A Multilevel Investigation of the Association between School Context and Adolescent Nonphysical Bullying

Although researchers have identified individual-level predictors of nonphysical bullying among children and youth, school-level predictors (i.e., characteristics of the school environment that influence bullying exposure) remain largely unstudied. Using data from a survey of 1,838 students in 21 Boston public high schools, we used multilevel modeling techniques to estimate the level of variation across schools in student reports of nonphysical bully victimization and identify school-level predictors of bullying. We found significant between school variation in youth reports of nonphysical bullying, with estimates ranging from 25-58%. We tested school-level indicators of academic performance, emotional well-being, and school safety. After controlling for individual-level covariates and demographic controls, the percent of students in the school who met with a mental health counselor was significantly associated with bullying (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.06). There was no significant association between school-level academic performance and perceptions of school safety on individual reports of bullying. Findings suggest that prevention and intervention programs may benefit from attending to the emotional well-being of students and support the importance of understanding the role of the school environment in shaping student experiences with bullying.     

Harsh Discipline and Child Problem Behaviors: The Roles of Positive Parenting and Gender

This study examined harsh verbal and physical discipline and child problem behaviors in a community sample of 2,582 parents and their fifth and sixth grade children. Participants were recruited from pediatric practices, and both parents and children completed questionnaire packets. The findings indicated that boys received more harsh verbal and physical discipline than girls, with fathers utilizing more harsh physical discipline with boys than did mothers. Both types of harsh discipline were associated with child behavior problems uniquely after positive parenting was taken into account. Child gender did not moderate the findings, but one dimension of positive parenting (i.e., parental warmth) served to buffer children from the detrimental influences of harsh physical discipline. The implications of the findings for intervention programs are discussed. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.     

Eosinophilic Coronary Periarteritis with Arterial Dissection: The Mast Cell Hypothesis

A subset of coronary arterial dissections is associated with eosinophilic coronary periarteritis (ECPA); however, the pathogenesis of the process remains unclear. Mast cells normally reside in coronary arterial adventitia and are known mediators of eosinophilic inflammatory conditions such as type I hypersensitivity reactions. We report two cases in which coronary arterial dissection with ECPA was detected at autopsy. Tryptase, CD68, CD4, CD8, and CD1a immunohistochemical staining was performed to better characterize inflammation. While eosinophils represented a prominent periadventitial inflammatory cell, there were slightly more lymphocytes: CD4/CD8 ratios were within expected reference ranges. There were moderate numbers of macrophages, and few neutrophils or dendritic cells. Numbers of mast cells in dissected versus nondissected sections were compared: adventitial mast cell densities were threefold higher in dissected portions and showed a trend toward increased degranulation. These findings suggest that mast cells may play a role in orchestrating inflammation in cases of ECPA.     

The Effect of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws on Seat Belt Use by Socioeconomic Position

We investigated the differential effect of mandatory seat belt laws on seat belt use among socioeconomic subgroups. We identified the differential effect of legislation across higher versus lower education individuals using a difference‐in‐differences model based on state variations in the timing of the passage of laws. We find strong effects of mandatory seat belt laws for all education groups, but the effect is stronger for those with fewer years of education. In addition, we find that the differential effect by education is larger for mandatory seat belt laws with primary rather than secondary enforcement. Our results imply that existing socioeconomic differences in seat belt use would be further mitigated if all states upgraded to primary enforcement.     

The Brazilian Landless Movement,Resistance, and Violence

Throughout Brazil, landless resisters are being violently victimized at the discretion of large landowners. The main goals of this article are to (1) Explain the historical and current conditions that have facilitated the violent oppression experienced by the landless movement, (2) illustrate the mass violence experienced by the landless population, (3) provide a review of the existing research regarding the relationship between land reform, violence, and state strength, (4) introduce a new explanation of decentralized state power in relationship to the persistence of violence against the landless movement. I explore the Brazilian landless movement through content analyses, fieldwork, and a review of existing data. The approach used to study and understand the powers associated with the landless movement is unique to the existing literature of the Brazilian landless movement in that it moves beyond advocacy towards a criminological and political analysis.