Homicide Arrest Clearances: A Review of the Literature

This is a review of the research literature on homicide arrest clearances or homicides for which no offender is arrested. The article describes the decline in the percent of homicides resulting in arrests and charges from over 90 pecent in 1960 to 61 percent in 2006. Research is reviewed on the reasons for the lack of public attention and concern and the low homicide clearance rates in the USA in comparison with other countries. Research on the extent to which homicides are uncleared because they involve low-status persons and those economically disadvantaged is compared with research suggesting that it is the characteristics of the homicide event that make clearance difficult. It seems that such factors as age, gender, and race/ethnicity play a role in whether the homicide is cleared by arrest. Characteristics of homicides that increase clearances include occurrence in private residences, domestic homicides, and homicide with weapons other than firearms. Research on what police can do to increase clearances is examined. Suggestions on how to increase access to information on how homicide investigations are carried out are also discussed.     

Sibling group treatment

This paper examines a model of treatment for working with sibling groups. It is suggested that the sibling group is rarely considered as a viable treatment entity, yet siblings potentially exert a powerful influence within the family system. Assumptions underlying this model of treatment are examined. As a unit of treatment, sibling groups can be worked with in three ways: (1) as an adjunct to family or adult treatment, (2) as an adjunct to individual child therapy, and (3) by itself. Treatment objectives are described and a case illustration is provided. Finally, limitations and benefits of sibling group treatment are discussed.     

Embodying and enacting disability as siblings: experiencing disability in relationships between young adult siblings with and without disabilities

Abstract

Where one sibling has a disability, research has examined the role of disability in sibling relationships; however, the majority has reflected a normative understanding of sibling relationships and a deficit understanding of disability. Reacting to this history, this paper draws on the concepts of embodiment (absorption of bodily experience into self/identity) and enactment (performance of self/identity) to provide a new way of understanding the role of disability in sibling relationships. Using data from an Australian study of young adult siblings with and without disabilities, the paper discusses how disability is embodied and enacted in: how siblings engage in supportive and conflictual talk and everyday chat with each other; how they enact recreation and seek connection with each other; and how they strive to understand and experience their emotions about each other. The paper ends by discussing how embodiment and enactment allow a clearer understanding of disability in sibling relationships, which may be empowering for siblings.     

Exploring racial variations in the spousal sex ratio of killing

The following article examines differences in the social situation of intimate partners as an explanation of racial differences in the female to male ratio of spousal homicides in Canada. An analysis of homicide data from 1961 to 1983 generated by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics reveals that the ratio of women killing their husbands to men killing their wives is highest for Aboriginals and lowest for Blacks, with the ratio for Whites falling in between. The possible sources of racial differences in this ratio include the proportion of couples (a) in common-law relationships, (b) who are co-residing as opposed to being separated, and (c) for whom there is a substantial age disparity between the partners. These factors are related to the spousal sex ratio of killing more generally. An exploration of interracial homicide patterns and racial variation in jealousy-motivated homicides was also undertaken. The findings reveal that controlling for the above factors substantially reduces the importance of race in predicting the gender of the homicide victim.     

Violence Against the Young: The New Urban Challenges

This article examines the recent deaths of Chicago Public School students. It focuses on the school year between September 2006 and June 2007. At least 30 individuals were killed during that interval. In this school year, the homicides continue at about the same pace. Although violence within the schools had declined and violence (including homicides) was at a lower rate for the city of Chicago, some communities remained vulnerable to this threat. Neighborhood characteristics seem to be contributing factors, but family dynamics and an individual's life style comes into play. The person in the environment that we draw upon in social work has limitations, given new urban problems.     

Still the Favorite? Parents' Differential Treatment of Siblings Entering Young Adulthood

This study examined within‐family stability in parents' differential treatment of siblings from adolescence to young adulthood and the effect of differential treatment in young adulthood on grown siblings' relationship quality. The author used longitudinal data on parent–child and sibling relations from the sibling sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 1,470 sibling dyads). Within‐dyad fixed effects regression models revealed that the adolescent sibling who was closer to parents went on to be the young adult sibling who was closer to and received more material support from parents. Results from an actor–partner interdependence model revealed that differential parental financial assistance of young adult siblings predicted worse sibling relationship quality. These findings demonstrate the lasting importance of affect between parents and offspring earlier in the family life course and the relevance of within‐family inequalities for understanding family relations.     

Alcohol and Substance Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The Role of Siblings

Interpersonal relationships within and outside the family have been a central part of alcohol and substance use research. Many studies have focused on the role of parents and peers; fewer studies have focused on siblings. This article examines siblings’ roles in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use patterns and trajectories in the context of familial and nonfamilial factors across time. First, intraclass correlations were used to examine the degree to which older siblings’ ATOD use was associated with younger siblings’ ATOD use. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which individual, parent, sibling, and peer factors over time were associated with adolescents’ and young adults’ ATOD use. It should be noted that developmentally proximal predictors were utilized in these models and within-family replication was also examined. Results demonstrate strong associations between older and younger siblings’ ATOD use. Moreover, the developmentally proximal sibling variables were predictive of younger sibling ATOD use in the context of other variables across all substances. Study findings are discussed in terms of identifying promising and potentially malleable points of intervention for future investigators.     

Positive sibling transference: Theoretical and clinical dimensions

The sibling dimensions of transference and countertransference have been neglected in favor of a parent-child transference model. This preference for the parent-child model reflected the paternalistic, positivist assumptions of traditional psychoanalysis. Developments of collaborative and postmodern psychoanalytic therapies make the sibling transference more recognizable and understandable. This paper emphasizes the positive sibling transference; possible directions for further exploration of the sibling transference dynamic are indicated. Clinical illustrations are given from child and family therapies.     

“Life Still Isn't Fair”: Parental Differential Treatment of Young Adult Siblings

Parental differential treatment has been linked to individual well‐being and sibling relationship quality in childhood, adolescence, and middle adulthood but has not been examined in young adulthood. Data were collected from 151 pairs of young adult siblings (N = 302, M age = 23.90, SD = 5.02). Two siblings in each family reported on treatment from mothers and fathers, depressive symptoms, and sibling relationship quality. Using multilevel modeling, analyses examined the role of favoritism and the magnitude of differential treatment from both mothers and fathers. Offspring who reported receiving less support relative to their sibling (i.e., less favored) reported more depressive symptoms. Greater amounts of differential treatment were associated with less sibling intimacy. Several associations, however, varied by parent gender, sibling gender composition, and the magnitude of differential treatment. The results suggest that favoritism and magnitude of differential treatment from both mothers and fathers are salient in young adulthood.     

Violence Against Women in the Workplace

Although Employee Assistance Programs often incorporate workplace violence prevention and debriefings into their array of services, rarely has any attention been paid to the risks for workplace violence that female employees face. The prevalence in society of violence against women and the increase in violence at the work site could create a swific risk for women at work. An exploration of this risk was undertaken, using three apparent categories of workulace violence: random criminal (perpetrator unknown to victim). worker (perpetrator works at the same company as victim), and relationship or domestic (perpetrator is a family member or significant other of victim) violence. An analysis of the results of the 1991 Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries indicated that of all women who die on the job, 39% were the victims of assault, whereas only 18% of all male fatalities were murdered at work. Of the female homicides, over three-fourths were acts of random criminal violence. Worker violence and its potential for affecting female employees is discussed. Lastly, the effects of relationship violence entering the workplace are explored through the use of a case study. Information on assessment and prevention techniques useful to the EAP professional is included     

Coroner-reviewed infant and toddler deaths. Many "undetermineds" resemble homicides

Although homicide is a leading cause of death of infants and toddlers, there is some suspicion that an unknown number of additional deaths are unrecognized homicides. The authors used California mortality data from 1969 to 1991 to examine 12,246 injury deaths that occurred before age 5. Characteristics of the dead child, injury event, and postmortem were compared for accidents, homicides, and undetermined deaths. A logistic model was developed to differentiate homicides from accidental deaths and then was used to predict whether undetermined deaths were likely to be homicides or accidents. Unlike accidental deaths, undetermineds and homicides had similar distribution patterns of age, race, sex, and place of injury. The predictive model indicates that 43.8% of the undetermined injury deaths were similar to homicides on several characteristics. True rates of homicide for infants and toddlers may, unfortunately, be nearly one fifth and one tenth higher, respectively, if the undetermined deaths that resemble homicides are taken into account.     

Associations between Family Communication Patterns, Sibling Closeness, and Adoptive Status

Previous research has demonstrated the protective effect of family and sibling closeness on child adjustment, but fewer studies have investigated how closeness is promoted within families. Guided by Family Communication Patterns Theory, we tested the association between family communication and sibling emotional and behavioral closeness, and whether adoptive status moderated this relationship. Participating families included 616 adoptive and non-adoptive families with two adolescent children. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Sibling closeness was highest in families that emphasized both conversation and conformity and lowest in families that emphasized only conversation or neither conversation nor conformity. Emotional and behavioral closeness were differentially associated with adoption status, sibling age, and sibling gender. Few moderating effects of adoption status were found. Post hoc analyses showed moderating effects of sibling gender composition.     

Family socioeconomic status and sibling correlations in upper secondary education. An empirical analysis of educational inequalities in Italy

The study examines the educational inequalities in upper secondary education in Italy, with a focus on the vertical dimension of school enrolment and the horizontal dimension of track and curriculum choice. To measure the importance of family background, we use the estimation of sibling correlations, which has seldom been used in the analysis of track choice in upper secondary education. Using data from the Italian Labor Force Survey 2005–2020 (ILFS), which includes detailed information on household characteristics such as the gender composition of siblings and parental education and occupational status, we find that around half of the variation in the probability of attending upper secondary school in Italy is related to the family of origin. We also show that comparing sibling correlations on binary outcomes should be complemented by additional statistics, such as variances at the individual and family levels and proportions of enrolled sibling pairs. For upper secondary school enrolment, advantaged families have a relatively lower sibling correlation due to minor variations at both individual and family levels. However, in terms of track choice, the sibling correlation is relatively higher for enrolment in the academic track compared to the technical and vocational tracks. Additionally, with respect to the attendance of science/technical curricula within each track, the results indicate a lower sibling correlation for the academic track than for the other two tracks, which suggests that individual characteristics have a greater impact than family background when these outcomes are considered.     

Sibling Relationships in Adoptive and Fostering Families: A Review of the International Research Literature

This paper presents a review of the international research literature published since 2005 focusing specifically on sibling relationships in fostering and adoptive families. It presents an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding sibling relationships of fostered and adopted children as well as gaps and limitations. The review concludes that while methodological advances are apparent in this body of work siblinghood is poorly conceptualised and there has been inadequate attention to the perspectives of children. The paper goes on to suggest that one possible source of insight comes from recent work undertaken within social anthropology and sociology and the application of this theoretical and methodological approach to the study of siblinghood in out‐of‐home care is considered.     

Am I My Brother's Keeper: Adult Siblings Raising Younger Siblings

Adult siblings raising their younger siblings is a family configuration that rarely comes to mind; yet, in the United States adult siblings are the third largest relative caregiver group. The experiences of a sample of 77 adult siblings raising 154 younger siblings are described. The findings revealed that adult sibling caregivers may have multiple unmet service needs but they have a relatively high degree of parenting ability, which is increased by the availability of religious-based services, availability of friends and neighbors, and the ability to network with other caregivers. Additionally, adult siblings who are parenting a younger sibling who has special needs are more likely to commit to adopting that sibling. Social work practice strategies that can be used to address the service needs of adult sibling caregivers are provided.     

Sibling relationships of youth in foster care: A predictor of resilience

Few empirical investigations have been conducted examining sibling relationships among youth in foster care, and even fewer have explored relationship warmth as a protective factor. With a sample of 246 youth from a non-profit organization's summer camp program, Camp To Belong, this study examined the association between a warm sibling relationship and resilience for youth in foster care. A warm sibling relationship significantly predicted individual resilience for both middle childhood and adolescence developmental periods. Younger youth with poorer sibling relationship warmth had lower resilience. The implications of these findings are important given that resilience is a factor associated with improved outcomes in the face of adversity. The promotion of sibling relationships, a readily available resource, can be drawn upon by those in clinical practice to improve outcomes for youth in foster care.     

'But she didn't say no': an exploration of sibling sexual abuse

Sibling sexual abuse often causes polarities of view in professional and client groups alike. These views range from seeing it as benign to damaging. For professionals new to the field this paper gives an overview of the discussion that sibling sexual abuse is as traumatic as parental sexual abuse, and has lasting impact on its victims. Recognising the particular dynamics of sibling sexual abuse and effect on victims raises the challenge of case management in families where it occurs. This paper will explore this challenge within the New South Wales context.     

Sibling Facilitation Mediates the Association Between Older and Younger Sibling Alcohol Use in Late Adolescence

Previous research has shown adolescent siblings are similar in their alcohol use and that this similarity is largely due to their shared environment. Using a genetically informed sibling sample (196 full‐biological pairs, 384 genetically unrelated pairs), we confirmed that the extent to which older siblings facilitate younger siblings' alcohol use (i.e., help them get alcohol) was one factor contributing to this shared environmental association. All analyses controlled for parent and peer influences. Findings were not moderated by sibling differences in genetic relatedness, gender, or ethnicity. Proximity in sibling age strengthened these associations, somewhat. Results were especially strong for sibling pairs where the older sibling was of legal drinking age. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Predictors of Heterosexual Siblings’ Acceptance of Their Lesbian Sister or Gay Brother

Research has shown that lesbian and gay (LG) individuals are coming out not only to their parents, but also to their siblings. Eighty percent of individuals in the United States are raised with one or more siblings; however, researchers have frequently underestimated the importance of the sibling bond. This study examined potential correlates of heterosexual siblings’ acceptance of their LG sister or brother using an online survey format (N = 189). In addition, psychometric properties for the Acceptance of Sibling Sexual Orientation Scale are provided. Results revealed that greater sibling relationship quality in adulthood, more contact with LG individuals, greater knowledge of LG communities, more support for LG civil rights, and various demographics (being female, having higher educational levels, not having an orthodox/fundamentalist religious orientation, less church attendance, and more liberal political ideology) are related to heterosexual siblings’ acceptance of their LG sister or brother. However, when these variables were examined together in a regression model, only sibling relationship in adulthood, contact with LG individuals, support for LG civil rights, and religious attendance were significant unique predictors of acceptance.