Data from an experiment embedded in a national telephone survey of heterosexual, English-speaking... more Data from an experiment embedded in a national telephone survey of heterosexual, English-speaking U.S. adults (N 1,283) were used to examine the relationship between manifestations of symbolic stigma and erroneous beliefs about AIDS transmission. Each respondent was presented with three scenarios describing a hypothetical sexual encounter between a protagonist and an HIV-negative or HIV-positive partner in which condoms were or were not used. The partner's gender and the protagonist's gender and sexual orientation were experimentally manipulated. Nearly all respondents knew that AIDS could be contracted through unprotected sex with a person with AIDS. A substantial minority erroneously believed it could be contracted through sex with an uninfected partner, and significantly more respondents believed that a homosexual or bisexual man who had sex with another (uninfected) man risked contracting AIDS compared to respondents who were asked about a heterosexual encounter. Inaccurate beliefs about HIV transmission through unprotected sex were predicted by socioeconomic status (lower educational level and income), gender (being female), race (being black), religiosity, personal concern about contracting AIDS, and lack of knowledge about HIV transmission through casual contact. With other variables statistically controlled, sexual prejudice was a significant predictor of inaccurate beliefs about HIV transmission through protected sex but not unprotected sex.
The current multigenerational study evaluates the utility of the interactionist model of socioeco... more The current multigenerational study evaluates the utility of the interactionist model of socioeconomic influence on human development (IMSI) in explaining problem behaviors across generations. The IMSI proposes that the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and human development involves a dynamic interplay that includes both social causation (SES influences human development) and social selection (individual characteristics affect SES). As part of the developmental cascade proposed by the IMSI, the findings from this investigation showed that Generation 1 (G1) adolescent problem behavior predicted later G1 SES, family stress, and parental emotional investments, as well as the next generation of children's problem behavior. These results are consistent with a social selection view. Consistent with the social causation perspective, we found a significant relation between G1 SES and family stress, and in turn, family stress predicted Generation 2 (G2) problem behavior. Fi...
A retrospective examination of 500 child sexual abuse reports to prosecutor’s offices analyzed ca... more A retrospective examination of 500 child sexual abuse reports to prosecutor’s offices analyzed case progress and predictors of attrition, including details about alleged perpetrator(s), victim(s), their families, and other case characteristics. Less than one in five cases proceeded to prosecution. For the full sample, we describe all outcomes and differentiate prosecutors’ decisions to (a) intake/close, (b) investigate/close, or (c) prosecute; these stages comprise a 3-level dependent variable. Because it is important to understand which variables are associated with progress to each stage, we examined unique predictors of the decision to “investigate,” and to “prosecute.” Our multivariate analyses examine 325 cases with a perpetrator aged 16 and older. Caregiver support and perpetrator age were significant predictors across all outcome variables, while other factors were barriers to the “prosecute” decision only. Results highlight the complexities of case characteristics that are important at different stages of prosecutorial decision-making and inform future interventions.
Data from an experiment embedded in a national telephone survey of heterosexual, English-speaking... more Data from an experiment embedded in a national telephone survey of heterosexual, English-speaking U.S. adults (N 1,283) were used to examine the relationship between manifestations of symbolic stigma and erroneous beliefs about AIDS transmission. Each respondent was presented with three scenarios describing a hypothetical sexual encounter between a protagonist and an HIV-negative or HIV-positive partner in which condoms were or were not used. The partner's gender and the protagonist's gender and sexual orientation were experimentally manipulated. Nearly all respondents knew that AIDS could be contracted through unprotected sex with a person with AIDS. A substantial minority erroneously believed it could be contracted through sex with an uninfected partner, and significantly more respondents believed that a homosexual or bisexual man who had sex with another (uninfected) man risked contracting AIDS compared to respondents who were asked about a heterosexual encounter. Inaccurate beliefs about HIV transmission through unprotected sex were predicted by socioeconomic status (lower educational level and income), gender (being female), race (being black), religiosity, personal concern about contracting AIDS, and lack of knowledge about HIV transmission through casual contact. With other variables statistically controlled, sexual prejudice was a significant predictor of inaccurate beliefs about HIV transmission through protected sex but not unprotected sex.
The current multigenerational study evaluates the utility of the interactionist model of socioeco... more The current multigenerational study evaluates the utility of the interactionist model of socioeconomic influence on human development (IMSI) in explaining problem behaviors across generations. The IMSI proposes that the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and human development involves a dynamic interplay that includes both social causation (SES influences human development) and social selection (individual characteristics affect SES). As part of the developmental cascade proposed by the IMSI, the findings from this investigation showed that Generation 1 (G1) adolescent problem behavior predicted later G1 SES, family stress, and parental emotional investments, as well as the next generation of children's problem behavior. These results are consistent with a social selection view. Consistent with the social causation perspective, we found a significant relation between G1 SES and family stress, and in turn, family stress predicted Generation 2 (G2) problem behavior. Fi...
A retrospective examination of 500 child sexual abuse reports to prosecutor’s offices analyzed ca... more A retrospective examination of 500 child sexual abuse reports to prosecutor’s offices analyzed case progress and predictors of attrition, including details about alleged perpetrator(s), victim(s), their families, and other case characteristics. Less than one in five cases proceeded to prosecution. For the full sample, we describe all outcomes and differentiate prosecutors’ decisions to (a) intake/close, (b) investigate/close, or (c) prosecute; these stages comprise a 3-level dependent variable. Because it is important to understand which variables are associated with progress to each stage, we examined unique predictors of the decision to “investigate,” and to “prosecute.” Our multivariate analyses examine 325 cases with a perpetrator aged 16 and older. Caregiver support and perpetrator age were significant predictors across all outcome variables, while other factors were barriers to the “prosecute” decision only. Results highlight the complexities of case characteristics that are important at different stages of prosecutorial decision-making and inform future interventions.
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