Characteristics of Youth Remaining in Foster Care Through Age 19: A Pre- and Post-Policy Cohort Analysis of California Data

This study examined factors associated with youth remaining in extended foster care. Cohorts of youth in care in California at age 17 years were defined for the period from 2003–2012. Multivariable generalized linear models documented factors associated with remaining in care through age 19. Findings indicate that: a) the population of youth in care at age 17 has declined over time; b) youth in care at age 17 in 2012 were qualitatively different from those a decade earlier; c) a larger proportion of youth who do not exit to permanency are remaining in extended foster care; and d) although the characteristics of youth who remain in foster care as non-minor dependents continue to vary relative to those who age out, differences have diminished. Findings highlight the potential to target subgroups of youth who may benefit from the extension of care but are remaining in care at lower rates.     

One Quintillion Ways to Have PTSD Comorbidity: Recommendations for the Disordered DSM-5

Galatzer-Levy and Bryant (Perspect Psychol Sci 8:651–662, 2013) have calculated the number of ways that Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can be combined as over 600,000. They concluded that the amount is astounding and the category is rendered amorphous. PTSD often occurs in the context of polytrauma or comorbidity. The epidemiological literature indicates that the most common comorbid conditions in cases of PTSD include major depressive disorder (MDD), chronic pain, neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury (e.g., mild), and alcohol use disorder, with premorbid personality disorder possible, as well (which we consider as exacerbated due to the traumatic incident at issue, as in borderline personality disorder). We calculated the possible symptom combinations for each of these disorders and then in comorbid combination with PTSD (e.g., PTSD with MDD, but also when all six conditions are present). The number of symptom combinations in full polytrauma involving all six conditions listed is truly astounding, over one quintillion. Also, we reviewed the range of PTSD comorbidities, which adds to the symptom heterogeneity in cases. We make recommendations to prioritize symptoms in disorders as primary (e.g., unique, marker), secondary (e.g., core essential), and tertiary (e.g., common, cross-diagnostic). The latter tertiary type of symptoms in a disorder, if any, should be kept apart in its own criterion. This approach might help make the next version of the DSM more clinically useful both to clinicians and to court.     

Occupations,mediations, subjectifications: fabricating politics

The revolutions and protests that have spread across the globe since 2008 have been seen as a watershed moment. In this article we examine the relationships between urban space and politics that have emerged across these events. We draw upon the political philosophy of Jacques Rancière to provide a framework to understand some events of this period as political moments and, in addition, attempt to build upon Rancière's work to trace out the geographical dimensions of politics. The paper concludes with a consideration of the counter-revolutionary projects enacted by current social orders.     

Characterising the psychiatric comorbidities among adults with ADHD who have a history of offending

The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among adult offenders is significantly higher than in the general population. Adults with ADHD often present with multiple psychiatric comorbidities. This study aims to characterise the comorbidities presented by adults with ADHD who have offended and also to investigate predictors of offending among this population. Seventy-three participants with a diagnosis of adult ADHD were divided into a group with a history of offending behaviour (n = 30) and a group of non-offenders (n = 43). Groups were compared on measures of ADHD symptoms, substance use and DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory – 3rd Edition. Major depression, cannabis use and childhood hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms predicted offending. These findings indicate that adults with ADHD who have a history of offending behaviour are more likely to present with complex psychiatric needs.     

A Sensitivity Analysis of Egocentric Measures of Peer Delinquency to Latent Homophily: A Research Note

Objectives

Egocentric measures of peer delinquency, obtained through a census of a social network, have become the preferred operationalization for examining the relationships between social influence and delinquency. Studies regressing ego’s delinquency on the delinquency of nominated friend/s (i.e. alter/s) conclude that a statistically significant coefficient provides evidence of social influence. However, the inferences drawn from these studies may be biased by the introduction of artificial statistical dependence as a consequence of using social network data in a regression framework. Recent work (Shalizi and Thomas Sociol Methods Res 40:211–239, 2011) shows that latent homophily, or unmeasured confounding of observables, may lead to nonzero estimates of social influence, even if there is no causal significance. To examine this possibility, sensitivity analyses have been created (e.g. VanderWeele and Arah Epidemiology 22:42–52, 2011; VanderWeele Sociol Methods Res 40:240–255, 2011) to determine the robustness of an estimated coefficient to latent homophily.

Methods

In this research note, I examine the robustness of estimates for social influence from two articles (Haynie Am J Sociol 106:1013–1057, 2001; Meldrum et al. J Res Crime Delinq 46:353–376, 2009) using egocentric measures of peer delinquency.

Results

Findings indicate that for large, precise point estimates, highly improbable conditions are needed to explain away the effects of social influence. However, less precise point estimates (i.e. large standard errors) are more sensitive to latent homophily.

Conclusions

The analyses indicate that studies using egocentric measures should conduct sensitivity tests, particularly when the estimated effect is weak and/or has a relatively large standard error. Scripts written in the free programming language R (R Core Team R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, 2012) are provided for researchers to conduct such analyses.     

Digitised Justice: The New Two Tiers?

Criminal Law Forum - Prevailing conditions of access to justice and due process in the Singapore courts are criticised through McBarnet’s two-tier lens and Carlen’s dramaturgical...     

Support for radical left ideologies in Europe

This article examines support for radical left ideologies in 32 European countries. It thus extends the relatively scant empirical research available in this field. The hypotheses tested are derived mainly from group‐interest theory. Data are deployed from the 2002–2010 European Social Surveys (N = 174,868), supplemented by characteristics at the country level. The results show that, also in the new millennium, unemployed people and those with a lower income are more likely to support a radical left ideology. This is only partly explained by their stronger opinion that governments should take measures to reduce income differences. In contrast to expectations, the findings show that greater income inequality within a country is associated with reduced likelihood of an individual supporting a radical left ideology. Furthermore, cross‐national differences in the likelihood of supporting the radical left are strongly associated with whether a country has a legacy of an authoritarian regime.     

Varieties of Liberalism: Keynesian Responses to the Great Recession in France and Germany

This article argues that distinctive liberal traditions shaped France and Germany's Keynesian policy responses to the post‐2007 economic crisis. In France, “statist liberalism” privileges an activist state that favors macroeconomic intervention and investment. German “corporate liberalism,” by contrast, is more pluralist and emphasizes the powers and responsibilities of social and economic groups, who are viewed as the fundamental components of the social order. The article argues that these traditions shaped elite interpretations of the crisis and played central roles in defining policy trajectories. They informed a modest French response focused on macroeconomic stimulus that relied on existing income support and a larger German effort centered on a microeconomic strategy of group subsidization. It concludes that these outcomes are inconsistent with traditional institutional accounts and highlights the importance of research on the role of ideas in shaping national responses to economic crises.