Assignment: Socioeconomic Status
Assignment: Socioeconomic Status
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- What percentage of reported, college-aged sexual assault victims are under the influence of drugs or alcohol during an attack?
This question is very specific and measurable. It can be appreciated that the question pertains directly to the percentage of reported sexual assaults as so many sexual assaults go unreported and therefore data cannot be collected on these incidents. One way to attain this information is by collecting self-reports from the victims. The interviewer can simply ask the person is she was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol when attacked. However, self-report is not always accurate due to reasons such as the interviewee feeling shame or guilt. Another way to collect this information is from hospital reports or analysis. However, this information can only be collected if the individual went directly to the hospital after the attack. This information is also reliant on the health care professional testing for this information. Additionally, this method may be very limited due to HIPPA restraints. The individual involved in this research would have to give permission and access to their hospital records, even then it can be difficult to collect this information.
- Does socioeconomic status impact the probability a person will commit a sexual assault in college?
This question is somewhat measurable. Again, the data could only be collected on individuals who have committed sexual assault and actually been caught or identified for their actions. This question again would be based on self-report or other forms of documentation that address the socioeconomic status of an offender. However, it is unsure if this information would provide relevancy to the field of social work as many other factors could contribute to the likelihood that someone commits a crime. Does knowing a person’s socioeconomic status alone make them more likely to commit this crime? Or is it that environmental factors or learned survival skills of those from poorer backgrounds contribute to this behavior? For instance, a person from a poor socioeconomic background could have limited access to a good education and also not be able to spend quality time with their mother due to her having to work multiple jobs. All of these factors together could lead to this person having limited information about consent. Therefore, it is unclear if the actual socioeconomic status of the person increases the probability or the contributing environmental factors to being of this status play in part?
REPLY QUOTE 4 hours ago
Laquita Renwrick RE: Discussion – Week 3
Questions
How has the perpetrator’s relationship with peers been an indicator of sexual violence?
What common experiences exist in the young adulthood stage of acquaintance-rape victims?
Addressing and conducting research on the two questions will contribute to the development of new knowledge about how the perpetrator came to commit illegal acts of violence, the role of social intelligence of the perpetrator, and determining the commonality of experiences during young adulthood. Understanding the behaviors and mentality of the perpetrator and associated peers can lead to the development of more effective interventions. Statistically common, rapist can be repeat offenders, a thorough investigation of social networks by questioning acquaintances that frequent the same bars, parties, fraternities, and other social venues, researchers may reveal previous victims (Lisak & Miller, 2002). Identifying motivational factors and clarifying patterns that lead to sexual violence can aid social workers in formulating interventions to protect potential victims while modifying behaviors of criminal. Research has shown that the date rapist can be undetected , often serial sexual perpetrators, that are never criminalized, therefore making it hard to identify and provide education (Lisak, 2004). Cultivating preventive educational courses for individuals at all chronological/developmental stages of life can decrease criminal transgressions, aid potential victims on social and cognitive skills, while influencing preventive participation of witnesses.
Ethical Issues
Despite the pain the perpetrator has caused or the allegations suspected, this individual is entitled to confidentiality. Social workers are mandated to provide services, promote self-determination, and uphold the dignity and worth of clients against personal opinions and beliefs. The proposed questions require the researcher to dig into the perpetrators social history and gather data. Social workers are mandated with duty to warn potential victims. Social workers are ethical bound to protect confidentiality of the client (perpetrator) unless court ordered and at this time limited information is shared based on the request. Another ethical issue is that the proposition of the questions may appear to favor the issues of the perpetrator over the victim and insinuate that the attacker has influencing factors. As a social worker it is important to examine both ends of sexual violence, hence, understanding the perpetrator is essential and does not influence shaming of the victim.
Criterion validity is used for predicting future behaviors by predicting how a measure predicts the outcome for another measure (or behavior) (Yegidis, Weinbach, & Myers, 2018). This can be used to understand the sexuality and behaviors of perpetrators by using variables in comparison. The criteria used is clarity as it encourages the researcher to gain insight to locate specific relevant information (Bem, 2003). This writer searched for articles that were relevant to sexual assault , repeat offenses, and assaults in college. It is essential when forming questions that the researcher conduct studies that can provide additional information and assist with the formulation of interventions.
