IU Columbus Division of Liberal Arts

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Browsing IU Columbus Division of Liberal Arts by Author "Desmond, Scott A."

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    “Every Sinner Has a Future”: Religiosity, Future Orientation, Self-Control, and Marijuana Use
    (MDPI, 2022-02) Desmond, Scott A.; IUPUC School of Liberal Arts
    Based on previous research, I hypothesize that religious adolescents living in the United States are more likely to have a future orientation (i.e., they are more likely to think about the future), which in turn contributes to their greater self-control. I also hypothesize that a future orientation and self-control mediate the effect of religious service attendance and importance of religion on adolescent marijuana use. Based on the second wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), I find partial support for these hypotheses. Adolescents who believe that religion is important are more likely to think about the future, and adolescents who attend religious services frequently are less likely to use marijuana. Contrary to expectations, however, adolescents who think more about the future have lower self-control and thinking about the future and self-control do not explain the relationship between religious service attendance and marijuana use. The results also suggest that adolescents who identify as spiritual but not religious have lower self-control, and use marijuana more frequently compared to adolescents who do not identify as spiritual but not religious.
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    Mis-Framing of Sex Trafficking in News Reports: Crimes, Offenders, and Victims
    (IGI Global, 2022) Morris, Pamela L.; Desmond, Scott A.; IUPUC Liberal Arts
    Media shapes public perceptions about sex trafficking; how and under what circumstances sex trafficking occurs and by who and to whom are framed by news reports. This study examines a four-year span of U.S. news reports of law enforcement and judicial actions against sex traffickers (2017-2021). Articles were coded to determine the frames presented to readers. The results confirm that journalists continue to reduce trafficking to a crime problem, over-represent certain kinds of victims and perpetrators, and fail to educate readers about the definition of, causes of, and remedies for sex trafficking. Such reporting needs to improve the way it educates audiences about causes, solutions, perpetrators, and survivors. This is vital to better prepare the public—and law enforcement—to participate in combatting sex trafficking through reporting, funding services, and shaping effective public policy.
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    Secrets and Lies: Adolescent Religiosity and Concealing Information from Parents
    (MDPI, 2019) Desmond, Scott A.; IUPUC Division of Liberal Arts
    There is very little research on the relationship between adolescent religiosity and concealing information from parents, although research on religiosity and family life is plentiful. Therefore, I used the second wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion to examine the relationship between adolescent religiosity and lying to parents and keeping secrets from parents. The results suggest that adolescents who attend religious services more often are less likely to keep secrets from parents, whereas adolescents who believe that religion is important are both less likely to lie to parents and keep secrets from parents. Being spiritual, but not religious, is not related to lying to parents or keeping secrets from parents. Results also suggest that primarily alcohol use, substance using peers, and morality mediate the effect of adolescent religiosity on lying to parents and keeping secrets from parents. Adolescents who attend religious services often and believe that religion is important are less likely to use alcohol, less likely to have friends that use substances, and are more likely to believe that moral rules should not be broken, which helps to explain why they are less likely to lie to parents and keep secrets from parents.