Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in Mothers At-Risk for Child Maltreatment

Using three interviews spanning 3 years, we identified intimate partner violence (IPV) classes and determined how class membership changed over time amongst a sample of 217 mothers at-risk for child maltreatment that were enrolled in an early childhood home visitation evaluation study. Data on perpetration/victimization, IPV type (verbal, physical, and sexual abuse and injury) and severity were used to conduct latent class analyses at each time point. Latent transition analyses established the proportion of mothers who changed classes over time. A three-class solution (minimal, moderate, and high IPV) was indicated at each time point. All classes included mutual IPV. Partners used minor verbal abuse in the minimal class, minor and severe verbal abuse and minor physical abuse in the moderate class, and all IPV categories in the high class. At each transition, 40 % or more women moved from minimal to moderate or high IPV. This movement emphasizes the need to screen women frequently and develop interventions recognizing the dynamic nature of IPV.     

Second‐hand Emotion? Exploring the Contagion and Impact of Trauma and Distress in the Asylum Law Context

Applicants' accounts of experiences of fear, trauma, violence, and persecution are central to the process of claiming asylum. These narratives are, at a human level, primed to provoke emotional responses, not only in the narrator but also in those to whom the account is relayed. In this article, we explore the vectors of emotionality that permeate asylum decision‐making in the United Kingdom, focusing particularly on the risk faced by the professionals involved of suffering vicarious trauma. More specifically, based on a series of 104 semi‐structured interviews with asylum stakeholders and observation of 48 appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First‐tier Tribunal, this article identifies the adoption by legal and quasi‐legal professionals of emotional coping strategies – of detachment and denial of responsibility – that risk being deployed in maladaptive ways that jeopardize the prospects for justice.     

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.     

A mobile system for postmortem genital examinations with colposcopy: SART-TO-GO

The interpretation of genital findings in the deceased is a vital and timely issue. A paucity of information exists on the nature and appearance of the anogenital tissues in the postmortem interval. The traditional postmortem genital examination consists of gross visualization, which may preclude detection of the subtler trauma that usually constitutes injury in sexual assault. The mobile system grew out of a need to bring the examiner to the patient, e.g., in jurisdictions that lack a centralized morgue. The theoretical framework of the methodology lies in the sexual activity that culminates in the death of the sexual homicide victim. This sequential methodology was based on the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) model, with adaptation to the autopsy milieu. Colposcopy is well-established for the medical-legal investigation of living sexual assault victims. During the author's initial rape-homicide examinations, only gross visualization was available. It soon became apparent that a system that facilitated detailed scrutiny of the anogenital tissues at various postmortem intervals was needed. Colposcopy was selected as the examination method because of its magnification, photodocumentation, and peer review potential. The sequential protocol was developed and refined during an ongoing accumulation of baseline cases. The role of the forensic nurse examiner is described within a defined scope of expertise and as a collaborative member of the homicide investigative team.     

Gender and Emotional Labor in Public Organizations: An Empirical Examination of the Link to Performance

Scholars of public organizations have begun to emphasize emotional labor in studies of gender in the workplace, finding that the skills women bring to organizations are often overlooked and undercompensated even though they play a vital role in the organization. Emotional labor is an individual's effort to present emotions in a way that is desired by the organization. The authors hypothesize that employers with greater emotional labor expectations of their employees will have more effective interactions with clients, better internal relationships, and superior program performance. This article tests the effects of emotional labor in a bureaucratic workforce over time. Multiple regression results show that organizations with more women at the street level have higher overall organizational performance. Additionally, emotional labor contributes to organizational productivity over and above its role in employee turnover and client satisfaction.