Intimate Partner Abuse among African American Lesbians: Prevalence, Risk Factors, Theory, and Resilience

The purpose of this article is to present an intersectionality-based model for conceptualizing the risk factors associated with intimate partner abuse (IPA) among African American lesbians. The available literature on prevalence and risk factors associated with IPA suggests that: (a) estimates of prevalence rates for African American lesbian IPA could range from 25?% to 40?%, with the higher end of the range representing the inclusion of nonphysical forms of abuse (i.e., verbal abuse, intimidation, and coercion); and (b) the risk factors most likely to be associated with IPA for this population include poverty, history of trauma and mental health symptoms (including substance abuse), in addition to distress caused by multiple and intersecting forms of oppression (i.e., racialized, classist sexism and heterosexism). The model demonstrates the manner in which all of these risk factors intersect to create disproportionately high risk for this underresearched and underserved population. A psychodynamically based model is also presented that illustrates the cycle of abuse within an African American lesbian relationship. Finally, a model depicting the most likely protective factors segues into a brief concluding discussion about the implications for intervention, prevention, policy, education, and future research.     

Minimal standards for the performance and interpretation of toxicology tests in legal proceedings.

There have been several high profile criminal and civil cases that have been litigated in recent years involving toxicologic analyses and interpretations of blood, urine, and other specimens for drugs of abuse. Disputes have erupted between prominent toxicologists and laboratory scientists as to the validity and interpretation of the data presented. The disputes centered around the fact that the procedures used in these cases had not been properly validated with analytical noise being misinterpreted as a positive result. As with any analyses, forensic tests must be conducted in a manner such that they meet the minimum standards accepted within the toxicology community. No conclusions as to presence or absence of drug, its concentration, or its physiologic effects can be made if there is a failure to meet these basic standards. Several cases are presented where these standard tenets may not have been followed.     

Strong Reciprocity and the Roots of Human Morality

Human morality is a key evolutionary adaptation on which human social behavior has been based since the Pleistocene era. Ethical behavior is constitutive of human nature, we argue, and human morality is as important an adaptation as human cognition and speech. Ethical behavior, we assert, need not be a means toward personal gain. Because of our nature as moral beings, humans take pleasure in acting ethically and are pained when acting unethically. From an evolutionary viewpoint, we argue that ethical behavior was fitness-enhancing in the years marking the emergence of Homo sapiens because human groups with many altruists fared better than groups of selfish individuals, and the fitness losses sustained by altruists were more than compensated by the superior performance of the groups in which they congregated.     

Missing persons-missing data: the need to collect antemortem dental records of missing persons

The subject of missing persons is of great concern to the community with numerous associated emotional, financial, and health costs. This paper examines the forensic medical issues raised by the delayed identification of individuals classified as "missing" and highlights the importance of including dental data in the investigation of missing persons. Focusing on Australia, the current approaches employed in missing persons investigations are outlined. Of particular significance is the fact that each of the eight Australian states and territories has its own Missing Persons Unit that operates within distinct state and territory legislation. Consequently, there is a lack of uniformity within Australia about the legal and procedural framework within which investigations of missing persons are conducted, and the interaction of that framework with coronial law procedures. One of the main investigative problems in missing persons investigations is the lack of forensic medical, particularly, odontological input. Forensic odontology has been employed in numerous cases in Australia where identity is unknown or uncertain because of remains being skeletonized, incinerated, or partly burnt. The routine employment of the forensic odontologist to assist in missing person inquiries, has however, been ignored. The failure to routinely employ forensic odontology in missing persons inquiries has resulted in numerous delays in identification. Three Australian cases are presented where the investigation of individuals whose identity was uncertain or unknown was prolonged due to the failure to utilize the appropriate (and available) dental resources. In light of the outcomes of these cases, we suggest that a national missing persons dental records database be established for future missing persons investigations. Such a database could be easily managed between a coronial system and a forensic medical institute. In Australia, a national missing persons dental records database could be incorporated into the National Coroners Information System (NCIS) managed, on behalf of Australia's Coroners, by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. The existence of the NCIS would ensure operational collaboration in the implementation of the system and cost savings to Australian policing agencies involved in missing person inquiries. The implementation of such a database would facilitate timely and efficient reconciliation of clinical and postmortem dental records and have subsequent social and financial benefits.     

Allele frequencies for 15 autosomal STR loci and admixture estimates in Puerto Rican Americans

Allelic frequencies of 15 short tandem repeats (STR) markers (CSF1PO, FGA, THO1, TPOX, VWA, D3S11358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, D19S433 and D2S1338) were determined using the AmpFl STR Identifiler PCR Amplification Kit in Puerto Rican American individuals (N=205) from Massachusetts. The FGA, D18S51 and D2S1338 loci had a high power of discrimination (PD) with values of 0.967, 0.965 and 0.961, respectively. Significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium were not detected. An important genetic contribution of Caucasian European (76.4%) was detected in Puerto Rican Americans. However, comparative analysis between Puerto Rican American and other neighboring populations from United States mainly with African and Caucasian Americans, revealed significant differences in the distribution of STR markers. Our results are important for future comparative genetic studies of different American ethnic groups, in particular a cultural group called Hispanic-Americans and should be helpful for forensic and paternity testing.     

Traumatic stress symptoms in women exposed to community and partner violence

Prior research documents increased trauma symptoms associated with exposure to violence, primarily by examining types of violence separately. This study extends prior research by examining traumatic stress symptoms associated with two types of violence exposure, community violence and partner violence. A sample of 90 low-income African American women from an urban area completed measures assessing exposure to community violence, partner violence, and trauma symptoms. Exposure to community violence and partner violence were associated with increased reporting of trauma symptoms. Participants who experienced high levels of exposure to both types of violence reported more trauma symptoms than women who were exposed to only one type of violence or neither type of violence. The results suggest that the accumulation of exposures to violence is linked with greater distress. Thus, interventions with women exposed to violence should assess violence exposure in multiple domains and attend to the implications of multiple exposures to violence.