Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters, Exposure to Potentially Morally Injurious Events, and Aggression Among Army Veterans.

Objective: Very few studies have examined the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters and aggression since the change in PTSD diagnosis criteria a decade ago. Furthermore, these studies have used measures based on PTSD criteria of the DSM-IV. The current study therefore examines the association between PTSD symptom clusters, exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), and various types of aggression following the change in PTSD criteria and in accordance with the criteria of the DSM-5-TR.

Blame and Severity Attributions in Vignette-Based Female-On-Male Rape: The Case of the Victim's Prior Sexual Victimization, Resistance, and Sexual Arousal.

This study examines blame attributions of victims and perpetrators in female-on-male rape cases and event severity attributions as affected by three victim-related variables: prior sexual victimization, resistance during the rape, and sexual arousal during the rape. It assesses the relative weight of each of these variables in determining the attribution of blame to the victim and perpetrator and the attribution of severity to the event. The study found that sexual arousal and absence of resistance correlated with higher victim blame attribution, lower perpetrator blame, and lower event severity attributions, while prior sexual victimization had the opposite correlations.

"Don't You Understand That We Are Punishing You for Your Own Good?": Attitudes of Women With Substance Use Disorder to Punitive and Therapeutic Methods in Closed Communities.

The growing numbers of women with substance use disorder (SUD) and the resulting establishment of dedicated treatment and rehabilitation services have spawned a rich literature on the etiology of addiction among women, their therapy needs and the effectiveness of the treatments they receive. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined the punitive methods applied to women with SUD as part of their treatment. This study examines the positions of thirteen Israeli women with SUD regarding punishments meted out in closed therapeutic communities (TCs), and their experienced short- and long-term implications.

White Collars, Dark Histories: The Factors That Lead Women to Commit Corporate Crimes.

The literature on white-collar crimes committed by women is sparse, dealing mostly with their motivations, the incidence of the phenomenon, and differences between the women who commit them and those who commit other types of offenses. This qualitative study maps factors leading women to commit such crimes, with particular focus on their family and personal histories, and on the various roles they played as children and adults, which prepared and "trained" them for future illegal behavior. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 18 women convicted and imprisoned for white-collar crimes.

Criminal Spin, Self-Control, and Desistance From Crime Among Juvenile Delinquents: Determinism Versus Free Will in a Qualitative Perspective.

The current research is a qualitative examination of the relations between self-control and deterministic/non-deterministic perceptions of life events and the drifts into or desistance from a criminal spin among juvenile delinquents. Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 adolescents (11 active delinquents and 10 desisters), we found that both the intensification of criminal behavior and the desistance from criminal activity are gradual and connected to the reduction or acquisition, respectively, of self-control and the offenders' belief in their self-control. Criminal behavior and self-control were found to be associated with deterministic or non-deterministic perceptions of life events: the former combined with low self-control are associated with a delinquent lifestyle; the latter combined with high self-control promote the likelihood that young offenders will modify their behavior and desist from criminal behavior.

Personal Development and Empowerment of Adolescents at Risk by Way of Prosocial Altruistic and Anonymous Activity: A Qualitative Perspective.

Sahi is a unique program in Israel for adolescents at risk, based on the premise that altruistic and anonymous activities help and strengthen people who carry them out. The current research examines the factors leading juveniles at risk to be involved in the program and analyzes the impact of such activities on their behavior and perception of future. The findings are as follows: (a) Altruistic and anonymous activity is perceived as self-satisfying and as initiating feelings of behavioral independency, and (b) such activity is related to the development of self-confidence, empathy, and positive perception of the future.

To Punish or Not to Punish-That Is the Question.

Attitudes toward punishment have long been of interest to policymakers, researchers, and criminal justice practitioners. The current study examined the relationship between academic education in criminology and attitudes toward punishment among 477 undergraduate students in three subgroups: police officers, correctional officers, and criminology students who were not employed by the criminal justice system (CJS). Our main findings concluded that (a) punitive attitudes of the correctional officers and police officers at the beginning of their academic studies were harsher than those of the criminology and criminal justice students who were not employed by the CJS, (b) punitive attitudes of the correctional officers at the end of their academic studies were less severe than their first-year counterparts, (c) fear of crime was higher among women than among men, and (d) the strongest predictor of punitive attitudes was a firm belief in the principles of the classical and labeling theories (beyond group).

Barred from each other: why normative husbands remain married to incarcerated wives--an exploratory study.

This study explores men's motivation and justification to remain married to their criminal, imprisoned wives. Using semistructured interviews and content-analysis, data were collected and analyzed from eight men who maintain stable marriage relationships with their incarcerated wives. Participants are normative men who describe incarceration as a challenge that enhances mutual responsibility and commitment.

The impact of relaxing music on prisoners' levels of anxiety and anger.

Listening to relaxing music was found to reduce state anxiety and state anger among various populations. Nonetheless, the impact of relaxing music in prisons has not yet been studied. The current study examines the impact of relaxing music on levels of state anxiety and state anger among a random sample of 48 criminal prisoners.

A warm touch in a cold cell: inmates' views on conjugal visits in a maximum-security women's prison in Israel.

Conjugal visits are believed to have positive effects during and after confinement. Yet, studies on the dynamics of such visits from women's point of view and their attitudes toward such visits are sparse. This study sought to identify and analyze female inmates' attitudes toward conjugal visits, describe the dynamics of conjugal visitations, and examine the meaning of conjugal visitation programs to the participants.

A new perspective for delinquency: culture conflict measured by seriousness perceptions.

Numerous theories have attempted to analyze and understand the factors and etiology of juvenile delinquency. The present study is the first to suggest the use of Sellin's "culture conflict" theory as a possible cultural explanation for the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency. According to Sellin, crime in many instances is a product of culture conflict between the values and norms of a certain subculture in a given society and those of the general culture.

Inmate harassment and rape: an exploratory study of seven maximum- and medium-security male prisons in Israel.

Prisons deprive male inmates of heterosexual relationships and thus prevent them from asserting their masculinity via "traditional" means. Accordingly, many prisoners experience extreme emotional, psychological, and physical distress, which turns several of them to intimidation, aggression, and re-establishment of their sense of dominance through homosexual activities with coerced partners. This study, based on 760 hours of phenomenological semi-structured interviews undertaken in a random sample of 1.

Learning disabilities and delinquency: a study of Israeli prison inmates.

Research consistently illustrates that several intellectual disabilities--namely, learning disabilities (LD), low intelligence, challenging behavior, and inadequate adaptive behavior, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)--are considered risk factors for antisocial and criminal behavior. Although much attention has been paid to the relationship of LD, ADHD, and criminal behavior, three research topics have been overlooked: the frequency of LD with ADHD among inmates, the relationship between LD and/or ADHD and level of education among prisoners, and the connection between LD and/or ADHD and age of criminal onset. The present study examined the frequency of LD and ADHD in a sample of Israeli-born prisoners, in addition to the frequency of each category by itself, and it investigated the relationship of LD and/or ADHD, school dropout age, and onset of criminal activity.