On hate crime victimization: Rates, types, and links with suicide risk among sexual orientation minority special interest group members.

Hate crimes remain pressing traumatic events for sexual orientation minority adults. Previous literature documents patterns in which hate crime victimization is associated with elevated risk for poor mental health. The present paper held 2 aims to advance literature. First, we investigated the rates and types of hate crime victimization among sexual orientation minority adults. Second, adopting a mental health amplification risk model, we evaluated whether symptoms of depression, impulsivity, or post-traumatic stress exacerbated the hate crime victimization-suicide risk link. Participants were 521 adult sexual orientation minority-identifying members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (i.e., a bondage and discipline, and sadomasochism-identifying sexuality special interest group). Participants completed demographic and mental health inventories via online administration. Results showed: (1) low rates of total lifetime hate crime victimization and (2) higher rates of interpersonal violence compared to property crime victimization within the sample. Regression results showed: (1) independent positive main effects of all 3 mental health symptom categories with suicide risk; (2) an interaction pattern in which impulsivity was positively associated with suicide risk for non-victims; and (3) an interaction pattern in which post-traumatic stress was positively associated with suicide risk for hate crime victims and non-victims. Results are discussed concerning implications for trauma-informed mental healthcare, mental health amplification models, and hate crime and suicide prevention policies.

Suicide Prevention in Correctional Settings: Current Standards and Recommendations for Research, Prevention, and Training.

Inmates remain a vulnerable group at elevated risk for suicide, especially in light of stresses associated with incarceration. Despite the elevated risk for inmates, suicide prevention practices in corrections remain tenuous at best. The present article reviews literature on risk and protective factors for suicide among inmates as well as current recommended best practices. It then provides directions for suicide prevention provision, training, and research in correctional settings. These include adaptations for security staff of current empirically supported models of suicide risk training and intervention.

Attorney beliefs concerning scientific evidence and expert witness credibility.

Expert witnesses play a pivotal role in offering a variety of scientific evidence at trial. Although judges are the ultimate gatekeepers of what constitutes valid scientific evidence, attorneys play an important part in determining what evidence is presented to the court. Employing experimental and descriptive analyses, the present study sought to address gaps in the attorney/expert witness literature by addressing three questions: One) To what extent do attorneys prefer forensic or social scientific evidence and experts?, Two) How knowledgeable are attorneys concerning empirically-supported indicators of expert credibility?, Three) What do attorneys believe concerning the frequency and nature of expert errors in their own trials relative to others? Results showed that attorneys prefer forensic science evidence and experts compared to social/psychological counterparts. Moreover, attorneys displayed considerable knowledge of factors that will impact perceived expert credibility. In particular, attorneys value perceived expert trustworthiness, communication skills, content of testimony/reports, perceived expert knowledge, and years and type of expert experience. Finally, attorneys displayed a consistent and strong self-serving bias pattern, such that they believe expert errors occur more much frequently in other attorneys' cases compared to their own. Implications are discussed with respect to vetting expert witnesses, scientific evidence/errors and wrongful conviction, and training for attorneys.

A mock juror investigation of blame attribution in the punishment of hate crime perpetrators.

We examined blame attribution as a moderator of perceptions of hate crimes against gay, African American, and transgender victims. Participants were 510 Texas jury panel members. Results of vignette-based crime scenarios showed that victim blame displayed significant negative, and perpetrator blame significant positive, effects on sentencing recommendations. Also as hypothesized, victim and perpetrator blame moderated the effect of support for hate crime legislation. Interaction patterns suggested that both types of blame attribution influence sentencing recommendations, but only for participants disagreeing with hate crime legislation. Three-way interactions with victim type also emerged, indicating that the effects of both types of blame attribution show particular influences when the victim is gay, as opposed to transgender or African American. Implications for attribution theory, hate crime policy, and jury selection are discussed.