Ageism is the one form of social prejudice that people from all social backgrounds have to deal with. We live in a world where youth is valued over old age and where old people are often mistreated and negatively stereotyped. Major social institutions are largely behind these negative attitudes toward the elderly, particularly the mass media. The current study examined people's attitudes and feelings about the elderly and about growing old. Survey data were collected on 154 respondents living in Southern California. Respondents provided information on their feelings and attitudes about the elderly and about how society views and treats the elderly. Respondents also provided information about their feelings, attitudes, and fears about growing old themselves. The data revealed that there is a general sense of ambivalence about the elderly and about growing old. Although the findings were mixed, young people appear to have more negative feelings in general and there appears to be a greater concern among women about growing old. Native Americans and Middle Eastern respondents had the most favorable views about the elderly. The findings of the study support the position that ageism is still a social problem and that most people have somewhat mixed feelings about the elderly and about growing old. Future research should look further at how the mass media and larger cultural stereotypes and attitudes affect the lives, functioning, and treatment of our eldest members of society.

Review Article AJPRR (2019) 2:7 Sadipathy-Conceptualization and Elucidation Sadipathy is a unique and relevant construct that merits full scholarly consideration and scientific investigation. Sadipathy has herein been conceptualized as a psychological and behavioral pathology directly cognate with extremely violent and sadistic actions. The sadipath is an individual that takes pleasure in victimizing others, inflicting serious pain and injury on others, and often even committing murder. Sadipathic individuals derive emotional, psychological, and/or sexual delectation in repeatedly inflicting suffering on others. Sadipathy is particularly associated with certain types of the most extreme offenders, such as serial killers and violent sexual offenders. Sadipathy is an apropos phenomenon to various academic and applied fields, such as psychology, psychiatry, criminology, sociology, criminal justice, law, and corrections. In the field of psychology, sadipathy would be particularly germane to the concentrations of criminal psychology, clinical psychology, and forensic psychology.

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There is currently a major cultural problem taking place across American society in regard to students dropping out of school. Millions of Americans drop out of high school and college each and every year. Millions never earn a high school diploma or college degree. This study looked at the reasons why students dropped out of school (N = 367). Some of the major reasons found were the need for money, disinterest in classes, family issues, poor grades, lack of support, pregnancy, and so forth. The study analyzed differences across various groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age, and social class) in relation to dropping out, returning to school after dropping out, highest level of schooling achieved, and regretting dropping out. The study results demonstrated numerous connections between a number of key variables (e.g., social class and its association to dropping out), gender (e.g., women were more likely to regret dropping out and were more likely to return to school), and disinterest in classes (e.g., poor grades, absenteeism, suspensions, etc.). It was also found that most of the respondents dropped out of school for more than one reason and that the highest percentage of students dropped out at the community college level. The study brings forth additional data that can help educators and school administrators to better understand this larger cultural problem and what can potentially be done to help reduce these overall dropout rates that are currently afflicting the nation.

The elderly population is growing fast. With this changing demographic fact we can expect to see overall crime rates among the elderly growing right along with it. This study explored people's knowledge about elderly crime and their perceptions about elderly offenders. Survey data were collected from 229 respondents living in Southern California. Statistical analyses on the key variables revealed a number of significant group differences in regard to age F(7, 221) = 2.15, p = 0.039, and ethnicity F(5, 223) = 2.60, p = 0.026. The data revealed that most of the respondents believe that elderly crime is going to get worse over time (58.5%) and that white-collar crimes were the biggest problem (44.5%). Male respondents (M = 1.80, SD = 3.83) on average knew more elderly offenders than female respondents (M = 0.99, SD = 2.39). Respondents from all ages tended to believe that older people were less likely to commit street crimes but were about as likely to commit white-collar crimes as younger people. There also appears to be a pattern of increasing drug use and drug abuse among both elderly men and women. Increasing problems with criminal offending among the elderly are going to have major implications across different social systems and institutions, such as political, economic, and legal systems, corrections, rehabilitation, and medical and mental health services.

The area making up greater Los Angeles is the most populated region in the United States. With over 10 million residents in this largely urban county, we can only expect there to be some ongoing problems with crime and victimization. The current study collected self-reported data from local resident in regard to their personal experiences with crime and victimization. Relevant demographic information was collected to help with our understanding of which types of social groups may be more prone to being targeted for certain types of criminal acts. Information was also gathered to help better understand how Los Angeles area residents felt about crime in the region and how they felt about their own personal safety. Women were found to be more likely to know the perpetrators of crimes against them than the men. Middle Eastern and Black residents generally felt the most unsafe, while Asian residents felt the safest overall. Most of the respondents stated that they have been the target of one or more criminal acts since they have lived in the Los Angeles area, with the most common single type of crime being robbery. Additional findings add further to our knowledge about this important social problem spanning across this major urban territory.

People often think of certain demographic characteristics when they are asked about particular kinds of criminal offenders and behaviors. Having set beliefs and attitudes about particular kinds of social groups often comes with negative labeling, stereotyping, and unfavorable treatment. This study examined what came into the minds of 573 people when they were asked about specific kinds of criminal groups or offenders. The findings from this study confirmed that there are clear patterns in the ways that people tend to think when they are asked about the demographics of criminal offenders. Research participants from all demographic backgrounds generally displayed common thoughts and beliefs about which types of people fall into specific offending categories, such as serial killers being White, gang members being Hispanic, prison inmates being Black, drug addicts being White, and outlaw bikers being White. Across all categories it was found that most people think of males when it comes to criminal offending. Other clear patterns revealed included thoughts about offenders typically being young and from the lower class; although there were some deviations from this for certain types of offenders and groups (e.g., outlaw bikers). The findings from this study should be useful across a number of fields such as psychology, criminology, sociology, social work, and corrections.