The Good and Bad of Social Change: Ambivalence Toward Activist Groups

Inherent to any substantive social change is the disruption of the status quo. To the extent that individuals are motivated to preserve the current social system (e.g., Jost & Banaji, British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27, 1994), even social change in pursuit of positive goals might evoke ambivalent reactions. Although activist groups might elicit positivity because they are assumed to have positive qualities and they seek positive goals, they might evoke negativity because their actions disrupt the current social system. These experiments examined two different forms of disruption of the status quo. In Experiment 1, a group gaining power elicited greater ambivalence than a group losing power, regardless of the valence of the group’s goal. Importantly, the conditions that evoked ambivalence did not inhibit behavioral support. Experiment 2 found that a new group elicited more ambivalence than an established group when pursuing a positive goal. Consistent with theories emphasizing maintenance of the status quo, these findings demonstrate that attitudes toward activist groups do not derive solely from self-interest.

Exploring application of the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behaviour to self-injurious behaviour among women prisoners: Proposing a new model of understanding

The current study examines the application of capacity, psychological distress, coping and personality to an understanding of self-injurious behaviour, with a specific focus on testing the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behaviour (IPTSB). One hundred and ninety women prisoners took part, completing a history questionnaire and measures of personality, coping styles and psychological distress. It was expected that self-injurious behaviour would be predicted by higher levels of emotional functioning difficulties, by an increased capacity to engage in such behaviours, by previous self-injurious behaviour, decreased levels of emotional stability and increased levels of emotional coping behaviour. Results supported the capacity component of the IPTSB, indicating that an increased history of self-injurious behaviour and of engagement in reckless behaviour were particular predictors. Increased psychological distress in some domains was also a predictor although the exact domain varied across the type of self-injurious engagement Increased levels of extraversion and decreased emotional coping predicted increased self-injurious engagement, although emotional coping only related to threats and cognition. The results point to the applicability of Interpersonal-Psychological Theory to understanding self-injurious behaviour and the importance of developing a revised model. The paper presents this in the form of the Integrated Model of Self-Injurious Activity.     

Detection of polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in pediatric hair as a tool for determining in utero exposure

This study presents the prevalence of ethanol and illicit drugs in fatal road traffic accident victims in the Centre of Portugal between January 1990 and December 2007. Among the violent deaths, road traffic accidents presented the highest percentage (around 35%; n=3095), but decreasing throughout the years. Accidents were preponderant in males (about 80%; n=2402), between 21 and 30 years-old. Accidents involving drivers (55%; n=1310) were of the most common, being the car the main vehicle (45%), followed by the motorcycle (40%). An alcohol analysis request was present in 50% of the cases (n=1687), but increasing each year. Ethanol concentrations >1.2g/L, the legal limit in Portugal, were found in 55% (n=283) of the cases. Concerning drugs of abuse requests, only 4.4% (n=137) and 17.3% (58 cases) of the cases included the analysis at the Forensic Pathology Department (FPD) and at the Medico-Legal Office (MLO), respectively. Among the road accident cases analysed, 18 were positive, mainly in men (84%), between 21 and 30 years-old; opiates (47.1%; n=8) and cannabinoids (50%; n=4) were the most found, at the FPD and at the MLO, respectively. In conclusion, ethanol was identified as a key factor to traffic accidents, which explains the definition of specific legislation and methods of enforcement to prohibit this form of impairing. Nevertheless, ethanol still remains the psychoactive substance most frequently identified in the blood of divers killed in road-traffic crashes, recommending additional actions of supervision and control.     

Judging risk: key determinants in British domestic violence cases

Data from the largest study to date of the working practices of British victim support workers (known as Independent Domestic Violence Advisors or IDVAs) are used to provide insight into how "risk judgments" are made in cases of domestic violence. Using data from more than 2,000 victims, this study found a convergence between actuarial data and IDVAs' risk judgments when the risk score was high, but in cases with a lower risk score, IDVAs often used their professional judgment to upgrade risk. Next, we identified the specific factors underpinning IDVAs' risk judgments. Consistent with existing research, we found that IDVAs relied on a subset of available information when forming risk judgments, and characteristics of the abusive situation, such as the escalation of violence, use of weapons, stalking, and significant injuries, were particularly salient to them. Furthermore, IDVAs paid attention to victims' perceptions and when they felt very frightened or afraid of further injury then IDVAs were more likely to label them as high risk. Although we identified some encouraging overlap between the subset of factors informing risk judgments and those associated with victims' reabuse at a later date, some notable differences indicate a need for messages from research about the significance of particular risk factors to be reinforced to frontline practitioners on a regular basis.     

Reforming the Role of Magistrates: Implications for Summary Justice in England and Wales

The role of lay magistrates in England and Wales has been progressively undermined by protracted processes of reform over the last two decades. Current government proposals aim to reorient and ‘strengthen’ their function through the creation of new magisterial responsibilities such as oversight of out of court disposals and greater involvement with local justice initiatives. This article argues that while these proposals embody necessary and important areas for reform, taken in isolation they will fail to consolidate the role of magistrates in summary justice unless they are enacted alongside other measures which aim to reaffirm the status of lay justices, and which seek to reverse the trend which has prioritised administrative efficiency at the expense of lay justice. Rapidly declining magistrate numbers together with continuous (and continuing) programs of court closures are irreconcilable with the future viability of a lay magistracy.     

Arresting Women: Pro-arrest Policies,Debates, and Developments

Police departments across North America have adopted pro-arrest policies in intimate partner violence (IPV) cases with the intent of constraining police discretion and providing better protection for IPV victims. It has been suggested that an unintended consequence of pro-arrest policies has been an increase in the number of women arrested for IPV when their behavior is defensive rather than aggressive. Concern about inappropriate arrests of women is particularly pronounced in cases of dual arrest. This study examines the arrests and court processing of 2,736 women in heterosexual relationships accused of IPV offences in Winnipeg, Canada. The characteristics of accused and court processing of dual and sole arrested women are examined. Dual arrested women are less likely to be prosecuted than sole arrested women. We explore whether an effective ‘primary aggressor’ policy can reduce dual arrests, which are the cases most likely to be dropped at the prosecution level.     

Differentiating Parents with Faking-Good Profiles from Parents with Valid Scores on the Child Abuse Potential Inventory

Parental capacity assessments (PCAs) remain common during child abuse investigations, and “best practice” approaches to evaluations consist of using a comprehensive assessment (Budd et al. 2011). The Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP; Milner 1986) is one risk assessment measure used during PCAs, but results may be confounded by faking-good behavior. Currently, there is a small amount of literature examining the characteristics and implications of parents who fake good on the CAP. The present study examined differences between physically abusive parents with a faking or non-faking profile on the CAP by demographic information, psychopathology, behavioral observation data, and abuse recidivism. Parents differed significantly by IQ and depression scores, but no significant differences were found on any other variable including recidivism rates at posttreatment. Implications of study outcomes, and the emphasis for a multimethod approach to PCAs will be discussed.     

Digital era open government and democratic governance: The case of Government of Canada Wikipedia editing

As digital era open government initiatives are deployed globally, researchers are debating their effects on democratic governance. We develop a framework to evaluate whether these initiatives improve or undermine democratic governance and apply it to the case of Government of Canada Wikipedia editing and an automated Twitter account (@gccaedits) tracking this activity. Through content analysis of edits and analysis of access to information requests we show that while most edits made are useful and non-partisan, the response of news media and government managers ultimately renders the editing a threat to democratic governance. This complexity highlights the importance of assessing the merits of open government initiatives in their broader socio-political context. The findings also suggest that more fundamental shifts in contemporary political, media and administrative cultures are necessary before the potential benefits of open government reforms can materialize.