Inability to start or complete upper secondary school strongly predicts unemployment and psychosocial and psychiatric adversities - A register-based follow-up study from southwestern Sweden.

AIM: To study academic, social and psychiatric outcomes among adults in the general population in southwestern Sweden. Groups of individuals born in 1998 and ineligible, eligible but not completed, and eligible and completed upper secondary school were followed in 2020. METHODS: Data were retrieved from Statistics Sweden, the Swedish National Agency for Education, the Longitudinal Integrated Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies, the Swedish National Crime Register and the National Patient Register. The four adverse outcomes neither engaging in post-secondary studies nor having a regular salary, needing social benefits, having any criminal conviction, and having a psychiatric disorder at age ≥16 were examined. RESULTS: Of the final sample of 2706 individuals who had attended 9th grade of compulsory school in 2014, 273 (10%) were ineligible for upper secondary school. Of eligible individuals, 82 (3%) never started, 282 (10%) did not complete and 2065 (77%) completed upper secondary school. Compared with completers, the odds ratios for adverse outcomes were markedly increased for all other groups up to 22 years old. CONCLUSION: Inability to start or complete upper secondary school strongly predicted unemployment and psychosocial and psychiatric adversities. School authorities should consider offering vocational programmes post compulsory school without grade restrictions.

The burden for clinical services of persons with an intellectual disability or mental disorder convicted of criminal offences: A birth cohort study of 14,605 persons followed to age 64.

BACKGROUND: Intellectual disability (ID), schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD), bipolar disorder (BD), substance use disorder (SUD), and other mental disorders (OMDs) are associated with increased risks of criminality relative to sex-matched individuals without these conditions (NOIDMD). To resource psychiatric, addiction, and social services so as to provide effective treatments, further information is needed about the size of sub-groups convicted of crimes, recidivism, timing of offending, antecedents, and correlates. Stigma of persons with mental disorders could potentially be dramatically reduced if violence was prevented. METHODS: A birth cohort of 14,605 persons was followed to age 64 using data from Swedish national health, criminal, and social registers. RESULTS: Percentages of group members convicted of violence differed significantly: males NOIDMD, 7.3%, ID 29.2%, SSD 38.6%, BD 30.7%; SUD 44.0%, and OMD 19.3%; females NOIDMD 0.8%, ID 7.7%, SSD 11.2%, BD 2.4%, SD 17.0%, and OMD 2.1%. Violent recidivism was high. Most violent offenders in the diagnostic groups were also convicted of non-violent crimes. Prior to first diagnosis, convictions (violent or non-violent) had been acquired by over 90% of the male offenders and two-thirds of the female offenders. Physical victimization, adult comorbid SUD, childhood conduct problems, and adolescent substance misuse were each associated with increased risks of offending. CONCLUSION: Sub-groups of cohort members with ID or mental disorders were convicted of violent and non-violent crimes to age 64 suggesting the need for treatment of primary disorders and for antisocial/aggressive behavior. Many patients engaging in violence could be identified at first contact with clinical services.

Law's artefacts: Personal rapid transit and public narratives of hitchhiking and crime.

The West Virginia University (WVU) Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system was built between 1971 and 1975 in Morgantown, West Virginia to be a prototype transportation system of the future. Envisioned as a hybrid of public and automotive transportation, the fully automated cars deliver passengers directly to their destinations without stopping at intervening stations. The PRT concept may be familiar to STS scholars through Latour's study of Aramis, a PRT in Paris that was never completed. This article recounts a history with the opposite ending: the successful realization of a PRT in West Virginia. Our account supplements existing ones, which explain the construction of the WVUPRT primarily as the product of geography and politics. While not denying these factors, we carve out an explanatory role for another influence: a public narrative about the dangers of hitchhiking and crimes that might ensue from that practice. In weaving together that narrative with the history of the WVUPRT, we show how public narratives of crime authorize technological infrastructure.

Cannabis-related arrests and convictions in Canada: Differences by race/ethnicity, individual socioeconomic factors, and neighborhood deprivation.

Racialized individuals were disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition in Canada; however, the role of socioeconomic factors and neighborhood deprivation are not well understood. The current study examined race/ethnicity, individual socioeconomic factors, and neighborhood deprivation in relation to arrests and convictions for cannabis-related offenses. Repeat cross-sectional data were analyzed from two waves of the International Cannabis Policy Study (ICPS), a web-based survey conducted in 2019 (n = 12,226) and 2020 (n = 12,815) in Canada among those aged 16 to 65. Respondents were recruited through commercial online panels. Respondents' postal codes were linked to the INSPQ deprivation index. Multinomial regression models examined the association between race/ethnicity, individual socioeconomic factors, neighborhood deprivation, and lifetime arrests or convictions for cannabis offenses. Overall, 4.4% of respondents reported a lifetime arrest or conviction for a cannabis-related offense. Black and Indigenous individuals had more than three times the odds of conviction than White individuals (AOR = 3.90, 95% CI = 2.07-7.35, p = <0.01; AOR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.78-5.90, p = <0.01, respectively). Differences were still statistically significant after adjusting for cannabis use and socioeconomic factors; however, after adjusting for neighborhood deprivation, only the difference for Black individuals remained. Neighborhood deprivation was associated with cannabis-related convictions: the odds of a conviction among the "most privileged" and "privileged" neighborhoods were approximately half of those in the "most deprived" neighborhoods (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.29-0.86, p = 0.01; AOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.27-0.92, p = 0.03, respectively). Arrests and convictions for cannabis-related offenses were disproportionately higher among racialized individuals and those living in the most marginalized neighborhoods. Future research should examine whether inequities change following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada.

Examining the differential effects of information about the death penalty on retributivists and non-retributivists in Japan: a refutation of Marshall's third hypothesis.

This study aimed to test Marshall's third hypothesis-that information about the death penalty hardly affects the attitude of death penalty supporters on retribution grounds-utilizing a non-American sample. Four pre-registered experiments were conducted, involving Japanese participants randomly selected from sample pools of retributivists and non-retributivists, based on their reasons for supporting the death penalty. One group received information exposure, while the other was under control conditions. Participants read about deterrence (Study 1) or false convictions (Study 2-4). Except for the results of Study 4, retributivists and non-retributivists were equally affected or unaffected by information. Marshall's third hypothesis is therefore not supported. Retributivists strongly favored the death penalty; higher empathy toward criminals was associated with less pro-death penalty attitudes. Additionally, there were differences in the influence of information. These results suggest the need for a new approach to researching the relationship between public attitudes and information on the death penalty.

Genetically Engineered Foods and Moral Absolutism: A Representative Study from Germany.

There is an ongoing debate about genetic engineering (GE) in food production. Supporters argue that it makes crops more resilient to stresses, such as drought or pests, and should be considered by researchers as a technology to address issues of global food security, whereas opponents put forward that GE crops serve only the economic interests of transnational agrifood-firms and have not yet delivered on their promises to address food shortage and nutrient supply. To address discourse failure regarding the GE debate, research needs to understand better what drives the divergent positions and which moral attitudes fuel the mental models of GE supporters and opponents. Hence, this study investigates moral attitudes regarding GE opposition and support in Germany. Results show that GE opponents are significantly more absolutist than supporters and significantly less likely to hold outcome-based views. Furthermore, GE opponents are more willing to donate for preventing GE admission than supporters are willing to donate for promoting GE admission. Our results shed light on why the divide between opponents and supporters in the German GE debate could remain stark and stable for so long.

Reporting Ethics Approval in Articles on Criminality. An Audit of Adherence to Swedish Legislation.

According to the Swedish Ethics Review Act, research involving personal data on crimes should undergo independent ethics review. To explore the reporting of ethics approval, we extracted information from articles with Swedish personal data on crimes published in 2013-2021. Of the identified 298 articles, 92 (31%) failed to report ethics approval. Failures were particularly common in articles with a qualitative design, single or few authors and when there was a social science focus. Failures varied markedly between universities. We conclude that failures to report compulsory ethics approval are common in articles involving personal data on crime and that these failures vary markedly with the research setting. Several indicators of poor adherence to the Ethics Review Act have been identified.

Wrongful Convictions and Erroneous Acquittals: Applying Packer's Model to Examine Public Perceptions of Judicial Errors in Australia.

The fallible nature of the criminal justice system continues to see judicial errors-that is, wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals-undermine its integrity, efficacy, and legitimacy. Public perceptions of judicial errors are important contributors to criminal justice policy and reforms. The current study utilizes the 2016 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) dataset to examine public attitudes toward judicial errors. It applies Herbert Packer's crime control and due process models to understand how concerns around procedural safeguards and public safety are associated with public perceptions toward judicial errors. Packer's model has been challenged by studies, which theorize that the models are not mutually exclusive. Yet, they have not been empirically tested in this context, which is a gap this study seeks to fill. Findings show that due process and crime control concerns shape public attitudes toward wrongful convictions and challenge the notion that Packer's models be applied on a continuum.

Surveillance of Avian Metapneumovirus in Non-Vaccinated Chickens and Co-Infection with Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Brazil is the second largest producer of broiler chicken in the world, and the surveillance of avian pathogens is of great importance for the global economy and nutrition. Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) infection results in high rates of animal carcass losses due to aerosacculitis and these impacts can be worsened through co-infection with pathogenic bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli (APEC). The present study evaluated the seroprevalence of the main aMPV subtypes in unvaccinated broiler chickens from poultry farms in Brazil, as well as the clinical effects of co-infection with APEC. Blood samples, respiratory swabs, femurs, liver, and spleen of post-mortem broiler chickens were collected from 100 poultry production batches, totaling 1000 samples. The selection of the production batch was based on the history of systemic and respiratory clinical signs. The results indicated that 20% of the lots showed serological evidence of the presence of aMPV, with two lots being positive for aMPV-B. A total of 45% of batches demonstrated co-infection between aMPV and APEC. The results point to the need for viral surveillance, targeted vaccination, and vaccination programs, which could reduce clinical problems and consequently reduce the use of antibiotics to treat bacterial co-infections.

A conjunctive analysis of false accusations, official misconduct, and race in violent and sexual exonerations cases.

The National Registry of Exonerations tracks cases of individuals who have been convicted and exonerated in the United States since 1989. The objective of the current study was to explore the misconduct patterns in violent and sexual offense cases using a novel method with a focus on cases where suspects were falsely accused, either deliberately or by mistaken witness identification. A conjunctive analysis of case configurations (CACC) was conducted using 1690 males convicted of murder/manslaughter, rape/sexual assault, and child sexual abuse. The results showed that compared to Whites, Blacks had a disproportionate amount of official misconduct in both sexual and non-sexual homicide cases. Blacks also had a disproportionate amount of misconduct by multiple actors and multiple types. Blacks had more cases of mistaken witness identification and a disproportionate amount of official misconduct in sexual assault cases. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

A Person-Centered Approach to Moralization-The Case of Vaping.

Using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation is a controversial topic among health experts. Evidence suggests that vaping might have been moralized among the general public. Despite the detrimental consequences of moralizing health behaviors on social cohesion and health, some argue for using moralization strategically to prevent and combat vaping. We aim to add to the body of literature showing the dangers of moralization in health by proposing a person-centered approach to the moralization of anti-vaping attitudes. Our cross-sectional survey explores the moralization of anti-vaping attitudes and its predictors on a convenience sample of 348 Romanian never-vapers, before the final vote to severely restrict vaping. By fitting a hierarchical regression model on our data, we found support for a unique contribution of negative prototypes (ß = 0.13) and opinions of vapers (ß = 0.08) in predicting moralization, with significant contributions of piggybacking on moralized self-control, on moralized attitudes toward smoking and on sanctity/degradation, disgust, anger, harm to children, and gender. Together, these variables explained 56% of the variance of the moralization of anti-vaping attitudes. Our findings add to our knowledge of motivated moralization and advise against using moralization in health, suggesting that people may weaponize it to legitimize group dislike.

Criminal Convictions of Disciplined Health Practitioners in New Zealand.

This study investigates the rates and types of criminal convictions encountered by New Zealand's Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) over a 15-year period. Criminal convictions appeared in 24% (n = 101) of cases, with male practitioners (p < 0.01) and pharmacists (p < 0.05) being significantly over-represented. The most frequent types of convictions included crimes against rights of property (33.6%), sexual/morality/decency crimes (21.9%) and misuse of drugs (8.4%). Criminal behaviour settings were evenly split between personal and professional life for medical practitioners (56.5% professional life) and nurses (56.5% professional life) but disproportionately in professional life (85%) for pharmacists. Criminal conviction cases were significantly more likely to result in registration cancellation (p < 0.001) and practice suspensions (p < 0.05) when compared with non-criminal cases, although fewer fines were ordered (p < 0.001). Profession-specific risk factors, alongside how to rehabilitate members of the subgroup who may later seek to renew their practice are areas for further research, are discussed.

The dark side of belief in Covid-19 scientists and scientific evidence.

We draw from an interdisciplinary literature on convictions to examine the manifestations and consequences of firmly held beliefs in Covid-19 (C19) science. Across three studies (N = 743), we assess participants' beliefs in C19 experts, and beliefs in supported and unsupported empirical evidence. Study 1 establishes the basic theoretical links and we show that an individual's belief in science on C19 is associated with dispositional belief in science and moralization of C19 mitigation measures. Our subsequent two studies show how stronger belief in C19 science influences distrust in unmasked individuals past the mandates, and greater endorsement of pandemic mitigation authoritarianism. We document the dark side that emerges when belief in C19 science extends beyond the generally desirable scientific literacy and manifests as a conviction that public health experts are the only ones who can handle the pandemic, and that even unsupported claims about C19 are supported by scientific evidence (e.g., risk of outdoor transmission is high). We also highlight our political ideology findings showing that both liberals and conservatives mis-calibrate C19 risks in different ways, and we conclude with discussing how examining the darker side of scientific beliefs can inform our understanding of people's reactions to the pandemic.

Eyewitness memory is reliable, but the criminal justice system is not.

The reliability of any type of forensic evidence (e.g., forensic DNA) is assessed by testing its information value when it is not contaminated and is properly tested. Assessing the reliability of forensic memory evidence should be no exception to that rule. Unfortunately, testing a witness's memory irretrievably contaminates it. Thus, only the first (properly conducted) test is relevant to the question of whether eyewitness memory is reliable. With few exceptions, the results of studies conducted in the lab and in the real world show that confidence is highly predictive of accuracy on the first test, and high-confidence often implies high accuracy. The fact that many eyewitnesses are known to have made high-confidence misidentifications in the courtroom has cemented the almost universal impression that eyewitness memory is unreliable. However, it is the criminal justice system that is guilty of unwittingly using contaminated memory evidence (relying on the last memory test, in court) in conjunction with an improper testing procedure (namely, a courtroom showup) to win convictions of the innocent. That mistake should no longer be blamed on the unreliability of eyewitness memory.

Convicting with confidence? Why we should not over-rely on eyewitness confidence.

Eyewitness memory researchers have recently devoted considerable attention to eyewitness confidence. While there is strong consensus that courtroom confidence is problematic, we now recognise that an eyewitness's initial confidence in their first identification - in certain contexts - can be of value. A few psychological scientists, however, have confidently, but erroneously claimed that in real-world cases, eyewitness initial confidence is the most important indicator of eyewitness accuracy, trumping all other factors that might exist in a case. This claim accompanies an exaggeration of the role of eyewitnesses' "initial confidence" in the DNA exoneration cases. Still worse, overstated claims about the confidence-accuracy relationship, and eyewitness memory, have reached our top scientific journals, news articles, and criminal cases. To set the record straight, we review what we actually know and do not know about the "initial confidence" of eyewitnesses in the DNA exoneration cases. Further reasons for skepticism about the value of the confidence-accuracy relationship in real-world cases come from new analyses of a separate database, the National Registry of Exonerations. Finally, we review new research that reveals numerous conditions wherein eyewitnesses with high initial confidence end up being wrong.

Eyewitness confidence may not be ready for the courts: a reply to Wixted et al.

Wixted et al. (in press. Doing right by the eyewitness evidence: A response to Berkowitz et al. Memory) remind us that they are aware of some conditions in which confidence does not trump all but suggest that initial high-confidence errors should be rare. In this reply, we draw attention to new lab research that continues to cast doubt on the value of an initial eyewitness identification made with high confidence. Additional data from field studies of police lineups lead us to conclude that it is far too risky in real-world cases to assume that eyewitnesses who have high initial confidence are also highly accurate. As a final point, we dispute Wixted et al.'s interpretation of "initial low confidence" in the DNA exoneration cases.

Why True Believers Make the Ultimate Sacrifice: Sacred Values, Moral Convictions, or Identity Fusion?

Recent research has identified three promising candidates for predicting extreme behavior: sacred values, moral convictions, and identity fusion. Each construct is thought to motivate extreme behavior in unique ways: Sacred values trigger extreme actions when people are asked to compromise cause-related values for personal gain; moral convictions trigger extreme actions when a cause is aligned with one's moral compass; and identity fusion triggers extreme actions when a cause is inextricably associated ("fused") with the personal self. In six studies, we asked which of the three constructs (either alone or in combination) was most predictive of sacrifice for a cause. We measured all three constructs with respect to either of two causes: gun rights (Studies 1-3) or abortion rights (4-6). The outcome measure was endorsement of fighting and dying for the cause. Although all three constructs were significant predictors of the outcome measure when considered separately, identity fusion consistently emerged as the strongest predictor of endorsement of self-sacrifice when all three were considered simultaneously. This pattern occurred regardless of the target cause (gun or abortion rights), the participant's position on the cause (i.e., pro-gun or anti-gun, pro-choice, or pro-life), or nationality (American vs. Spanish). Also, there was no evidence that the predictors interacted to predict the outcome measure. Finally, a manipulation that threatened the validity of the personal self strengthened the relationship between endorsement of self-sacrifice and both (a) identity fusion and (b) moral convictions. The latter finding suggests that threats to the validity of one's self-views may amplify the extreme behaviors of true believers.

Persuasión moral en el marco del posconflicto en Colombia: un estudio sobre la calidad de los argumentos y la experticia de la fuente / Moral persuasion in the post-conflict context in Colombia: a study on the quality of the arguments and the source expertise

Resumen En el presente estudio se analiza el impacto de la calidad de los argumentos y la experticia de la fuente en la persuasión moral, así como el cambio de un juicio moral en función de un mensaje persuasivo. La investigación sobre el efecto de la calidad de los argumentos y la experticia de la fuente en la persuasión moral es escasa, a pesar de que las teorías del intuicionismo social, del proceso dual y de las convicciones morales sugieren algunos apuntes al respecto. En este trabajo, para estudiar el impacto de estos dos factores en la persuasión moral, se llevó a cabo un estudio experimental con un diseño factorial 2 (experticia de la fuente) x 2 (calidad del argumento), con la participación de 433 personas. Específicamente, para evaluar el juicio moral y su eventual cambio, se construyó un dilema moral que contrapone los fundamentos morales de daño-cuidado y justicia-reciprocidad en el marco del posconflicto en Colombia. Los resultados muestran que si bien la mayoría de los participantes presentaron resistencia a la persuasión, tanto la calidad del argumento como la experticia de la fuente facilitan la persuasión, pero de forma independiente. Los resultados permiten varias reflexiones sobre las teorías del proceso dual de la persuasión y las teorías del juicio moral.

Abstract This study analyses the impact of argument quality and source expertise on moral persuasion, as well as the change of a moral judgment as a function of a persuasive message. Research on the effects of argument quality and source expertise on moral persuasion is scarce, although the theories of Social Intuitionism, Dual Process and Moral Convictions suggest some hints in this regard. To study the impact of these factors on moral persuasion, an experimental study was carried out with a 2 (source expertise) x 2 (argument quality) factorial design with 433 participants. A particularly sensitive moral dilemma was designed to contrast the moral foundations of Harm-Care and Justice-Reciprocity in the context of the post-conflict in Colombia to evaluate moral judgment and potential change of judgment. The results show that although most of the participants presented resistance to persuasion, both the quality of the argument and the expertise of the source facilitated persuasion, albeit independently. Results also suggest several reflections on both dual process theories of persuasion and theories of moral judgement.

Test a Witness's Memory of a Suspect Only Once.

Eyewitness misidentifications are almost always made with high confidence in the courtroom. The courtroom is where eyewitnesses make their last identification of defendants suspected of (and charged with) committing a crime. But what did those same eyewitnesses do on the first identification test, conducted early in a police investigation? Despite testifying with high confidence in court, many eyewitnesses also testified that they had initially identified the suspect with low confidence or failed to identify the suspect at all. Presenting a lineup leaves the eyewitness with a memory trace of the faces in the lineup, including that of the suspect. As a result, the memory signal generated by the face of that suspect will be stronger on a later test involving the same witness, even if the suspect is innocent. In that sense, testing memory contaminates memory. These considerations underscore the importance of a newly proposed recommendation for conducting eyewitness identifications: Avoid repeated identification procedures with the same witness and suspect. This recommendation applies not only to additional tests conducted by police investigators but also to the final test conducted in the courtroom, in front of the judge and jury.

Overturned abusive head trauma and shaken baby syndrome convictions in the United States: Prevalence, legal basis, and medical evidence.

BACKGROUND: Media reports and the Innocence Network assert that wrongful Abusive Head Trauma (AHT)/Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) convictions pervade the United States (U.S.) criminal justice system. Yet, no empirical evaluation of overturned AHT/SBS convictions has been conducted. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence, legal basis, and characteristics of appellate rulings of AHT/SBS convictions. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: U.S. appellate cases in a legal database, Westlaw. METHODS: Retrospective review of AHT/SBS convictions that had appellate rulings from January 2008 through December 2018. Multiple search terms ensured all potential AHT/SBS cases were included. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on overturned AHT/SBS convictions. RESULTS: We identified a total of 1431 unique AHT/SBS criminal convictions that had appellate rulings since 2008. Of those, 49 convictions (3%) were overturned, and 1382 (97%) were affirmed/upheld. Of those overturned, 20 cases (1% overall) were overturned on medical evidence-related grounds. The most common themes from the medical evidence-related reversals were controversy over the AHT/SBS diagnosis (n = 12) and accidental injury mechanism (n = 11). After being overturned on appeal, upon retrial, 42% of defendants either re-plead guilty to or were convicted again of the same offense. CONCLUSION(S): AHT/SBS convictions are rarely overturned on medical evidence-related grounds. When overturned, medical evidence-related themes seldom reflect new scientific or clinical discoveries, but rather are alternative or differing medical opinions from those offered at the original trial. Our data tends to support the concerns of other authors regarding irresponsible communication of medical information in AHT/SBS cases.