Children, women, and substance abuse: a look at recovery in a communal setting

This study explored the sense of community among women (n = 21) and women with children (n = 30) living in Oxford Houses, with emphasis on how the presence of children might affect the household. Sense of community did not vary between participants with more or less than three months residence. Residents reported very high levels of satisfaction with the home, possibly because of a ceiling effect of little room for increases in their sense of community over time. Participants reported that they were getting along with the children in the home, that mothers could count on babysitting help, and that the children had a positive effect on the household and their own recovery process. This effect did not differ between mothers and non-mothers, suggesting that non-mothers might view the children in the home with a sense of responsibility and sensitivity comparable to that of the mothers. Implications are discussed.     

Cultivating and maintaining effective action research partnerships: the DePaul and Oxford House collaborative

In this paper, we review the result of research conducted in the context of a 13-year collaborative partnership between DePaul University and a community-based, self-run, residential substance abuse recovery program called Oxford House. This collaborative effort highlights several examples of the research and action activities fostering a positive alliance that benefited both the research team and the Oxford House community. It also proposed practical guidelines for developing effective action research collaboratives that may be helpful to others who desire to cultivate and maintain similar mutually beneficial partnerships; including such processes as the development of trust, respecting the personal experiences of the community members and group, commitment to serving the community, validating findings with organization members, and accountability.     

The High Court and Australian Federalism

This article analyzes the constitutional role of the High Courtof Australia during its first hundred years and the effect ofthat role on the Australian federation. The High Court has acceptedas axiomatic that part of its function is the judicial reviewof legislation of both the federal and state legislatures. Itsapproach is relatively modest and "textualist." That approachhas been affected by historical changes, including Australia'sindependence from Great Britain. The decisions of the High Courthave provided a framework for the development of the Australianfederation over the last century in increasing the relativeimportance of the federal government at the cost of the stategovernments. However, those decisions are probably best viewedas reflecting, rather than creating, the changes and developmentsin the federation.     

Traumatic Brain Injury among Indiana State Prisoners

Research on traumatic brain injury among inmates has focused on comparing the rate of traumatic brain injury among offenders to the general population, but also how best to screen for traumatic brain injury among this population. This study administered the short version of the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method to all male inmates admitted into Indiana state prisons were screened for a month (N = 831). Results indicate that 35.7% of the inmates reported experiencing a traumatic brain injury during their lifetime and that these inmates were more likely to have a psychiatric disorder and a prior period of incarceration than those without. Logistic regression analysis finds that a traumatic brain injury predicts the likelihood of prior incarceration net of age, race, education, and psychiatric disorder. This study suggests that brief instruments can be successfully implemented into prison screenings to help divert inmates into needed treatment.     

A Safer Method for Body Restoration Following Autopsy

Restoration of autopsy incisions can result in inadvertent needle stick injury to the prosector, which can be difficult to prevent even with the use of personal protective equipment such as Kevlar cut resistant gloves. We present a new technique for closure of autopsy incisions using a commonly available commercial hardware tool, a hole punch with a lever enhanced action, combined with blunt probe sewing, which results in an esthetic and leak‐proof means of restoring cadavers. This technique is especially useful in cases which may pose blood‐borne infection risks to the prosector.     

Emotional Dysregulation and Negative Affect Mediate the Relationship Between Maternal History of Child Maltreatment and Maternal Child Abuse Potential

Risk for committing child abuse is frequently attributed to an intergenerational “cycle of violence” through which abuse as a child increases risk for committing abuse as a parent. While this hypothesis has support, more research is needed to understand the factors that account for this pattern of risk. Given literature suggesting that adults with a history of child maltreatment have increased risk for a wide range of psychopathology, this study examined the role of two behavioral endophenotypes, emotional dysregulation and negative affect, in the association between maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment and maternal child abuse potential among 83 low-income, primarily African-American mothers of elementary school age children. Results indicate that a mother’s experience of abuse as a child predicts later risk for abusive parenting as measured by child abuse potential scores. However, our data also indicate that the relationship between maternal experience of child abuse and later child abuse potential is mediated by maternal emotional dysregulation and negative affect.     

Sudden death in an adolescent due to undiagnosed classic Hodgkin lymphoma

Few cases of natural sudden death presenting as an undiagnosed lymphoma have been reported in the literature, especially in adolescents. Herein we provide a report of sudden death caused by undiagnosed classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We describe an 18-year-old female who collapsed after several weeks of weight loss, decreased appetite, and dyspnea. At autopsy, a bulky mass arising in the mediastinum and neck compressed the esophagus and trachea, surrounded the great vessels, obliterated the pericardial sac, and infiltrated the myocardium. The lungs were collapsed and large pleural effusions were present. The tumor burden, which weighed at least 2710 g in aggregate, was entirely above the diaphragm. Microscopic examination of the masses showed features typical for nodular sclerosis cHL including large bands of sclerosis, numerous Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, and an eosinophil-rich mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate. Immunohistochemical stains showed the HRS cells to be uniformly positive for CD30 and CD15 and negative for CD3, CD20, CD45, and PAX5. This case exemplifies a rare sudden natural death due to previously undiagnosed cHL in a young patient.