Deviant Behavior

Goode, Erich

doi: 10.1080/016396299266416pmid: N/A

Engaging in sex with informants in social research is regarded as deviant; hence, it is rarely admitted in print. The author argues that such behavior is likely to influence what the researcher sees, how conclusions are reached, and what is written about. He summarizes what has been discussed on the issue of sexual self-disclosure and indicates how his own intimate relations with informants on three projects may have shaped his vision and conclusions. Sex with informants both provides benefits and poses risks; some of them are discussed as well. In addition, ethical issues are raised and discussed. Some possible reasons are advanced as to why reticence tends to be the rule in ethnographic sexual experiences.

Bryant, Clifton D.

doi: 10.1080/016396299266425pmid: N/A

Sociologists only began to explore sex in the course of work during World War II. In the years since, however, they have focused considerable attention on this phenomena and there is a growing literature on the topic. Erich Goode provides a new perspective on sex in the context of work and examines a wide range of cases where the field researcher engaged in sexual activity with subjects as a research strategy, as an opportunistic residual benefit. The researchers' justifications or ''accounts'' are also discussed. Goode even reveals his own sexual activity with subjects in the course of his research. His own ''reassessments'' of his behavior are ambivalent but traditional thinking about such acitivity views it as problematic.

Hopper, Columbus B.

doi: 10.1080/016396299266434pmid: N/A

An ethnographer cannot be rigid and follow a set of rules in all situations. As circumstances change, techniques must change, and temptations arise that ''abstracted empiricists'' never face. Most contemporary ethnography is carried out at the researcher's expense, and the time required is extensive. Although a small portion could perhaps be ''ethically challenged,'' there is not doubt that much of our knowledge of crime and deviance comes from the commitment of involved researchers who risk reputations and jobs acquiring it. Revelations of researchers' sex lives with respondents do not add to or detract from the truth in their work. Social scientists have enough ego strength to keep them from misrepresenting their findings in any important way. I think Goode's works speaks for itself. His socialogical imagination stayed intact even as he went to bed.

May, David C.

doi: 10.1080/016396299266443pmid: N/A

Mala prohibita, or victimless crimes, and societal reaction to those acts, have been a topic of interest in the social sciences for many years. This study provides an in-depth examination of public support for legalization of one of the oldest mala prohibita acts, prostitution. Using a sample of over 1,500 adults from throughout the United States, this study examines public opinion toward legalization of prostitution in the United States in an attempt to determine demographic and attitudinal predictors of support for legalization of prostitution in the United States. The results from this study indicate that a substantial minority of Americans (18 percent) favor legalization of prostitution. Furthermore, there are demographic differences that affect attitudes toward legalization as well, as men, Catholics, residents from the western states, and Whites are more likely to favor legalization of prostitution than their counterparts. Moreover, age has a positive relationship with attitudes toward legalization of prostitution as well. Finally, this study also indicates that there are attitudinal determinants of public opinion toward prostitution, as those individuals who are more tolerant toward what many perceive as a deviant behavior, gambling, are also more likely to favor legalization of prostitution. The impact of these findings and the ramifications of legalization of prostitution are also discussed.

Brent B. Benda, Robert Flynn Corwyn,

doi: 10.1080/016396299266452pmid: N/A

This was a study of 414 adolescents who resided with rural families on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 10 counties located in Arkansas. The purpose of the study was to determine what demographic and theoretical factors from control, strain, and social learning theories predicted sexual intercourse in the past year and lifetime sexual partners among young and older adolescents (aged 13 to 15 years, and 16 and 17 years, respectively). Together, the findings offer partial support for the conceptual framework of development undergirding the study that elements of control or bonding and use of excuses are important influences on sexual behavior of older adolescents, whereas young adolescents are more influenced by differential peer association, including use of excuses, and a deep-seated need for love or attachment. Furthermore, the finding that friend support actually increases the likelihood of sexual partners among young adolescents may be another manifestation of their need for closeness. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

doi: 10.1080/016396299266461pmid: N/A