Profiles and Correlates of Relational Aggression in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships

The present study examines prevalence and correlates of experiencing and perpetrating relational aggression in the context of young adults’ romantic relationships. We assess correlates of relational aggression in four domains of risk: (1) Social-cognitive, (2) Relationship, (3) Trait/dispositional, and (4) Mental health. Results indicate that modest involvement in relational aggression is relatively common. Females reported higher levels of perpetration whereas males reported higher levels of victimization. Relational aggression and victimization were related to each domain of risk for both men and women, although different patterns of findings emerged for each domain. For example, individuals who reported perpetrating relational aggression in their romantic relationships believed that aggression was most acceptable (social-cognitive risk) whereas individuals who reported experiencing relational aggression (as victims) were more likely to indicate that their self worth is contingent on relationships and that romantic relationships are very important to them (dispositional risk). Respondents who reported either perpetrating or experiencing relational aggression had higher levels of exclusivity in their relationships and were more likely to describe their relationships in anxious attachment terms (relationship risk). They also reported higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms (mental health risk). Implications of these results for theory and prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Governance within public–private partnerships and the politics of urban development

Public-private partnerships are the preferred vehicles for the planning, financing and implementation of contemporary urban development. Scholarship on public-private partnerships tends to examine their activities in advancing development. Less attention is accorded to their internal dynamics or governance. While partnerships are intended to build internal consensus and obtain consent in order to carry out urban development, this premise assumes that coordinated public and private interests are in play. This paper examines the internal governance of two public-private partnerships in Rochester, New along three dimensions: conformity to a collective purpose or vision, leadership structure and organizational style.     

Cities as Lobbyists

Individual cities are active interest groups in lobbying the federal government, and yet the dynamics of this intergovernmental lobbying are poorly understood. We argue that preference incongruence between a city and its parent state government leads to underprovision of public goods, and cities need to appeal to the federal government for additional resources. We provide evidence for this theory using a data set of over 13,800 lobbying disclosures filed by cities with populations over 25,000 between 1999 and 2012. Income inequality and ethnic fragmentation are also highly related to federal lobbying activities. Using an instrumental variables analysis of earmark and Recovery Act grant data, we show that each dollar a city spends on lobbying generates substantial returns.     

Introduction

Even before 1865, it was an axiom that British foreign policy was designed and pursued to ensure international stability. Stability not only gave security to the British Isles and to its global Empire; it minimized disruptions to trade and commerce - the life-blood of 'Great' Britain. In the century after 1865, the pursuit of international stability remained at the heart of diplomatic initiatives supported by capable armed forces and a strong economy. The grand strategy by which successive British governments endeavoured to achieve these national and imperial ends involved the maintenance of a balance of power - both in Europe and in the wider world where the protection of British interests in the form of prestige, markets, strategic outposts, and lines of communication preoccupied cabinets, the Foreign Office, the service ministries, other departments of state, and, sometimes, public opinion. In one sense, there were a number of individual balances of power - in Western Europe, in the western and eastern Mediterranean, in the Western Hemisphere, in South Asia, and in the Far East and Pacific Ocean. In the British diplomatic parlance of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these balances were represented as 'questions', like the 'Eastern Question'; and the answers to these questions combined in the minds of those responsible for British foreign policy as representing a global balance of power. In this context, the European balance of power had decided importance because any continental disequilibrium could imperil the security of the home islands, the centre of the Empire, and the well-being of Britain's people and economy.     

Compassionate conservatives or conservative compassionates? US political parties and bilateral foreign assistance to Africa

Conventional wisdom about US foreign policy towards Africa contains two popular assumptions. First, Democrats are widely considered the party most inclined to care about Africa and the most willing to spend resources on assistance to the continent. Second, the end of the Cold War was widely thought to have led to a gradual disengagement of the US from Africa and reduced American attention toward the continent. This article analyses data on US foreign assistance flows from 1961?–?2000 and finds that neither of these assumptions is true. Rather, we find that the configuration of party control over Congress and the Presidency matters significantly, with aid to Africa substantially reduced when the two branches are in opposition.     

Responding to ADHD youth in the juvenile justice system

Juvenile justice professionals are increasingly faced with the task of understanding the role of psychiatric disorders in contributing to the behavior of juvenile offenders. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one such disorder that presents at a rate well beyond chance levels in youth in the juvenile justice system. This article provides an overview of the current symptom profile, diagnosis, cause and risk factors for ADHD. The interface of the juvenile justice system and youth with ADHD is described in all aspects beginning with detention through adjudication and disposition.