Family Context and Childhood Adjustment Associated with Intrafamilial Unwanted Sexual Attention

Unwanted sexual attention (UWSA) encompasses unsolicited verbal comments, gestures, stares, and other noncontact behaviors made regarding one's sexuality and physical appearance. The present study examined the correlates and impact of such UWSA perpetrated toward girls by family members. The first objective of the study was to explore whether family climate is associated with intrafamilial UWSA. This included looking at three types of dysfunctional parenting styles (unaffectionate, unavailable, and patriarchal) as well as exploring the co-occurrence of UWSA by adult and child relatives. The second objective was to then measure the impact of such intrafamilial UWSA on childhood emotional health, after controlling for parenting style and the experience of more traditional forms of child sexual abuse (CSA). Of the 296 university women (mean age = 19) who participated in the study, 70% (N = 206) reported UWSA from a family member prior to age 18. Whereas each dysfunctional parenting style was related to presence of UWSA, a simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated that two of the parenting styles, patriarchal and parental unavailability, also predicted frequency of nonphysical UWSA within the family. Presence of UWSA from a child relative was significantly correlated with presence of UWSA from an adult relative. Additionally, a hierarchical multiple regression, entering the three parenting styles simultaneously in the first step, childhood sexual abuse in the second step, and familial UWSA in the last step, indicated that the frequency of UWSA by family members significantly predicted poorer childhood mental health when controlling for the other variables. Overall, results indicate that while the specific parenting styles which co-occur with UWSA may be detrimental in their own right, the impact of UWSA on girls appears to be above and beyond that of either parenting styles or CSA. Clinical implications are discussed.     

US Presidential popularity and opportunities to coerce North Korea: a quantitative test 1990 2000

This paper investigates how North Korean behaviour towards boththe United States and South Korea is influenced by the popularityof the American President. The study applies theories relatingto strategic conflict avoidance and signalling to suggest thatthe American President is able to demonstrate a willingnessto use force when he is unpopular and as such is better ableto coerce Pyongyang. Using a time-series model, I demonstratethat the North Koreans become more cooperative towards the UnitedStates in response to decreases in presidential popularity andincreasing levels of US inflation. However, the study also showsthat the North Koreans do not alter their behaviour towardsthe South Koreans in response to low American President Popularityratings. The research, therefore, suggests that the North Koreansbelieve that the United States would be unable to launch a diversionaryattack in response to North Korean behaviour towards the South.This study provides a clear support for the strategic avoidanceof conflict hypothesis and suggests that the American Presidentsare best able to coerce North Korea when they are unpopularat home. Received for publication August 31, 2005. Accepted for publication December 21, 2005.     

Supporting Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Glasgow: The Role of Multi-agency Networks

The implementation of a dispersal policy in Britain has broughtasylum seekers to regions of the country which previously hadlittle experience of providing services for this group. Around10,000 asylum seekers have been resettled in the city of Glasgowsince 2000 as a result of the policy. Multi-agency networkshave been established in Glasgow as a medium for facilitatingco-operation across the voluntary and statutory sectors forthe provision of locally-based support services, while alsofacilitating community development. This paper explores theexperiences of these networks since their inception. While highlightingthe continuing importance of the voluntary sector in supportingasylum seekers and refugees, it raises concerns over the reactiveway in which services have been provided, where responsibilityhas fallen on voluntary and community organizations to fillgaps in statutory service provision. It further examines theimplications for social cohesion of housing-led resettlement,which has largely been in areas suffering from social deprivation.The findings highlight the frustrations of service providersworking within a disjointed policy framework, characterizedby contradictions between Scottish and UK policy goals.     

PROFILE: CHILD CUSTODY MEDIATION SERVICES IN CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURTS

California is now in its 11th year of mandatory child custody mediation, with a current yearly case volume statewide estimated at 65,494. This article profiles the variations in programs and mediation styles in 56 of the state's 58 Superior Courts. Two research studies provide the basis for the information on program structures, case activity, procedures, agreement formats, recommendations, facilities, security, and fees.     

The referral decision scale with mentally disordered inmates

Correctional facilities are increasingly burdened with mentally disordered offenders and are faced with the formidable task of effectively screening inmates for major mental disorders and suicide potential. Teplin and Swartz (1989) developed the Referral Decision Scale (RDS) as a rapid screen for schizophrenia and major mood disorders in jail populations. However, more recent research by Hart, Roesch, Corrado, and Cox (1993) has called into question the effectiveness of the RDS. In this study, we examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the RDS with the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia—Change Version (SADS-C) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) on a sample of 108 mentally disordered inmates. The RDS provided moderate evidence of convergent validity but failed to demonstrate acceptable discriminant validity, because of high intercorrelations on RDS subscales (heterotrait-monomethod coefficients). In comparison, the SADS-C yielded similar evidence of convergent validity and excellent discriminant validity.The authors would like to thank the Research Opportunities Program, University of North Texas for its grant support and Captain James Moore for his active cooperation.Tarrant County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services.     

Consequences and dilemmas in therapeutic relationships with families resulting from mandatory reporting legislation

Mandatory reporting legislation has been adopted in every state to insure the protection of children from maltreatment. These statutes have become a significant factor in the lives of mental health professionals who work with children and families. Thirty psychotherapists who had made a recent report of child maltreatment on a client in treatment were interviewed about their experiences with reporting and the consequences of reporting for therapeutic relationships. Several potentially problematic consequences and dilemmas were identified by the therapists, including immediate and long-term effects on the therapeutic alliance and course of therapy, and conflicts of interest in working with children and families.