Coping Among Adult Female Victims of Domestic Violence

This paper examines the current literature regarding coping among battered women. It considers a number of contextual factors that are related to women's choices in coping with partner abuse, including factors related to the relationship (e.g., frequency and severity of abuse, length of relationship) and women's resources (e.g., social support, financial resources). Relationships between different forms of coping and psychological outcomes are also examined. As the research in domestic violence coping is somewhat lacking in coherence, theories, and models from the broader coping literature are used to organize the findings from the domestic violence field. Methodological concerns, such as research methods, measurement issues, and sampling, are raised throughout the paper. Suggestions for future research are made.     

A discrete choice experiment investigating preferences for funding drugs used to treat orphan diseases: an exploratory study

Policy debate about funding criteria for drugs used to treat rare, orphan diseases is gaining prominence. This study presents evidence from a discrete choice experiment using a convenience sample of university students to investigate individual preferences regarding public funding for drugs used to treat rare diseases and common diseases. This pilot study finds that: other things equal, the respondents do not prefer to have the government spend more for drugs used to treat rare diseases; that respondents are not willing to pay more per life year gained for a rare disease than a common disease; and that respondents weigh relevant attributes of the coverage decisions (e.g. costs, disease severity and treatment effectiveness) similarly for both rare and common diseases. The results confirm the importance of severity and treatment effectiveness in preferences for public funding. Although this is the first study of its kind, the results send a cautionary message regarding the special treatment of orphan drugs in coverage decision-making.     

Back from the future: did the LETR really prepare us for the future?

The eagerly awaited outcomes of the Legal Education and Training Review provide a richness of data on the nature and content of legal education which is invaluable for legal education researchers. However, it is argued here that in so far as the Review was concerned with context and with preparing providers of legal services for a more challenging future, it neglected or understated some key issues. The extent of change in terms of the growth in the unregulated sector and in the way services are delivered, along with significant change in the way legal education and training itself is provided were perhaps all underestimated. Importantly, it is argued that the regulatory framework of the EU and its current developments and controversies were barely touched on yet not only is that framework directly relevant but it also has much to offer in terms of experience and ideas.     

Untangling Social and Political Capital in Latin American Democracies

Robert Putnam extolled the virtue of social capital by arguing that social networks, civil society, and trust contribute to democracy. Subsequent research, however, identified a weakness in the social capital “model” in its underspecification of the mechanisms by which social capital affects political systems. This article proposes the concept of political capital as a likely product of social capital that links civil society participants to the political system. The article tests this two‐stage model of social capital and political capital and their effects on democratization using survey data from eight Latin American nations. Results find that civil society engagement in 2004 affected political capital variables, which, in turn, had positive effects on system‐level democracy measures in 2010. The article thus shows that political capital serves as an intervening variable between social capital and democracy and democratization.     

Massive systemic fat embolism detected by postmortem imaging and biopsy*

Postmortem computed tomography (pmCT) and pmCT angiography (pmCTA) provide a minimally invasive method to determine the cause of death. Postmortem image-guided biopsy allows for precise sampling of histological specimens. This case study describes the findings of lethal systemic fat embolism (FE) on whole-body unenhanced pmCT, pmCTA, and image-guided biopsy, with autopsy and histopathologic correlation. Unenhanced pmCT revealed a distinct fat level on top of sedimented layers of corpuscular blood particles and serum in the arterial system and pulmonary trunk. Subsequent pmCTA showed reproducible results, and image-guided biopsy confirmed fatal FE. pm CT/pmCTA combined with image-guided biopsy established the cause of death as right heart failure as a result of systemic fatal FE prior to autopsy. All imaging findings were consistent with traditional autopsy and histological specimens. This unique case demonstrates new imaging findings in massive, fatal FE and highlights that postmortem imaging, supplemented by image-guided biopsy, may detect the cause of death prior to traditional autopsy.     

Exposure to intimate partner violence, peer relations, and risk for internalizing behaviors: a prospective longitudinal study

The present study examines the quality of peer relations as a mediator between exposure to IPV (intimate partner violence) and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 129 preadolescents and adolescents (ages 10-18), who were interviewed via telephone as part of a multigenerational, prospective, longitudinal study. Relational victimization is also examined as a moderator of IPV exposure on internalizing behaviors. Results demonstrate a significant association of exposure to severe IPV and internalizing behaviors. Relational victimization is found to moderate the effects of exposure to severe IPV on internalizing behaviors. The present findings suggest that the effects of exposure to IPV had a particularly important effect on the risk for internalizing problems if the adolescent also experienced relational victimization. Conversely, the receipt of prosocial behaviors buffer against the effects of IPV exposure on internalizing symptoms in teen girls.