Kent R Kerley
Biographic Data
| ID | 276936 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kent R Kerley |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kent R |
| FAMILY NAME | Kerley |
| SIGNATURE | KERLEY K R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 136 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Examining the Nexus between Prescription Opioid and Heroin Abuse
Opioid use has long been a problem in the United States and heroin has shown to be particularly dangerous. Whereas the profile of heroin users changed throughout the 1900s, prior to the 1990s, most users were city-dwellers living on the fringes of the law. However, as the push began to make prescription opioids more available, this shift in policy seemingly resulted in a shift of the common profile of heroin users. We explore the nexus between pr…
Religious Liberty in Prisons under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act following Holt v Hobbs
Religion in the United States remains a consistent source of conflict not only because of the breadth and depth of personal religious commitment, but also because of guarantees from the United States Constitution. The First Amendment protects religious Free Exercise but also constrains federal, state, and local governments from establishing official government religions, endorsing religions or religion itself. Despite the risk of potential confli…
Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations
Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through ac…
Middle-Class Motives for Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use among College Students
Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-class beliefs (e.g., success and moderation) to make sense of their drug use. They do this by creating identities as people who are focused on success and…
Religion and Crime
Over the past several decades, an impressive research literature has shown that religiosity, which can be defined as a cognitive and behavioral commitment to organized religion, has a significant effect on a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. A common finding is that religion operates as a social force for reducing many negative behaviors and for buttressing many positive behaviors. When it comes to the precise relationship betw…
Who is in Control? How Women in a Halfway House Use Faith to Recover from Drug Addiction
Religious adherents from most major faith traditions struggle in balancing their individual agency with divine leadership. While this issue of individual versus divine control is complex for those in free society, it becomes even more so when applied to those in correctional and treatment settings. For those attempting to recover from drug addiction, a common conclusion is that drugs have taken control of their lives, thus it is necessary for the…
Methamphetamine Using Careers of White and Black Women
From current arrest data, as well as scholarly research, it appears that methamphetamine (meth) is generally considered a "white drug." Although most meth users are white, a nontrivial percentage is black. In this study we explore racial differences in the drug careers of women meth users. Specifically, we use in-depth interviews with 13 black and 17 white former meth users to determine if there are differences in the initiation into, persistence…
Religious Faith in Correctional Contexts
Kent Kerley explores the issue of religion in prison, offering a rich portrait of religious practices and their impacts. Kerley shows how offenders of all stripes use faith to adapt and survive in difficult institutional settings. He sheds light on the complex processes of religious conversion, discusses the development of tools for "staying straight" in and after prison, and reveals surprising differences between the experiences of men and women…
Understanding Personal Change in a Women's Faith-Based Transitional Center
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. We contribute to this literature by exploring how women undergoing difficult life circumstances-such as incarceration, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, unemployment, and homelessness-use faith to cope with and change these circumstances. To address this issue we analyze semi-structured in…
Understanding Gender and Domestic Violence From a Sample of Married Women in Urban Thailand
There is a widespread agreement among gender and family violence investigators that gender and socioeconomic inequalities play key roles in domestic violence against women (DVAW). By integrating the concepts of gender traditionalism and decision-making power into a variety of resource-based theories, this study develops a gender perspective to explore the linkages between gendered correlates and psychological and physical DVAW in urban Thailand. …
Differentiating identity theft
From the Sanctuary to the Slammer
Current survey research reveals that religious conservatives exhibit more punitive attitudes toward criminal offenders than their nonreligious and mainline counterparts. Despite the pervasiveness of conservative Protestant support for the punitive treatment of criminal offenders, evangelical-run prison ministry programs have proliferated in recent decades. This study uses in-depth interviews to examine the motivations of prison ministry workers. …
Exposure to Family Violence in Childhood and Intimate Partner Perpetration or Victimization in Adulthood
Faith, Morality and Mortality
Although the past decade has witnessed increased usage of ecological data to map the community-level effects of religion, the vast majority of studies in this body of scholarship continue to be plagued by two key shortcomings. First, ecological research on religion is often conducted in an atheoretical manner, one that privileges the structural character of religion while failing to demonstrate sensitivity to the substance of collectively held re…
Self-Control, Intimate Partner Abuse, and Intimate Partner Victimization
Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990 Gottfredson , Michael R . and Travis Hirschi . 1990 . A General Theory of Crime . Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) treatise on low self-control has been the subject of much debate and empirical testing. Although the theory was developed as an explanation for criminal offending, researchers have examined recently whether low self-control may increase the risk of criminal vict…
Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. One of the recurrent themes in this literature is that religion may operate as a force both for reducing antisocial behaviors and for increasing prosocial behaviors. We build upon this research by examining survey data of inmates at a large southeastern prison facility to determine whether religiosity …
Race, Criminal Justice Contact, and Adult Position in the Social Stratification System
Recent theoretical developments in the life-course perspective have focused on the effects of criminal justice contact on many stratification outcomes. Using data from a large sample of males convicted in the U.S. federal court system, we investigate the effects of criminal justice contact, race, family background, educational attainment, and age on an important stratification outcome: average monthly income. We also explore how the timing of cri…
Faith, Morality and Mortality
Although the past decade has witnessed increased usage of ecological data to map the community-level effects of religion, the vast majority of studies in this body of scholarship continue to be plagued by two key shortcomings. First, ecological research on religion is often conducted in an atheoretical manner, one that privileges the structural character of religion while failing to demonstrate sensitivity to the substance of collectively held re…
Self-Control, Intimate Partner Abuse, and Intimate Partner Victimization
Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990 Gottfredson , Michael R . and Travis Hirschi . 1990 . A General Theory of Crime . Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) treatise on low self-control has been the subject of much debate and empirical testing. Although the theory was developed as an explanation for criminal offending, researchers have examined recently whether low self-control may increase the risk of criminal vict…
Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. One of the recurrent themes in this literature is that religion may operate as a force both for reducing antisocial behaviors and for increasing prosocial behaviors. We build upon this research by examining survey data of inmates at a large southeastern prison facility to determine whether religiosity …
Middle-Class Motives for Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use among College Students
Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-class beliefs (e.g., success and moderation) to make sense of their drug use. They do this by creating identities as people who are focused on success and…
Exposure to Family Violence in Childhood and Intimate Partner Perpetration or Victimization in Adulthood
Race, Criminal Justice Contact, and Adult Position in the Social Stratification System
Recent theoretical developments in the life-course perspective have focused on the effects of criminal justice contact on many stratification outcomes. Using data from a large sample of males convicted in the U.S. federal court system, we investigate the effects of criminal justice contact, race, family background, educational attainment, and age on an important stratification outcome: average monthly income. We also explore how the timing of cri…
Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations
Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through ac…
Differentiating identity theft
Understanding Gender and Domestic Violence From a Sample of Married Women in Urban Thailand
There is a widespread agreement among gender and family violence investigators that gender and socioeconomic inequalities play key roles in domestic violence against women (DVAW). By integrating the concepts of gender traditionalism and decision-making power into a variety of resource-based theories, this study develops a gender perspective to explore the linkages between gendered correlates and psychological and physical DVAW in urban Thailand. …
Methamphetamine Using Careers of White and Black Women
From current arrest data, as well as scholarly research, it appears that methamphetamine (meth) is generally considered a "white drug." Although most meth users are white, a nontrivial percentage is black. In this study we explore racial differences in the drug careers of women meth users. Specifically, we use in-depth interviews with 13 black and 17 white former meth users to determine if there are differences in the initiation into, persistence…
Understanding Personal Change in a Women's Faith-Based Transitional Center
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. We contribute to this literature by exploring how women undergoing difficult life circumstances-such as incarceration, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, unemployment, and homelessness-use faith to cope with and change these circumstances. To address this issue we analyze semi-structured in…
From the Sanctuary to the Slammer
Current survey research reveals that religious conservatives exhibit more punitive attitudes toward criminal offenders than their nonreligious and mainline counterparts. Despite the pervasiveness of conservative Protestant support for the punitive treatment of criminal offenders, evangelical-run prison ministry programs have proliferated in recent decades. This study uses in-depth interviews to examine the motivations of prison ministry workers. …
Race, Criminal Justice Contact, and Adult Position in the Social Stratification System
Recent theoretical developments in the life-course perspective have focused on the effects of criminal justice contact on many stratification outcomes. Using data from a large sample of males convicted in the U.S. federal court system, we investigate the effects of criminal justice contact, race, family background, educational attainment, and age on an important stratification outcome: average monthly income. We also explore how the timing of cri…
Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. One of the recurrent themes in this literature is that religion may operate as a force both for reducing antisocial behaviors and for increasing prosocial behaviors. We build upon this research by examining survey data of inmates at a large southeastern prison facility to determine whether religiosity …
Faith, Morality and Mortality
Although the past decade has witnessed increased usage of ecological data to map the community-level effects of religion, the vast majority of studies in this body of scholarship continue to be plagued by two key shortcomings. First, ecological research on religion is often conducted in an atheoretical manner, one that privileges the structural character of religion while failing to demonstrate sensitivity to the substance of collectively held re…
Self-Control, Intimate Partner Abuse, and Intimate Partner Victimization
Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990 Gottfredson , Michael R . and Travis Hirschi . 1990 . A General Theory of Crime . Stanford , CA : Stanford University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) treatise on low self-control has been the subject of much debate and empirical testing. Although the theory was developed as an explanation for criminal offending, researchers have examined recently whether low self-control may increase the risk of criminal vict…
Exposure to Family Violence in Childhood and Intimate Partner Perpetration or Victimization in Adulthood
Differentiating identity theft
From the Sanctuary to the Slammer
Current survey research reveals that religious conservatives exhibit more punitive attitudes toward criminal offenders than their nonreligious and mainline counterparts. Despite the pervasiveness of conservative Protestant support for the punitive treatment of criminal offenders, evangelical-run prison ministry programs have proliferated in recent decades. This study uses in-depth interviews to examine the motivations of prison ministry workers. …
Understanding Personal Change in a Women's Faith-Based Transitional Center
An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. We contribute to this literature by exploring how women undergoing difficult life circumstances-such as incarceration, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, unemployment, and homelessness-use faith to cope with and change these circumstances. To address this issue we analyze semi-structured in…
Understanding Gender and Domestic Violence From a Sample of Married Women in Urban Thailand
There is a widespread agreement among gender and family violence investigators that gender and socioeconomic inequalities play key roles in domestic violence against women (DVAW). By integrating the concepts of gender traditionalism and decision-making power into a variety of resource-based theories, this study develops a gender perspective to explore the linkages between gendered correlates and psychological and physical DVAW in urban Thailand. …
Religious Faith in Correctional Contexts
Kent Kerley explores the issue of religion in prison, offering a rich portrait of religious practices and their impacts. Kerley shows how offenders of all stripes use faith to adapt and survive in difficult institutional settings. He sheds light on the complex processes of religious conversion, discusses the development of tools for "staying straight" in and after prison, and reveals surprising differences between the experiences of men and women…
Religion and Crime
Over the past several decades, an impressive research literature has shown that religiosity, which can be defined as a cognitive and behavioral commitment to organized religion, has a significant effect on a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. A common finding is that religion operates as a social force for reducing many negative behaviors and for buttressing many positive behaviors. When it comes to the precise relationship betw…
Who is in Control? How Women in a Halfway House Use Faith to Recover from Drug Addiction
Religious adherents from most major faith traditions struggle in balancing their individual agency with divine leadership. While this issue of individual versus divine control is complex for those in free society, it becomes even more so when applied to those in correctional and treatment settings. For those attempting to recover from drug addiction, a common conclusion is that drugs have taken control of their lives, thus it is necessary for the…
Methamphetamine Using Careers of White and Black Women
From current arrest data, as well as scholarly research, it appears that methamphetamine (meth) is generally considered a "white drug." Although most meth users are white, a nontrivial percentage is black. In this study we explore racial differences in the drug careers of women meth users. Specifically, we use in-depth interviews with 13 black and 17 white former meth users to determine if there are differences in the initiation into, persistence…
Middle-Class Motives for Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use among College Students
Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-class beliefs (e.g., success and moderation) to make sense of their drug use. They do this by creating identities as people who are focused on success and…
Religious Liberty in Prisons under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act following Holt v Hobbs
Religion in the United States remains a consistent source of conflict not only because of the breadth and depth of personal religious commitment, but also because of guarantees from the United States Constitution. The First Amendment protects religious Free Exercise but also constrains federal, state, and local governments from establishing official government religions, endorsing religions or religion itself. Despite the risk of potential confli…
Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations
Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through ac…
Examining the Nexus between Prescription Opioid and Heroin Abuse
Opioid use has long been a problem in the United States and heroin has shown to be particularly dangerous. Whereas the profile of heroin users changed throughout the 1900s, prior to the 1990s, most users were city-dwellers living on the fringes of the law. However, as the push began to make prescription opioids more available, this shift in policy seemingly resulted in a shift of the common profile of heroin users. We explore the nexus between pr…
Psychology (14 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Criminology (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Medicine (7 works) · Faith (6 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (6 works) · Prison (5 works)