Adolescent depression in a school-based community sample: Preliminary findings on contributing social factors

A two wave survey carried out on a large community sample of adolescents with increased risk for problems with social functioning is described. In this paper we report the prevalence of depression in this population and social factors that contribute to it. The prevalence of depression is twice that in other studies. Stress is both a risk and causal factor in depression while relatively low social self-efficacy moderately increases risk. Being female is a risk factor for depression. The perception of parents and siblings as a source of support appears to be a key factor in protection from the onset of depression.Received M.D. from Queen's University. Research interests include developmental experiences that influence adolescent and adult social functioning, and mechanisms of mortality rates in post coronary depressed subjects.Received Ph.D. from University of Waterloo. Research interests are risk factors affecting depression in adolescents and young adults and social factors associated with chronic pain.Received Ph.D. from McMaster University. Research interests are psycho-social factors that influence adolescent well being, measurement of clinical competence, and research design.Received M.A. from McMaster University.     

Felony-murder and community sentiment

The controversy over capital felony-murder resurfaced in two recent Supreme Court cases (Enmund v. Florida, 1982;Tison v. Arizona, 1987), where two bitterly divided Courts made highly questionable assertions regarding where community sentiment stood on this matter. To test these assertions about the felony-murder rule and the accessorial liability theory, two experiments were run (N=275, 73% death qualified, andN=212, 81% death qualified) where mock jurors rendered verdicts and sentences for four defendants who varied in their level of culpability and level of participation in the crime. To test the Supreme Court's reasoning, subjects rendered decisions and reasons using the “ninth Justice” paradigm, where they could “reverse and remand” or “let stand” the death sentence for felony-murder. The empirical evidence indicates that subjects clearly and consistently reject the accessorial liability theory and the felony-murder rule, and these results refute the majority's assertions inTison about where community sentiment stands.     

Psychiatric expertise in civil commitment: Training attorneys to cope with expert testimony

The learned treatise approach to challenging the psychiatric expert witness in civil commitment proceedings was investigated in the present study. An Ad Litem's Handbook, modeled after Ziskin (1975), was written and distributed to a group of attorneys who also received workshop training in aggressively defending the proposed patients at civil commitment hearings. TheseTRAINED attorneys were compared with control groups of attorneys not receiving the training intervention in terms of trial tactics, cross-examination profiles, and other courtroom behaviors in order to assess the impact of such training and the impact of the learned treatise approach in civil commitment hearings. Results indicated that, in spite of explicit endorsement of such tactics by the court,TRAINED attorneys did not alter their courtroom behaviors significantly in directions suggested by the special training and, like their untrained counterparts, did not aggressively challenge the psychiatric expert whose testimony argued for commitment of their clients.The research reported here is based primarily on the author's doctoral dissertation, completed at the University of Texas at Austin, May 1977. The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Joseph Horn, Ph.D., dissertation committee chairman and the other members of the committee for their guidance.     

Experiencing impartiality to invoke fairness in the n-PD: Some experimental results

Subjects play a 5-person Prisoner's Dilemma both from an impartial point of view and in a regular fashion to determine whether 1) Concerns for fairness increase cooperative behavior; 2) Play of a Prisoner's Dilemma from an impartial point of view results in significantly higher levels of cooperation than does normal play; 3) Concern for fairness has greater explanatory force in explaining cooperation in impartial plays of the Prisoner's Dilemma than in normal plays; and 4) Experience with impartial play of a Prisoner's Dilemma sensitizes subjects to normative imperatives and results in higher levels of cooperation in subsequent normal plays of Prisoner's Dilemmas. The first and second hypotheses are supported, the third is inverted, and the fourth is not supported. Concern for fairness is demonstrated to play a complex role in explaining cooperative behavior in regular plays of the game. An earlier version was presented at the Annual meetings of the Public Choice Society, 1993 Monteleone Hotel, New Orleans; 20 March 1993.     

The efficiency of an X-ray screening system at a mass disaster

This is a study to determine the efficiency and efficacy of using an X-ray security screening system to locate both dental fragments and other foreign objects that might be commingled with fragmented remains in a mass disaster. A controlled study by the Pennsylvania Dental Identification Team (PADIT) revealed that a manual examination of simulated body bags containing commingled dental parts and foreign objects by a team of trained forensic odontologists was very effective in locating dental fragments and in finding foreign objects. Although this was effective, it was not efficient, because it was very time consuming. With the use of an X-ray security screening system, the time factor could be reduced. This study also revealed that even though this sophisticated equipment could reduce the time factor in locating commingled dental and foreign objects, a forensic odontologist should be utilized to be most effective.     

Key Risk Factors for Relapse and Rearrest Among Substance Use Treatment Patients Involved in the Criminal Justice System

Substance use treatment programs for criminal justice populations have great potential for crime reduction, if they can effectively manage patients’ risk for relapse and rearrest. The current study used data drawn from the Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Outcome Research (CATOR) system, a national registry of substance use treatment programs, which collected patient outcome data at 6- and 12-month intervals following discharge from treatment. The primary objective was to examine sets of factors that may compromise relapse and rearrest outcomes among patients who were court mandated to participate in treatment. Findings demonstrated that patients’ clinical severity of substance use was associated with relapse, which also significantly increased the probability of post-treatment arrest. Adolescent risk behaviors represented another set of risk factors, particularly among patients who experienced the most severe pattern of relapse and arrest outcomes. Additionally, demographic risk factors, including age, marital status (i.e., single or unmarried relative to married), employment (i.e., being unemployed compared to employed), and lower educational attainment were consistently linked to higher probabilities of relapse and rearrest. Treatment programs for criminal justice populations should consider incorporating appropriate clinical risk assessment measures, behavioral risk assessments, and appropriate employment interventions into standard treatment programming in an effort to improve outcomes.     

Citrate Content of Bone as a Measure of Postmortem Interval: An External Validation Study

The postmortem interval (PMI) of skeletal remains is a crucial piece of information that can help establish the time dimension in criminal cases. Unfortunately, the accurate and reliable determination of PMI from bone continues to evade forensic investigators despite concerted efforts over the past decades to develop suitable qualitative and quantitative methods. A relatively new PMI method based on the analysis of citrate content of bone was developed by Schwarcz et al. The main objective of our research was to determine whether this work could be externally validated. Thirty‐one bone samples were obtained from the Forensic Anthropology Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office. Results from analyzing samples with PMI greater than 2 years suggest that the hypothetical relationship between the citrate content of bone and PMI is much weaker than reported. It was also observed that the average absolute error between the PMI value estimated using the equation proposed by Schwarcz et al. and the actual (“true”) PMI of the sample was negative indicating an underestimation in PMI. These findings are identical to those reported by Kanz et al. Despite these results this method may still serve as a technique to sort ancient from more recent skeletal cases, after further, similar validation studies have been conducted.