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Biomedical subjects

N D Reppucci

Publications and source records attributed to N D Reppucci.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Criminal decision making: the development of adolescent judgment, criminal responsibility, and culpability.

Theories of judgment in decision making hypothesize that throughout adolescence, judgment is impaired because the development of several psychosocial factors that are presumed to influence decision making lags behind the development of the cognitive capacities that are required to make mature decisions. This study uses an innovative video technique to examine the role of several psychosocial factors--temporal perspective, peer influence, and risk perception--in adolescent criminal decision making. Results based on data collected from 56 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years revealed that detained youth were more likely to think of future-oriented consequences of engaging in the depicted delinquent act and less likely to anticipate pressure from their friends than nondetained youth. Examination of the developmental functions of the psychosocial factors indicates age-based differences on standardized measures of temporal perspective and resistance to peer influence and on measures of the role of risk perception in criminal decision making. Assessments of criminal responsibility and culpability were predicted by age and ethnicity. Implications for punishment in the juvenile justice system are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Adolescent development and juvenile justice.

The central question examined in this address is, "Do children's crimes make them adults?" I begin by focusing on the concept and history of adolescence in our society. I then examine the development and philosophy of the juvenile justice system. Adolescent development and juvenile justice are brought together around the concepts of maturity, judgment, and competence, followed by a brief introduction to some current research that we are engaged in regarding the issues of adjudicatory and culpability competence. I conclude with suggested directions for future work.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Social, community, and preventive interventions.

Psychology can and should be at the forefront of participation in social, community, and preventive interventions. This chapter focuses on selective topics under two general areas: violence as a public health problem and health promotion/competence promotion across the life span. Under violence prevention, discussion of violence against women, youth violence, and child maltreatment are the focal points. Under health and competence promotion, attention is paid to the prevention of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS. We highlight a few significant theoretical and empirical contributions, especially from the field of community/prevention psychology. The chapter includes a brief overview of diversity issues, which are integral to a comprehensive discussion of these prevention efforts. We argue that the field should extend its role in social action while emphasizing the critical importance of rigorous research as a component of future interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Violent juvenile delinquents. Treatment effectiveness and implications for future action.

Traditionally, the juvenile justice system has emphasized the goals of treatment and rehabilitation of young offenders, while protecting them from punishment, retribution, and stigmatization. Violent juvenile offenders have posed a challenge to this rehabilitative ideal because of mounting public pressure to ensure societal protection. Juveniles who are perceived as dangerous or persistent in their criminal activity are increasingly transferred to the adult criminal justice system, where they may receive much harsher consequences. Whether violent delinquents can be successfully treated is a key point in the debate regarding the wisdom of this trend in juvenile justice. This article considers the available research to address the policy question of how society should reasonably invest in the treatment of violent juvenile offenders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Prevention of child sexual abuse. Myth or reality.

Programs to prevent child sexual abuse have proliferated as a result of increased public awareness and professional documentation of its incidence. We describe the content and format of these prevention programs in general and examine selected programs for effectiveness. Although there is limited evidence for an increase in knowledge for program participants, most evaluations suffer from basic design problems and present few results indicative of either primary prevention or detection. Overall, we argue that self-protection against sexual abuse is a very complex process for any child and that few, if any, prevention programs are comprehensive enough to have a meaningful impact on this process. Finally, we discuss several untested assumptions that guide these programs. We conclude that it is unclear whether prevention programs are working or even that they are more beneficial than harmful.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The context of clinical judgment: the effect of resource availability on judgments of amenability to treatment in juvenile offenders.

One-hundred sixty-eight mental health, welfare, and juvenile court personnel from six different locales within a state rated (a) the "amenability to treatment" of four case vignettes involving juvenile offenders and (b) the effectiveness of a variety of services for youth. Locales were chosen as either low, medium, or high along a continuum of service availability, and the effects of resource availability and agency type on these judgments were examined. These factors had significant effects on both types of judgments, but the directions of the effects were not uniform. Personnel in both high and low resource conditions showed relatively lower ratings of amenability on the vignettes and significant positive correlations between the ratings of service effectiveness and the treatability of the vignette youth. The medium resource personnel in all three agencies showed a negative correlation between these ratings, thus portraying youth as more workable but services as not maximally effective. In general, the results are interpreted as evidence that clinical judgment is systematically affected more by contextual factors than assumed and that this fact bears consideration in formulating the proper role for clinical judgment in juvenile justice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Prevention and ecology: teen-age pregnancy, child sexual abuse, and organized youth sports.

A multilevel ecological analysis of issues that impact on children and families is advocated as the best theoretical framework for conceptualizing preventive interventions. Teen-age pregnancy and child sexual abuse are discussed as targets of preventive intervention: the former being an issue about which we have much information that has not been adequately used, whereas the latter is one about which we have too little information to be mounting the sweeping prevention programs that are rapidly coming into existence. Organized youth sports is then discussed as a neglected societal vehicle for prevention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Social networks, information-seeking, and the utilization of services.

Voluntary participation by low-income and/ar high-risk populations in prevention-oriented human service programs is minimal and dropout rates are high. Examination of social networks as they relate to information-seeking and utilization behavior may provide a source of understanding. Two investigations are reported. The results of Study 1 indicate that high-risk referred women with denser networks attended fewer parent group sessions than did those whose networks were less dense and that the more contact a woman had with her kin, the fewer parent group sessions she attended. The results of Study 2 indicate that in a sample of low-income women participating in a supplementary food program, those women whose networks were characterized by lower density and less frequent kin contact were more likely to pursue professional child-rearing information and advice than women in denser, more kin-involved networks. In addition, a significant interaction between one's sense of competence as a parent and the structure of one's network was found to determine the overall frequency of information seeking.

Female↗
PubMed1979

Public policy and human service institutions.

This paper discusses reasons for the apparent lack of interest by both the policy sciences and psychology in human service institutions and provides examples of the relationships between policy and politics and policy and economics in human service institutions. It suggests that two basic assumptions, labeled the professionalism myth and the individualism myth, have been major contributors to this state of affairs. Both the neglect given these institutions and the failure to examine the universe of alternatives in policy formulation are emphasized. Finally, the paper raises the question: Where has psychology been?

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Assessing community attitudes toward mentally retarded persons.

Although many researchers have found evidence of discrimination toward retarded individuals in employment, education, and housing, attitude-survey researchers generally report acceptance of retarded people in the community (Gallup, 1976; Gottwald, 1967). To examine this discrepancy, we compared responses on a survey concerning retarded people of a "threat" group, who lived near a house for sale that was described as "having the necessary characteristics" for a potential group home, and a "nonthreat" control group. Analysis between and across groups yielded differences that have implications for public education efforts and the validity of the survey method for research on mental retardation.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Job design variables as change measures in a correctional facility.

The importance of working conditions is stressed as a neglected area of concern in human service organizations. The present investigation attempts to demonstrate the utility of the concept of job design dimensions as evaluative measures of change in a correctional facility for delinquent youth. Staff were administered a modified version of the Hackman/Lawler Job Design Inventory at two time periods separated by an interval of 14 months. Staff who were participants in an innovative institutional change program at both times were compared with staff who were not participants at Time I but were at Time II. The results provide support for the notion that examination of the perceptions of working conditions by employees may be an important method for assessing institutional change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

The problem is outside: staff and client behavior as a function of external events.

Data collected in the process of studying the development and functioning of a prerelease program for adjudicated adult offenders provided the opportunity to test the hypothesis that the actions of a parent organization influence the "within' program behaviors of clients and rehabilitation staff. It is demonstrated that changes in the parent organization's behavior toward the program were accompanied by changes in (a) the staff's perceptions of clients, (b) the staff's actions towards clients, (c) client attitudes, and (d) client behaviors. Discussion focuses on the need to view rehabilitative programs as continually influenced by external and extrinisic factors.

Adult↗