Intimate partner violence and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in women: what we know and need to know

This article presents a review of knowledge regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women experiencing intimate partner violence. Knowledge related to the prevalence and predictors of PTSD in battered women, the association between PTSD and physical health, and the emerging science regarding PTSD and physiological and immune parameters is addressed. Primary recommendations for future research includes the need for longitudinal and intervention research that incorporates a range of psychosocial and physiologic health outcomes.     

What litigators need to know about HIPAA

HIPAA's Privacy Regulations impose a number of new requirements on Covered Entities concerning disclosure of an individual's personal health information. This Article briefly outlines the primary function of HIPAA's general nondisclosure rule and discusses the exceptions under which HIPAA permits disclosure in the course of litigation or government investigations.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): what we have learned and what we still have not found out

This article discusses the biomedical and the social constructionist models applied to response to trauma, presents the prevalence and the etiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and describes its biological and psychological correlates in children and adults. It concludes that future research might benefit from investigating factors that may protect people who have been exposed to an event likely to be traumatic from presenting with PTSD symptoms, and factors that may affect the longitudinal course of PTSD and treatment effectiveness.     

To tell what we know or wait for Godot?

The evidence that death-qualified jurors are more likely than excluded jurors to convict is consistent, robust, and directly relevant to the issues of representativeness and conviction proneness that were before the Supreme Court inLockhart v. McCree. There are exactly the circumstances in which anamicus brief from the APA is most appropriate. In science the search for knowledge is never complete; to keep silent until our understanding is perfect is to keep silent forever.     

The psychological effects of solitary confinement on prisoners in supermax units: reviewing what we know and recommending what should change

This article examines the psychological consequences of short- and long-term solitary confinement for prisoners in the United States subjected to administrative or disciplinary segregation. Particular attention is paid to the use of secure housing units, alternatively known as control units or supermax units. These correctional entities allow for the isolation of convicts under conditions that offer little sensory stimulation and minimal opportunities for interaction with other people. The circumstances typically found in these units and the heightened potential for the abuse of prisoners are described. The connections between internment and mental illness-as well as isolation and race, gender, and class-are explored. A set of recommendations for the reform of secure housing is presented.     

Can we believe what we see, if we see what we believe?--expert disagreement.

Forensic experts often disagree. The possible sources of such disagreements are analyzed and possible avenues of resolution indicated. The logic of interpreting scenes, and pattern injuries such as bitemarks, is explained to locate potential sources for interpretive error, and to recommend strategies to avoid compounding such errors when preparing cases. In one sense, two observers may not see the same thing, although their eyesight is normal and they are aware of the same artifact. Cases show that both practical and theoretical investigative expectations affect what count as observations. These expectations confer evidential status on the artifact. When two observers' expectations conflict, they do not see the same thing, so are not presented with the same evidence. Expectations can be either appropriate or inappropriate. These senses are clearly distinguished using illustrative cases. When inappropriate, they cause observational errors of a unique sort supplying one source for disagreement. When inferences are made from these inappropriately sanctioned observations,interpretive errors are compounded and resolutions of disagreement become difficult. These observational and inferential errors are explained, described, and illustrated with cases, along with recommendations for recognizing and avoiding them.     

Measuring crime seriousness perceptions: What have we learned and what else do we want to know

Perceptions of crime seriousness have been studied since the 1960s. Based predominantly on data from surveys, researchers have identified characteristics of acts affecting seriousness perceptions and have examined the degree of consensus in perceived seriousness for a variety of deviant and criminal behaviors. Methodological issues (methods of measurement, questionnaire structure and content, level or measurement, etc.) have been discussed at length. This review presents the most important substantive and methodological accomplishments and challenges of this body of research. It also discusses possible future directions, including the establishment of connections to sociological theory and normative philosophy.     

Polish Stabilization: What can we learn from the I(2) Cointegration Analysis?

This paper investigates an array of nominal systems for the Polish economy, of domestic price level, import prices, exchange rates, money stock, nominal wages, and real output, and conducts I(1) and I(2) cointegration analyses. Post-stabilization monthly data are used, 1991:5-1999:12. A test for the presence of a price-wage spiral is performed, and the stabilization package is compared to its realization. The long-run homogeneity hypothesis, the impact of monetary and incomes policies, and of external sector variables on long and medium run price development are studied. It is found that in Poland, contrary to some earlier studies, the external sector is not important for the long run price development. On the contrary, very strong evidence is found of the cost-push inflation.     

Diagnostic profiles of civilly committed sexual offenders in Illinois and other reporting jurisdictions: what we know so far

The records of 377 men civilly committed under Illinois' Sexually Violent Persons Act were compared with similar published samples from seven other states. Civilly committed sexual offenders in Illinois were more likely to be diagnosed with any personality disorder and more likely to exceed the cutoff score for psychopathy than similar offenders in other states. The authors then present a national composite of demographic, victim, and diagnostic information on men referred or pursued for civil commitment in eight states to better understand how these individuals differ from sex offender populations in correctional settings. Results suggest that there may be less victim specificity in sexually violent person (SVP) populations, as although nearly 50% of SVPs are diagnosed with pedophilia, 80% had committed at least one sexual offense against a child or adolescent victim. Across all samples, 72.7% of SVPs were diagnosed with a personality disorder, with antisocial personality disorder the most prevalent.