Cheryl L. Johnson, PhD

This study examines the impact of racist graffiti in a residence hall on a small college campus in upstate New York, how graffiti was used to promote racism and hate, and how this impacted the community on the college campus. While normally associated as a way to demonstrate territoriality, graffiti is now a newer form of expressing racism. The study will include a survey being sent to the whole campus community. This case study will examine the incident itself, how the school reacted, and how the community feels moving forward past the event.

This paper presentation is part of the panel on Examining Discrimination and Hate which Cheryl will chair.

Also appearing in this panel session:

• Clay Driscoll, Brooke Marston, Krysta Knox, and Ben Feldmeyer on Is Perception Reality? Examining Exposure to Diverse Populations on Feelings of Racial and Religious Threat
• Hyeseon Noh, Sohee Jung, Hunter M. Boehme, and Deena A. Isom on A Critical Comparative Assessment of Anti-Asian Hate Crime in California
• Julie Siddique on Violent Victimization of Asian Americans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study researches the factors that potentially predispose someone to be a victim of domestic violence. The data from this study come from the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project (RSVP), which was a four-year longitudinal study of students from both rural and urban areas in Kentucky from 2001 to 2004. Models will examine certain factors such as poverty, restraint, and mental health as potential indicators that could predispose someone to be a victim of domestic violence.

This poster is presented as part of the Research and Pictorial Showcase & Reception.

This project provides an in-depth look at the concept of “third culture” to explain how some individuals feel as though they are not “enough” in their social, cultural, or identity group. The concept came from an examination of those individuals who were born into one culture and then adopted into another culture. This can lead to a sense of discord as they feel they do not fully belong to their birth culture, nor do they fully belong to their adopted culture. Not feeling “enough” does not stop at a cultural identity; it can permeate multiple aspects of our human experience.

This paper was presented as part of the panel session on Strain, Anomie, and Culture.

Gamification, a pedagogical practice that focuses on introducing game-like elements to the classroom, can be a valuable strategy for teaching about criminal justice. Our project offers a reflection on our experiences of using gamification approaches across a variety of criminal justice classes. From simulations to role playing games, interactive crime scenes to video games, digital case studies to board game, we evaluate the effectiveness of various gamification approaches for fostering student engagement and motivation and discuss specific strategies for successfully implementing them. We also discuss the limitations of these activities and challenges we experienced with them.

This paper was presented as part of the session on Connecting Students to Real-World Experiences.

This study examines how differences in rage/aggression levels impact involvement in crime and the type of crime one gets involved with. The data from this study come from the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project (RSVP), which was a four-year longitudinal study of students from both rural and urban areas in Kentucky from 2001 to 2004. Descriptive statistics and crosstabulations will be used to initially analyze the data, while an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test will be used to gain more in-depth information about the relationship between rage/aggression levels and involvement in various types of crime.

This poster was presented as part of the Research and Pictorial Showcase and Reception.

This study extends limited work on the psychological correlates of student weapon carrying by examining the gendered relationship between psychological difficulties (self/family history of institutionalization/treatment, fear of crime, anxiety/depression, low self-control), the “Big Five” personality dimensions (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), and school-based firearm and other weapon carrying. The data for this study come from the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project (RSVP)—a four-year longitudinal study of students from both rural and urban areas in Kentucky from 2001 to 2004. While data were collected from students across four waves, this study analyzes two sub-samples due to anxiety/depression (an indicator of psychological difficulty) only being available in Waves 1 and 2, while personality measures (Big 5) were only available in Waves 3 and 4. Gender-specific binary logistic regression models are estimated in order to examine the relationships between the psychological variables and gun and other weapon carrying among students. Additionally, multinomial logit regression models are used to examine the reasons for firearm carrying among students who reported carrying to school, with a focus on the reasons of safety, anger/spite, and acceptance from others in comparison to “other reasons” for carrying.

This paper was presented as part of the Firearm Prevalence and Perceptions Toward Firearms event which Cheryl chaired.

Also appearing in this panel session:

• Samuel Peterson, Terry Schell, Brian Vegetable, and Andrew Morral on Estimating State-Level Firearm Ownership Over Time
• Richard Stansfield, Dan Semenza, and Nathan Link on Racial Difference in the Relationship between Legal Firearm Availability and Homicide: A Multilevel Analysis in Sixteen States

Mixed methods research is research that uses both qualitative and quantitative research data and methodologies. In recent years, mixed methods research has increased in popularity in the social sciences. Mixed methods scholars posit this form of research is beneficial because it has the capacity to increase the depth of understanding through the integration of quantitative and qualitative results. Researchers from multiple disciplines have used mixed methods to study topics of criminal justice and criminology. The current study is a systematic review of mixed methods research within criminal justice and criminology (n=565) to assess the field’s use of mixed methods research. This study includes research that identified as mixed methods research and used both qualitative and quantitative data. Variables coded in the study include types of data, funding, data sources, study design, and study location. Results from the systematic review will be discussed, as well as future directions of mixed methods in criminology and criminal justice. This study not only provides the foundation for utilizing mixed methods in a greater capacity within criminal justice and criminology research, but it also demonstrates the importance of using such methodologies to advance the field.

This paper presentation was part of the Analysis Issues in Criminal Justice and Criminology Research event.

While using both qualitative and quantitative research data and methodologies is not new, it is not as popular within the social sciences, although that is slowly changing. The current study is a systematic review of mixed methods research on juveniles within the social sciences. This project takes a subsample of our mixed methods dataset (N = 68) and specifically analyzes any article that pertains to juveniles. The purpose of this project is to examine the trends within mixed methods research to determine 1) the type of mixed methods being used, 2) the specific subject area being examined, and 3) the additional information that using mixed methods over strictly qualitative or quantitative analysis gives us about juveniles.

This paper was presented as part of the panel session on Advancing Mixed Methods and Qualitative Research.

This study expands upon previous limited work on the psychological correlates of student weapon violence potential. More specifically, it examines the relationship between the “Big Five” personality dimensions and school-based weapon carrying and school-based weapon use. Weapon carrying is measured through three concepts: (1) gun carrying, (2) gun or explosive carrying, and (3) other weapon carrying. Weapon use is measured through two concepts: (1) using a gun or explosive in a fight, and (2) using other weapon in a fight. These issues will be assessed through a logistic regression of Waves 3 and 4 of the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project (RSVP) data, which contains data from approximately 3,000 students in Kentucky.

This paper was presented as part of the Juvenile Offending: Lethal Violence, Gangs, and Sex Crimes event

Mixed methods research uses both qualitative and quantitative data and methodologies. In recent years mixed methods research has increased in popularity in the social sciences and is used to study topics related to victimization. Researchers from multiple disciplines have used mixed methods to research intimate partner violence (IPV). The current study is a systematic review of mixed methods research on IPV, which included studies that identified as mixed methods research and used both qualitative and quantitative data. Variables coded in the study included types of data, funding, data sources, study design, and study location. This paper will explore results from the systematic review and will also explore recommendations for future IPV research using mixed methods.

This paper presentation was part of the Addressing Family Violence panel.

Mixed methods research is research that uses both qualitative and quantitative research data and methodologies. In recent years mixed methods research has increased in popularity in the social sciences. This roundtable session will explore the use of mixed methods research within the fields of criminology and criminal justice. The session will explore three working papers using mixed methods research in the field. The papers that will be discussed include a review of mixed methods studies on weapon carrying, content analysis of mixed methods studies on intimate partner violence, and an analysis of the ways in which criminal justice scholars have integrated methods within the field. The roundtable will also discuss future directions of mixed methods in criminology and criminal justice.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which context moderates the effects of psychological predictors of school-based weapon carrying/use among adolescents. Our research seeks to address two main research questions: (1) Do the effects of measures of psychological well-being (use of Prozac/Ritalin, family history of institutionalization/treatment, fear of crime, anxiety/depression, and low self-control) on student weapon carrying/use vary across schools?, and (2) Do characteristics of school context moderate the relationships between measures of psychological well-being and weapon carrying/use? Controlling for school size and demographic compositions, we will specifically examine the impact of the contextual effects of school efficacy, school-level perceived rule fairness, and school target-hardening and surveillance practices (i.e., metal detectors, back pack policies, CCTV, etc.). The data come from the first two waves of the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project (RSVP) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) data. We will utilize multilevel modeling (MLM) in order to test the nested effects of data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) will be utilized to assess the latent impact of the variables in this relationship. Both methods allow for a clearer depiction of the impact of context on weapon carrying and use for students.

This paper presentation was part of the Understanding and Enhancing Student Safety in Schools and On Campus event.

This project examines the relationship between various measures of adolescent weapon use (including carrying to and use at school) and a number of indicators of psychological well-being. In particular, we explore the role of anxiety/depression, problem drinking, family history of mental health treatment, and medical/recreational use of Prozac or Ritalin in using guns and other weapons. We use the first two waves of data from the Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project, which studied a panel of school students annually in Kentucky from 2001-2004. The sample analyzed consists of approximately 3600-3690 adolescents who were in the 7th grade during Wave 1 and the 8th grade during Wave 2 . We hypothesize that adolescents with lower psychological well-being will have higher firearm use behaviors. We examine this hypothesized linkage first through bivariate analyses, then in multivariate regression analyses controlling for gender, race, school attachment, delinquent peers, delinquent offending, parental education, prior level of fear, perceived risk of victimization, and actual victimization.

This study examines the effect of gun sales on firearm death, homicide, suicide, and accidents. To better understand the role of gun sales on firearm deaths, data from the National Instant Check System and Brady Scores will be examined. Both represent the gun laws and restrictions in place. This study utilizes multiple regression to determine the significant predictors for firearm death, homicide, suicide, and accidents. Models examining gun death, measured as incidents and rates, will be examined. Four measures of gun death are used: overall firearm death, firearm homicide, firearm suicide, and firearm accidents.

This paper presentation was part of the Guns, Weapons, and Violence panel which Cheryl chaired.

Also appearing in this panel:

• Madeline K. McPherson and Joanne Savage on Gun Control and ‘Dangerous’ Mental Illness: Logic, Research, and Policy
• Dustin T. Reinauer on Sandy Hook (U.S.) and Chenpeng (China); A Comparative Analysis Concerning Mass Violence and Weapon Lethality
• Don T.D. Gala on Causing a Positive Impact on Violent Crime Prevention and Deterrence Through Armed Citizens

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of collective efficacy on resident confidence levels of law enforcement. Collective efficacy is both the willingness of individuals in a neighborhood to work together toward a common goal, such as crime control, and mutual trust. Data was collected using an in depth qualitative interview of residents in a small Southern city. Measures of concepts related to social disorganization were compiled and will be examined in linear models testing the effects of resident collective efficacy on confidence in law enforcement.

The purpose of this study is to examine urban revitalization and public works projects in relation to changes in crime rates. According to integrated social disorganization and urban planning theory, creating a homogenous social environment may result in a higher quality of life for those residents and lower crime rates overall. In order to conduct this study, a time series analysis will be used to test this model in order to determine the effect that the urban social environment has on the crime trends.

The current study explores the geographic pattern of firearm death, and more specifically, on homicide and suicide. While the geographic typology does play a significant role in this relationship, it would be unwise to state that it is the sole cause. It has been suggested that increased firearm sales could result in a higher death rate; however, little research examines the complex relationship between firearms and issues of mental health. A more complete understanding as to the relationship between firearms, geography, and gun death serves as the ultimate goal for this and future research. Additional research into the interconnectedness of geography and gun-related homicides and suicides need to be conducted in order to gain a better understanding of this concept. The current study examines data from the National Instant Check System (NICS) as well as state level data on gun death drawn from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and mental health information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

This paper was presented as part of the Looking Down the Barrel: Analyses of Gun Issues in America event chaired by Nicole Hendrix.