Predictors of trauma symptomatology in sexually abused adolescents: a 6-month follow-up study

This study examines the natural course of trauma-specific symptoms 6 months after disclosure. Furthermore, this study investigates whether severity and type of abuse (intrafamilial or extrafamilial sexual abuse), negative appraisals, coping strategies, and crisis support measured at time of disclosure can be predictive of trauma symptoms 6 months later. Sixty-five sexually abused Flemish adolescents are reassessed 6 months after disclosure. Information from the participants is obtained through self-report questionnaires. Forty-six percent of the adolescents report clinically significant trauma symptoms. Although internalizing symptoms significantly decreases after 6 months, externalizing symptoms persist. Type or severity of the abuse does not account for differences in symptomatology. Two predictors of ongoing trauma symptomatology are identified: postdisclosure trauma symptomatology and a lack of initial crisis support. Information on the victims' postdisclosure symptomatology as well as information on the initial received social support is critical in understanding which abused adolescents are most at risk for poor outcomes in the long term.     

When Do Issue Opinions Matter,and to Whom? The Determinants of Long‐Term Stability and Change in Party Choice in the 2003 Swiss Elections

While various studies have highlighted the short‐term importance of issue‐voting for party choice, little attention has so far been paid to its long‐term relevance. Relying on longitudinal data from the 2003 Swiss federal elections, we examine under what circumstances issue‐specific considerations affect stability and change in party choice. We postulate that the impact of issue‐specific considerations is likely to vary depending on a set of mediating factors. Analyzing four mechanisms of stability and change (reinforcement, activation, conversion, and demobilization), we find first that issues matter more when they are pressing, central, and polarizing. Furthermore, issue positions affect the vote more significantly for the parties that are more profiled on them. These results are in line with those on short‐term effects. However, they reveal a stronger influence of shifts in issue opinions in the long‐term than in the short‐term. Finally, we do not find any substantial variations in the effect of issue preferences across individual characteristics (political sophistication and party identification).     

The Erosion of Racial Equality in the Context of Cuba's Dual Economy

Scholars of Cuba have long linked Afro-Cubans' fate to the revolutionary government. As the government's influence on people's daily lives has declined over the past decade, the question arises of whether Afro-Cubans have sustained the gains they achieved in the revolution's first 30 years. This article uses survey data, collected in December 2000 from 334 Cuban families in Havana, to assess the impact of the post-1993 economic reforms on rising racial inequality in Cuba. It asks whether racial inequities occur in accessing dollars through state employment, self-employment, or remittances, and whether educational gains are tied to higher income. Results indicate that the structural means through which racial discrimination was once virtually eliminated through equal access to education and employment, and through which income levels became equalized according to educational level regardless of racial group, has lost its equalizing force in contemporary Cuba.     

Under the gaze of the 'big nations': Refugees, rumours and the international community in Tanzania

In most academic literature refugees are portrayed either asthose who lack what national citizens have or as a threat tothe national order of things. This article explores the effectsof being excluded in such a way, and argues that Burundian refugeesin a camp in northwest Tanzania find themselves in an ambiguousposition, being excluded from the national order of things —secluded in the Tanzanian bush — while simultaneouslybeing subject to state-of-the-art humanitarian interventions— apparently bringing them closer to the internationalcommunity. The article explores the ways in which refugees in the camprelate to the international community. Ambiguous perceptionsof the international community are expressed in rumours andconspiracy theories. These conspiracy theories create a kindof ontological surety by presenting the Hutu refugees as thevictims of a grand Tutsi plot supported by ‘the big nations’.Finally, the article argues that refugees — being excludedfrom the nation-state and being subject to the government ofinternational NGOs — seek recognition from the internationalcommunity rather than any nation-state. This does not, however,destabilize the hegemony of the nation-state, as refugees perceivetheir own position as temporary and the international communityas the guarantor of a more just international order in the longrun.     

Women Representatives Acting for Women: Sex and the Signing of Early Day Motions in the 1997 British Parliament

The return of 101 Labour women MPs in 1997 generated an expectation that their presence would enhance women's substantive representation. And many of Labour's new women MPs claim to have acted for women since their election. Yet demonstrating the difference that MPs make is not easy. Much of what goes on in the chamber of the Commons reflects party identity, and much of what goes on elsewhere in parliament is hidden. Studying sex differences in the signing of early day motions (EDMs) provides one way of testing whether Labour's women MPs are acting for women. Analysis of all the EDMs in the 1997 parliament, some 5,000 motions, establishes that they are more likely than Labour's men to sign 'women's' and especially feminist 'women's' EDMs. There is clear evidence of behavioural differences between Labour's women and men MPs, strengthening arguments that women's political presence is important because of the substantive difference they can make.     

Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire: A Brief Assessment of Attachment in Adolescence

The Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), a brief questionnaire to assess attachment characteristics in adolescents, was developed and validated in a large normative sample (n = 691) and a sample of 133 adolescents in psychiatric treatment. The AAQ is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 3 scales of 3 statements each, with Likert-type responses from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The Availability scale assesses the adolescent's confidence in the availability and responsiveness of the attachment figure. TheGoal-Corrected Partnershipscale assesses the extent to which the adolescent considers and is empathetic to the needs and feelings of the attachment figure. The Angry Distress scale taps the amount of anger in the adolescent–parent relationship. All scales demonstrate satisfactory internal reliability and agreement between scores for adolescents (n = 91) from the normative sample who completed the AAQ twice. Adolescents in the clinical sample also completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI); the AAQ demonstrated high convergent validity with the AAI.     

Optimization and initial evaluation of 1,2-indandione as a reagent for fingerprint detection

1,2-Indandione has been used to develop fluorescent fingerprints on porous materials such as paper. The compound reacts with amino acid residues to produce highly fluorescent fingerprint ridges. An optimized formulation and treatment protocol for using the reagent is presented here. The reagent is applied as a solution in HFE7100 containing acetic acid and ethyl acetate. Treated articles are heated at 100 degrees C for 10 min at ambient humidity and stored in the dark before recording the fingerprints using fluorescence photography or digital imaging. Photodecomposition of the fluorescent fingerprints has been observed. Storage in the dark reduces degradation, extending the lifetime of the fingerprints. Other chemical methods to stabilize the fingerprints proved unsuccessful. Comparisons of the performance of 1,2-indandione with DFO in CFC113 performed on a limited range of substrates indicated that the reagent might be an effective method for the development of latent fingerprints despite the new reagent producing less intense fluorescence.     

Characterisation of variant alleles at the HumD21S11 locus implies unique Australasian genotypes and re-classification of nomenclature guidelines

Several variant alleles of the HumD21S11 locus have only been reported in Australasian population samples. Fifteen such alleles were observed in Caucasian and Australian Aborigine sub-population databases compiled from residents of the state of Western Australia. Each variant was sequenced to authenticate the allelic designation and determine the structural conformation. Nine novel structural variants are described. The structure of the repeat region of these rare alleles combined with the STR designation brings aspects of the HumD21S11 nomenclature guidelines into question, in particular the designation of common incomplete repeats (or "0.2's"). The conformation of the sequences provides evidence in support of a genetic relationship between the Australian Aborigine and the Papuan people.