Developmental Pathways from Genetic,Prenatal, Parenting and Emotional/Behavioral Risk to Cortisol Reactivity and Adolescent Substance Use: A TRAILS Study

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Cortisol reactivity is a frequently studied biomarker of substance use, though infrequently examined in adolescence. However, past research provides evidence that...     

Prevalence of probable attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in inmates and its relationship with recidivism

The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of probable attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in prisoners and to assess the relationship between ADHD and recidivism. We studied 356 inmates, who were evaluated using the Wender Utah Rating Scale and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Type of crime and other crime-related data were compared between inmates with and without ADHD. The group with probable ADHD had a higher average number of convictions compared to the group without ADHD. The probable ADHD group also demonstrated higher incidence of extortion crime, drug trade, disciplinary action at school, and military service than the group without ADHD. Linear regression analysis revealed that the presence of probable ADHD was effective on the number of convictions. The findings of our study support that the presence of probable ADHD carries a potential risk of being prone to certain crimes and demonstrate a correlation between the presence of probable ADHD and early involvement in crime and the number of convictions.     

Organizing Atlanticism: the Bilderberg group and the Atlantic institute, 1952–1963

The Bilderberg group, which originated in Europe in 1952, slowly organized an American participation in the following two years. After a first conference held in May 1954, it rapidly developed into one of the most successful private transatlantic organizations of the 1950s. The project for an Atlantic Institute, which dates back to 1953–54, took longer to develop into a concrete institution, and was formally created, after several years of preparation, in January 1961. Both organizations received funding and support from the Ford Foundation and became fully-established fora in the early 1960s. The study compares the two initiatives to see how they shed light on the more general context of a ‘transatlantic culture’ in the Cold War. Although the networks of personnel were of a different nature and drew on different circles and professions, one can observe some interlocking, and their joint success in the early 1960s was partly due to their importance in ‘outflanking’ Gaullism in France.     

SURVIVING BENCH STRESS

The article presents a discussion of judicial stress, along with proposed solutions. The authors gathered information on the topic of judicial stress from judges via a survey and attendance at two Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) conventions. Some of the daily stressors endorsed by judges included endless caseloads, severe time limitations, social isolation, lack of privacy, and the weight of deciding the fates of others. It is important for our judges to be provided with ways of relieving and preventing burnout and stress. Proposed bench stress solutions include incorporating the Psychologist Advocate Program into the judicial system and creating specific guidelines for judges to take sabbaticals, which will serve to enhance our judicial system and the entire community.     

Genetic and Environmental Overlap between Low Self-Control and Delinquency

Low self-control has emerged as a consistent and strong predictor of antisocial and delinquent behaviors. Using the twin subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), genetic analyses were conducted to examine the genetic and environmental contributions to low self-control and offending as well as to their relationship with one another. The results revealed that low self-control and criminal behaviors are influenced by genetic and nonshared environmental factors with the effects of shared environmental factors being negligible. In addition, the co-variation between low self-control and criminal behaviors appears to be largely due to common genetic and nonshared environmental factors operating on both phenotypes. The implications of these findings on the current understanding of Gottfredson and Hirschi??s general theory of crime are discussed.     

Policy termination in mental health: The hidden agenda

Three policy termination objectives can be analyzed in the field of mental health: the move to phase-down, and in some instances close, large state institutions for the mentally disabled; the elimination in some states of indefinite involuntary commitment procedures; and the attempt to transfer responsibility for the provision of direct services from the state level to local government and/or private providers of care. Initiatives in these areas have come from the executive, the legislature, consumer organizations, and most recently from the public interest law community through the use of litigation. Termination in this field, however, has met with increasing resistance because of the failure in many instances to pair these objectives with positive program development. In some states, the result has been the dismantling of one system without the commitment of resources necessary to encourage the development of an alternative system.     

Quantitation of human genomic DNA through amplification of the amelogenin locus

An alternate method for quantitation of human genomic DNA is presented. Quantitative template amplification technology (abbreviated "Q-TAT") estimates the quantity of human DNA present in an extract by comparing fluorescence in X and Y amplicons produced from unknowns with fluorescence in a standard curve amplified from known quantities of reference DNA. Q-TAT utilizes PCR and electrophoresis with fluorescent detection/quantitation, precluding the need for new instrumentation, methodology, or quality assurance associated with slot-blot or real-time PCR. In a comparison study incorporating shared samples, Q-TAT was found to be more sensitive than widely used slot-blot methods but somewhat less sensitive than real-time PCR. Among samples containing DNA concentrations ranging from 100 pg/microL to 2-4 ng/microL, Q-TAT produced DNA concentration estimates that agreed reasonably well with either Quantiblot or real-time PCR. Q-TAT was reproducible with a typical coincidence of variation of about 35%. Quantitation of human DNA in this study involved summing fluorescence in X and Y amplicons in unknowns and quantitation standards. However, analyzing fluorescence in X and Y amplicons individually could allow estimates of male and female DNA present in mixtures to be made. Moreover, since X and Y amplicons exhibit sizes of 210 and 216 bp, respectively, the integrity as well as the concentration of the genomic DNA template can be assessed. Q-TAT represents an alternate method useful for the quantitation of human genomic DNA prior to amplification of STR loci used for identity testing purposes. The method uses existing equipment and procedures in conjunction with a well-characterized DNA standard to produce concentration estimates for unknowns that reliably produce STR profiles suitable for analysis.