Employing the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009 and other such legislation as a backdrop, the present study evaluated the nature of beliefs about hate-crime legislation, offenders, and victims. In addition, it investigated construct validity (i.e., political beliefs and prejudice) and predictive validity (i.e., blame attribution and sentencing recommendations). A total of 403 U.S. adults completed measures of prejudice and an initial pool of 50 items forming the proposed Hate Crime Beliefs Scale (HCBS). Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four hate-crime vignettes, which varied in regard to type of prejudice (racial-, sexual orientation-, transgender-, and religion-based prejudices) and then responded to blame and sentencing questions. Factor analyses of the HCBS resulted in four sub-scales: Negative Views (i.e., higher scores reflect negative views of legislation and minority group protection), Offender Punishment (i.e., higher scores suggest endorsement of greater punishment), Deterrence (i.e., greater scores denote support for hate-crime legislation as a deterrent of more violence), and Victim Harm (i.e., higher scores reflect pro-victim attitudes). Greater pro-legislation and pro-victim beliefs were related to liberal political beliefs and less prejudicial attitudes, with some exceptions. Controlling for a number of demographic, situational, and attitudinal covariates, the Negative Views sub-scale displayed predictive utility, such that more negative views of legislation/minority group protection were associated with elevated victim blame, as well as lower perpetrator blame and sentencing recommendations. Results are discussed in the context of hate-crime research and policy, with additional implications considered for trial strategy, modern prejudice, and blame attribution theory.

Loneliness is a psychological construct that has been reported in a variety of populations and associated with a number of other negative psychological problems. This study was an examination of coefficient alpha of a prominent measure of loneliness: the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980; Russell, 1996). We utilized reliability generalization to provide an aggregate estimate of the reliability of the scale over time and in a variety of populations as well as to assess and identify sampling and demographic characteristics associated with variability in coefficient alpha. Of the 213 studies examined, 80 had reported alpha estimates, and we used them in this analysis. We discuss conditions associated with variability in coefficient alpha along with pertinent implications for practice and future research.

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Peer victimization (PV) has been associated with a number of negative psychological sequelae. Few studies, however, have examined the relationship between PV and the symptomatology of posttraumatic stress disorder, and no studies to date have examined this relationship in a rural sample. Adapted versions of the SEQ-SR and the TSCC were used to assess the relationship between PV and post-traumatic stress symptomatology in a sample of 244 rural youths (ages 10-14) in two school districts in a south-central area of the United States. In addition to a positive relationship between PV and post-traumatic stress symptomatology, the results indicated relatively high rates of adult presence and peer bystanding during PV experiences. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed. C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer victimization (PV) has been a growing concern among youths, professionals, and parents, and there is considerable evidence to suggest that it is a frequent experience for many children and adolescents (e.g., see Bradshaw, Sawyer, & O'Brennan, 2007). Its prevalence is worrisome because negative psychosocial symptomatology is often associated with the experience of PV; in some cases, increased suicidality is associated with PV experiences (e.g., Brunstein-Klomek, Marrocco, Kleinman, Schonfeld, & Gould, 2007). Moreover, the current school-wide anti-bullying interventions commonly implemented in schools seem to often yeild nonsignificant results in reducing selfreported victimization and bullying (Smith, Schneider, Smith, & Ananiadou, 2004). These findings support the need for additional research, both on school-wide interventions and on the impact of PV on both those who engage in bullying as well as those who are targeted.Rural populations have received scant attention in the PV literature. Although the term "rural" is often thought to connote an indication solely of population size, geographic locale (i.e., proximity to an urban center, including four locale categories [city, suburban, town, and rural]) is becoming an increasing factor in determining the "rurality" of a community. In 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) revised its definition of rural after working with the United States Census Bureau (NCES, 2006). In this revision, schools are assigned to locale categories (e.g., suburban, rural) based on their actual addresses and their proximity to larger urban areas. In data collected from 2005 , the NCES (2006 indicated that a total of 8,038 school districts (56.74%) were classified as rural under this urban-centric locale classification system.Despite the current reliance on the NCES definition of rural, it is important to note that "rurality" is a term that is composed of a broader cluster of characteristics that influence daily living, behaviors, and attitudes. Beebe-Frankenberger (2008) discusses several important characteristics of rural schools and communities that should be noted. The small-town image that many have of the rural setting is often an asset for community mem...

The present study examines two central research questions. First, we sought to add to current knowledge on the frequency and types of hate crime experiences in an urban sample. Also, drawing on existing frameworks for sexual minority specific (SMS) stress, we examined internalized SMS stress (defined by internalized homophobia and acceptance concerns regarding one's minority status) as a mediator of the association between hate crime victimization (i.e., objective or social SMS stress) and mental health symptoms (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and general stress). Participants were 336 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community members who elected to participate in research at a community health agency in an urban southwestern United States jurisdiction. Results suggested (a) approximately one third of the sample reported lifetime hate crime victimization, with the most common types characterized by interpersonal, as opposed to property, crimes; (b) approximately half of participants reported their most recent victimization to law enforcement; and (c) internalized SMS stress mediated the relation between hate crime victimization and overall mental health symptoms. Findings are discussed with respect to implications of the unique nature of hate crimes in an urban setting, as well as theoretical and practical implications of SMS stress findings.