<Emphasis Type="Italic">BodiMojo</Emphasis>: Efficacy of a Mobile-Based Intervention in Improving Body Image and Self-Compassion among Adolescents

Mobile interventions promoting positive body image are lacking. This study presents a randomized controlled evaluation of BodiMojo, a mobile application (app) intervention grounded in self-compassion to promote positive body image. A sample of 274 adolescents, mean (SD) age?=?18.36 (1.34) years, 74% female, were allocated to a control group or used BodiMojo for 6 weeks. Appearance esteem, body image flexibility, appearance comparison, mood, and self-compassion were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. Significant time by group interactions emerged for appearance esteem and self-compassion, with appearance esteem and self-compassion increasing in the intervention relative to the control group. These findings provide preliminary support for BodiMojo, a cost-effective mobile app for positive body image.     

THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY OF THE REGRESSION DISCONTINUITY DESIGN: A META‐ANALYSIS OF 15 WITHIN‐STUDY COMPARISONS

Theory predicts that regression discontinuity (RD) provides valid causal inference at the cutoff score that determines treatment assignment. One purpose of this paper is to test RD's internal validity across 15 studies. Each of them assesses the correspondence between causal estimates from an RD study and a randomized control trial (RCT) when the estimates are made at the same cutoff point where they should not differ asymptotically. However, statistical error, imperfect design implementation, and a plethora of different possible analysis options, mean that they might nonetheless differ. We test whether they do, assuming that the bias potential is greater with RDs than RCTs. A second purpose of this paper is to investigate the external validity of RD by exploring how the size of the bias estimates varies across the 15 studies, for they differ in their settings, interventions, analyses, and implementation details. Both Bayesian and frequentist meta‐analysis methods show that the RD bias is below 0.01 standard deviations on average, indicating RD's high internal validity. When the study‐specific estimates are shrunken to capitalize on the information the other studies provide, all the RD causal estimates fall within 0.07 standard deviations of their RCT counterparts, now indicating high external validity. With unshrunken estimates, the mean RD bias is still essentially zero, but the distribution of RD bias estimates is less tight, especially with smaller samples and when parametric RD analyses are used.     

Development and Implementation of an Effective Blind Proficiency Testing Program

Blind proficiency testing is ideal for testing crime laboratory personnel because the elements of analyst bias and anticipation are removed. However, sending proficiency tests through the laboratory system as real casework is difficult. The substantial challenges with preparing and administering blind tests may prevent laboratory managers from initiating blind testing. In 2015, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences committed to improving its crime laboratory’s proficiency testing program by adding blind tests. The goal was to test the whole system, from evidence receipt to report release. With careful planning, trial-and-error, and ongoing assessment of available resources, not only was the program proven to be feasible, but there was also clear understanding of how to optimize our program. In this article, we share our experiences, lessons learned, and program details to assist other forensic service providers with developing their own blind testing programs, which would ultimately lead to improved quality assurance.     

An effectiveness‐based evaluation of five state pre‐kindergarten programs

Since 1980, the number of state pre‐kindergarten (pre‐K) programs has more than doubled, with 38 states enrolling more than one million children in 2006 alone. This study evaluates how five state pre‐K programs affected children's receptive vocabulary, math, and print awareness skills. Taking advantage of states' strict enrollment policies determined by a child's date of birth, a regression‐discontinuity design was used to estimate effects in Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia. For receptive vocabulary, only New Jersey and Oklahoma yielded significant standardized impacts, though two of the three other coefficients were in a direction indicating positive effects. For math, all the coefficients were positive but only Michigan and New Jersey yielded reliable results. The largest impacts were for print awareness, where all five coefficients were positive and four were reliable in Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, and West Virginia. The five states were not randomly selected and, on average, have higher quality program standards than non‐studied states, precluding formal extrapolation to the nation at large. However, our sample of states differed in many other ways, permitting the conclusion that state pre‐K programs can have positive effects on children's cognitive skills, though the magnitude of these effects varies by state and outcome. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Pyrolysis products of heroin

Heating of heroin hydrochloride or of heroin at 250 degrees C led to extensive degradation. Major components of the pyrolysate were identified as heroin, 6-acetylmorphine, N,6-diacetylnormorphine, and N-acetylnorheroin by comparison of mass spectra and 13C- and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra with those of authentic compounds. There was evidence for degradation of the piperidino moiety and the structure 3,4-diacetoxyphenanthrene was proposed for a minor product.     

State and Local Prevalence of Firearms Ownership Measurement, Structure, and Trends

Of the readily computed proxies for the prevalence of gun ownership, one, the percentage of suicides committed with a gun, is most highly correlated with survey-based estimates. It is the best choice for use in cross-section analysis of the effect of gun prevalence on crime patterns across states and larger counties.Analysis of this proxy measure for the period 1979–1997 demonstrates that the geographic structure of gun ownership has been highly stable. That structure is closely linked to rural tradition. There is, however, some tendency toward homogenization over this period, with high-prevalence states trending down and low-prevalence states trending up.     

A qualitative exploration of the experience of restorative approaches in a forensic mental health setting

Restorative justice (RJ) is an intervention gaining worldwide recognition in criminal justice systems and other settings. There is a growing evidence base demonstrating positive outcomes in a number of domains, but we found no previous research focussed upon the use of RJ in a forensic mental health setting. This study used a constructivist grounded theory analysis of semi-structured interviews to explore and develop a deeper understanding of RJ practices interventions in such a setting. Ten participants including RJ facilitators, patients and mental health staff took part in research interviews. Restorative interventions were found to be congruent with models of mental health and offender recovery. Processing emotions, developing thinking and coherent narrative, and immediacy are found to be key components of the intervention. The emergent model highlights the role of containment and a high level of facilitator skill when working with a complex, vulnerable and potentially unstable client group.