Inter- and intra-subject variability in ethanol pharmacokinetic parameters: effects of testing interval and dose

Calculation of a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of an offence by forward or back-extrapolation, using population average values for ethanol pharmacokinetic parameters or a single estimate of individual specific parameters, ignores the possibility of inter- and intra-subject variability. In order to estimate inter- and intra-subject variability in the elimination rate and absorption rate, BAC was measured over time in 12 male volunteers on 4 occasions. Subjects received 0.44 g kg(-1) body weight of ethanol on the first study day, and 0.70 g kg(-1) body weight on subsequent study days 1, 11 and 12 weeks later, to enable comparisons in variability over short and long time periods and when the same or different doses were administered. Evidence of both inter- and intra-subject variability was found, with inter-subject variability substantially smaller than intra-subject variability when the dose varied. Forensically important differences in pharmacokinetic parameters were observed within individuals between occasions. These findings could have an important impact on medico-legal issues related to ethanol pharmacokinetics.     

Targeted Neighborhood Sampling: A New Approach for Recruiting Abusive Couples

We conducted two studies to test the utility of a new strategy for recruiting couples experiencing intimate partner violence. This new strategy, Targeted Neighborhood Sampling, involves utilizing police reports of family fight calls to target particular areas within a city for recruitment efforts. Study I compared the efficacy of using this method to recruit a random versus a convenience sample. Results demonstrated that Targeted Neighborhood Sampling was most effective when recruiting a convenience sample of participants who responded to flyers left at their residences. Study II used a convenience sample and replicated the findings from Study I. Across the two studies, 40.4% of those who called after receiving a flyer experienced male-to-female partner violence within the past year. In addition, we combined data across studies and correlated types of violence the couples experienced with variables commonly associated with abuse. Psychological aggression, physical assault, and injury were all positively associated with reports of demand-withdrawal and mutual avoidance during conflict, as well as depression and symptoms of post traumatic disorder syndrome. Sexual coercion was associated with drug abuse. These results demonstrate the utility and validity of Targeted Neighborhood Sampling.

Predicting Children’s Depressive Symptoms from Community and Individual Risk Factors

Community, demographic, familial, and personal risk factors of childhood depressive symptoms were examined from an ecological theoretical approach using hierarchical linear modeling. Individual-level data were collected from an ethnically diverse (73% African-American) community sample of 197 children and their parents; community-level data were obtained from the U.S. Census regarding rates of community poverty and unemployment in participants’ neighborhoods. Results indicated that high rates of community poverty and unemployment, children’s depressive attributional style, and low levels of self-perceived competence predict children’s depressive symptoms, even after accounting for demographic and familial risk factors, such as parental education and negative parenting behaviors. The effect of negative parenting behaviors on depressive symptoms was partially mediated by personal variables like children’s self-perceived competence. Recommendations for future research, intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

Relational Aggression at School: Associations with School Safety and Social Climate

The present study examines how exposure to relational aggression at school is associated with adolescents’ perceptions of, and participation in, a hostile school environment. Participants were 1,335 African American and European American adolescents in grades 7 through 12 (52% female, 49% African American). Results indicate that exposure to relational aggression is associated with several components of adolescents’ perceptions of the school climate. Adolescents exposed to high levels of relational aggression perceived their school to be less safe, and were less pleased with the general social atmosphere at school. Moreover, for males, but not females, exposure to relational aggression was associated with carrying a weapon to school. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed in terms of working toward safer school environments for adolescents.

Individual and contextual influences on delinquency: the role of the single-parent family

Research indicates that children are at risk for delinquency if they live in a single-parent family and if they live in areas with high levels of family disruption. Although there is a substantial amount of research on both the individual and aggregate relationships, examining delinquency at either of these two levels alone is not appropriate. Specifically, families do not exist in isolation as individual-level research inherently assumes, and aggregate research is concerned with explaining rates of delinquency as opposed to explaining influences on individual behavior. The current research used data from thirty-five schools, an important adolescent context, to determine the individual- and school-level effects of single-parent families on delinquency. The results from an overdispersed Poisson HLM regression model suggest both individual and aggregate effects, with a potential buffering effect of intact families regardless of any adolescents' specific family structure.     

Sex Differences in Age Patterns of Delinquent/Criminal Careers: Results from Poisson Latent Class Analyses of the Philadelphia Cohort Study

Applications of latent class analyses to the study of criminal careers have yielded results with implications for criminological theory. Distinct latent classes of individuals within various samples have been identified based upon the similarity of individuals with respect to their rate of offending across the teen and adult years, net of the effects of other regressors. In previous research on samples of males taken from the cities of London and Philadelphia, four and five such categories have been identified respectively, ranging from a group of nonoffenders to a group of chronic offenders. However, the question of whether similar findings hold for females has not been adequately addressed, in part due to the scarcity of longitudinal samples with sizable female populations. Data from the Second Philadelphia Cohort are used to address this and related questions. First, are there latent classes of female offenders? Second, if such categories do exist, how do they compare? Third, how do classes of male and female offenders compare on key measures of criminal careers? Analyses of the samples yield differing numbers of classes for males and females. Gender invariances as well as differences in patterns of offending are also found and are discussed.     

Child Abuse Potential: A Comparison of Subtypes of Maritally Violent Men and Nonviolent Men

Researchers have demonstrated an overlap between husband-to-wife violence and child abuse, but we know little about which maritally violent men are at greatest risk for engaging in child abuse. This study examined child abuse potential across 4 subtypes of maritally violent men (i.e., family only, low level antisocial, borderline/dysphoric, and generally violent/antisocial; Holtzworth-Munroe et al., and 2 comparison groups of nonviolent men (i.e., maritally distressed or not), using the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP; J. S. Milner [1986])). The results revealed that the borderline/dysphoric batterer subtype had significantly higher child abuse potential scores than all of the other violent subtypes and the nonviolent comparison groups. Theoretical and clinical implications are briefly discussed.     

Are There Gender Differences in Sustaining Dating Violence? An Examination of Frequency, Severity, and Relationship Satisfaction

One topic of debate within the field of intimate violence involves the equivalence, or lack thereof, of male-perpetrated versus female-perpetrated violence. To inform this debate, we examined potential gender-related differences in the frequency of sustaining violence, the severity of violence sustained, and effects of violence on relationship satisfaction. Data were collected from 2 samples of heterosexual undergraduates in dating relationships. In both studies, men and women experienced violence at comparable frequencies, although men experienced more frequent moderate violence. Rates of severe violence were extremely low for both sexes across studies. In both investigations, only women experienced lower relationship satisfaction as a function of partner violence. In Study 1, relationship status moderated this effect, such that women in serious dating relationships were less satisfied than either women in less serious relationships or than men as a function of partner violence. In Study 2, women were less satisfied with violent relationships than men regardless of relationship status. We contend that gender-sensitive approaches to relationship violence are important to better understand and prevent both male- and female-perpetrated violence. Directions for future research efforts are outlined.