Objective: Restorative justice (RJ) was introduced into school systems as an alternative to ineffective zero-tolerance policies as another way of dealing with a disciplinary infractions. While school-based RJ has been gaining popularity within the United States, empirical research has been lacking. One RJ approach is Restorative Circles (RC), which provide a space for those involved in conflict to repair harm through a facilitated dialogue process. Given the minimal research, the aim of the present study was to examine student and staff experiences and outcomes after participating in an RC program. Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 35 high school students and 25 staff and administrators involved in some capacity with the RC program at their school. All participants were from a high school in a large urban center in the Southeast United States. Results: As part of a larger study a theoretical model was developed using grounded theory methodology. The emergent model included the following constructs: culture, barriers, internal motivation, engagement with RC, and outcomes. Only outcomes will be discussed in the current study. Both negative and positive outcomes emerged from the interview data. For negative outcomes, frustration and disappointment were key themes. For positive outcomes, ownership of the process, interrupting the school to prison pipeline, improved relationships, prevention of destructive ways of engaging conflict, meaningful dialogue, and academic and social achievements were key themes. Conclusions: This study provides researchers and practitioners with a theoretical framework to use as a foundation to better understand how individuals experience RC.
ESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF DE-velopmental psychopathology have recognized the importance of building a database on children's behavioral and emotional problems prevalent in diverse nations. Several studies have compared U.S. children's problems with those of children in other regions of the world, including the
Societal factors influence the types of problems children of African descent exhibit and the steps adults take to ameliorate them. Cross-national research on children of African descent living in different nations can identify the societal issues associated with problems these children present, but few specifically focus on children of African descent. This article addresses these issues by surveying presenting problems in clinic records of 2,078 children of African descent in the United States and Jamaica. Recorders coded and categorized problems according to eight Child Behavior Checklist syndromes and internalizing (e.g., shyness) and externalizing (e.g., fighting) problems. ANCOVAs revealed significantly more problems for African American than Jamaican youth but the converse was true for severe problems. The findings suggest the need for further studies that test whether lower parental thresholds, a U.S. society that encourages more family openness, widely available treatment services within the United States, and stress associated with minority group membership may cause African American parents to report more child problems than Jamaican parents.The theoretical and empirical literature base (for review, see Al-Issa, 1982;Marsella, 1979) has implicated sociocultural effects in the development of psychopathology. Recognition that societal customs and practices can JOURNAL
Using vignettes describing African American children with internalizing (e.g., withdrawal) versus externalizing (e.g., quarrels) problems, parents, teachers, and clinicians made judgments regarding problem seriousness, prognosis, etiology, referral, and intervention needs. Opinions of parents, teachers, and clinicians differed markedly, especially with regard to judgments about children with externalizing problems. Black raters' ratings significantly differed from those of Whites, especially for seriousness and prognostic judgments with regard to the problems. The findings suggest that interventionists who address problems that African American youth present should attend to the attitudes and judgments of adults who report on such problems. Clinicians can simultaneously harness appropriate judgments and attitudes and decrease counterproductive beliefs and behavior in their interventions with Black children.Child mental health referrals often involve problems that children exhibit or experience at various points in their development, but children's problems may vary according to factors such as ethnicity, gender, and the sociocultural
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.