Search results

The spread of and involvement in domestic extremist organizations are some of the most pressing issues facing the criminal justice field. There is little research studying the trajectories of former members of extremist organizations. This project begins to address the gaps in knowledge about radicalization and exit by gathering firsthand accounts from former members of white supremacist organizations in the U.S.

The goal of this project was to understand the pathways to disengagement and deradicalization among former white supremacists to provide justice and community organizations with useful information to support prevention and intervention strategies. There is a dearth of systematic information about the motivations, trajectories, and barriers involved with the disengagement and deradicalization process. This project was designed to provide a necessary and foundational assessment of the processes involved with becoming a former extremist. This project charted the social and psychological processes involved in exiting domestic extremist organizations by analyzing the detailed life history accounts of 47 former domestic extremists.

The Boston Reentry Study (BRS) was a mixed-methods, longitudinal study of 122 men and women released from Massachusetts state prisons to the Boston area, that focused on the transition into the community during participants' first year after prison release. The original data collection combined a panel survey, qualitative interviews, interviews with family members, and administrative records on criminal history. The BRS examined the complexity of integration after incarceration drawing from participants' life histories, including childhood experiences, to understand how individual biographies shape the transition into the community. This collection includes responses to 5 survey waves: (1) baseline, about one week before release from prison, (2) 1 week after prison release, (3) 2 months after prison release, (4) 6 months after prison release, and (5) 12 months after prison release. The survey collected information on housing, employment, income, health, family relationships, and criminal justice system contact.

The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), Wave 2 1992-1994, a longitudinal population-based survey of families and households in the United States, investigates the causes and consequences of changes in American family and household structure. This is the second wave of a three part survey. The current study, NSFH Wave 2, is the second follow up and was conducted in 1992-1994. The sample included all NSFH Wave 1 main respondents and spouse/partner with focal children and all other NSFH Wave 1 main respondents ages 45 and over in 2000, as well as their NSFH Wave 1 spouse/partner.

The Wave 2 survey included the following components: (1) an interview of all surviving members of the original sample via face-to-face personal interview, (2) a personal interview with the current spouse or cohabiting partner almost identical to the interview with the main respondent, (3) a personal interview with the original spouse or partner of the primary respondent in cases where this relationship had ended, (4) a telephone interview with "focal children" who were originally aged 13-18 in Wave 1, (5) a short telephone interview with "focal children" who were originally aged 5-12 in Wave 1, (6) short proxy interviews with a surviving spouse or other relative in cases where the original respondent had died or was too ill to interview, and (7) a telephone interview with a randomly-selected parent of the main respondent. Demographic information collected includes sex, age, marital status, education, and employment

The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), Wave 1 (1987-1988) is the first of three waves in a longitudinal survey that was designed to study the causes and consequences of changes happening in families and households within the United States. At a time when the range of family structures was becoming more and more diverse, this study permitted a close examination of the resulting family compositions and household operations. One adult per household was randomly selected as the primary respondent, and there was a total of 13,007 respondents. In addition to the main interview conducted with the primary respondent, a shorter, self-administered questionnaire was given to the spouse or cohabitating partner, and also administered to the householder if he or she was a relative of the primary respondent.

A considerable amount of life-history information was collected, such as the respondent's family living arrangements in childhood, departures and returns to the parental home, and histories of marriage, separation, divorce, cohabitation, adoption, child custody arrangements, and stepfamily relations. Respondents were also asked about the relationship of household members to each other and the quality of their relationships with their parents, children, and in-laws. Information on economic well-being was also collected, including earnings from wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, investments, pensions, Social Security, public assistance, and child support/alimony. Demographic information collected includes sex, age, marital status, education, and employment.

The Simmons Longitudinal Study (SLS) is a community-based study that has prospectively traced the life course of a single-aged cohort from childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). Data were collected from multiple informants at seven major time points: age 5 (1977), age 6 (1978), age 9 (1980-1981), age 15 (1987), age 18 (1990), age 21 (1993-1994), and age 26 (1998). Since its inception in 1977, the SLS has utilized a multidisciplinary, multimethod approach, with the dual goals of: (1) tracing the development and course of academic difficulties, behavior problems, and psychopathology; and (2) identifying factors that promote health functioning from early childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). The SLS has consistently emphasized the identification of modifiable social and environmental risk and protective factors that can be targeted directly in prevention and intervention programs. To date, SLS has published 50 journal articles and 9 book chapters. The original study group was comprised of every child who entered kindergarten in the fall of 1977 in one public school district in a northeastern town in the United States. For this wave of the study, Wave 4, interviews were conducted with the adolescents, then age 15 in 1987, most of whom were in 9th grade. They reported about their current family and peer relations, social and extracurricular activities, and overall adjustment. In addition, mothers reported on their children's development and behavior. When mothers were not available to be interviewed, interviewers spoke with another close family member. With parental consent, school records provided information about academic performance.

The Simmons Longitudinal Study (SLS) is a community-based study that has prospectively traced the life course of a single-aged cohort from childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). Data were collected from multiple informants at seven major time points: age 5 (1977), age 6 (1978), age 9 (1980-1981), age 15 (1987), age 18 (1990), age 21 (1993-1994), and age 26 (1998). Since its inception in 1977, the SLS has utilized a multidisciplinary, multimethod approach, with the dual goals of: (1) tracing the development and course of academic difficulties, behavior problems, and psychopathology; and (2) identifying factors that promote health functioning from early childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). The SLS has consistently emphasized the identification of modifiable social and environmental risk and protective factors that can be targeted directly in prevention and intervention programs. To date, SLS has published 50 journal articles and 9 book chapters. The original study group was comprised of every child who entered kindergarten in the fall of 1977 in one public school district in a northeastern town in the United States. For this wave of the study, Wave 5, researchers revisited with study participants in 1990 when they were 18 years old and most were seniors in high school thinking about future plans for work and education. The interviews gathered information on future goals, behavioral and emotional adjustment, current social and interpersonal functioning, and mental health problems such as depression, and substance abuse and dependence.

For this survey, respondents were asked to consider key historical national and world events since 1930 and to describe the impact of these events upon their lives and why these events seemed especially important. The list of events respondents were queried about included the invention of the television, the decline of communism in eastern Europe, the Korean War, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, space exploration, terrorism and hostage-taking, and the threat of nuclear war. Those queried were also asked about events or changes that were especially poignant to them and whether they kept memorabilia from the past, such as items from World War II, the Holocaust, or the Vietnam War. Specific questions on the events of World War II were included in the survey. Respondents also answered questions regarding events or changes related to their own interests, such as religion, sports, music, television, and films. Background information includes religion, marital status, education, employment, political orientation, and income.

This data collection measures the ability of 558 adults in the Detroit metropolitan area to recall major events in their lives and to place these events in a particular time frame. In order to ascertain the quality of their memories, respondents were questioned extensively about the time they bought their house and car, when they last observed a death or illness in the family or among their friends, and if they could recall precise events such as the assassination of President Kennedy. They were also asked about the time they were last hospitalized and how long they had lived in their present residence. Also explored were respondents' feelings about time and their use of time. Additional items explored respondents' childhood memories, attendance at club meetings, routine or planned activities, approach to multitasking, their favorite holiday, and sense of direction, as well as the quality of services provided by various utility companies. Demographic variables specify age, place of birth, race, marital status, occupation, education, religion, original nationality of parents, number of children, political party affiliation, home ownership, family income, and length of residence in the Detroit area.