Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Can Meta-Analysis Find a Link?

Whether pornography contributes to sexual aggression in real life has been the subject of dozens of studies over multiple decades. Nevertheless, scholars have not come to a consensus about whether effects are real. The current meta-analysis examined experimental, correlational, and population studies of the pornography/sexual aggression link dating back from the 1970s to the current time. Methodological weaknesses were very common in this field of research. Nonetheless, evidence did not suggest that nonviolent pornography was associated with sexual aggression. Evidence was particularly weak for longitudinal studies, suggesting an absence of long-term effects. Violent pornography was weakly correlated with sexual aggression, although the current evidence was unable to distinguish between a selection effect as compared to a socialization effect. Studies that employed more best practices tended to provide less evidence for relationships whereas studies with citation bias, an indication of researcher expectancy effects, tended to have higher effect sizes. Population studies suggested that increased availability of pornography is associated with reduced sexual aggression at the population level. More studies with improved practices and preregistration would be welcome.

Race, Ethnicity, and Punishment for Federal Sex Offenses: Changing Composition in Child Pornography and Sex Abuse Cases and Temporal Disparity in Sentencing Over Time.

In response to several high-profile violent offenses against children over the past two decades, Congress has enacted several pieces of legislation aimed at increasing punishment for those convicted of federal sex offenses. Coinciding with these enhanced penalties was a demographic shift in the composition of those prosecuted for these offenses. In the federal criminal justice system, sex offenses fall into two main categories: child pornography and sexual abuse. The racial and ethnic makeup of individuals charged for federal sex offenses has significantly changed over the past 15 years. The current study utilizes federal sentencing data from the United States Sentencing Commission for the years 2006 to 2017 to explore the nature of punishment for these offenses over time. We also employ multivariate analyses to examine differences in punishment for the two types of offenses and employ disaggregated analyses by offense type to examine temporal change in racial/ethnic disparities in sentence length and departures from the federal sentencing guidelines. Findings demonstrate that convicted individuals who are Black and Hispanic are receiving harsher sentences over time net of controls for other key predictors such as age, sex, criminal history, and presumptive sentence length. Implications for how legislatively enhanced penalties and changing demographic makeup of those convicted for these offenses may have introduced extra-legal disparity into federal sentencing are further discussed.

Self-Reported Offending in the United States and Malaysia: Does East Meet West?

To date, international comparisons of self-reported crime have been mostly limited to Western countries. The current study explores offending for large samples of university students in Malaysia (N = 2,058) and the United States (N = 2,511), and utilizes measures of social bond theory to test its predictive utility cross-nationally. The descriptive results reveal that for both males and females, offending rates were substantially higher in the United States, often 3 to 4 times higher. Rare events logistic regression results reveal not only some support for our measures of the social bond constructs in both countries but also that there are significant cross-country differences in the correlates of offending. Partitioned regression models suggest these differences vary considerably by type of crime, and that some of the significant correlates of offending are similar cross-nationally but that unique predictors emerge by country dependent on the offense in question. Offending in the U.S. sample appears to be more closely linked to breakdowns in family structure (parental divorce, single parenthood), whereas for the Malaysian sample, parental income and respondent's education level seem to be more closely linked to offending. The current study provides one of just a few comparative studies between a Western country and an Asian country based on self-reported data. Such data can provide a useful cross-check of international comparisons based on official data. Methodologically, implications are that the self-report survey method continues to be a fruitful avenue for exploration of cross-national offending.

Exploring sex disparity in sentencing outcomes: a focus on narcotics offenders in South Korea.

Most research on sentencing outcomes reveals that legally relevant factors such as the seriousness of the offense and prior criminal record are primary determinants. There is, however, a substantial body of research that finds that extralegal factors such as a defendant's sex also influence these outcomes. Most of these latter studies conclude that female defendants receive less severe outcomes compared to their male counterparts. Most of this research, however, is limited to Western societies. To extend this body of research, the current study examines sex differences in sentencing practices for a sample of narcotics offenders in South Korea. Results support previous research; female drug offenders in South Korea are generally treated more leniently than their male counterparts. Tests for interaction effects reveal that the defendant's sex also interacts with other constellations of factors to produce lenient treatment for certain female defendants. These tests, however, also reveal that lenient sentence outcomes are not extended to all female defendants; those with prior drug convictions do not fare better than their male counterparts at the incarceration decision.

A multivariate analysis of youth violence and aggression: the influence of family, peers, depression, and media violence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the multivariate nature of risk factors for youth violence including delinquent peer associations, exposure to domestic violence in the home, family conflict, neighborhood stress, antisocial personality traits, depression level, and exposure to television and video game violence. STUDY DESIGN: A population of 603 predominantly Hispanic children (ages 10-14 years) and their parents or guardians responded to multiple behavioral measures. Outcomes included aggression and rule-breaking behavior on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), as well as violent and nonviolent criminal activity and bullying behavior. RESULTS: Delinquent peer influences, antisocial personality traits, depression, and parents/guardians who use psychological abuse in intimate relationships were consistent risk factors for youth violence and aggression. Neighborhood quality, parental use of domestic violence in intimate relationships, and exposure to violent television or video games were not predictive of youth violence and aggression. CONCLUSION: Childhood depression, delinquent peer association, and parental use of psychological abuse may be particularly fruitful avenues for future prevention or intervention efforts.