LanguageTerm (authority = ISO 639-3:2007); (type = text)
English
Abstract (type = abstract)
Close relationships can influence one’s idea of who they are. Close relationships in which people engage in frequent and positive experiences with each other can lead people to associate with the social groups that belong to the other person. This process can occur both implicitly, or automatically and explicitly, or consciously. The overarching goals of this doctoral dissertation research are to test whether direct relationships and indirect experiences with criminals leads individuals to implicitly and/or explicitly associate with the social group criminal, and to examine the conditions under which implicit and explicit associations with the group criminal may be strengthened. Across three studies, including two experimental studies, this dissertation tests the general hypotheses that participants who have either direct relationships or indirect experiences with offenders will exhibit stronger implicit, but not explicit associations with the group criminal compared to those without such relationships, and; that among participants who have relationships with offenders, participants who are reminded of their past positive experiences will exhibit stronger implicit but not explicit associations with the group criminal compared to participants who are not reminded of such experiences. These hypotheses will be tested across three samples of non-criminal people who have relationships with offenders. Study 1 utilizes a sample of friends and family members of offenders, Study 2 utilizes a sample of parole officers, and Study 3 utilizes a sample of criminal justice students. Results showed that among participants who had personal relationships with offenders, participants who were reminded of a past experience, regardless of the type of reminder, and felt close to an offender exhibited stronger implicit associations with the group criminal in comparison to participants who were not reminded of a past experience. Further, parole officers who were reminded of positive experiences exhibited stronger implicit associations with the group criminal in comparison to those who were reminded of negative experiences. Collectively, this dissertation research may support efforts to improve relationships between non-criminal others and offenders and improve the overall well-being of non-criminal others who have relationships with offenders. In addition, this research may also support efforts to create relationships which facilitate desistance.
Subject (authority = local)
Topic
Desistance
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Criminal Justice
Subject (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Criminals -- Friends and associates
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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