Openness to participating in a victim-offender conference

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to use the theory of planned behavior to evaluate factors that influence openness to participating in a victim-offender conference (VOC). Design/methodology/approach Consistent with theory of planned behavior recommendations, the study uses a vignette-based design to assess participation openness as willingness to participate in a VOC if they were victims of a property crime. It evaluates the goodness of fit of a hypothesized structural model of participation openness to the data and the utility of a theory of planned behavior model as opposed to simply an outcome-driven model. Findings Findings from a hierarchical linear regression illustrate that a theory of planned behavior model explains a greater percentage of participation willingness than does an outcome-driven model. Analysis using structural equation modeling suggests that participation openness is largely a function of subjective norms, anticipated affect and anticipated outcomes. Research limitations/implications Limitations spring largely from sampling method and research design. Research implications pertain to the utility of theory of planned behavior in expanding research of VOC participation openness to include not only outcomes but also relational and contextual factors. Practical implications The manuscript identifies several implications for training facilitators, talking with prospective VOC participants and advocating for restorative justice programs. Originality/value Use of the theory of planned behavior as a lens for understanding openness to VOC participation gives researchers and practitioners a wider and more nuanced understanding of why people would generally be willing to participate in a VOC if they were the victim of an offense.

A glimpse into the role of personal values within the restorative justice process: a qualitative study with restorative justice facilitators

“…Additionally, one must also consider the role that others play in one's decision whether to participate in restorative justice. Paul and Schenck-Hamlin (2018) have demonstrated that despite self-related goal accomplishments being important in understanding restorative justice participation, the anticipated support from close friends and family, and anticipated outcomes for the offender are also important. They found that these two factors are directly linked to restorative justice participation, whereas the beliefs surrounding one's own outcomes indirectly influenced willingness to participate (Paul & Schenck-Hamlin, 2018).…”

“…Paul and Schenck-Hamlin (2018) have demonstrated that despite self-related goal accomplishments being important in understanding restorative justice participation, the anticipated support from close friends and family, and anticipated outcomes for the offender are also important. They found that these two factors are directly linked to restorative justice participation, whereas the beliefs surrounding one's own outcomes indirectly influenced willingness to participate (Paul & Schenck-Hamlin, 2018). Altogether, these considerations suggest that there are a multitude of factors to consider when determining whether someone is likely to participate in restorative justice.…”

The role of truth in victim–offender mediation: Victims of crime who feel they know the “whole” truth are more receptive to apologies.

“…Participants then rated the severity of the wrongdoing to ensure that they perceived the crime as severe given the use of the vignette. The scenario then continued with participants reading a description of what participating in victim-offender mediation typically involves, according to Paul and Schenck-Hamlin (2018). The scenario then described that the participant had accepted the offer to meet with the offender and that the offender had described how they committed the crime and apologized during the victim-offender mediation.…”

“…The most used restorative justice mechanism to establish a dialogue between victim and offender is termed victim–offender mediation (Umbreit & Armour, 2011), also known as victim-offender conferences (Paul & Schenck-Hamlin, 2018) and victim-offender reconciliation (Hansen & Umbreit, 2018). What is universal across these variations of victim–offender mediation is that there is a third party present who is trained to facilitate mediation in a neutral way (Choi & Gilbert, 2010).…”

Online Customer Review, Online Customer Rating, and Payment Guarantee Influence on Purchase Intention

“…In TRA, human behavior begins with their intentions which are then influenced by their attitude towards actions and subjective norms that influence their mindset. TPB applies the same as TRA which is a function of attitudes towards subjective behavior and norms but with the addition of perceived behavioral control variables (PBC) (Paul & William J, 2018). Based on this, the Theory of Reasoned Action is closely related to purchase intentions because of how individual behavior will determine purchase intention for certain products, as well as the Theory of Planned Behavior where online customer reviews, online customer ratings, and payment guarantees act as perceptions of control that influence purchase intention.…”