Handbook of Community Sentiment

Monica Miller, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Social Psychology and also the department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is also affiliated with the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies and the Women’s Studies program at UNR. Monica has written two books (most recently “God in the Courtroom” which was published by Oxford University Press in 2009), has edited two books (most recently “Stress and Wellbeing in the Courtroom,” expected in 2012 from Oxford University Press), and has published dozens of articles, many on topics related to this book. Together with Jared Chamberlain, she is currently editing a book for Oxford University Press called “Developmental psychology, law, and the wellbeing of children.” The volume focuses on the developmental issues related to legal actions affecting children. Monica is co-editor of the Psychology and Crime book series published by New York University Press and is on the editorial board of the journal Psychology, Crime, and Law. Jeremy A. Blumenthal, J.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. He is Affiliate Faculty in the Psychology Department at Syracuse University and a Research Associate at the Maxwell School of Public Policy. Blumenthal is an editor of the treatise Modern Scientific Evidence, and has published widely in legal and psychological journals on a variety of topics, a number of which examine public perceptions and community sentiment. Jared Chamberlain, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Phoenix. Jared has published several articles in the area of psychology and the law and has extensive experience editing graduate level work (e.g., dissertations and manuscripts). Together with Monica Miller, Jared is currently editing a book for Oxford University press called “Developmentalpsychology, law, and the wellbeing of children.” The volume focuses on the developmental issues related to legal actions affecting children.

Section I:An Introduction to Community Sentiment.- 1. “There Ought to be a Law!”: Understanding Community Sentiment.- 2.The Influence of Media and Community Sentiment on Policy Decision-Making.- 3.Methods and Measures Used in Gauging Community Sentiment.- Section II: Measuring Community Sentiment.- 4.Using Mock Jury Studies to Measure Community Sentiment toward Child Sex Abusers.- 5.Using Secondary Survey Data to Study Community Sentiment: An Example Examining Sentiment toward Income Based on Family Needs.- 6.Understanding how Individual Differences are Related to Community Sentiment toward Safe Haven Laws Using a Student Sample.- 7.Using Mail Surveys to Assess Perceptions of Law Enforcement Officers and Prosecuting Attorneys Regarding Parental Involvement Laws.- Section III: Changing Community Sentiment.- 8.Understanding Changes in Community Sentiment about Drug Use during Pregnancy using a Repeated Measures Design.- 9.Sentiment toward Same-Sex Divorce.- 10.Changing the Sentiment of those the Law Affects: Federal Marriage Promotion Programs.- 11.How Attitude Functions, Attitude Change, and Beliefs affect Community Sentiment toward the Facebook Law.- Section IV: Community Sentiment and Perceptions of Justice.- 12.Promoting Positive Perceptions of Justice by Listening to Children’s Sentiment in Custody Decisions.- 13.Same-Sex Parents’ Sentiment about Parenthood and the Law: Implications for Therapeutic Outcomes.- 14.Is There a Therapeutic Way to Balance Community Sentiment, Student Mental Health, and Student Safety to Address Campus-Related Violence?.- Section V: Community Sentiment and the (Sometimes Unintended) Outcomes of Legal Actions.- 15.Unintended Consequences of Policy Responses to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Civil Commitment and Community Sentiment in North Dakota.- 16.Adult Consequences for Juvenile Behavior: Does Sentencing Policy Aimed at Serious Adult Behavior Cast too Wide a Net?.- 17.An Examination of Sex Offender Registrationand Notification Laws: Can Community Sentiment Lead to Ineffective Laws?.- 18.Silver Alert Programs: An Exploration of Community Sentiment Regarding a Policy Solution to Address the Critical Wandering Problem in an Aging Population.- Section VI: Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions.- 19.Future Directions in the Study of Community Sentiment toward Legal Actions Affecting Children and Families.