Screening Incarcerated Women for Opioid Use Disorder.

The overall aim of the present study is to examine the utility of the DSM OUD Checklist and the NM-ASSIST screening tools to identify symptoms consistent with OUD among incarcerated women in county jails. This study contributes to the existing literature because research on screening and assessment approaches for incarcerated women has been limited. The focus of the current study is to describe the screening procedures and study recruitment for a larger parent study focused on increasing treatment linkages. Study findings indicate a positive correlation between indicators of OUD using the two screening tools, as well as a high degree of correlation between street opioid misuse and other high-risk drug indicators (overdose and injection practices). These findings underscore the importance of outreach, screening, and intervention in real-world settings, including jails, in order to increase access to OUD treatment among this vulnerable sample of women.

Identifying and Treating Incarcerated Women Experiencing Substance Use Disorders: A Review.

While research on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment among justice-involved populations has grown in recent years, the majority of corrections-based SUD studies have predominantly included incarcerated men or men on community supervision. This review 1) highlights special considerations for incarcerated women that may serve as facilitating factors or barriers to SUD treatment; 2) describes selected evidence-based practices for women along the cascade of care for SUD including screening and assessment, treatment and intervention strategies, and referral to services during community re-entry; and 3) discusses conclusions and implications for SUD treatment for incarcerated women.

The Impact of Victim Demeanor on Jurors' Perceptions of a Sexual Harassment Victim.

Despite the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, little research has investigated the role of victim demeanor in perceptions of sexual harassment cases. The present study varied whether the victim cried while testifying by using drawings of the victim. Participants were presented with a civil trial summary and asked to make trial-related judgments. Overall, factors representing participants' perceptions of victim credibility and victim negative emotions were higher when the victim cried than when she did not. The factor representing victim credibility also mediated the relationship between victim demeanor and trial outcomes. Finally, cognitive networks demonstrated that victim demeanor was important to participants' decision-making. The legal implications of the findings are discussed.

Mock Juror Perceptions of a Male or Female Adult Rape Victim Crying in the Courtroom.

This study investigated the impact of victim crying and gender on perceptions of rape cases. Participants (N = 240, 51.5% male, 48.1% female) completed a 2 (victim crying) × 2 (victim gender) × 2 (participant gender) between-participants design with case judgments (e.g., verdict) as the DVs. Results found that a rape victim crying during testimony increased pro-victim judgments compared to when the victim did not cry, that female mock jurors were more pro-victim than males, but that victim gender was insignificant. Finally, the mediation model found that victim crying increased their credibility, increasing the likelihood of a guilty verdict.

Impacts of Victim Resistance and Type of Assault on Legal Decision-Making in Child Sexual Assault.

Prior studies have examined the effects of victim resistance and type of assault (attempted or completed) on perceptions of adult rape cases. However, research has not yet tested whether these findings extend to verdicts rendered in child rape cases, nor has research focused on how perceptions of victim and defendant characteristics in child rape cases may contribute to legal decision-making. In the present study, a 2 (attempted or completed sexual assault) x 3 (victim resistance: verbal-only, verbal with outside interruption, or physical) x 2 (participant sex) between-participant design was used to assess legal decision-making involving a hypothetical criminal case of child rape, with a six-year-old female victim and a 30-year-old male perpetrator. Three-hundred and thirty-five participants read a criminal trial summary and answered questions about the trial, the victim, and the defendant. Results revealed that: (a) when a victim physically resisted, compared to verbally resisted, more guilty judgments were rendered, (b) when the victim physically resisted, higher ratings for aggregated factors for Victim Credibility and Negative Perceptions of the Defendant were given, leading to more guilty verdicts, and (c) female participants were more likely than male participants to render a guilty verdict. No differences in verdict rendered between the verbal with interruption (e.g., knocking on door) and verbal-only conditions were found, nor did type of assault lead to differences in verdict rendered. Implications for child sexual assault cases and the courtroom, as well as implications for practitioners, are provided.

Perceptions of a Plea Agreement in Cases of Teacher and Adolescent Student Sexual Assault.

An estimated 90% of reported sexual abuse cases result in a plea agreement. The present study investigated the perception of plea agreements involving a teacher-adolescent student child sexual assault case. A 2 (teacher gender: male or female) x 2 (student gender: male or female) x 2 (punishment type: probation or jail) within-participant design was used with participant gender included as a between-participant factor. Perceptions of the plea agreement served as the dependent variables. Participants (N = 52; 48.1% male, 51.9% female) each read the eight vignettes in a random order and then rated their perceptions (e.g., support for the judicial process, degree of justice served, how upset they were by the plea) of a plea agreement on a 7-point scale. It was found that participants showed less support for plea agreements (1) offered to male teacher offenders compared to female teacher offenders and (2) when the punishment was probation compared to jail time. Additionally, participants' emotional reactions (e.g., how upset) mediated the relationship between the independent variables (defendant gender and punishment type) and participants' perception of the plea agreements. Results and implications are discussed in terms of procedural justice and the importance of public perceptions of pleas.

Strength Versus Sensitivity: The Impact of Attorney Gender on Juror Perceptions and Trial Outcomes in a Rape Case.

We examined the impact of attorney gender on perceptions of a criminal rape trial. Community members (N = 208) read a trial summary describing a rape scenario in which the gender of the prosecuting and defense attorney were manipulated. The results revealed indirect effects of prosecuting and defense attorney gender on verdict through perceptions of characteristics related to attorney competency. Qualitative analyses further showed that the terms "strength" and "powerful" were central to juror perceptions of male attorneys, whereas the terms "sensitive" and "sympathy" were central when the attorneys were female.