Wendy Regoeczi | Cleveland State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Wendy Regoeczi

Research into the relationship between housing and health has frequently been narrowly focused, f... more Research into the relationship between housing and health has frequently been narrowly focused, fragmented, and of marginal practical relevance to either housing or health studies. Population health research, in its reference to the importance of the social and physical environment, rarely mentions housing.

MethodsX, 2021

This article presents a method of conducting a scoping review that synthesizes recommendations fr... more This article presents a method of conducting a scoping review that synthesizes recommendations from previous literature while contributing additional customizations to enhance a team-based, mixed method approach. A form of knowledge synthesis, scoping reviews aim to describe the breadth of an existent knowledge base and inform future research, practice, and policy. Scoping review methodology has continued to evolve since the inception of the Arksey and O’Malley Framework in 2005. After examining recommendations from the body of literature on scoping review methodology and scoping reviews about scoping reviews, we found that teamwork and mixed method approaches were rarely addressed. Following the Arksey and O’Malley Framework, we discuss current recommendations within the literature, rationale for our customizations to enhance the method, and present an application of these customizations as illustrated in our companion article, “Outcomes and outputs affiliated with children’s advocacy centers in the United States: A scoping review.”In sum, our enhancements to the Arksey and O’Malley Framework:• Explicitly integrate qualitative and quantitative assessment of the literature following best practices in mixed methods research, and,• Integrate a team-based approach throughout all stages of the scoping review process.

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2021

BACKGROUND The Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) model is the predominant multidisciplinary mo... more BACKGROUND The Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) model is the predominant multidisciplinary model that responds to child sexual abuse (CSA) in the United States (US). While the CAC model has made important contributions in case coordination and referrals for specialty services, little is known about child- or family-oriented outcomes. OBJECTIVE Explore the trends and gaps involving outcome and output measures affiliated with CACs in the US. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING A scoping review of the literature was conducted on English language articles published between 1985-2019 that involved CACs and children less than 18 years of age. METHODS An electronic database search using the terms "Children's Advocacy Center(s)," "Child Advocacy Center(s)," and "CAC(s)" identified titles and abstracts. Data from articles selected for full text review were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team using a mixed methods approach. RESULTS Measures of CAC impact frequently focus on service and programmatic outputs with person-centered outcomes left often reported. The most prevalent output measures related to case prosecution and forensic interviews. Person-centered outcomes most commonly emphasized child mental health and caregiver satisfaction. The majority of articles were limited by weak or unspecified study designs. CONCLUSION The current literature on CACs suggests that while they are successful in coordinating services and facilitating referrals, little is known about how engagement with CACs impacts short- and long-term outcomes for children and families. Further research beyond cross sectional or quasi-experimental designs is necessary to better understand how variability in CAC structure, function, and resources can be optimized to meet the needs of the diverse communities that they serve. This is especially salient given the national dissemination of the CAC model. Without such additional studies, knowledge will remain limited regarding the enduring impacts of CACs on the lives of those impacted by CSA.

Journal of Family Violence, 2020

Stalking cases have long presented challenges for the criminal justice system. The end result has... more Stalking cases have long presented challenges for the criminal justice system. The end result has been low conviction rates for stalking offenses and frustration for stalking victims. To date, little is known regarding the perspectives of criminal justice and community advocacy agencies in working with stalking perpetrators and victims and how these could inform practice and future research. We conducted interviews with individuals in the different agencies involved in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio criminal justice system and well as the victim service organizations that work with stalking victims in the county. We collected information about their perceptions of stalking victims, what obstacles exist to addressing their needs, what changes are needed to increase the charging and prosecution rates for stalking cases, and how different system players draw distinctions between stalking and domestic violence offenders. Key findings include the significant discrepancy perceived between the public's view of stalking and actual stalking behavior, the varied views of what constitutes a typical stalking victim, the wide range of needs of stalking victims, the challenges to charging and prosecuting stalking cases, and the burden placed on victims in these cases. We conclude by discussing obstacles that exist for victims seeking help from the criminal justice system for stalking behavior and provide suggestions for education and training that could lead to more effective stalking policy and practice. The study concludes with recommendations for future research on stalking.

Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2018

Research on homicides followed by suicides has relied heavily on small samples and relatively sho... more Research on homicides followed by suicides has relied heavily on small samples and relatively short time spans of data. This study helps to fill this gap by examining 26 years of homicide-suicide data from Cuyahoga County, Ohio, between 1991 and 2016. The main data source for the study is medical examiner files. Analyses of the data indicate the rate of homicide-suicide in Cuyahoga County is consistent with other studies but fluctuates considerably across years studied. The majority of victims are female while perpetrators are overwhelmingly male. Black people are overrepresented as victims and offenders. Use of drugs and/or alcohol leading up to the incident is common among perpetrators. Both the homicides and suicides were overwhelming committed with firearms. When comparing our results to the typology of murder-suicides developed by Marzuk, Tardiff, and Hirsch (JAMA 1992;267:3179), we find amorous jealousy is a significant motivating factor in a many cases, including those involving nonintimate partners. Our findings underscore the importance of widespread use of lethality assessment instruments.

American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2018

This study involves an evaluation of an innovative approach to the handling of domestic violence ... more This study involves an evaluation of an innovative approach to the handling of domestic violence (DV) cases in the city of Cleveland, Ohio that includes (1) a DV Project composed of specially trained police detectives, prosecutors and victim advocates for investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases involving adult female victims who are married to, cohabitating with, or have a child with the defendant; and (2) a Dedicated Domestic Violence Docket that involves two Municipal Court judges hearing all of the domestic violence cases that are handled by the DV Project. We collected data on six months of domestic violence cases occurring in the latter half of 2008 (N = 1388), by linking records from the Cleveland Police Department, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Municipal Court. We found that very few victims in police districts lacking the DV Project follow up with a prosecutor to pursue the case further, indicting that specialized DV units in police departments can have a significant impact on the number of DV cases that move forward through the criminal justice system. DV Project cases were slightly less likely to result in charges issued by prosecutors (OR = .499) but more likely to result in dismissals (OR = 2.545) and referrals to DV treatment programs (χ 2 = 3.88).

Canadian J. Criminology, 2000

Social Forces, 2002

Unlike commonsense notions and the findings from animal research, the literature concerning the e... more Unlike commonsense notions and the findings from animal research, the literature concerning the effects of density on human social behavior is paralyzed by contradictory findings. This article examines empirically two fundamental issues which could account for this and which are central to the density-crowding debate: (1) whether observed crowding effects are the result of causation or selection and (2) whether individuals are negatively affected by both low and high levels ofdensity. Data from the Toronto Mental Health and Stress study are analyzed using structural equation modeling to investigate these questions. The results support the notion that the effects ofdensity on aggressive and withdrawn behavior are nonlinear in nature. The findings further reveal a self-selection of respondents into particular forms of housing. The implications of these findings for future research on crowding are discussed. For many years urban sociologists, social psychologists, and criminologists have argued that there is a direct relationship between the size of a city and the level of social pathology (Gillis & Hagan 1983). Density is often thought to have a particularly detrimental impact on the health and behavior of urban residents. The precise nature of this relationship, however, appears to have eluded researchers. This article employs structural equation modeling to address several issues concerning the specification of density effects. In particular, the current study is unique in its empirical evaluation of the selection/causation issue regarding the relationship of density to various behavioral outcomes. It * I gratefully acknowledge the statistical advice of Kenneth A. Bollen, and would like to thank A.

Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2008

This study examines the question of gender-equivalent outcomes of mental health and social behavi... more This study examines the question of gender-equivalent outcomes of mental health and social behavior in the context of crowding stress. It tests the hypothesis that gender will influence the exhibition of stress outcomes resulting from exposure to high-density living environments, with women displaying internalized responses and men responding with externalized styles. Expanding on the types of gender-appropriate disorders examined in this area of research, I selected depression, aggression, and withdrawal as gender-specific disorders based on theory and prior research. Multilevel analyses of data from a survey of Toronto residents indicate that, while the effects of household density are conditioned by gender, support for the existence of gender-equivalent outcomes is mixed. While women living in crowded homes are more likely to be depressed, men exposed to high-density living environments do not report increased aggression. However, men report higher levels of withdrawal, and some ...

Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2003

Violence and victims, 2001

The following article examines differences in the social situation of intimate partners as an exp... more The following article examines differences in the social situation of intimate partners as an explanation of racial differences in the female to male ratio of spousal homicides in Canada. An analysis of homicide data from 1961 to 1983 generated by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics reveals that the ratio of women killing their husbands to men killing their wives is highest for Aboriginals and lowest for Blacks, with the ratio for Whites falling in between. The possible sources of racial differences in this ratio include the proportion of couples (a) in common-law relationships, (b) who are co-residing as opposed to being separated, and (c) for whom there is a substantial age disparity between the partners. These factors are related to the spousal sex ratio of killing more generally. An exploration of interracial homicide patterns and racial variation in jealousy-motivated homicides was also undertaken. The findings reveal that controlling for the above factors substantially ...

Systematic observation of police initiated traffic stops reveal a set of common working rules tha... more Systematic observation of police initiated traffic stops reveal a set of common working rules that guide the decisions made by officers that determine the outcome of the interaction. We uncover a typology that shows that these rules either aggravate or mediate the likelihood of a citizen receiving a ticket. Of the one hundred fifty seven working rules that were described by officers in applying discretion, the citizen’s demeanor and the seriousness of the offense accounted for half of the rules offered. Police reported that polite and/or remorseful citizens were more likely to get warnings and in many instances, the citizen’s behavior was not serious enough to warrant a ticket. Police who offered these rules were likely to act on them by issuing tickets or warnings accordingly. Other important “rules” included the sentiment that ticketing would not produce a useful result or that the citizen’s lack of a prior record was a good reason to not ticket. Theoretical and policy implication...

Encyclopedia of Street Crime in America, 2013

Criminal Justice Review, 2017

Journal of forensic sciences, 2016

Research on homicides followed by suicides has largely relied on very localized samples and relat... more Research on homicides followed by suicides has largely relied on very localized samples and relatively short time spans of data. As a result, little is known about the extent to which patterns within cases of homicide-suicides are geographically specific. The current study seeks to help fill this gap by comparing twenty years of homicide-suicide data for Sweden and a large U.S. county. Although some of the underlying patterns in the two countries are similar (e.g., decreasing rates), a number of important differences emerge, particularly with respect to incidence, weapons used, perpetrator age, and relationship of the perpetrator to the victim.

Child & Family Social Work, 2016

Criminal Justice Studies, Oct 1, 2014

Using national data from felony cases processed in state courts (n = 48,006), the current study i... more Using national data from felony cases processed in state courts (n = 48,006), the current study investigates the nature and magnitude of contextual variability associated with sentencing outcomes. Multivariate models are first estimated to identify the main effects of various offender and offense variables on sentencing decisions. Conjunctive analysis is then used to evaluate the contextual variability of each of these main effects across all observed combinations of offender and offense attributes. Separate analyses are also conducted among states with and without mandatory sentencing guidelines to explore whether these guidelines reduce this variability across different contexts. Findings from this study and its comparative methods are discussed in terms of implications for future research on criminal sentencing and assessing the contextual variability of the main effects of particular legal and extralegal factors.