Trajectories of Physical Dating Violence from Middle to High School: Association with Relationship Quality and Acceptability of Aggression

Although research on dating violence is growing, little is known about the distinct developmental trajectories of dating violence during adolescence. The current study identifies trajectories of physical dating violence victimization and perpetration that boys and girls follow from sixth to twelfth grade, examines the overlap of these trajectories, and characterizes them by perceptions of a caring dating relationship and acceptability of dating aggression. The sample consisted of randomly selected sixth graders from nine schools in Northeast Georgia (n = 588; 52 % boys; 49 % White, 36 % African American, 12 % Latino) who completed yearly surveys from Grades 6–12. We used latent class mixture modeling to identify the trajectories and generalized estimating equations models to examine the acceptability of dating aggression by dating violence trajectories. Participants followed two trajectories of dating violence victimization (boys: low and high; girls: low and increasing) and two of perpetration (boys and girls: low and increasing). When examining the joint trajectories of victimization and perpetration, a similar proportion of boys (62 %) and girls (65 %) were in the low victimization and low perpetration group and reported the lowest acceptance of dating aggression. The same proportion of boys and girls (27 %) were in the high/increasing victimization and perpetration group, and reported the highest acceptance of dating aggression. However, acceptance of dating aggression decreased from Grade 6–12 for all groups, even for those whose trajectory of dating violence increased. Victimization and perpetration were associated with reporting a less caring dating relationship. Results highlight the importance of focusing prevention efforts early for adolescents who follow this increasing probability of physical dating violence.     

Democracy Promotion and Authoritarian Diffusion: The Foreign Origins of Post-Soviet Election Laws

Flawed electoral legislation in post-Soviet states has facilitated the conduct of undemocratic elections. This article argues that the low quality of electoral legislation in the region results in large part from a process of ‘authoritarian diffusion’, whereby the election laws of the post-Soviet states extensively borrow and adapt from Soviet laws and post-communist Russian laws. The authorities of most post-Soviet states have routinely disregarded recommendations by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Venice Commission to improve electoral legislation. Besides presenting evidence of ‘authoritarian diffusion’ across the post-Soviet area, the article highlights the enduring impact of the Soviet legacy and of Russia's relatively hegemonic position in the region.     

The redistributive impact of hypocrisy in international taxation

Why do tax havens, whose attractiveness for foreign investors depends upon financial secrecy, agree to automatically report account data to foreign governments? From a contractualist perspective, their cooperation should be motivated by the expectation of joint gains. Prior to such agreement, however, tax havens expected outflows of foreign capital and reductions in economic activity as likely outcomes. We show that the United States (US) imposed automatic information exchange on these countries without itself participating. The result is a strongly redistributive regime that worsens the economic situation of tax havens. By means of a difference‐in‐differences analysis, we ascertain a substantial and statistically significant negative effect of a US sanction threat on the value of assets held by foreigners in tax havens relative to non‐havens. The effect becomes stronger when the US is included in the non‐haven group. The analysis confirms the US's ability to redistribute financial wealth internationally through organized hypocrisy.     

Antecedents of Suicide among Youth Aged 11–15: A Multistate Mixed Methods Analysis

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 11 to 15, taking over 5,500 lives from 2003 to 2014. Suicide among this age group is linked to risk factors such as mental health problems, family history of suicidal behavior, biological factors, family problems, and peer victimization and bullying. However, few studies have examined the frequency with which such problems occur among youth suicide decedents or the context in which decedents experience these risk factors and the complex interplay of risk that results in a decedent’s decision to take his/her own life. Data from a random sample of 482 youth (ages 11–15) suicide cases captured in the National Violent Death Reporting System from 2003 to 2014 were analyzed. The sample had fewer girls than boys (31 vs. 69?%) and comprised primarily White youth (79?%), but also African Americans (13?%), Asians (4?%), and youth of other races (4?%). Narrative data from coroner/medical examiner and law enforcement investigative reports were coded and analyzed to identify common behavioral patterns that preceded suicide. Emergent themes were quantified and examined using content and constant comparative analysis. Themes regarding antecedents across multiple levels of the social ecology emerged. Relationship problems, particularly with parents, were the most common suicide antecedent. Also, a pattern demonstrating a consistent progression toward suicidal behavior emerged from the data. Narratives indicated that youth were commonly exposed to one or more problems, often resulting in feelings of loneliness and burdensomeness, which progressed toward thoughts and sometimes plans for or attempts at suicide. Continued exposure to negative experiences and thoughts/plans about suicide, and/or self-injurious acts resulted in an acquired capacity to self-harm, eventually leading to suicide. These findings provide support for theories of suicidal behavior and highlight the importance of multi-level, comprehensive interventions that address individual cognitions and build social connectedness and support, as well as prevention strategies that increase awareness of the warning signs and symptoms of suicide, particularly among family members of at-risk youth.     

ISFG: Recommendations on biostatistics in paternity testing

The Paternity Testing Commission (PTC) of the International Society for Forensic Genetics has taken up the task of establishing the biostatistical recommendations in accordance with the ISO 17025 standards and a previous set of ISFG recommendations specific to the genetic investigations in paternity cases. In the initial set, the PTC recommended that biostatistical evaluations of paternity are based on a likelihood ratio principle – yielding the paternity index, PI. Here, we have made five supplementary biostatistical recommendations. The first recommendation clarifies and defines basic concepts of genetic hypotheses and calculation concerns needed to produce valid PIs. The second and third recommendations address issues associated with population genetics (allele probabilities, Y-chromosome markers, mtDNA, and population substructuring) and special circumstances (deficiency/reconstruction and immigration cases), respectively. The fourth recommendation considers strategies regarding genetic evidence against paternity. The fifth recommendation covers necessary documentation, reporting details and assumptions underlying calculations. The PTC strongly suggests that these recommendations should be adopted by all laboratories involved in paternity testing as the basis for their biostatistical analysis.     

Reviews

Stephen F. Cohen, Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution. A Political Biography 1888–1938. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973, and London: Wildwood House, 1974. xix + 495 pp. $15. £4.50.

Vladimir G. Treml, Dimitri M. Gallik, Barry L. Kostinsky and Kurt W. Kruger, The Structure of the Soviet Economy. Analysis and Reconstruction of the 1966 Input‐Output Table. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972 and London: Pall Mall Press, 1973. xxiv + 661 pp. $32.50. £14.00.

Gur Ofer, The Service Sector in Soviet Economic Growth: A Comparative Study. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1973. xi + 202 pp. $10.00. £5.00.

Morris Bornstein (ed.), Plan and Market: Economic Reform in Eastern Europe. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1973. viii + 416 pp. $15.00. £6.50.

Jan Ake Dellenbrant, Reformists and Traditionalists: A Study of Soviet Discussions about Economic Reform, 1960–1965. Stockholm: Raben T. Sjogren, 1972. 166 pp.

Abraham Katz, The Politics of Economic Reform in the Soviet Union. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972 and London: Pall Mall Press, 1973. viii + 230 pp. £6.25.

Rudolf Bi?ani?, Economic Policy in Socialist Yugoslavia. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1973. (Soviet and East European Studies Series.) viii + 254 PP‐ £4–80.

Michael Ellman, Planning Problems in the USSR. The Contribution of Mathematical Economics to their Solution 1960–1971. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1973. (University of Cambridge Department of Applied Economics, Monograph 24.) xx + 222 pp. £4.50. $14.95.

Gunnar L. Amundsen, Le Conseil d'Entraide Economique. Structures, réalisations, perspectives. Strasbourg: Université des Sciences Humaines, second printing 1972. 835 pp.

Ellen Mickiewicz (ed.), Handbook of Soviet Social Science Data. New York: The Free Press, and London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1973. xxvi + 225 pp. £7.50.

Gerhard Simon, Church, State and Opposition in the U.S.S.R. London: C. Hurst, 1974. x + 248 pp. £4.20.

Martin Dewhirst and Robert Farrell (eds.), The Soviet Censorship. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1973. vii + 170 pp. $7.50.

Paul Avrich (ed.), The Anarchists in the Russian Revolution. London: Thames & Hudson, 1973. 179 pp. £2.75 (cloth). £1.35 (paper).

Paul Hollander, Soviet and American Society. A Comparison. London : OUP, 1973. xx + 476 pp. £5.75.

Anita Dasbach‐Mallinckrodt, Wer macht die Aussenpolitik der DDR? Düsseldorf, Droste Verlag, 1972. 364 pp.

J. G. Garrard (ed.), The Eighteenth Century in Russia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973. xiii + 356 pp. £6.50.     

Herbert,Hercules and the Plural Society: A “Knot” in the Social Bond

“They are playing a game. They are playing at not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game.”     

Human hair histogenesis for the mitochondrial DNA forensic scientist.

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence from human hairs has proven to be a valuable complement to traditional hair comparison microscopy in forensic cases when nuclear DNA typing is not possible. However, while much is known about the specialties of hair biology and mtDNA sequence analysis, there has been little correlation of individual information. Hair microscopy and hair embryogenesis are subjects that are sometimes unfamiliar to the forensic DNA scientist. The continual growth and replacement of human hairs involves complex cellular transformation and regeneration events. In turn, the analysis of mtDNA sequence data can involve complex questions of interpretation (e.g., heteroplasmy and the sequence variation it may cause within an individual, or between related individuals. In this paper we review the details of hair developmental histology, including the migration of mitochondria in the growing hair, and the related interpretation issues regarding the analysis of mtDNA data in hair. Macroscopic and microscopic hair specimen classifications are provided as a possible guide to help forensic scientists better associate mtDNA sequence heteroplasmy data with the physical characteristics of a hair. These same hair specimen classifications may also be useful when evaluating the relative success in sequencing different types and/or forms of human hairs. The ultimate goal of this review is to bring the hair microscopist and forensic DNA scientist closer together, as the use of mtDNA sequence analysis continues to expand.     

Can Genetics Predict Response to Complex Behavioral Interventions? Evidence from a Genetic Analysis of the Fast Track Randomized Control Trial

Early interventions are a preferred method for addressing behavioral problems in high‐risk children, but often have only modest effects. Identifying sources of variation in intervention effects can suggest means to improve efficiency. One potential source of such variation is the genome. We conducted a genetic analysis of the Fast Track randomized control trial, a 10‐year‐long intervention to prevent high‐risk kindergarteners from developing adult externalizing problems including substance abuse and antisocial behavior. We tested whether variants of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 were associated with differences in response to the Fast Track intervention. We found that in European‐American children, a variant of NR3C1 identified by the single‐nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 was associated with increased risk for externalizing psychopathology in control group children and decreased risk for externalizing psychopathology in intervention group children. Variation in NR3C1 measured in this study was not associated with differential intervention response in African‐American children. We discuss implications for efforts to prevent externalizing problems in high‐risk children and for public policy in the genomic era.