Four studies examined the relation between trust and loneliness. Studies 1, 2, and 3 showed that trust beliefs negatively predicted changes in loneliness during early childhood (5-7 years), middle childhood (9-11 years), and young adulthood (18-21 years). Structural equation modeling yielded support for the hypothesis that the relation between trust beliefs and loneliness was mediated, in part, by social disengagement, which varied by age and gender. Study 4 showed that when young adults were primed for distrust rather than for trust cognitions, they showed greater withdrawal (loneliness) affect, lower willingness to disclose, and less perceived success in achieving rapport. The findings yielded support for the hypotheses that (a) low trust beliefs promote loneliness from childhood to adulthood and (b) social disengagement and cognitive schema mechanisms account for the relation.

This is a repository copy of Exploring the practices of steal-to-order burglars: a different brand of offender?.

Based on semi-structured interviews with 23 incarcerated burglars, this paper details findings from a qualitative examination into how the principles of Optimal Forager Theory (to minimise time and effort, minimise risk of detection, and maximise reward) apply to the behavioural methods utilised by offenders.Findings included the use of 'serial targets' (to minimise time and effort), as well as offenders' ability to 'blend in' to their surroundings (to minimise risk of detection). To maximise reward, offenders used brands of consumables (evident from packaging found in residents' rubbish) as a proxy for wealth, as well as personal details gathered through residents' discarded mail to establish their ethnicity (for the targeting of Asian gold). The findings support the notion of 'dysfunctional expertise', and demonstrate how efforts to maximise time and effort, minimise reward, and maximise risk of detection for offenders can be used to develop crime prevention policy to reduce future burglaries.

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