The present study examined the effects of executive function (i.e., EF) and anger/hostility on the relationship between stress (across individual stress domains, as well as at the aggregate level) and aggression. Two independent groups of participants-a college sample and a low-income community sample-were administered a battery of self-report measures concerning the subjective experience of stress, aggressive behaviors, and feelings of state anger and hostility in the last month, along with a battery of well-validated neuropsychological tests of EF. Across both samples, the stress domains that demonstrated the strongest associations with aggression were those involving chronic strains of daily living (e.g., job, financial, health) versus interpersonal stressors (e.g., family, romantic). In the community sample, analyses also revealed a significant interaction between perceived stress (aggregated across domains) and EF in predicting aggressive behavior. Specifically, participants with relatively low EF abilities, across different EF processes, showed a stronger relationship between different domains of stress and aggression in the last month. Similar effects were demonstrated in the college sample, although the interaction was not significant. In both samples, experiences of anger and hostility in the last month mediated the relationship between perceived stress (aggregate) and aggressive behavior among those low, but not high, in EF. These findings highlight the importance of higher-order cognitive processes in regulating appropriate affective and behavioral responses across different types of individuals, particularly among those experiencing high levels of stress.

To study differences in the effects of stress exposure and affective responding on aggression in men and women, the authors examined the effects of an acute stressor (air blast) on subsequent aggressive behavior, measured as the intensity of shocks men and women delivered to a putative employee. The authors measured participants' affective responding using the startle reflex. Results showed that although men and women did not differ in their startle responses to the actual stressor, high stress led to contrasting patterns of subsequent aggressive behavior. Women under high stress responded with less aggression than women under low stress, whereas men exposed to high stress exhibited increases in aggression relative to those under low stress. Affective responding during the stressor differentially modulated aggression in men and women: Startle responses predicted increasing levels of aggression in men and less aggression in women. These findings suggest that although men and women show similar basic affective processing in response to stressors, the behavioral profiles associated with stress differ in men and women. These findings have implications for understanding gender differences in the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology.

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Correctional officers (COs) are vital to prison safety. While focused on security, some believe COs should also be trained to engage in the rehabilitation of incarcerated persons by offering motivation and support. This study examined incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs working in a prison-based therapeutic community (TC). Data were gathered through qualitative interviews with individuals detained in a state correctional system for men. Findings revealed several themes related to incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs’ knowledge toward treatment, their experiences and interactions with COs, and recommendations about how to improve the role of COs as therapeutic agents of change. Practical opportunities for implementing correctional research and practice using a positive criminology perspective are considered.

This article describes the experience and outcomes of the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies 2 Improving Best Practices in Assessment and Case Planning for Offenders protocol in the state of New Jersey. The protocol was designed to test the effectiveness of an Organizational Process Improvement Intervention in improving four assessment and case planning domains for drug-involved offenders in correctional settings transferring to community treatment based agencies. This article describes the protocol and the change team model process through which correctional and community agency staff collaborated to improve assessment and case planning for offenders with substance abuse problems. The primary goal of these collaborative efforts was to link information across stages of the treatment continuum to improve service coordination. Data taken from qualitative interviews with agency participants are used to illustrate the common themes that emerged relating to the intervention process, barriers to implementing developed goals, and facilitative factors that contributed to successes. The findings from the current study provide indication that organizational process improvement strategies can be implemented within a correctional setting to reduce interorganizational barriers and to facilitate improvements in the continuum of care involved in the treatment of offenders with histories of substance abuse.