Beware the razorwire: Psychology behind bars

Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated in federal, state and local correctional facilities in this country. Individuals with serious mental disorders increasingly fill these ranks. The roles psychologists and other mental health professionals adopt while working with this population can become an issue of silent consternation. As a point of departure, some (e.g., Levinson, 1985) have suggested that psychologists rightly function as institutional mediators of conflict, a virtual Marcus Welby of the collective correctional “psyche”. In practice, it is not uncommon for some clinicians to retreat from this approach and do little, or conversely, march in one hundred directions at once. The authors suggest that as psychology service delivery has matured in the past few decades this latter, well-intentioned but unrealistic position should be reconsidered. We suggest that greater depth and definition in the area of forensic psychology, coupled with recently developed ethical and professional standards of care, may serve to guide the clinician when providing services “behind bars”. Authors' Note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and may not reflect the opinions of the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, other state or local criminal justice agencies, or the University of Texas at Austin.     

Gender Differences Among Adolescents in Family,and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,Weight Loss,and Binge Eating Behaviors

The present study examined perceived family and peer influences on body dissatisfaction, weight loss, and binge eating behaviors in adolescents. Three hundred and six girls aged 11 to 17 years (M = 13.66, SD = 1.12) and 297 boys aged 11 to 18 years (M = 13.89, SD = 1.13) completed a questionnaire that examined the direct influence and quality of family and peer relationships on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Direct influences of family and peers, rather than the quality of these relationships, predicted body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescent boys and girls. Interesting differences were found between girls and boys in the nature of the influences and in the way they were expressed. In particular, parental and peer discussion and encouragement of weight loss predicted disordered eating behaviors in girls, while maternal and peer encouragement predicted binge eating and weight loss behaviors in boys. Fathers played a salient role in the expression of more severe forms of eating problems, while siblings played a small yet significant role in cognitive restraint among girls. The findings highlight gender differences in the importance of significant others in the expression of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescence.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Development of Weight and Muscle Concerns Among Preadolescent Boys

The study examined the impact of body mass index (BMI), negative affect, self-esteem, and sociocultural influences in the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Body dissatisfaction, importance placed on weight and muscles, weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles were evaluated. Participants were 237 boys aged between 8 and 11 years who were tested at three assessment periods 8 months apart. The main predictor of boys’ body change strategies was their perceived pressures to modify weight and muscles from parents, peers, and the media. The other main predictor of boys’ body change strategies and the sole predictor of body dissatisfaction was BMI. Self-esteem and negative affect were found to be weak and generally nonsignificant predictors of boys’ body image concerns and body change strategies. Additional studies that examine the risk and protective factors associated with boys’ weight and muscle concerns are needed to assist in the development of prevention programs for preadolescent boys.Lina Ricciardelli is an Associate Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1990 from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research interests are body image concerns, disordered eating and substance abuse among youth.Marita McCabe is a Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1981 from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests are in body image across the lifespan, sexuality, and chronic illnessJess Lillis is graduate student at Deakin University, She completed her undergraduate work in 2000 at Deakin University, Her research interests are body image concerns and negative affect among youthResearch Fellow at Deakin University, She received her D Psych in 2000 from Deakin University, Her interests are in disordered eating and depression among adolescents     

Is regional government-governance nexus delivering on social sustainability promises? Empirical evidence from Moranbah in Australia

Social sustainability, in theory, should result in responsiveness to change, a durable sense of community trust and interdependent institutional structures. However, recent studies indicate that current sustainability efforts of regional local government are not yielding anticipated outcomes. Drawing on two social theories of Henri Lefebvre, this paper offers an empirical analysis of the ability of the government–governance nexus to deliver on social sustainability promises in Moranbah in regional Australia. Study findings revealed that the Moranbah government–governance nexus suffers from adversarial relationships between key actors that result in a distrust of politics and power, the absence of a defined governance system, community alienation, and State Government dominance and intervention. These experiences of the government–governance nexus have rendered social sustainability a distant hope for Moranbah’s residents. This paper suggests a reform in sustainability policies to improve the current situation in the case region, and theoretical propositions for future research.     

An Exceptional Choice?

Building on Penelope Deutscher's analysis of the biopolitical implications of abortion being regulated by a framework of exceptionalism, this article explores discursive constructions of abortion as an exceptional choice that is only justifiable in ‘worthy’ cases. In so doing, it extends our understanding of exceptionalism and neo-liberalism as ways for thinking about abortion. Through an analysis of interviews with New Zealand women about their views on abortion, I contend that exceptionalism operates not only as a dominant framework for talking about abortion but that it structures a hierarchy of worthiness in abortion discourse. I argue that the exceptionalism framework both obscures the ways that abortion is an ordinary and common part of many women's reproductive experiences and raises questions for how challenges to prevailing legislative regimes might be organised.     

Relationships Between Identity and Self-Representations During Adolescence

By drawing from literature on identity development as well as on self-discrepancy, the present study aimed to investigate variations in the magnitude of self-belief discrepancies among adolescents with different levels of identity development. The respondents consisted of 336 male and female adolescents, from 5 private secondary schools, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years (M = 15.98, SD = 0.89). Four levels of identity status (Achieved, Moratorium, Foreclosed, and Diffused identity status) were used as the method of identity classification in this study. Four types of self-discrepancies (Actual/Ideal (own), Actual/Ideal (other), Actual/Ought (own), and Actual/Ought (other) self-discrepancy) were also obtained. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that respondents with different identity statuses significantly varied on the magnitude of self-discrepancy experienced. The Foreclosed and Achieved statuses were found to have lower levels of self-belief discrepancy than the Moratorium and Diffused statuses. However, most of the significant differences among the statuses were for the Actual/Ideal (own) and Actual/Ideal (other) self-discrepancies. These results indicate that identity development is related to the magnitude of self-belief discrepancy. However, further research with more developed instruments is needed to explore this relationship more fully.