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Curated

ABC News "Nightline" Catholic Church Poll, February 2002 (ICPSR 3430)

Released/updated on: 2002-06-27
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll was undertaken to gauge respondents' reactions and feelings regarding the recent allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and cover-ups by the Catholic Church. The poll also attempted to assess how these allegations had influenced respondents' feelings about the Catholic Church in general. Respondents were asked if they had heard of the scandal surrounding Catholic priest John Geoghan, a Boston clergyman accused of molesting over 80 children, if the case had concerned them, how serious a problem they viewed sexual abuse of children by priests to be, and how often they thought that sexual abuse by priests occurred. Those queried were then asked if they thought the Catholic Church was doing enough to address the problem of sexual abuse by priests, if they thought the recent allegations had harmed the overall reputation of the Catholic Church, if they thought Catholic priests were more likely then other men to sexually abuse children, and if they believed that the policy of the Catholic Church prohibiting priests from marrying contributed to the problem. Finally, respondents were asked a series of questions designed to assess their opinions of the Catholic Church's past responses to allegations of sexual misconduct and their ideas on how the Church should respond in the future. They were asked whether they agreed with the church's response of transferring a priest who had been accused of sexual abuse to another parish, whether they believed that the church should inform parishioners and/or police if a parish priest was accused of sexually abusing a child, and whether the church should be required by law to inform police or parishioners. The results of the poll were announced on the ABC television program "Nightline." Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, education, religion, typical attendance of religious services, and ethnicity. Catholic respondents were also asked how much they trusted their own parish priest around children.
Curated

ABC News/Washington Post Poll, April 2002 (ICPSR 3433)

Released/updated on: 2002-06-27
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, the economy, and the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. Respondents also expressed their views on the United States campaign against terrorism, the situation regarding Osama bin Laden, and the support given to the United States by Muslim people around the world. In addition, respondents voiced their concerns about more future terrorist attacks on the United States, their feelings toward Israel and the Palestinians, and their views on the role of the United States in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. The poll elicited respondents' views on the influence of Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the Middle East on the prospects for peace, the negotiations and actions taken by Israel and the Palestinians, the responsibility of the leader of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat for terrorist attacks against Israel by Palestinians, the support of the United States for Israel, and the United States efforts in the war on terrorism. Respondents also answered a set of questions regarding the Catholic Church, its handling the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests, the level of trust respondents felt toward the Church in handling this issue in the future, their opinions of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who was accused of mishandling the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests, and the outcome of the American cardinals' meeting at the Vatican. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, education, religion and religious activities, Hispanic origin, race, and household income.
Curated

ABC News/Washington Post Poll, December 2002 (ICPSR 3769)

Released/updated on: 2003-10-09
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll, conducted December 12, 2002, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit opinions on the presidency and on other political and social issues. Respondents were asked their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the economy, Iraq and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, education reform, Social Security, prescription drug coverage, health insurance, the environment, Homeland security, taxes, and the war against terrorism. Respondents were also asked to give their views on President Bush's priorities for the country, the individuals who influenced his policymaking, and the amount of blame or credit that should be attributed to President Bush for the economy. Respondents' opinions were elicited on taking military action against Iraq, whether the reasons given by President Bush were sufficient to justify military action, whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, the level of threat Iraq posed to the United States, and whether the government was doing enough to battle terrorism and protect civil liberties. In addition, respondents were queried about the Catholic Church and its handling of recent abuse allegations brought against clergy, and the overall political and economic outlook for the country and the world in 2003. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, ethnicity, education, political orientation, religious orientation, level of religious participation, household income, and whether the respondent lived in an urban, suburban, or rural area.
Curated

ABC News/Washington Post Poll, June 2002 (ICPSR 3558)

Released/updated on: 2005-12-15
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, Bush's proposal to create the Department of Homeland Security, whether the Department of Homeland Security would improve the government's ability to prevent further terrorist attacks, and how much confidence they had in the ability of the government to prevent further terrorist attacks against Americans in the United States. Respondents also rated the job done by the FBI, the CIA, and other United States intelligence agencies in analyzing and sharing information about possible terrorist attacks before and after September 11, 2001, and commented on whether the agencies had enough information before the September 11th attacks to prevent the attacks or if the information was too vague and incomplete for the attacks to have been prevented. Further questions asked whether respondents supported giving FBI agents broader authority to monitor public places as part of a general investigation of terrorism even when it was not related to a specific crime, whether this change in FBI policy intruded on individuals' rights to privacy, whether it was more important for the FBI to investigate possible terrorist threats even if it intruded on personal privacy, and whether the FBI should not intrude on privacy, even if that meant compromising the FBI's ability to investigate possible terrorist threats. The next set of questions queried respondents on issues related to the Catholic Church, including whether respondents had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Catholic Church, whether they approved of the way the Church was handling the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests, and what they felt was responsible for the way the Church had dealt with these issues both now and in the past. Additional questions probed the respondents' opinions as to whether abusive priests should be automatically removed from the priesthood, whether recent news coverage had been fair to the Church, and whether respondents knew of any cases of abuse in their own community and parish. A final set of questions dealt with the 30th anniversary of Watergate. Respondents were asked how much they knew about Watergate, whether President Richard Nixon's actions were serious enough to warrant his resignation, and whether President Gerald Ford was right in pardoning Nixon. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, education, religion and religious activities, Hispanic origin, race, and household income.
Curated
Restricted

Adaptation and Evaluation of a Video Game to Reduce Sexual Violence on Campus, New Hampshire, 2016 (ICPSR 37101)

Released/updated on: 2025-06-26
Geographic coverage: United States, New Hampshire

Sexual assault is the most common violent crime committed on college campuses today. One in five women have experienced a completed or attempted sexual assault as an undergraduate. In one study, 28% of first-year college women experienced unwanted sexual contact and 7% experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in the first semester of their first year of college, while 7% of college men reported an attempted or completed assault during their college experience. Growing evidence suggests the effectiveness of using online tools and video games for public health intervention and education.

Because of the positive impact of these digital strategies, researchers saw a need to bring this research to sexual violence prevention, where there has been limited use of digital applications. The goal of this project was to design and evaluate the pedagogical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a video game to reduce sexual and relationship violence. It was hypothesized that the video game could enhance the self-confidence of male and female late adolescents (ages 18-24) to practice safe, appropriate, and effective approaches for intervening in situations where sexual and/or relationship violence (including stalking) is occurring, has the potential to occur, or recently occurred.

Curated
Partially restricted
Simple Crosstabs

Assessing the Practical and Monetary Efficacy of New Jersey's Megan's Law, 1972-2007 (ICPSR 26401)

Released/updated on: 2013-04-19
Geographic coverage: United States, New Jersey
Time period: 1972-01-01--2007-01-01
The study investigated New Jersey's Megan's Law and its specific deterrence effect on re-offending, including the level of general and sexual offense recidivism, the nature of sexual re-offenses, and time to first re-arrest for sexual and non-sexual re-offenses (i.e., community tenure). Data were collected on 550 sexual offenders released during the years 1990 to 2000.
Curated

Building Strong Families (BSF) Project Data Collection, 2005-2008, United States (ICPSR 29781)

Released/updated on: 2014-06-03
Geographic coverage: Oklahoma City, San Angelo, Indiana, Baton Rouge, United States, Oklahoma, Florida, Baltimore, Atlanta, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland, Houston
Time period: 2005-07-01--2008-03-01
The Building Strong Families (BSF) project examined the effectiveness of programs designed to improve child well-being and strengthen the relationships of low-income couples through relationship skills education. It surveyed couples 15 months and 36 months after having applied to and been accepted into a Building Stronger Families (BSF) program at one of eight locations offering services to unwed couples expecting, or having recently had a baby. Major topics included family structure, parental involvement with children, relationships, personal and parental well-being, utilization of services such as workshops to help their relationship and parenting skills, paternity and child support, and family self-sufficiency. Respondents were asked for information on recently born children and relationship status, how much time they spent with their children, their level of satisfaction with their current relationship, substance use, if they had attended relationship and parental counseling, whether they were legally required to provide child support, employment, and family background. Additional information was asked about domestic violence and child abuse, legal trouble, past sexual history, and child development. The 36-month data collection effort also included direct assessments of parenting and child development. The quality of the parenting relationship was assessed for both mothers and fathers and was based on a semi-structured play activity, "the two-bag task." This interaction was videotaped and later coded by trained assessors on multiple dimensions of parenting. During assessments with mothers, the focal child's language development was also assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Demographic data includes race, education level, age, income, and marital status. The data collection is comprised of seven parts. Part 1: the BSF Eligibility and Baseline Survey Data file; Part 2: the BSF 15-Month Follow-up Survey Data file; Part 3: the program participation data file; Part 4: the BSF 15-month follow-up analysis file; Part 5: the BSF 36-Month Follow-up Survey Data file; Part 6: the mother-child in-home assessment; and Part 7: the BSF 36-Month Follow-up analysis file.
Curated

Case Outcomes Following Investigative Interviews of Suspected Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Salt Lake City and County, Utah, 1994-2000 (ICPSR 27721)

Released/updated on: 2010-08-10
Geographic coverage: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah
Time period: 1994-01-01--2000-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Interview Protocol impacted child sexual abuse case outcomes within the justice system. The researchers coded information from child protection and police reports, Children's Justice Center (CJC) intake forms, and the CJC electronic database to create a dataset on 1,280 alleged child sexual abuse cases involving children interviewed in Salt Lake County, Utah, between 1994 and 2000. Specifically, the research team gathered case characteristics and case outcomes data on 551 alleged child sexual abuse cases in which investigative interviews were conducted from 1994 to mid-September 1997 before the NICHD protocol was implemented, and 729 alleged child sexual abuse cases in which investigative interviews were conducted from mid-September 1997 to 2000 after the implementation of the NICHD protocol, so that pre-NICHD protocol and NICHD protocol interview case outcomes could be compared. The same police detectives conducted both the pre-NICHD protocol interviews and the NICHD protocol interviews. The dataset contains a total of 116 variables pertaining to cases of suspected child abuse. The major categories of variables include demographic data on the suspected child victim and on the suspected perpetrator, on case characteristics, on case outcomes, and on time delays.
Curated
Restricted

A Case Study of K-12 School Employee Sexual Misconduct: Lessons Learned from Title IX Policy Implementation, United States, 1984-2014 (ICPSR 36870)

Released/updated on: 2018-09-14
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1984-01-01--2014-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This study was designed to examine how districts that experienced an incident of school employee sexual misconduct in 2014 defined, interpreted, and implemented key elements of Title IX before, during, and after an incident. The study used a qualitative case study design with a purposeful sample of five districts recruited from a database of 459 districts who experienced a case of school employee sexual misconduct in 2014. The study was conducted between January 2016 and September 2017.

Data collected included: 1) various district documents, 2) 41 interviews with primary actors (school employees and county officials directly involved in responding to the incident), 3) 10 focus groups with 51 secondary actors (school employees who were not directly involved with the incident but who might have been indirectly affected by it), and 4) offender, victim and district characteristics. Documents reviewed included written policies and protocols, training materials and handbooks for staff and students, case documents, and other guiding documents as applicable. In interviews and focus groups, participants were asked to discuss their knowledge of district policies and procedures, to describe the dissemination of and any changes to these policies and procedures, and to provide recommendations for improvement. To protect the confidentiality all district and participant identifying information is confidential and has been removed from any reporting.

Curated

CBS News Monthly Poll #2, April 2002 (ICPSR 3693)

Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, the situation in the Middle East, and the campaign against terrorism, as well as their views of Secretary of State Colin Powell, Pope John Paul II, Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. A series of questions addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Respondents were asked whether they sympathized with Israel or the Palestinians, whether Israel should alter its military presence in the occupied territories, and whether the United States should publicly support either side. Respondents were questioned as to whether they believed Colin Powell's trip to the Middle East would be successful, whether the United States government has a responsibility to establish peace in the Middle East, and whether they believed involvement in the conflict would increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks against America. Those polled were questioned about the sexual abuse allegations against Catholic priests. Respondents were asked what they believed to be the greatest problem facing the Catholic Church, whether the child sex accusations harmed the reputation of the Catholic Church, whether celibacy increased the likelihood of child sex abuse, and whether they believed the Pope was aware of the abuse before the allegations were made public. Lastly, respondents were asked whether they believed surveillance cameras on city streets reduced crime or invaded people's privacy, and whether they approved of the placement of surveillance cameras on sites that are important to the country's history. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, race, religion, education, political party, political orientation, marital status, number of children in the household, and household income.
Curated

CBS News Monthly Poll, June 2002 (ICPSR 3698)

Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit opinions on the presidency and on other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on the following: the effectiveness of President George W. Bush and his administration, the war in Afghanistan, terrorism and the effects of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States Department of Homeland Security, the scandals in the Catholic Church, possible military action in Iraq, and the 2000 United States presidential and 2002 House of Representatives elections. Questions addressed President Bush's handling of fighting in the Middle East, terrorism, foreign policy, and the economy, the goals of the Bush administration and its domestic policies, who was setting the administration's policies, and how respondents viewed United States Attorney General John Ashcroft. Other questions focused on the progress of the war in Afghanistan and the ramifications and likelihood of capturing or killing al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Questions probed for respondents' opinions about the likelihood of another terrorist attack, the use of military tribunals as opposed to civilian courts to try terrorists, the government's actions to prevent terrorism, the likelihood of a nuclear attack being launched by another country as opposed to a terrorist organization, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, pre-emptive strikes against other countries, and the Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in weakening foreign governments. Respondents were also queried about the effectiveness of the Catholic Church and the Pope in handling sexual abuse allegations against priests and drafting policies on how to deal with future allegations. Background variables include age, sex, education, ethnicity, political orientation, marital status, the lack or presence of children in the household, ages of the children, and household income.
Curated

CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, May 2002 (ICPSR 3695)

Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, the campaign against terrorism, foreign policy, and the economy, as well as their impressions of John Ashcroft and Cardinal Bernard Law. They also expressed their opinions on the Cuba trade embargo set by the United States and on the meaning of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with regard to the right to bear arms. A series of questions focused on the crisis in the Middle East involving Israel and the Palestinians, Yasir Arafat, the way George W. Bush was handling the situation involving Israel and the Palestinians, and the role played by the United States in the Middle East. Respondents also gave their opinions on the status of the war in Afghanistan and the outcomes of this war, the likelihood and seriousness of another terrorist attack in the United States, and the possibility that scientists might be able to clone human beings, as well as the Catholic Church's handling of recent charges of sex abuse of children and teenagers by priests. Respondents also expressed their concerns about personal safety since September 11, 2001, and the actions taken to improve personal security since the terrorist attacks. Background information includes the respondent's political party, voter status, marital status, religion, education, income, race, age, and gender.
Curated

CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, April 2010 (ICPSR 31570)

Released/updated on: 2011-09-09
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2010-04-01--2010-05-01
This poll, fielded April 28 to May 2, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,125 adults were surveyed, including an oversample 412 Catholic individuals. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, foreign policy, the economy, and health care. Opinions were sought on Israel, the leadership of the Catholic Church, and Pope Benedict XVI. Respondents were asked whether they thought the Vatican or most parish priests in the United States were in touch with the needs of Catholics, whether they were opposed to letting Catholic priests get married or letting women be ordained as Catholic priests, how important it was to them that their children practice the religion in which they were raised, how comfortable they would be if their child was alone with their parish priests, how closely they had been following the news about the reports of past sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, whether they thought the Vatican and the Pope did a good job handling the reports of sexual abuse, and whether they thought the problem of sexual abuse was a more common problem in the Catholic Church than other faiths. Opinions were collected on United States bishops and whether respondents thought the bishops were doing a better job than they previously did in dealing with the priests who sexually abused children, whether the bishops tried to prevent sexual abuse in the past or cover it up, whether the bishops have enforced the policy of performing extensive background checks and psychological testing on persons wanting to become a priest in the United States, and whether this screening policy is going too far. Respondents were also asked if they thought the policy of having a priest permanently removed from the ministry and barred from performing priestly duties was fair in cases of priests who had sexually abused children. Respondents were also asked whether celibacy or homosexuality among priests in the Catholic church were major factors contributing to child sexual abuse by priests, whether reports of sexual abuse led respondents to question the authority of the Vatican, whether reports of sexual abuse have made respondents uncomfortable around their own parish priests, whether the respondent or anyone in their household had given money to a Catholic parish or organization in the previous 12 months, and if so, whether they had increased giving since the reports of abuse became public. Information was collected on whether the reports of sexual abuse affected the respondent's or their children's involvement in Catholic Church activities, their Mass attendance, or their feelings about remaining in the Catholic faith, whether they thought the media accurately reported the stories of child sexual abuse by priests, how much respondents had heard about the Vatican conducting a study on the quality of life of nuns, and whether respondents supported it. Other topics covered the national economy, job security, legal and illegal immigration in the United States, the new law in Arizona allowing police officers to question those they suspect are living in the country illegally. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, and voter registration status.
Curated

CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #3, April 2002 (ICPSR 3694)

Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of how President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency and the conflict between Israel and Palestine, as well as their views of Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Bernard Law. Those polled were asked whether they believed it was the responsibility of the United States to establish peace in the Middle East, and whether the United States should publicly support Israel. A series of questions addressed allegations against the Catholic Church of sexual abuse of children. Topics covered the Vatican's handling of the charges, who respondents believed should decide what is done with accused priests, and whether church leaders should be held responsible for the way they handled the allegations. Respondents were asked how often their religious beliefs guided their everyday choices, whether the Pope had too much or too little control over the Catholic Church, and their views on abortion. Respondents were asked whether they believed the Catholic Church was in touch with their needs, whether women should be ordained as priests, and about the prevalence of homosexuality among priests. Additional topics sought respondents' views on the death penalty and whether they had changed their travel plans in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Background information includes age, gender, race, religion, education, political party, political orientation, marital status, number of children in the household, and household income.
Curated

CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, April 1994 (ICPSR 6595)

Released/updated on: 2000-08-28
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked about the economy and about the responsibility of the United States in the international arena in general and in Bosnia in particular. Opinions were also solicited on Hillary Clinton and her role as First Lady, the Whitewater real estate deal, and the importance of the news media in forming public opinion. The topic of religion was covered in detail, with particular attention to respondents who identified themselves as Catholic. Catholic respondents were asked whether they had said the rosary, gone to confession, attended a meeting of a Catholic organization, or prayed in private during the preceding 30 days. Further questions concerned whether the Catholic Church was in touch with the needs of Catholics, and if the respondent was in favor of letting Catholic priests get married, allowing women to be ordained as Catholic priests, and having girls assist in altar duties. Other topics covered whether people can be considered "good Catholics" if they get divorced and remarry, practice artificial birth control, or engage in homosexual relations. Additional questions asked Catholic respondents whether they thought that the Church's teaching on premarital sex, the shortage of priests and nuns, and reports of priests sexually abusing children would hurt the Church. Background information on respondents includes voter registration status, household composition, vote choice in the 1992 presidential election, political party, political orientation, education, age, sex, race, religious preference, and family income.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs

CBS News/New York Times National Catholic Poll February #2, 2013 (ICPSR 34994)

Released/updated on: 2014-03-25
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll, the last of two fielded February 2013, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked for their opinions on the Catholic Church, as well as a variety of questions regarding the pope, and the selection of the new pope. More specifically, respondents were asked whether the Catholic Church is "in touch", for their opinions on women becoming priests, priests getting married, and birth control, abortion, and sex abuse in the Church. Respondents were also asked about religious freedom in the United States, health care policies in relation to religious freedom, the Vatican's investigation of nuns in the United States, their personal monetary contributions to the Church, and church attendance. Additional topics included illegal immigration, the death penalty, and same-sex marriage. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education, household income, type of residential area (e.g. urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, religious preferences, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs

Childhood Adversity and Traumatic Stress among Inpatients at a Psychiatric Hospital in the Baltimore Area from 1993-1995 (ICPSR 36168)

Released/updated on: 2016-04-15
Geographic coverage: Baltimore, United States, Maryland
Time period: 1993-02-01--1995-10-01

Childhood Adversity and Traumatic Stress among Inpatients at a Psychiatric Hospital in the Baltimore Area from 1993-1995 includes data collected from adult patients at a psychiatric hospital about their experiences and symptoms throughout their lives.

The study sought to address the following research topics:

  1. The capacity of childhood family environment (caretaker dysfunction, neglect, perceived social support), violent abuse (physical and sexual), and individual variables (other abuse) to predict adult psychiatric symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociation, and depression.
  2. How psychiatric inpatient research participants appraised the level of upset and potential usefulness of research participation related to trauma-focused research interviews.
  3. What patterns of gaps in memory are reported across types of abuse (physical, sexual, neglect) and other types of traumatic stress.
  4. Whether and how low positive affect is related to specific childhood adversities, including abuse, neglect, caretaker dysfunction, and low childhood social support.

In addition, data from the study were used to develop and validate a self-report measure of traumatic stress symptoms and a brief, structured interview of self-destructiveness.

The data include diagnoses, psychological symptoms, and structured interview responses related to physical and sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and self-destructive behavior. Age, sex, marital status, race, and socioeconomic status comprise the demographic data.

Curated

Children's Allegations of Sexual Abuse in Criminal Trials: Assessing Defense Attacks on Credibility and Identifying Effective Prosecution Methods, Maricopa County, Arizona, 2005-2015 (ICPSR 37465)

Released/updated on: 2020-11-30
Geographic coverage: Arizona
Time period: 2005-01-01--2015-12-31
Child maltreatment is widely recognized as a severe crisis in the United States (Norman, Byambaa, Butchart, Scott, & Vos, 2012), incurring costs of $124 billion annually (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). Accordingly, children in the United States are frequently called to testify in criminal proceedings about their allegations (Hamblen & Levine, 1997). To effectively develop procedures that better distinguish true from false allegations, one must be equally concerned about false convictions and false acquittals; assessing best practices that minimize children's vulnerabilities and maximize competencies. To do so, the justice system must assess whether children are credible. As such, is necessary for the prosecutor to establish children's credibility, particularly by preempting or rebuffing concerns from the defense. Further, it is necessary for the defense to evaluate whether children's allegations are honest or suggestively influenced, productive, consistent and plausible. However, it is undetermined how to do this effectively. The purpose of the present investigation is to assess how children's credibility is established and questioned in courtroom investigations of sexual abuse allegations, with a particular focus on how children respond. It is expected that: 1) defense attorneys will use likely use subtle means to attack children's honesty and suggestibility, whereas prosecutors will ask overtly about such topics, 2) children will exhibit productivity differences depending on the questioner, 3) defense attorneys will frequently ask children specific questions about prior inconsistencies, 4) prosecutors will infrequently establish the plausibility of abuse, 5) prosecutors will infrequently preempt defense attorneys' concerns of credibility, and will only sometimes rebuff their attacks during re-direct examination, 6) both prosecutors and defense attorneys may ask developmentally inappropriate questions, and that 7) case characteristics will be related to questioning patterns. The proposed investigation will: develop an understanding of current prosecution and defense methods in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse, contribute to prosecutors' abilities to effectively try such cases, providing concrete recommendations for defense attorneys when assessing children's credibility, and facilitate better decision making in cases of alleged child sexual abuse.
Curated

Children's Out-of-Court Statements: Effects of Hearsay on Jurors' Decisions in Sacramento County, California, and Maricopa County, Arizona, 1994-1997 (ICPSR 2791)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, California, Arizona
Time period: 1994-01-01--1997-01-01
The goal of this project was to investigate the effects of children's out-of-court hearsay statements on jurors' perceptions of witness credibility and defendant guilt. To accomplish this goal, three studies were conducted. The studies represented a series of increasingly ecologically valid investigations: mock jurors' perceptions of children's live and hearsay statements about a mock crime (Study 1), mock jurors' perceptions of real child sexual abuse victims' hearsay statements (Study 2), and actual jurors' perceptions of real child sexual abuse victims' hearsay statements (Study 3). In these contexts, "hearsay statements" are the repetition of a child's out-of-court statements in a court trial, either via a videotaped recording of the child's testimony in a forensic interview with a social worker or as described by an adult (the social worker or a police officer) who interviewed the child. The three studies permitted researchers to examine factors that jurors use to evaluate the reliability of children's hearsay evidence. The mock crime in Study 1 was touching the child on the stomach, nose, or neck. Jurors were instructed to consider those acts as if they were battery against a child. In Study 1, elaborate mock trials concerning the above mock crime were conducted under three trial conditions: (1) the child testified live in court, (2) a videotape of a simulated forensic interview with the child was presented, or (3) adult hearsay was presented (i.e., a social worker testified about what the child had said in the simulated forensic interview). A total of 370 mock jurors participated in Study 1, which was conducted in Sacramento County, California. In Study 2, videotapes of actual forensic interviews from real child sexual abuse cases were incorporated into mock trials instead of having live child testimony. The last two trial conditions in Study 2 were the same as those for Study 1, except that a police officer provided the adult hearsay testimony instead of a social worker. For Study 2, 170 mock jurors served on 15 main juries, which were held in Sacramento County, California. For both Studies 1 and 2, pre- and post-deliberation questionnaires were completed by mock jurors to ascertain their views on the credibility of the child and adult testimonies, the importance of various pieces of evidence, and the guilt of the defendant. Demographic questionnaires were also filled out before the mock trials. In Study 3, real jurors from actual child sexual abuse trials were surveyed regarding their judgments of child and adult testimonies. The three trial conditions that were present in Studies 1 and 2 (live child testimony, videotaped testimony, and adult hearsay testimony) were also experienced by the Study 3 participants. These jurors also indicated the importance of various types of evidence and provided demographic data. A total of 248 jurors representing 43 juries from Sacramento County, California, and Maricopa County, Arizona, participated in Study 3. This collection includes aggregated data prepared from the Study 3 data to provide mean values for each of the 42 juries, as calculated from the individual juror responses. Data for one jury were eliminated from the aggregated data by the principal investigators. Variables from the demographic questionnaire for Studies 1 and 2 include trial condition, respondent's age, gender, marital status, occupation, ethnic background, religious orientation, and highest grade attained in school, if the respondent supported the death penalty, if the respondent was ever a victim of crime, number of children the respondent had, if the respondent was a United States citizen, if the respondent's native language was English, and if he or she had ever been a police officer, a convicted felon, a lawyer, or a judge. The pre-deliberation questionnaire for Study 1 asked jurors if they felt that the defendant was guilty, and how confident they were of the defendant's guilt or innocence. Jurors were also asked to assess the accuracy of various facts as given in the social worker's interview of the child and the child's statements in the taped interview, and what the likelihood was of the child's being influenced by the social worker, prosecutor, and/or defense attorney. Questions about the trial included the juror's assessment of the defendant, the social worker, and the research assistant. Jurors were also asked about the influence of various factors on their decisions regarding whether to believe the individuals in the case. Jurors' open-ended comments were coded on the most important factors in believing or doubting the child or the social worker, the most important evidence in the case, and whether anything could have been done to make the trial more fair. Post-deliberation questions in Study 1 included whether the defendant was guilty, how confident the juror was of the defendant's guilt or innocence regarding various charges in the case, and the final verdict of the jury. Questions similar to those in Study 1 were asked in the pre-deliberation questionnaire for Study 2, which also included respondents' opinions of the police officer, the mother, the doctor, and the use of anatomical dolls. The Study 2 post-deliberation questionnaire included questions on whether the defendant was guilty, how confident the juror was of the defendant's guilt or innocence, and the juror's assessment of the social worker's videotaped interview and the police officer's testimony. Variables from the Study 3 juror survey include the county/state where the trial was held, the juror's age, gender, ethnic background, and highest grade attained in school, if the juror supported the death penalty, if he or she was ever a victim of crime, and the amount of contact he or she had with children. Questions about the trial include the number of children the defendant was charged with abusing, the main child's age and gender, if a videotape was shown at trial, who interviewed the child on the videotape, the impact of seeing the videotape on the juror's decision to believe the child, the number of children who testified at the trial, and if the child was involved in a custody dispute. Additional questions focused on the defendant's relationship to the main child, who the first person was that the child told about the abuse, if the main child testified in court, the most important evidence in the case in the opinion of the juror, the jury's verdict, and how fair the juror considered the trial. Finally, jurors were asked about the influence of various factors on their decision to believe or doubt the individuals in the case. Data in Study 3 also include coded open-ended responses to several questions. Variables provided for the Study 3 aggregated data consist of the calculated mean values for each of the 42 juries for most of the variables in the Study 3 juror survey data.
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The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City, 1982-2007 (ICPSR 34657)

Released/updated on: 2016-04-21
Geographic coverage: New York City, United States, New York (state)
Time period: 2006-01-01--2007-12-01, 2006-01-01--2007-01-01, 1982-01-01--2006-12-31, 1982-01-01--2006-12-31, 1998-01-01--2006-12-31, 2004-01-01--2007-01-01
This multi-method project sought to gain a better understanding of the commercial sexually exploited children (CSEC) population, particularly its size, characteristics, needs, and geographic spread in New York City. It represents a first attempt to understand the CSEC population in a major metropolitan area and to examine a concerted institutional effort to meet its needs. Three forms of data were collected in the project: questionnaire data, interview data, and network data. The project used Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) to identify commercial sexually exploited children (CSEC) in New York City. Interviews were conducted with 230 youths between January 2006 and December 2007. Quantitative surveys regarding the frequency and quality of cross-stakeholder communication were administered at the beginning of the evaluation and one year later. For the purpose of trend analysis of CSEC related offenses, research staff obtained citywide arrest and prosecution data on child prostitution, exploitation, and solicitation of a minor. The New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) provided arrest data for arrestees under 19 years of age in all five boroughs of New York City from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2006.
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Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the United States, 1997-2000 (ICPSR 3366)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1997-01-01--2000-01-01
This project undertook the systematic collection of first-generation data concerning the nature, extent, and seriousness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the United States. The project was organized around the following research objectives: (1) identification of the nature, extent, and underlying causes of CSE and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) occurring in the United States, (2) identification of those subgroups of children that were at the greatest risk of being sexually exploited, (3) identification of subgroups of adult perpetrators of sex crimes against children, and (4) identification of the modes of operation and other methods used by organized criminal units to recruit children into sexually exploitative activities. The study involved surveying senior staff members of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and government organizations (GOs) in the United States known to be dealing with persons involved in the transnational trafficking of children for sexual purposes. Part 1 consists of survey data from nongovernment organizations. These were local child and family agencies serving runaway and homeless youth. Part 2 consists of survey data from government organizations. These organizations were divided into local, state, and federal agencies. Local organizations included municipal law enforcement, county law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, and corrections. State organizations included state child welfare directors, prosecutors, and public defenders. Federal organizations included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Public Defenders, Immigration and Naturalization Service, United States Attorneys, United States Customs, and the United States Postal Service. Variables in Parts 1 and 2 include the organization's city, state, and ZIP code, the type of services provided or type of law enforcement agency, how the agency was funded, the scope of the agency's service area, how much emphasis was placed on CSEC as a policy issue or a service issue, conditions that might influence the number of CSEC cases, how staff were trained to deal with CSEC cases, how victims were identified, the number of children that experienced child abuse, sexual abuse, pornography, or other exploitation in 1999 and 2000 by age and gender, methods of recruitment, family history of victims, gang involvement, and substance abuse history of victims.
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Continuation of Dating It Safe: A Longitudinal Study on Teen Dating Violence, Houston, Texas, 2010-2018 (ICPSR 37170)

Released/updated on: 2022-11-29
Geographic coverage: United States, Texas, Houston
Time period: 2010-01-01--2018-01-01

Dating It Safe is a longitudinal cohort study of 1,042 youth in southeast Texas. Primarily freshmen high school students were recruited and assessed in the spring of 2010. Follow-up waves were collected annually each spring from 2011 through 2017 (Waves 2-8). The primary aims of this research study were to examine the:

  • longitudinal association between the three different forms of teen dating violence (TDV; i.e., physical violence, psychological abuse, and sexual aggression), and
  • risk and protective factors of TDV perpetration and victimization.
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Data from Urban Institute's Survey on Forced Marriage in the United States, 2017 (ICPSR 36855)

Released/updated on: 2018-12-20
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2017-01-01--2017-03-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The Urban Institute, in collaboration with Tahirih Justice Center, sought to examine forced marriages in the United States via an exploratory study of the victimization experiences of those subjected to and threatened with forced marriage. The study also sought to begin to understand elements at the intersection of forced marriage with intimate partner and sexual violence, such as: how perpetrators threaten and actually force victims into marriages; the elements of force, fraud, or coercion in the tactics used to carry out victimization; other case demographics and dynamics (e.g., overseas marriages versus those in the United States); factors that put individuals at risk of forced marriage or that trigger or elevate their risk of related abuses; help-seeking behavior; the role of social, cultural, and religious norms in forced marriage; and the ability (or lack thereof) of service providers, school officials, and government agencies with protection mandates (law enforcement, child protection, and social workers) to screen for, and respond to, potential and reported cases of forced marriage.

This collection contains 1 Stata file: ICPSR-Data-File.dta (21007 cases; 48 variables).

The qualitative data are not available as part of this data collection at this time.

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Dating Abuse Prevention in Teens of Moms with Domestic Violence Protection Orders, North Carolina, 2010-2011 (ICPSR 33381)

Released/updated on: 2018-07-19
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, United States
Time period: 2010-03-01--2011-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

Children exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of experiencing and perpetrating violence against their partners when they become adolescents and adults. Despite this increased risk and the fact that approximately 15 million children are exposed to domestic violence yearly, there have been no evaluated dating abuse prevention programs conducted specifically with this population.

The collection contains 2 SAS data files: baseline_final.sas (n=51; 465 variables) and followup_final.sas (n=32; 463 variables).

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Developing a Taxonomy To Understand and Measure Outcomes of Success in Community-Based Elder Mistreatment Interventions, New York City, New York, 2018-2019 (ICPSR 37955)

Released/updated on: 2022-06-29
Geographic coverage: New York City, Queens, United States, Brooklyn, New York (state), Manhattan (New York City)
Time period: 2018-01-01--2019-01-01

Research tools available to help advance knowledge of effective community-based elder mistreatment (EM) interventions are limited. The field lacks an understanding of what success means in EM response program (EMRP) interventions, which work directly with victims to reduce the risk of re-victimization. Without establishing indicators of EMRP success, it is not possible to develop valid intervention outcome measures to compare different EMRP models toward the development of evidence-based practice. Informed by the EMRP practice principle of older adult self-determination, this study developed a victim-centric taxonomy of case outcomes that indicate EMRP success.

This study drew on two sources of data, including interviews with EM victims and a scoping review to inform taxonomy development. Prioritizing the perspective of victims, this study conducted interviews with 27 victims involved in EMRP services who vary in EM subtype, gender, and race/ethnicity.

The taxonomy of successful EMRP outcomes will serve as important research infrastructure to support the development of EMRP intervention outcome measurement in future research.

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Development and Validation of a Coercive Control Measure for Intimate Partner Violence in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, DC, 2004 (ICPSR 4570)

Released/updated on: 2008-09-26
Geographic coverage: District of Columbia, United States, Massachusetts, Boston
Time period: 2004-02-01--2004-09-01

The overall goals of this project were to develop a clear theoretical understanding of coercive control and to develop a measure of "nonviolent coercive control" for use in the measurement of intimate partner violence (IPV). The psychometric properties of the newly developed coercive control measure were assessed between February and September 2004 in a total sample of 757 that included 302 males and 448 females from the metropolitan Washington, DC, and Boston areas. Of this sample, 139 reporting IPV victimization only, 39 reported IPV perpetration only, 245 reported both IPV victimization and perpetration, and 334 reported neither IPV victimization nor perpetration.

Respondents were recruited from community agencies involving identified IPV victims and perpetrators, agencies providing non-IPV services to demographically similar participants, community college settings, and general public community settings, e.g., fast food restaurants. The sample was a convenience, not a representative, sample. Selection criteria included the following: (1) involvement in an intimate partner relationship within the past 12 months, and (2) being 18 years of age or older. Respondents were excluded if they exhibited signs of intoxication or other indications of a lack of coherence sufficient to complete the survey.

Both data files contain demographic information. Respondents were asked several series of questions including those pertaining to demands received from their partner, whether their partner did anything to find out if the respondent had done what the partner had demanded, if their partner made them feel the partner might do something if the respondent did not do what the partner wanted, and whether they had done certain things when their partner demanded something. Respondents were then asked the same series of questions conversely. Respondents were read a statement and asked how often they felt this way in the past month, asked whether in the last 12 months they had experienced certain physical abuse or abused their partner physically, and they were asked whether in the last 12 months they had experienced certain types of emotional abuse or had abused their partner emotionally. Respondents were read a series of statements regarding their relationships with people in general and asked to tell whether the statement was true or false, asked how often they had experienced problems in response to a trauma, and asked how likely their partner might attempt to abuse the respondent in specific ways in the next year.

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Development of a New Measure of Adolescent Dating Aggression (ADA): National Norms with a Focus on Marginalized Youth, United States, 2019-2020 (ICPSR 37664)

Released/updated on: 2023-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2019-02-01--2020-12-01

This study collection was formed from two distinct data collection periods and respondent samples to test and validate a newly formed measure regarding adolescent dating abuse (ADA). The new measure named MARSHA (Measure of Adolescent Relationship Harassment and Abuse) reflects ADA from the both the perspectives of victim and perpetrator through the use of 39 pairs of questions on the topics of physical, sexual, emotional, and cyber abuse. The hope for this study was to allow researchers, clinicians, and practitioners, in a wide variety of settings and for multiple purposes, ability to assess the prevalence of ADA in a nation, state or neighborhood; conducting etiological research on ADA; evaluating ADA prevention programs; or screening youth for ADA in clinical or criminal justice settings.

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Simple Crosstabs

Educator Sexual Misconduct Database, 2008 - 2010 (ICPSR 36137)

Released/updated on: 2015-08-03
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2008-01-01--2010-01-01
The Educator Sexual Misconduct Database identifies a sample of criminal cases related to educator sexual misconduct (regardless of the specific criminal statute the defendant was ultimately charged under). The sample of cases all involve a defendant who was connected to the victim through their roles as an educator or school staff member, and who are alleged to have had physical sexual contact with a minor. This database provides a sample of criminal cases specific to educator sexual misconduct even if the defendant's custodial relationship to the minor is not specifically referenced in any of the criminal charges. The sample was identified through news media coverage of criminal proceedings based on a content analysis of newspaper archives and court records available in the LexisNexis news. Cases include convictions ranging from improper relationship between educator and student, to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
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Effects of a Middle School Social-Emotional Learning Program on Bullying, Teen Dating Violence, Sexual Violence, and Substance Use in High School, Illinois, 2010-2016 (ICPSR 36726)

Released/updated on: 2018-09-17
Geographic coverage: United States, Illinois
Time period: 2010-01-01--2013-01-01, 2014-01-01--2016-01-01, 2010-01-01--2015-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The purpose of this was to leverage an existing randomized controlled trial of The Second Step anti-bullying program, which was implemented when the sample of students was in middle school, by measuring related aggressive behaviors (e.g. bullying, cyberbullying, sexual violence) during the high school years. The objectives of this study were to determine treatment effects of the Second Step middle school program on reductions in youth aggression (including bullying), sexual violence, substance use, and teen dating violence when in high school, as well as to assess middle school belonging as a mediator of these treatment effects on targeted problem behaviors in high school.

Demographic variables included as part of this collection are students' age, gender, race, and household characteristics. The collection contains 3 SPSS data files:

  • analysis4_de-identified_2.sav (n=2143; 304 variables)

  • RCT-WAVE-1-4-ITEMS_RECODED_de-identified_2.sav (n=4718; 741 variables)

  • RCT---WAVE-5-7-ITEMS_RECODED_de-identified_2.sav (n=3064; 887 variables)

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Effects of Child Maltreatment, Cumulative Victimization Experiences, and Proximal Life Stress on Adult Outcomes of Substance Use, Mental Health Problems, and Antisocial Behavior, 2 Pennsylvania counties, 1976-2010 (ICPSR 36592)

Released/updated on: 2021-04-27
Geographic coverage: Pennsylvania
Time period: 1976-01-01--1977-01-01, 1980-01-01--1982-01-01, 1990-01-01--1992-01-01, 2008-01-01--2010-01-01
The study investigates protective factors for maltreated children and predictors of self-reported crime desistence among maltreated and multiply victimized children. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of children and families that began in the 1970s. The original sample was comprised of 457 children and their families. Over 80 percent of the children, now adults, were most recently assessed in 2010, at an average of 36 years, using a comprehensive, interviewer-administered survey. Data on child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors were collected much earlier, beginning when participants were preschoolers, 18 months to 6 years of age. Childhood data are from multiple sources, including child welfare case observations of parents and children, school records, and parent and adolescent surveys. Data collected during adolescence and adulthood offer detailed accounts of the psychosocial adjustment and well-being of participants and their families at later life stages, ongoing experiences of abuse and victimization, self-reported crime and antisocial behavior, and protection and resilience.
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Efficiency in Processing Sexual Assault Kits in Crime Laboratories and Law Enforcement Agencies, United States, 2013-2014 (ICPSR 36747)

Released/updated on: 2018-11-29
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2013-01-01--2014-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This study presents a research-informed approach to identify the most efficient practices for addressing un-submitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) that accrue in U.S. law enforcement agencies (LEAs) as well as untested SAKs pending analysis in crime laboratories. The study examined intra- and interagency dynamics associated with SAK processing efficiency in a linked sample of crime laboratories. SAK outputs and inputs were assessed for laboratories that conduct biological forensic analysis and LEAs that submit SAK evidence to these laboratories. Production functions were estimated to examine effects of labor and capital inputs, in addition to policies, management systems, and cross-agency coordination on efficiency. Six jurisdictions were recruited for site visits, and qualitative methods were used to understand how LEAs, laboratories, and prosecutors implement practices that affect efficiency.

This study contains 7 data files including:

  1. Crime Lab_Raw.dta (n=147; variables =242)
  2. Crosswalk File.dta (n=2337; variables=2)
  3. lab_analysis_sample_2017-04-06.dta (n=132; variables=92)
  4. LEA Communication LCAs.dta (n=321; variables=15
  5. merged_analysis_file_JH2017-04-30.dta (n=273; variables=117)
  6. policy Class probabilities_LABS.dta (n=139; variables=19)
  7. SAK LAB COMMUNICATION LCA.dta (n=134; variables=15)
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Estimating the Prevalence of Trafficking Among Homeless and Runaway Youth, Georgia, 2017-2018 (ICPSR 37628)

Released/updated on: 2024-02-13
Geographic coverage: United States, Atlanta, Georgia
Time period: 2017-01-01--2018-01-01

The 2018 Atlanta Youth Count (AYC18), a follow-up to the 2015 Atlanta Youth Count and Needs Assessment (AYCNA), was expanded in 2018 to specifically address sex and labor trafficking among youth experiencing homelessness in metro Atlanta. This project was designed to provide impact on court, law enforcement, and victim service practices at the jurisdictional level in Georgia, and beyond.

Homeless youth in metro Atlanta and surrounding counties were contacted through outreach efforts at youth shelters, motels, and street locations where homeless youth tend to congregate. Data collection focused on basic demographic information, history of homelessness, health, sexual experiences, and social supports.

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Evaluating the Cost Effectiveness of the Elder Abuse Forensic Center Model in Los Angeles County, California, 2007-2013 (ICPSR 35484)

Released/updated on: 2017-06-29
Geographic coverage: Los Angeles, California
Time period: 2013-03-07--2013-05-23, 2007-04-01--2009-12-31, 2007-01-01--2011-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This study evaluated the cost effectiveness of the Los Angeles Elder Abuse Forensic Center (EAFC) by examining costs associated elder abuse cases processed under a multidisciplinary team approach. Using data collected in Evaluating the Elder Abuse Forensic Center Model in Los Angeles County, California, 2007-2009 (ICPSR 34979) researchers focused on the key components, participants, and processes necessary to operate the Los Angeles EAFC and identified the costs required to process an elder abuse case as well as the outcomes attained by the EAFC. This study also carried out a survey of Adult Protective Service (APS) social workers on time spent on different case process activity and their perception on efficiency of the Los Angeles EAFC, and collected associated costs estimates.

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Evaluating the Elder Abuse Forensic Center Model in Los Angeles County, California, 2007-2009 (ICPSR 34979)

Released/updated on: 2016-11-30
Geographic coverage: Los Angeles, California
Time period: 2007-04-01--2009-12-31

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) intervention - the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center to: 1) prosecute elder abuse, 2) protect vulnerable older adults through conservatorship, and 3) reduce or prevent recurring cases of abuse. The study used a quasi-experimental design and focused on elder abuse cases involving victims aged 65 or older reviewed at the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center (the Center) between April 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009. These Center cases were compared to a propensity score match sample of Los Angeles County Adult Protective Services (APS) cases. Data were collected from Adult Protective Services case files, District Attorney filings, and Office of the Public Guardian conservatorship records.

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Evaluation of the Elder Abuse Decision Support System (EADSS) in Illinois, 2011-2014 (ICPSR 36097)

Released/updated on: 2017-12-07
Geographic coverage: United States, Illinois
Time period: 2011-09-01--2014-09-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

These data were collected as part of a larger effort to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a new computerized decision support system (Elder Abuse Decision Support System, EADSS) in elder abuse investigation and intervention programs in Illinois. Information on individuals with substantiated allegations of abuse includes basic demographics, physical, mental, and financial condition, and available resources. Variables describing the allegation cover the nature and severity of the abuse. Where possible, the alleged abuser(s) is(are) also evaluated physically, mentally, and financially, in addition to having basic demographics noted.

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Evaluation of Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities in Michigan, 2000-2001 (ICPSR 3414)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Michigan
Time period: 2000-01-01--2001-01-01
In the past few years it has become alarmingly clear that women with disabilities are at an extremely high risk for emotional, sexual, and physical assault. The Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University, in collaboration with the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Michigan, conducted a one-year study to investigate the prevalence and correlates of, and service system capacity related to, domestic abuse among women with physical disabilities in Michigan. The study aimed to address the following research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of domestic violence among a sample of women with physical disabilities? (2) What potential factors for domestic violence exist among women with physical disabilities? and (3) What is the capacity of existing support programs (e.g., safe houses, shelters, and service agencies) to assist women with physical disabilities? The population for this study was women over the age of 18 who had physical disabilities. Consistent with the work of other researchers, physical disabilities in this study were defined as those disabilities that result in functional impairment, such as cerebral palsy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida, amputation, rheumatic conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and stroke. A sample of 177 women was recruited through several mechanisms. To address the question of domestic abuse prevalence, the women participating in the study were first asked to complete a brief questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics and their experience with domestic violence (Part 1, Screening Interview Data). Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women interviewed indicated a positive history of abuse at their initial screening. In order to address the second research question about the correlates of abuse, this subsample of 100 women was invited and encouraged to participate in the second phase of the research, which involved a more extensive interview (Part 2, Abuse Interview Data). The interview used was based on a protocol developed by Nosek (1995) that addressed demographic characteristics, social networks, and abuse history. Variables in Parts 1 and 2 include type of disability, type of personal assistance needed, and whether the respondent was ever physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. Part 2 also contains variables on sources of monthly income, who perpetrated the abuse, the abuser's gender, how long the victim knew the abuser, whether the victim sought assistance from a domestic violence program or shelter, and a description of the worst incident of physical abuse. Demographic variables in Parts 1 and 2 include ethnicity, age, employment status, and marital status.
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Examination of Resident Abuse in Assisted Living Facilities in the United States, 2011 (ICPSR 34575)

Released/updated on: 2016-05-20
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2011-01-01--2011-12-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The purpose of the study was to:

  • Examine resident abuse from staff report by direct care workers in a nationally representative sample of assisted living settings;
  • Expand the scope of our understanding of resident abuse by including medication abuse in assisted living settings; and
  • Use the data collected to examine: a. rates of abuse; b. the association of external organizational, and internal factors with resident abuse; c. direct care worker characteristics associated with abuse; d. resident characteristics associated with abuse; e. leadership characteristics associated with abuse; f. the inter-correlations of different types of abuse; and, g. resident-to-resident abuse.

For the purposes of this research, an assisted living facility is defined as a long term care setting that typically provides residents for activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Using state listings from websites, researchers identified approximately 21,000 of assisting living facilities. A random sample of approximately seven percent (n=1,500) of these eligible assisted living facilities were selected from all 50 states. Administrators of assisted living facilities were asked if they were willing to complete the questionnaire (n=1,376). Administrators were also asked if they would be willing to distribute the questionnaire to direct care workers (n=12,555). Researchers requested that they distribute the survey to all full-time and part-time direct care workers on all shifts. Follow up reminder mailings and emails were used for the administrators.

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Examining Criminal Justice Responses to and Help-Seeking Patterns of Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities, United States, 2008-2013 (ICPSR 36431)

Released/updated on: 2018-08-14
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2008-01-01--2013-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they are received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator if further information is needed.

This mixed methods study examined the criminal justice outcomes and help-seeking experiences of sexual assault survivors with disabilities. The specific objectives of this study were to:

  • Describe criminal justice reporting of sexual assault against persons with disabilities (e.g., number and source of reports, characteristics or survivors and perpetrators, case characteristics, and case outcomes)
  • Assess how cases of sexual assault survivors with disabilities proceeded through the criminal court system.
  • Describe help-seeking experiences of sexual assault survivors with disabilities from formal and informal sources, including influences on how and where they seek help, their experiences in reporting, barriers to reporting, and outcome of this reporting, drawn from interviews with community based survivors and service providers.

The study contains one data file called 'Data_Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities.sav'. This file has 26 variables and 417 cases.

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Expanding Use of the Social Reactions Questionnaire among Diverse Women, Denver, Colorado, 2013-2016 (ICPSR 36776)

Released/updated on: 2018-09-19
Geographic coverage: United States, Colorado, Denver
Time period: 2013-01-01--2016-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ) is a widely used instrument designed to measure perceptions of social reactions. Studies using the SRQ have generally asked women to report on social reactions from "other persons told about the assault," without specifying which persons. The purpose of this study was to test a modified version of the SRQ that asked women to report separately on social reactions from criminal justice personnel, community-based providers, and informal supports. The researchers sought to examine changes in social reactions longitudinally as well as the impact of social reactions on criminal justice engagement and post-traumatic distress among diverse women following a recent sexual assault. The study included testing hypotheses about the inter-relationships among social reactions, victim well-being (e.g., psychological distress), and criminal justice variables (e.g., victim engagement with prosecution). Addressing the dearth of longitudinal research on social reactions, this study examined causal links among variables. In particular, researchers tested hypotheses about changes in social reactions over time in relation to criminal justice cases and victims' post-traumatic reactions.

The data included as part of this collection includes one SPSS data file (2_1-Data_Quantiative-Variables-Updated-20180611.sav) with 3,310 variables for 228 cases. Demographic variables included: respondent's age, race, ethnicity, country of origin, sexual orientation, marital status, education level, employment status, income source, economic level, religion, household characteristics, and group identity. The data also contain transcripts of qualitative interviews and one SPSS qualitative coding dataset (file7-2_4_Data_Open_ended_Codes_from_Transcripts.sav) with 19 variables and 225 cases, which are not included in this fast track release.

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Exploring Women's Histories of Survival of Violence and Victimization in a Midwestern State, 2004-2005 (ICPSR 4579)

Released/updated on: 2008-03-26
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2004-03-01--2005-03-01
This study explored the histories of physical and sexual victimization reported by incarcerated and non-incarcerated women. It sought to identify the survival strategies women activated at various points in their life span. In Phase One, 424 women were interviewed from March 2004 to March 2005 on a variety of topics covering victimization and disclosure experiences and risk and protective factors. Information from those interviews is contained in Part 1, Phase One, Interview Data. In Phase Two, 17 women from the prison and/or the community who had participated in the Phase One interviews were again interviewed in an effort to provide more depth about their experiences of victimization and of the resources, social services, and supports they may have received or not, subsequent to the victimization(s). Information from these qualitative follow-up interviews is contained in Parts 2-18. Variables cover topics such as personal attitudes, health and well-being, relationships with family and friends, coping with stress, emotional health, alcohol and drug use, childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual experiences, services and resources received, traumatic experiences, suicide, resource generating strategies, legal issues, and demographics.
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Formative Evaluation Phase: The Continuum of Housing Services for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence, Baltimore, Maryland, 2019-2021 (ICPSR 38227)

Released/updated on: 2025-12-16
Geographic coverage: Baltimore, United States, Maryland
Time period: 2019-06-01--2020-12-31
Unsafe and unstable housing are among the immediate and longer-term consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV). Significant questions remain as to the most efficient and effective housing models for survivors, particularly for outcomes of revictimization and housing stability. Researchers shared primary data from a prospective study of IPV survivors receiving transitional housing or rapid re-housing at a single program site in Baltimore MD. The study aimed to assess the impact of housing services on safety and housing stability outcomes.
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Impact of the Court Process on Sexually Abused Children in North Carolina, 1983-1986 (ICPSR 9985)

Released/updated on: 1994-02-18
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, United States
Time period: 1983-12-01--1986-06-01
This data collection examines the psychological impact of judicial processes on child sexual abuse victims. More specifically, it provides information on how sexual abuse and the subsequent judicial processes affect the mental health functioning of child victims by assessing the impact of (1) additional harm to victims from out-of-home placement, (2) criminal prosecution of the offender/family member, (3) subject testimony in juvenile or criminal court, and (4) family and professional support for the children. Children were enrolled in the study at the time that social services personnel substantiated claims of sexual abuse, and they were followed for a period of 18 months. Assessments of the mental health functioning of the children were made at the time of initial investigation, five months later, and 18 months later, using a combination of self-reports, parent and teacher reports, and psychological tests. After obtaining informed consent from the parent or guardian, each child was interviewed using a structured psychiatric inventory. The specific impacts of the various judicial processes or interventions under study were examined through comparisons of subgroups of the sample that did and did not experience particular interventions. The interventions included social services investigation, court process, foster placement, and psychological therapy. Other information in the file includes the type of sexual abuse experienced, judicial interventions the child experienced, and the child's level of depression, anxiety, and social adjustment. Demographic variables include age, sex, and race.
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Integrated Approaches to Manage Multi-Case Families in the Criminal Justice System in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Deschutes and Jackson Counties, Oregon, 1999-2005 (ICPSR 20358)

Released/updated on: 2009-07-31
Geographic coverage: Oregon, United States, Arizona
Time period: 1999-01-01--2005-01-01
The project goal was to collect data on approximately 100 Unified Family Court (UFC) cases at each of the three selected jurisdictions -- Maricopa County, Arizona, Deschutes County, Oregon, and Jackson County, Oregon -- that have developed systems to address the special needs of families with multiple court cases. The purpose of the study was to examine research questions related to: (1) dependency case processing and outcomes, (2) delinquency case processing and outcomes, (3) domestic relations/probate case processing and outcomes, and (4) criminal case processing and outcomes. The data used in this study were generated from a review of the court records of 602 families including 406 families served by the UFC as well as comparison groups of 196 non-UFC multi-case families. During the study's planning phase, an instrument was drafted for use in extracting this information. Data collectors were recruited from former UFC staff and current and former non-UFC court staff. All data collectors were trained by the principal investigator in the use of the data collection form. The vast majority of all data extraction required a manual review of paper files. Variables in this dataset are organized into the following categories: background variables, items from dependency/abuse and neglect filings, delinquency filings, domestic relations/probate filings, civil domestic violence/protection order filings, criminal domestic violence filings, criminal child abuse filings, other criminal filings, and variables from a summary across cases.
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International Dating Violence Study, 2001-2006 (ICPSR 29583)

Released/updated on: 2011-08-19
Geographic coverage: Singapore, United States, China (Peoples Republic), England, Scotland, Portugal, Global, Russia, Malta, Greece, Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden, Iran, Brazil, Guatemala, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary, Japan, Tanzania, Switzerland, India, New Zealand, Canada, Venezuela, Belgium, Taiwan, South Africa, Mexico, Israel, Australia, Germany
Time period: 2001-01-01--2006-01-01
The International Dating Violence Study (IDVS) was conducted by a consortium of researchers in 32 nations. It includes data on both perpetration and being a victim of violence. The data were obtained using questionnaires completed by university students in all major world regions. The term "violence" refers to maltreatment of a partner, including physical assault, injury as a result of assault by a partner, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion. The questionnaires, although completed by one person, include data on the behavior of both partners as reported by the student who completed questionnaire. The study questionnaire includes two scales, the Conflict Tactics Scales or CTS (Straus, 1996) to obtain data on violence between the respondent and his or her partner, and the Personal And Relationships Profile (PRP) to obtain data on 25 risk factors for partner violence and a scale to measure "socially desirable" response bias (Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, and Sugarman, 2010). Using the CTS, the respondents were queried about personal and social relationships. This included emotional attachments to partners, parents, and family. They were then asked about conflicts with and opinions of their partner. In addition, they were asked whether or not they attended religious services. Respondents were also queried about conflict with, and anger toward, their partners. Questions included whether the respondent could control his or her anger, how they coped with it, and if they assigned blame for becoming angry to their partner. Further questions focused on communication, including disagreements about relationships with others and with partners. Respondents were further asked if they experienced jealousy and exhibited controlling behavior toward their partner. They were then asked about their personal beliefs and attitudes toward others, including how they interact with people. Respondents were asked about their life satisfaction and emotional state, including whether they have had mood swings, as well as feelings of emptiness and/or depression. Suicidal thoughts or statements were also included in the questions. Respondents were queried about their experiences with fear of past events and whether those experiences still affected their life. Another focus of the CTS was violence and criminal behavior. Respondents were asked about whether they witnessed violence between others, including those within their own families. They were asked about violence they had experienced, their attitudes and beliefs toward violence, violent influences when growing up, and their personal past violent and/or criminal behavior. Another focus of the CTS was sexual abuse. Respondents were queried about sexual abuse experienced in their childhood as well as adulthood, whether that abuse was committed by a family member or within an adult relationship. They were then asked about their attitudes toward the opposite sex and opinions on sexual crime. Another topic included drugs and alcohol. Respondents were asked if they used drugs and alcohol, and whether their level of use was significant enough to endanger their health. The second major instrument in the study, the Personal and Relationships Profile (PRP), examined interpersonal interaction with the partner of the respondent. The scale included items the partner did to the respondent or the respondent did to their partner, as well as the frequency of those incidents over the past year. Items included physical violence such as throwing objects, pushing or shoving, use of weapons, slapping, burning or scalding, and other types of physical assault. Questions regarding verbal abuse were also included, such as name-calling, accusations, and threats. Other communication related questions were also included, such as compromising to reach a solution and respecting the other's opinion. Sexual abuse was another focus of the PRP. Respondents were asked if they used threats, coercion, or force to make their partner have sex, or if their partner did this to the respondent. The data is available in three parts. The first part, the Individual-level dataset, provides data for each respondent. The second part, the Nation-level dataset, was aggregated to create data files in which the cases are the 32 nations where IDVS data was gathered. The third part, the Gender-level dataset, divided respondents for analysis by sex.
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Investigating the Role of Context, Meaning, and Method in Violence Against Women in Atlanta, Georgia, 2000-2002 (ICPSR 25945)

Released/updated on: 2013-12-20
Geographic coverage: United States, Atlanta, Georgia
Time period: 2000-01-01--2002-01-01
The study was conducted to determine the prevalance of physical and sexual victimization, and to develop a new model of victimization. A total of 600 women participated in the study, consisting of two samples: a sample of 403 incarcerated women at the Metro State Women's Prison in Atlanta, Georgia, and a sample of 197 poor urban women in nonemergency health care clinics. Participants were interviewed once for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and answered questions about intimate partner violence (with their most recent partner and/or with a previous partner), physical health, emotional well-being, experiences of traumatic life events, strategic responses to abuse, experiences of child abuse, and other related experiences/knowledge. In addition to self-reports, data was gathered from prison records for the incarcerated sample.
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A Longitudinal Examination of Teen Dating Violence From Adolescence to Young Adulthood, Houston, Texas, 2010-2018 (ICPSR 38322)

Released/updated on: 2022-11-29
Geographic coverage: United States, Texas, Houston
Time period: 2010-01-01--2018-01-01
The Principal Investigator for this project created three SPSS syntax files for the purpose of secondary data analysis utilizing existing data from the study Continuation of Dating It Safe: A Longitudinal Study on Teen Dating Violence, Houston, Texas, 2010-2018 (ICPSR 37170). This study was a longitudinal cohort study of 1,042 youth in southeast Texas surveyed each spring for 7 waves. The purpose of the Dating It Safe study was to examine the longitudinal association between the different forms of physical, psychological, and sexual aggression within teen dating violence (TDV).
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National Former Prisoner Survey, 2008 (ICPSR 31441)

Released/updated on: 2012-08-03
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2008-01-01--2008-10-01

Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, Congress mandated that the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) investigate former prisoners' experiences in prison to assist in understanding the incidence and prevalence of sexual victimization within the prison setting. BJS and its subcontractor, NORC at the University of Chicago, led a national data collection effort focusing on prison sexual assault as reported by former state prisoners.

The focus of the National Former Prisoner Survey (NFPS) was sexual victimization among former state prisoners. The survey was divided into 6 sections. The first two sections were administered using a computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) method and focused on demographic and criminal history information. The remaining sections, covering more sensitive information, were administered using a touch-screen-audio-assisted-computer-self-interviewing (TACASI) method.

Sections A and B of the instrument collected demographic and criminal history information, as well as information on placements during the last continuous incarceration. Sections C and D captured detailed inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization during the last continuous incarceration, including the type of sexual activity, identification of facilities at which such incidents occurred, frequency of occurrences, and other specifics regarding sexual victimization. Section E addressed staff-on-inmate sexual victimization and misconduct, whether considered willing or unwilling, and gathered specifics of activity indicated. The last section, F, focused on the impacts of sexual assault on victimized respondents, as well as parole supervision characteristics for all respondents.

The National Former Prisoner Survey (NFPS) began in January 2008 and concluded in October 2008, and involved the random selection of approximately 250 parole offices across the country using probability proportional-to-size (PPS) sampling procedures. Completed interviews were obtained for 17,738 respondents; supplemental data was collected on all former prisoners sampled in order to develop weights for national estimations.

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National Inmate Survey, 2007 (ICPSR 26361)

Released/updated on: 2012-05-25
Geographic coverage: United States
Data for this study were collected as part of the 2007 National Inmate Survey (NIS), which is comprised of two questionnaires -- a survey of sexual victimization and a survey of past drug and alcohol use and abuse. The survey of sexual victimization resulted in data from 23,398 inmates held in 146 sampled prisons and 40,419 inmates in 282 local jails in the NIS. Respondents were asked if they had been forced or otherwise coerced into any sexual contact with other inmates or facility staff while incarcerated. The respondents were asked about the type of sexual contact, the frequency, when it occurred, and where it occurred. The survey also sought information on any injuries received and treatment obtained for those injuries. Other questions pertained to the reporting of sexual contact -- if it was reported, to whom it was reported, and any results from reporting sexual contact. Respondents were also asked for reasons why they had not reported the sexual contact if no report was made. Background and demographic information collected included reasons for incarceration, sexual history, sexual orientation, marital status, gender, ethnicity, and physical characteristics such as height and weight.
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National Inmate Survey, 2008-2009 (ICPSR 34510)

Released/updated on: 2014-01-15
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2008-01-01--2009-01-01

The National Inmate Survey, 2008-2009 (NIS-2) was conducted in 167 state and federal prisons between October 13, 2008, and March 11, 2009; 286 jails between January 20, 2009, and August 13, 2009; and 10 special (military, Indian country, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)) facilities between May 11, 2009, and December 17, 2009. The data were collected by RTI International under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NIS-2 comprised two questionnaires -- a survey of sexual victimization and a survey of past drug and alcohol use and treatment. Inmates were randomly assigned to receive one of the questionnaires so that at the time of the interview the content of the survey remained unknown to facility staff and the interviewers. A total of 81,566 inmates participated in the survey, including 32,029 inmates in state and federal prisons, 48,066 inmates in jails, 399 inmates in military facilities, 115 inmates in Indian country jails, and 957 inmates in facilities operated by ICE.

The respondents were asked about the type of sexual contact, the frequency, when it occurred, and where it occurred. The survey also sought information on any injuries received and the treatment obtained for those injuries. Other questions pertained to the reporting of sexual contact -- if it was reported, to whom it was reported, and any results from reporting sexual contact. Respondents were also asked for reasons why they had not reported the sexual contact if no report was made. Background and demographic information collected includes reasons for incarceration, sexual history, sexual orientation, marital status, gender, ethnicity, and physical characteristics such as height and weight.

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National Inmate Survey, 2011-2012 (ICPSR 35009)

Released/updated on: 2021-09-27
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2011-01-01--2012-01-01

The National Inmate Survey, 2011-2012 (NIS-3) was conducted in 233 state and federal prisons between February 2011 and May 2012; 358 jails between February 2011 and May 2012; and 15 special (military, Indian country, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)) facilities between February 2011 and May 2012. The data were collected by RTI International under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NIS-3 comprised two questionnaires -- a survey of sexual victimization and a survey of mental and physical health, past drug and alcohol use, and treatment for substance abuse. Inmates were randomly assigned to receive one of the questionnaires so that at the time of the interview the content of the survey remained unknown to facility staff and the interviewers. A total of 81,566 inmates participated in the survey, including 32,029 inmates in state and federal prisons, 48,066 inmates in jails, 399 inmates in military facilities, 115 inmates in Indian country jails, and 957 inmates in facilities operated by ICE.

The NIS-3 was specially designed to provide estimates of sexual victimization for inmates ages 16 to 17 held in adult facilities. Previous NIS collections excluded inmates age 17 or younger due to special human subject issues (related to consent and assent, as well as risk of trauma in the survey process) and statistical issues (related to clustering of youth and the need to oversample to ensure a representative sample). To address issues of consent and risk, the NIS-3 juvenile sample was restricted to inmates ages 16 to 17 (who represented an estimated 95 percent of the 1,790 juveniles held in prisons at year end 2011 and 97 percent of the 5,870 juveniles held in local jails at midyear 2011).

The respondents were asked about the type of sexual contact, the frequency, when it occurred, and where it occurred. The survey also sought information on any injuries received and the treatment obtained for those injuries. Other questions pertained to the reporting of sexual contact -- if it was reported, to whom it was reported, and any results from reporting sexual contact. Respondents were also asked for reasons why they had not reported the sexual contact if no report was made. Background and demographic information collected includes reasons for incarceration, sexual history, sexual orientation, marital status, gender, ethnicity, and physical characteristics such as height and weight. The NIS-3 collected data on the mental health problems of inmates for the first time in 2011-12. Inmates were asked whether they had been told by a mental health professional that they had a mental disorder or if because of a mental health problem they had stayed overnight in a hospital or other facility, used prescription medicine, or they had received counseling or treatment from a trained professional.