An Investigation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depressive Symptomatology among Female Victimsof Interpersonal Trauma

This study examined factors associated with PTSD-depression comorbidity among a sample of 162 adult female rape or assault victims with PTSD, as well as potential differential predictors of PTSD and depression severity. PTSD-only participants reported higher levels of childhood sexual abuse than those with comorbid PTSD and depression, and the PTSD/MDD group reported relatively more distorted trauma-related beliefs, dissociation, PTSD severity, and depression severity. Distorted trauma-related beliefs and dissociation were the strongest unique predictors of higher PTSD and depressive symptoms. Rates of PTSD and depression comorbidity did not appear to be a function of symptom overlap. Study findings suggest possible explanations for the high PTSD and depression comorbidity rates commonly found among victims of interpersonal violence. This research was supported in part by a grant to Patricia A. Resick from the National Institute of Mental Health (R02-MH51509).     

The individuality of rubber stamps

Rubber stamps may be individualized through any of the steps in the manufacturing process even back-tracking to imperfections in the metal type faces. More commonly, individuality occurs from use, misuse, wear and even age of the stamp. Steps in the manufacturing process and causes of defects leading to identification of a rubber stamp are discussed.     

Empirical criteria for the determination of suicide manner of death

A 16-item instrument was constructed as a tool to assist medicolegal official in their investigations and certifications of suicidal deaths. The Empirical Criteria for the Determination of Suicide (ECDS)--derived from a combined set of the 22 criterion items of the Operational Criteria for the Determination of Suicide (OCDS) and 33 other items obtained from experts and the professional literature--was constructed and validated by using 126 suicide and accident cases obtained from 70 medical examiner participants. Analysis of the cases confirmed that suicide is a manner of death in which there is evidence of both self-infliction and intention to die. The 16 items retained in the ECDS discriminated suicides from accidents best in relation to self-infliction and intention. In analysis of its concurrent validity, the ECDS instrument predicted 100% of the suicides and 83% of the accidents, thus correctly identifying 92% of all cases.     

Race and Demographic Factors in Treatment Attendance for Domestically Abusive Men

This study examined the influence of race and other demographic characteristics on session attendance and dropout from a cognitive-behavioral treatment program for male domestic abusers (N = 101). Multiple regression analyses revealed that lower session attendance was significantly predicted by unemployed status and African American (versus Caucasian) race. Other demographic factors could not account for the race differences in session attendance. Race was the strongest predictor of dropout and session attendance in all analyses. Racial composition of treatment groups was not significantly related to number of sessions attended for Caucasian or African American clients. Although the combined (interactive) effect of race and referral source on number of sessions was not statistically significant, the pattern of means suggested that self-referred African Americans were at the greatest risk for dropout. Results suggest that race differences in dropout, and the mechanisms that account for these differences, deserve more clinical and research attention in treatment for domestic abusers.     

The incidence and magnitude of the health costs of in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic

Public Choice - The health costs of in-person schooling during the pandemic, if any, fall primarily on the families of students, largely owing to the fact that students significantly outnumber...     

The Fungibility of Health Aid: Reconsidering the Reconsidered

Lu et al. found that health aid displaces domestically-raised government health expenditure, which renders health aid at least partially fungible. These findings are questioned in The Fungibility of Health Aid Reconsidered. Van de Sijpe’s emphasis on disaggregating on- and off-budget aid is a valid contribution, although his empirical conclusions are overstated. We re-evaluate the data he criticises and find they sufficiently capture on-budget aid. To re-measure health aid fungibility, we update the Lu et al data, adding 23 countries and four years of data. Despite the confidence we have in these data, we employ two estimation specifications, each of which addresses the measurement error discussed by Van de Sijpe. The extended data and alternative methods show that development assistance for health channelled to governments remains significantly fungible.     

The Working Alliance in Intervention for Partner Violence Perpetrators: Recent Research and Theory

The working alliance consists of therapist and client agreement on the goals and tasks of therapy, and the therapeutic bond. Measures of the working alliance, assessed during the course of therapy, have consistently predicted positive therapeutic change across various client populations and treatment approaches. This paper reviews recent research highlighting the importance of the working alliance with respect to treatment compliance and outcome in interventions for perpetrators of partner violence. The common promotion and use of confrontational intervention tactics in these interventions and the potentially negative impact of confrontational tactics on the working alliance is also discussed.