Characteristics of Adolescents Who Report Very High Life Satisfaction

This study investigated the characteristics of adolescents who report high levels of life global satisfaction. A total of 485 adolescents completed the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) (Huebner, E. S. (1991). Sch. Psychol. Int. 12: 231–240.) along with self-report measures of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and school-related functioning. Based on their SLSS scores, students were divided into three groups: “low” (bottom 20% of the distribution), “average” (middle 50%), and “high” (upper 20%). Youth in the high satisfaction group reported significantly higher adaptive functioning on all dependent variables than youth in the low satisfaction group. Relative to students with average life satisfaction, students with high life satisfaction reported superior scores on a measure of social stress, a measure of attitudes toward teachers, and on all measures of intrapersonal functioning. Also, no adolescents in the high life satisfaction group demonstrated clinical levels of psychological symptoms, whereas 7% of the average group and 42% of the low satisfaction group reported clinical levels of symptoms. Taken together, the findings suggested that high life satisfaction is associated with some mental health benefits that are not found among youth reporting comparatively lower satisfaction levels.Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Research interests include positive well-being among youth, perfectionism, and peer neglect. He is a recent recipient of the APA Division 16 (School Psychology) award for scholarly contribution.Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. Research interests involve the conceptualization, measurement, and implications of positive psychological well-being constructs among youth. He is currently director of the School Psychology Program, and fellow of Division 16 of the APA and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies.     

The utility of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory with offenders

Self-report instruments can provide useful information as part of a thorough clinical assessment. However, their use in forensic settings can be problematic. The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) has recently been proposed as an effective instrument for screening and outcome measurement in anger management programs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of this instrument in a sample of both voluntary and court-ordered anger-management clients, all of whom were determined through diagnostic interviews to have significant anger problems. Contrary to findings in nonforensic samples, the STAXI Trait Anger scale identified only about half of the participants as having anger-management problems severe enough to require intervention. Supplemental analysis with two additional scales did not significantly improve sensitivity. In addition to thorough diagnostic interviewing, forensic use of the STAXI (like similar assessment methods) may require additional validity scales to detect denial or socially desirable response patterns.     

Immunohistochemical analysis of forensic evidence from a double homicide

We report the use of immunohistochemical staining for analysis of forensic evidence from a double homicide. A 38-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter were murdered by multiple blows to the head and face with a tomahawk, resulting in multiple fragments of brain tissue scattered about the murder scene. The victims' husband and father was the main suspect, who maintained that he was out of town on business during the evening of the murders. However, a shirt taken from the suspect's car on the morning after the murders (secured by the police before the suspect visited the murder scene) was found to have two small stains. DNA analysis on the stains showed the presence of the deceased wife's DNA, and immunohistochemical stains on shirt fragments conclusively documented the presence of deep central nervous system tissue, providing the critical piece of evidence needed to arrest and prosecute the suspect. This report demonstrates that shirt or similar cloth fragments can be processed into paraffin blocks and subsequently immunostained to search for and classify types of tissue fragments that may be present on the fabric.     

Characterization of the Caucasian haplogroups present in the SWGDAM forensic mtDNA dataset for 1771 human control region sequences. Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods

Currently, the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) mtDNA dataset is used to infer the relative rarity of mtDNA profiles (i.e., haplotypes) obtained from evidence samples and for identification of missing persons. The Caucasian haplogroup patterns in this forensic dataset have been characterized using phylogenetic methods. The assessment reveals that the dataset is relevant and representative of U.S. and European Caucasians. The comparisons carried out were both the observation of variable sites within the control region (CR) and the selection of a subset of these sites, which partition the variation within human mtDNA control region sequences into clusters (i.e., haplogroups). The aligned sequence matrix was analyzed to determine both single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a phylogenetic context, as well as to check and standardize haplogroup designations with a focus on determining the characters that define these groups. To evaluate the dataset for forensic utility, the haplogroup identifications and frequencies were compared with those reported from other published studies.