Objectives. We assessed mental health screening and medication continuity in a nationally representative sample of US prisoners. Methods. We obtained data from 18 185 prisoners interviewed in the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. We conducted survey logistic regressions with Stata version 13. Results. About 26% of the inmates were diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point during their lifetime, and a very small proportion (18%) were taking medication for their condition(s) on admission to prison. In prison, more than 50% of those who were medicated for mental health conditions at admission did not receive pharmacotherapy in prison. Inmates with schizophrenia were most likely to receive pharmacotherapy compared with those presenting with less overt conditions (e.g., depression). This lack of treatment continuity is partially attributable to screening procedures that do not result in treatment by a medical professional in prison. Conclusions. A substantial portion of the prison population is not receiving treatment for mental health conditions. This treatment discontinuity has the potential to affect both recidivism and health care costs on release from prison.

Data collected during an evaluation of a multi-site trial of an enhanced after-school program were used to relate quality of program implementation to student experiences after school. The enhanced after-school program incorporated a drug use and violence prevention component that was shown to be effective in previous research. Building on Durlak and Dupre's (Am J Community Psychol 41:327-350, 2008) dimensions of implementation, we assessed the level of dosage, quality of management and climate, participant responsiveness, and staffing quality achieved at the five program sites. We evaluated how these characteristics co-varied with self-reported positive experiences after-school. The study illustrates how multiple dimensions of program implementation can be measured, and shows that some but not all dimensions of implementation are related to the quality of student after-school experiences. Measures of quality of management and climate, participant responsiveness, and staffing stability were most clearly associated with youth experiences. The importance of measuring multiple dimensions of program implementation in intervention research is discussed.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of demographic, mental health, and substance use as risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). Data were derived from Wave II of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (2004-2005). Eligible participants (N = 25,778) reported having an intimate partner 1 year before the survey. Clustered survey multivariate multinomial regression methods were used to assess risk factors for episodes of IPV. IPV victimization, perpetration, and both victims/perpetrators were assessed. Bivariate analyses indicated that African Americans, Hispanics, and women were more likely to be victims, perpetrators, or victim/perpetrators as compared with men and Whites. Multivariate analyses suggested that having a marijuana use disorder was strongly associated with IPV victimization (odds ratio [OR] = 2.61) and victim/perpetration (OR = 2.65). Post-traumatic stress disorder was consistently associated with all IPV typologies. Depression was associated with victimization (OR = 2.00) and IPV victim/perpetration (OR = 1.74). Antisocial Personality Disorder and Mania were both related to IPV perpetration (ORs = 2.53 and 2.32) and victim/perpetration (ORs = 3.15 and 2.31). Results also indicated that alcohol use during episodes of IPV is common (i.e., 35% of those who reported IPV also reported that alcohol was involved). Results indicate several substance- and mental health-related correlates of IPV. In addition, findings indicate that alcohol use by the victim and/or perpetrator is common during IPV events. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Research on bullying suggests that traditional bullying is gendered such that males participate in physical acts while females engage in relational attacks, but the nature of the relationship between gender and cyberbullying is less defined. Because the Internet is an ideal environment for the relational forms of bullying favored by females, we hypothesize that females engage in more cyberbullying than males. We also hypothesize that there are gender differences in predictors of cyberbullying and cybervictimization. In order to better understand these gender dynamics, we examine self-reported bullying and victimization experiences in a sample of 3,867 middle school students in a northeastern state. Contrary to recent findings, our results show support for the gendered nature of cyberbullying and suggest that females engage in more cyberbullying than males. We also find gender variation in predictors of cybervictimization. We discuss the implication of these findings, especially in light of prevention and intervention needs.

Teen Court (TC) is a juvenile diversion program designed to prevent the formal processing of first-time juvenile offenders within the juvenile justice system. TC instead utilizes informal processing and sanctions in order to prevent future offending. Despite its widespread popularity throughout the United States of America, little rigorous research has been conducted on the effectiveness of the TC model for reducing recidivism. Using an experimental design, this study examined the effectiveness of TC in reducing recidivism and improving the attitudes and opinions of juvenile offenders in comparison with a control group of youth who were formally processed. Self-reported delinquency was higher for those youth who participated in TC. TC youth were also found to have significantly lower scores on a scale of belief in conventional rules than had youth who were processed in the Department of Juveniles Services. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Research Summary Unsupervised after‐school time for adolescents is a concern for parents and policymakers alike. Evidence linking unsupervised adolescent socializing to problem behavior outcomes heightens this concern among criminologists. Routine activities theory suggests that, when youth peer groups congregate away from adult authority, both opportunity for and motivation to engage in deviant acts increase. After‐school programs are a possible solution to unsupervised teen socializing during afternoon hours and are much in demand. However, empirical research has yet to test the relationship between the availability of after‐school programs and youth routine activities. This study presents evidence from a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an after‐school program for middle‐school students in an urban school district. Policy Implications Youth in the treatment group engaged in less unsupervised socializing after school than youth in the control group but not as much less as would be expected if the after‐school program was providing consistent supervision to youth who would otherwise be unsupervised. Additional analyses examined why the influence of the after‐school program was not more pronounced. We found that, although program attendance was related to decreases in unsupervised socializing, the program did not attract many delinquency‐prone youths who were unsupervised, which suggests that the students most in need of the program did not benefit. Furthermore, data obtained from a mid‐year activity survey revealed that youth in the study were highly engaged in a variety of after‐school activities. The addition of the after‐school program into the mixture of available activities had little effect on the frequency with which students participated in organized activities after school.

Because of the broad conception of community policing, there is extensive variation in strategies across agencies. Consequently, extant evaluations of community policing programs and techniques are limited, both in terms of their conclusions and generalizability. In addition, previous studies have primarily focused on large metropolitan police departments that have been given several types of resources to implement community policing models. This is not, however, reflective of most police departments. The current evaluation assesses community policing as an officer-initiated program in a suburban police department. Officers involved with the design and implementation of this community policing model were interviewed and crime data for the initiative location and two comparable police beats were collected over an 8-year period. Time series analyses indicated a significant reduction in violent and property crimes in the targeted area, but not in comparable areas in the county.

Evidence regarding the effectiveness of after‐school programs (ASPs) for reducing problem behaviors is mixed. Unstructured ASPs may increase antisocial behavior by increasing “deviancy training” opportunities, when peers reinforce deviant attitudes and behaviors. This research analyses approximately 3000 five‐minute intervals from 398 observations of activities delivered as part of an ASP in five public middle schools. Analyses of peer and group leader responses to deviant behavior in the context of ASP activities indicated that while peer responses are generally reinforcing, group leaders typically do not respond to deviance. Multi‐level analyses of the association between activity structure and deviant behavior indicate that higher levels of structure in the activity as a whole decrease levels of violence and counternormative behavior. As the level of structure in five‐minute intervals within the activity increases, the level of violent behavior declines, but violent talk (e.g., threats to commit violence) increases. Implications for after‐school programming are discussed.