Sexual violence is a serious issue, particularly on college campuses, and many sexual assaults among college students involve alcohol consumption. Universities have begun implementing sexual violence prevention programs on their campuses, but many do not examine their programs to determine if they are actually effective in increasing students' knowledge on consent and therefore reducing rates of sexual violence on their campuses. This study examines a sexual violence prevention program at Arizona State University called Consent 101, given by the ASU Wellness Department. This research seeks to determine if attending the presentation increases students' knowledge about the conditions of consent; specifically, if students are more likely to correctly answer a question regarding sobriety and consent after viewing the presentation. The hypothesis is that attending the Consent 101 presentation increases the likelihood that students will perceive that people must be sober in order to consent to sexual activities. A survey was used to test students' knowledge about consent and sexual violence, as well as their attitudes. Some students took the survey prior to attending the presentation while others took it after, allowing the groups to be compared to determine effectiveness. This study specifically focuses on whether students correctly choose true, incorrectly choose false, or choose don't know when given the statement "people must be sober in order to give valid consent to sex". There were 685 participants in the study. The "before" group contained 59% of the total participants, while the "after" group contained 41%. In the before group, 87.1% correctly answered true, 6.43% incorrectly answered false, and 6.18% answered don't know. In the after group, 85.71% answered true, 12.09% answered false, and 2.13% answered don't know. The results were significant and the hypothesis was not supported, meaning students were more likely to incorrectly answer the question after the presentation than before. There are multiple explanations for why this was found, including: different pre- and post-groups, misinterpreting the question and resistance to consent education. Ideas for future research and ways to increase effectiveness are provided.

Child development scholars have demonstrated a host of negative outcomes of child physical abuse, including emotional problems, delinquency, and future victimization. However, it is unclear if child physical abuse during childhood is related to subsequent violent victimization during youth and young adulthood. Building on routine activity theory and prior research, and using data collected from 2,245 individuals in Changzhi, China, this study examines if the experience of child physical abuse is positively related to violent victimization in youth and young adulthood, and if the relationship between child physical abuse and violent victimization is mediated by an individual’s routine activities. The results from negative binomial regressions support routine activity theory. The implications of the findings for theory, research and practice are discussed.

Maternal cigarette smoking and marijuana use during pregnancy are risk factors that can adversely affect offspring. Although a large body of empirical literature has examined the adverse health effects of maternal cigarette smoking and marijuana use during pregnancy, few studies have looked at criminological factors associated with prenatal cigarette smoking and marijuana use. This thesis uses strain theory and social learning theory to explain a number of underlying mechanisms behind why some pregnant women decide to smoke tobacco and marijuana cigarettes during pregnancy. Previous drug involvement before pregnancy is also used to determine if it is a predictor of maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy. Logistic regression was used to analyze data collected from the 1988 National Pregnancy and Infant Health Survey. This data set consists of information gathered from three different national samples of maternal and infant data occurring in 1988, which included 13,417 live births, 4,772 fetal deaths, and 8,166 infant deaths. The mothers in the sample were mailed questionnaires. Results showed that pregnant women who have unexpected pregnancies and experience financial hardship during pregnancy are more likely to smoke cigarettes and use marijuana during pregnancy, which is consistent with the general strain theory. Results also indicate that pregnant women who live in households with other people who smoke are more likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy, which may be explained by social learning, and that women who use illegal drugs are less likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy, even after controlling for strain and social learning. The practical and theoretical implications for this research are discussed.

Research examining the long-term impacts of federal interventions under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act on correctional institutions has been scant. The result has been a failure to understand the sustainability of reforms aimed at protecting the civil rights of confined persons. This dissertation examined the long-term reforms at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections following a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice from 2004 to 2007. Interviews were conducted with current and former ADJC employees, juvenile justice advocates across Arizona, and county court representatives to determine how each of these groups perceived the status of the reforms at the ADJC. The findings of the current dissertation suggest that long-term reforms following consent decrees imposed on correctional institutions are possible. At the ADJC, the methods for securing the reform required that the agency reform its culture, implement a Quality Assurance process, revamp the Investigations and Inspections unit at the agency, and consider the perspectives of external agencies. One of the primary reasons why the department has been committed to making these reforms is because of the perceived loss of legitimacy and resources that would occur if they failed to reform. Such a failure for the agency could have potentially resulted in a closure of the agency. However, the increase in punitive and preventive policies used to enforce the reforms may have negative repercussions on the organizational culture in the long term. Policy implications for future CRIPA consent decrees are outlined, limitations are addressed, and suggestions for future research are made.