consideration when working with female gang members.
Originality/value: There is very little research that explicitly examines the characteristics of female gang members with suitable comparison groups. This study adds to the growing literature on female involvement in gangs and highlights the distinct psychological and behavioral characteristics of this group. In summary, these findings support the notion that female gang members are both at risk of being sexually exploited and engaging in criminal activities.
The literature on Multiple Perpetrator Rape (MPR) is scant; however, a significant proportion of sexual offending involves multiple perpetrators. In addition to the need for research with apprehended offenders of MPR, there is also a need... more
The literature on Multiple Perpetrator Rape (MPR) is scant; however, a significant proportion of sexual offending involves multiple perpetrators. In addition to the need for research with apprehended offenders of MPR, there is also a need to conduct research with members of the general public. Recent advances in the forensic literature have led to the development of self-report proclivity scales. These scales have enabled researchers to conduct evaluative studies sampling from members of the general public who may be perpetrators of sexual offenses and have remained undetected, or at highest risk of engaging in sexual offending. The current study describes the development and preliminary validation of the Multiple-Perpetrator Rape Interest Scale (M-PRIS), a vignette-based measure assessing community males’ sexual arousal to MPR, behavioral propensity toward MPR and enjoyment of MPR. The findings show that the M-PRIS is a reliable measure of community males’ sexual interest in MPR with high internal reliability and temporal stability. In a sample of university males we found that a large proportion (66%) did not emphatically reject an interest in MPR. We also found that rape-supportive cognitive distortions, antisocial attitudes, and high-risk sexual fantasies were predictors of sexual interest in MPR. We discuss these findings and the implications for further research employing proclivity measures referencing theory development and clinical practice.
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Recent years have seen an upsurge of attention paid to street gangs as scholars and criminal justice officials strive to understand and counteract the effects of gang membership. Yet, despite a wealth of theoretical frameworks and... more
Recent years have seen an upsurge of attention paid to street gangs as scholars and criminal justice officials strive to understand and counteract the effects of gang membership. Yet, despite a wealth of theoretical frameworks and empirical findings, even fundamental issues such as an agreed definition continue to elude us. We consider some of the most influential theoretical frameworks and associated empirical findings and find that as it stands, our knowledge on gangs is still limited and rather muddy. We suggest that future directions should adopt a more multidisciplinary approach to the study of gangs. To this end, we argue that there is a role for psychology in this important body of work, and that its involvement will provide us with a deeper and more meaningful understanding of gangs and the youth who join them.
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Purpose. Using social dominance theory, the primary aim of this study was to examine the attitudes and beliefs that reinforce status hierarchies and facilitate aggressive behavior within and between gangs. The aim was also to determine... more
Purpose. Using social dominance theory, the primary aim of this study was to examine the attitudes and beliefs that reinforce status hierarchies and facilitate aggressive behavior within and between gangs. The aim was also to determine whether these socio-cognitive processes distinguished gang-involved youth from non-gang offenders in a custodial setting.
Methods. Gang-involved youth and non-gang offenders were recruited from a Young Offender Institution (YOI) located in the United Kingdom. Questionnaires assessing psychological (i.e., moral disengagement strategies, anti-authority attitudes, hypermasculinity, and social dominance orientation) and behavioral (i.e., group crime) characteristics were administered individually. We hypothesized that gang-involved youth would be affiliated with groups who engaged in more criminal activity than non-gang offenders, and that they would report higher levels of endorsements than non-gang youth across all of the psychological measures.
Results. We found that gang-involved youth were affiliated with groups who engage in more crimes than non-gang offenders. We also found that social dominance orientation was an important factor related to gang involvement along with measures assessing group-based hierarchies such as hypermasculinity, anti-authority attitudes, and the moral disengagement strategies displacement of responsibility, dehumanization, and euphemistic labelling.
Conclusions. These findings fit within a social dominance theoretical framework as they highlight key psychological factors that feed into perceived status-driven hierarchies that distinguish gang members from other types of offenders. These factors could be key to developments in treatment provision within custodial settings.
Methods. Gang-involved youth and non-gang offenders were recruited from a Young Offender Institution (YOI) located in the United Kingdom. Questionnaires assessing psychological (i.e., moral disengagement strategies, anti-authority attitudes, hypermasculinity, and social dominance orientation) and behavioral (i.e., group crime) characteristics were administered individually. We hypothesized that gang-involved youth would be affiliated with groups who engaged in more criminal activity than non-gang offenders, and that they would report higher levels of endorsements than non-gang youth across all of the psychological measures.
Results. We found that gang-involved youth were affiliated with groups who engage in more crimes than non-gang offenders. We also found that social dominance orientation was an important factor related to gang involvement along with measures assessing group-based hierarchies such as hypermasculinity, anti-authority attitudes, and the moral disengagement strategies displacement of responsibility, dehumanization, and euphemistic labelling.
Conclusions. These findings fit within a social dominance theoretical framework as they highlight key psychological factors that feed into perceived status-driven hierarchies that distinguish gang members from other types of offenders. These factors could be key to developments in treatment provision within custodial settings.