William De Soto

The aim of this paper is to analyse the individual determinants of public attitudes towards the pro-death penalty in 11 Latin American jurisdictions surveyed by the World Values Survey 7th wave (2017–2020). We use linear regression to examine two explanations that may help us understand popular support for the death penalty in this region: the escalating crime-distrust model and the out-group animus model. The analysis shows that both models provide only partial support for variations in public attitudes towards the death penalty in Latin America. While there is an association between residents’ fear of crime and their disdain for out-groups, an important part of the explanation seems to be related to contextual factors in each country. Thus, future studies need to analyse how elite framing and/or movements in defence of victims of violent crimesexplain popular attitudes towards the death penalty in the region.

Substance use patterns are important to understand because they can have a variety of effects on those who engage in them. Some of these consequences can be harmful. This is especially true for young adults in college settings who are making the transition to adulthood. While the issue of substance use looms large in the research literature on college students, less attention had been focused exclusively on women in this important setting. This paper attempts to address this limitation in existing research by assessing the utility of two theories of human behavior for explaining substance use among female college students (i) Social Learning Theory and (ii) General Strain Theory. There does appear to be support for learning theory but not for strain theory.

This study tests theories of social learning and strain to explain non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) among Latino college students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Logistic regression analyses indicate social learning and negative stressors help explain such usage, while refined models suggest that Latinos use of NMPD is primarily intended to improve academic performance. The study raises important questions about the unique challenges facing Latino college students and the role NMPDU may play in HSIs.

Survey research has clarified the extent to which racial minorities and majority white Americans disagree about whether police should be trusted. Racial minorities are generally far more suspicious of the police officers who serve their communities. Other forms of evidence would appear to corroborate the views of minority citizens in the USA. This requires scholars and others interested in policing to think about reforms that may create a fairer system of law enforcement.

This article examines the impact of college students’ religious commitments on 4 important outcomes: (1) academic ethic; (2) academic performance; (3) academic honesty; and (4) personal stress. An original data set drawn from a survey of college students attending a large university in the Southwest United States offers suggestive insights that address these issues. The authors find that religious involvement is associated with a strong academic ethic but does not appear to predict students’ academic performance, honesty, or personal stress.

This paper introduces an original data set that provides insight into how Ukrainian and US college students would punish criminal offenders. Students on four campuses in Ukraine and four in the United States completed surveys that help us better understand these differences. In general, Ukrainian students are more likely than American students to be crime victims than are American students and they are consistently more fearful of being victimised. Ukrainian students are more punitive than American students for some types of crimes (e.g., drug possession) while Americans are more punitive on other crimes (e.g., burglary).

A thorough review of the literature reveals many methodological weaknesses in research exploring the attitudes of the public toward criminal offenders. By identifying and correcting these shortcomings, this study examines the factors influencing the attitudes of college students toward criminal offenders. Examining these factors can significantly improve our understanding of why there has been a sharp increase in prison populations. A survey of 2,273 students in four Texas and Wisconsin universities provides us with original data for this analysis. Respondents were asked to assess appropriate punishments for six different types of crimes. An Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression enabled us to conclude that ideology is the best single predictor of student attitudes toward the treatment of criminals. In fact, in the face of strong political ideology, individual demographics seem to be irrelevant. Interestingly, Texas college students are more punitive toward sexual offenders than Wisconsin students are.