Background: A growing number of older adults live in senior affordable housing, many with limited support systems and representing underserved or disadvantaged populations. Staff in these buildings are in a unique position to identify and address the healthcare and biopsychosocial needs of their residents and link them to services and supports.
Methods: Staff in four affordable housing sites received training on the 4Ms approach to caring for older adults and conducting resident health assessments.
Opinions of 789 community adults were individually assessed, using a video-clip of an actual armed robbery and other measures, to determine whether attitudes toward the culpability and appropriate punishment of young offenders were linked to offenders' age, race, and physical appearance. Three major findings emerged: (1) community adults endorse the view that criminal choices of young offenders are influenced by their developmental immaturity and attribute more responsibility for the criminal act as the actor gets older; (2) the public has a relatively strong preference for differential treatment of juvenile and adult offenders; and (3) attitudes about culpability and punishment are not influenced by the culprit's race, physical maturity, or appearance of "toughness." Indications that punitive public opinion toward youth crime may be changing and implications for juvenile justice policy of the study's findings are discussed.
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