Book reviews,etc.

Welfare Law and Order. By P. Alcock and P. Harris. [Macmillan Press. 1982. xvi and 219 pp. (inc. index). £5.95.]

Law of Child Care. By B. I. Slomnicka. [Macdonald & Evans. 405 pp. (inc. index). £9.95.]

Swift v. Greenshire County Council, Q.B.D. [Audio‐Visual Department, London University. 40 minutes. Sales prices: (VHS or Sony U‐Matic video cassette + 10 copies of the accompanying documents). Educational institutions in the U.K.: £95 + postage and V.A.T. Government bodies: £150 + postage and V.A.T. Others: £250 + postage and V.A.T. Additional copies of the documents: £2.50 each.

The Sunday Times Case

[Audio‐Visual Centre, University of Warwick. 1981. 16mm colour film. 30 minutes £260 or (hire) £20 for one day + £5 for each day thereafter; video version: £60 + cost of cassette.]

Criminal Procedure. Third edition. By Celia Hampton. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1982. lxi and 472 pp. (inc. index). £16.50 (hardback); £8.95 (paperback).]

The Police in Society. By Ben Whitaker. [Sinclair Browne. 1982. 331 pp. (inc. index). £4.95 (paperback).]

Hanbury and Maudsley's Modern Equity. Eleventh edition. By R. H. Maudsley and Jill E. Martin. [Stevens. 1981. cvi and 796 pp. (inc. index). £27.50 (cloth); £16.50 (paperback).]

Company Law. By Kenneth Smith & D. J. Keenan. Fourth edition. [Pitman, x and 506 pp. (inc. index). £7.50.]

Company Law. By M. C. Oliver. Eighth edition. [Macdonald & Evans. xxx and 386 pp. (inc. index). £3.95.]

Cases in Company Law. Third edition. By M. C. Oliver. I Macdonald & Evans. xv and 396 pp. (inc. index). £4.95.]

Rent Acts and Regulations Amended and Annotated. By J. T. Farrand and A. Arden. Second edition. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1981. xl and 435 pp. (inc. index). £16.50.]

‘O’ Level English Law. By D. M: M. Scott. Fourth edition. [Butterworths. 1981. xvi and 269 pp. (inc. index). £4.95 (paperback).]

‘O’ Level Law. By W. J. Brown. Second edition. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1982. xiv and 227 pp. (inc. index). £4.75 (paperback).]

Danish Law. A General Survey. Edited by Gammeltoft Hansen, Bernhard Gomard and Allan Philip. [G.E.C. Gads, Copenhagen. 395 pp., no index.]     

Violent victimization and hooking up among strangers and acquaintances on an urban campus: an exploratory study

College students anticipating a competitive labor market and arrested economic independence increasingly elect to delay romantic commitment and reproduction. Casual sexual relationships provide an alternative to the commitment required in traditional romantic relationships. Although committed and casual sexual relationships each have their benefits, both likewise have respective risks. The present exploratory study adds to the growing literature on ‘hookups’ among strangers and acquaintances by examining experiences with (a) hookups, (b) sexual violence, and (c) relationship violence in a nontraditional urban university sample. Findings from logit regression models indicate that gender, race, ethnicity, employment, relationship status, housing, class standing, psychological relationship abuse, and sexual assault by force significantly vary between students who report hooking up with strangers and acquaintances and those who do not. Gender-specific logit models find unique patterns of variables associated with hooking up. Findings are discussed with consideration of policy implications and the direction of future research.     

An Evaluation of a Parent Group for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Researchers continue to demonstrate the significant physical and mental health consequences to women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and children exposed to IPV. However, more research is needed to examine group interventions that support mothers, their children, and the parent-child relationship in the aftermath of IPV. We analyzed data provided by women who participated in a 12-week parent group. The objectives of the parent group were for mothers to better understand their children’s developmental experience of IPV and to break the secret of domestic violence in their family. The sample included 15 women who completed the group and the baseline, midpoint, and endpoint surveys. Eleven of these women also completed a semi-structured interview three months following the group. Survey items and interview topics focused on group process and outcomes. Women reported the group helped them feel less alone in their experience of IPV and they valued having a space to learn and discuss new concepts that related to their experiences and their children’s experiences of IPV. They reported more confidence in identifying their child’s feelings and being a safe person to whom their children could express their anger. Women also reported they developed greater coping and communication tools, and a strengthened mother-child bond, through group participation. Group interventions are an important format for learning and sharing for some mothers who have experienced IPV, though more evaluation is needed on what components of these group interventions are the most supportive of mothers’ healing and growth.

     

Exploring burnout in batterer intervention programs

This study used the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to explore burnout in a sample of 115 batterer intervention program (BIP) workers (56% female, 44% male) from four midwestern states. The purpose of this study was to explore the role that demographic variables, job-setting variables, supervisor support, and personality characteristics played in predicting burnout for BIP workers. Significant associations emerged for all aspects of burnout. Job-setting variables and personality characteristics were predictive of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, whereas job-setting variables were predictive of personal accomplishment. The findings suggest that job and person variables are important factors to consider for burnout prevention and coping strategies for BIP workers. In addition, the results show that compared to MBI subscale norms for mental health workers, BIP workers fell in the moderate range for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but in the high range for personal accomplishment.     

Risky lifestyles and dating violence: A theoretical test of violent victimization

Research consistently indicates that there are numerous risk factors associated with dating violence. Few studies, however, developed theoretical explanations for the prevalence of dating victimization. In this study victimization theories were tested that suggested risk-taking behaviors (i.e., drug abuse, alcohol abuse, driving under the influence, and sexual promiscuity) mediated the effects of social ties and emotional states on the likelihood of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. This model was tested using a representative sample of public high school students in South Carolina. The results confirm theoretical predictions and indicate the effects of social ties on dating victimization occur indirectly, through their antecedent influence on risk taking. These findings, therefore, lend support for a lifestyles theory explanation of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. The implications of this research for theory and social policy are discussed.     

Jurors' Use of Hearsay Evidence: The Effects of Type and Timing of Instructions

To examine the effects of curative judicial instructions on jurors' perceptions of hearsay testimony, mock jurors (N = 180) were exposed to one of six versions of a trial that included proprosecution hearsay evidence accompanied by either disregard or limiting instructions, presented either immediately after the hearsay, at the end of the trial, or at both of these times. Also included were control conditions in which (1) the information was presented as nonhearsay (first-hand), (2) no hearsay was presented, or (3) the hearsay was presented without instructions. Results indicated that neither the hearsay nor the instructions, regardless of their form or timing, affected verdicts. In fact, findings revealed that participants may have disregarded the hearsay regardless of instructions heard. There was some evidence to suggest, however, that evaluations of other admissible evidence presented by the hearsay witness were negatively affected.     

Finding a curriculum that works under trees: Literacy and health education for adolescent girls in rural Malawi

Non-formal education often represents a last chance for adolescent girls who do not attend school to receive some education to improve their health before they become mothers. This paper describes the development of a literacy and health education curriculum for adolescent girls in southern Malawi who will never enter formal schooling. The curriculum was redefined in the light of participants' feedback and providers' observations. The health messages could effect change but would have had limited impact on girls' health practices without the participation of the wider community. The curriculum's innate visibility ‘under the trees’ was a key factor in facilitating villagers' involvement and exponential learning.