Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain

There are no previous surveys of psychopathy and psychopathic traits in representative general population samples using standardized instruments. This study aimed to measure prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits, based on a two-phase survey using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) in 638 individuals, 16–74 years, in households in England, Wales and Scotland. The weighted prevalence of psychopathy was 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2–1.6) at a cut score of 13, similar to the noncriminal/nonpsychiatric sample described in the manual of the PCL: SV. Psychopathy scores correlated with: younger age, male gender; suicide attempts, violent behavior, imprisonment and homelessness; drug dependence; histrionic, borderline and adult antisocial personality disorders; panic and obsessive–compulsive disorders. This survey demonstrated that, as measured by the PCL: SV, psychopathy is rare, affecting less than 1% of the household population, although it is prevalent among prisoners, homeless persons, and psychiatric admissions. There is a half-normal distribution of psychopathic traits in the general population, with the majority having no traits, a significant proportion with non-zero values, and a severe subgroup of persons with multiple associated social and behavioral problems. This distribution has implications for research into the etiology of psychopathy and its implications for society.     

Why do rape survivors volunteer for face-to-face interviews? A meta-study of victims' reasons for and concerns about research participation

There is growing interest in understanding how different research methods are perceived by victims of violence and what survivors will reveal to researchers (termed meta-research or meta-studies). The purpose of this project was to conduct a qualitative meta-study on why rape survivors chose to participate in community-based, face-to-face interviews. Participants mentioned four primary reasons for why they decided to participate in this study: (a) to help other survivors, (b) to help themselves, (c) to support research on rape/sexual assault, and (d) to receive financial compensation. Implications for designing research recruitment protocols are discussed.     

Beyond COVID-19: Five commentaries on reimagining governance for future crises and resilience

Several Canadian and international scholars offer commentaries on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for governments and public service institutions, and fruitful directions for public administration research and practice. This second suite of commentaries considers the challenges confronting governments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the decades to come with an increasingly broad lens: the need to understand and rethink the architecture of the state given recent and future challenges awaiting governments; the need to rethink government-civil society relations and policies to deliver services for increasingly diverse citizens and communities; the need for new repertoires and sensibilities on the part of governments for recognizing, anticipating, and engaging on governance risks despite imperfect expert knowledge and public skepticism; how the COVID-19 crisis has caused us to reconceive international and sub-national borders where new “borders” are being drawn; and the need to anticipate a steady stream of crises similar to the COVID-19 pandemic arising from climate change and related challenges, and develop new national and international governance strategies for fostering population and community resilience.     

Third molar development in a London population of White British and Black British or other Black ethnicity

Population differences in dental development between Black and White ethnic groups have been debated but not previously studied in the UK. Using inappropriate data for dental age estimation (DAE) could lead to erroneous results and injustice. Data were collected from dental panoramic radiographs of 5590 subjects aged 6–24 years in a teaching hospital archive. Demirjian stages were determined for left-sided teeth and third molars and data collected regarding hypodontia and third molar agenesis. Third molar development in self-assigned Black British, including other self-assigned Black ethnicity, was compared with that of self-assigned White British subjects. Data were compared for males and females in the two ethnic groups using T-tests for Demirjian Stages A–G of third molar development and Mann-Whitney tests for Stage H once a cut-off age at the maximum age for Stage G had been imposed. Third molar development occurred earlier in subjects of Black ancestry compared to those of White ancestry. While both ethnic groups showed large age ranges for every third molar stage, in female subjects these generally occurred at least 1.5 years earlier, and in males at least one year earlier. Hypodontia and third molar agenesis were more prevalent in White British, but the ethnic difference in third molar development persisted in subjects with complete dentitions. This is a large study that confirms ethnic differences in a London population, emphasises the difficulties of establishing the 18-year-old threshold using DAE, and confirms the risk of overestimating the age of individuals of Black ethnicity using White ethnic reference data.     

Social inequalities without class cleavages in Latin America’s neoliberal era

Social inequalities have deepened in Latin America over the past several decades, yet an erosion of class cleavages has occurred in the political arena. During the era of import-substitution industrialization (ISI), “stratified” cleavage structures based on class distinctions emerged in a subset of Latin American countries where party systems were reconfigured by the rise of a mass-based, labor-mobilizing party. These nations typically experienced more severe economic crises during the transition from ISI to neoliberalism than nations that retained elitist party systems with “segmented,” cross-class cleavage structures. They also experienced greater political upheaval, as neoliberal critical junctures produced an erosion of stratified cleavages along their structural, organizational, and cultural dimensions in the labor-mobilizing cases, while leaving the segmented cleavages of elitist systems relatively unscathed. The Latin American experience differs from that of Europe, where strong labor movements and labor-backed parties were associated with superior economic performance during periods of economic adjustment. It also challenges Duverger's notion of an organizational “contagion from the Left,” as the dramatic weakening of labor movements and the shift away from mass-based party organizations have caused party systems to converge on elitist organizational models during the neoliberal era.