A push or a punch: distinguishing the severity of sibling violence

Sibling violence is the most prevalent and least studied form of family violence, and little research has examined differences based on severity. This research examines more severe versus less severe forms of sibling violence. Using a subsample of married couples with two or more children ages 0 to 17 drawn from the 1976 National Survey of Physical Violence in American Families, the authors employ Conflict Tactics Scale items for child-to-child conflict to construct a measure of sibling violence severity. Drawing from several theoretical perspectives on family violence and peer aggression, the authors analyze the impact of macro-system variables, family stress and resources, and family subsystems on less severe and more severe sibling violence. Contextual factors are most important in explaining less severe sibling violence. Experience of parental violence and unpredictability are individual factors relevant to severe sibling violence. More research is needed to examine the etiology and impact of different forms of sibling violence.     

The Relationship of Chronological Age, Age at Injury, and Duration of Injury to Employment Status in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Employment status following spinal cord injury (SCI) has important implications for financial and psychosocial well-being. Several age-related variables-in particular chronological age, duration of SCI, and age at SCI onset-have been identified as being associated with employment among individuals with SCI. Cross-sectional investigations of this topic are complicated by methodological and statistical issues associated with aging and disability. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between three aging variables and employment status in individuals with SCI through a series of regression analyses. Six hundred twenty individuals with SCI completed a survey that included measures of demographic characteristics, pain, psychological functioning, physical functioning, fatigue, and sleep. The results indicated that chronological age and age at SCI onset were significant predictors of employment status. A significantly greater proportion of individuals aged 45-54 were employed compared to those aged 55-64 even after controlling for biopsychosocial variables. Additionally, there was a negative linear relationship between percent employed and age at SCI onset, and this relationship was not accounted for by the biopsychosocial variables. The analyses used in this study provide one method by which to disentangle the effects of different age-related variables on important SCI outcomes in cross-sectional research. Continued research in this area is needed to better understand age-related effects on employment status, which could be used to help maximize the quality of life in individuals with SCI.     

Further observations on the speed of death in hanging

Given that most fatal hangings are suicidal and occur in locations that have been selected to conceal this activity (thus maximizing the chances of a lethal outcome), there has been very little corroboration of the speed with which unconsciousness and death may occur. A 35-year-old male is reported who committed suicide by hanging immediately after talking to his spouse. Police investigations confirmed her reliability as a witness indicating that lethal anoxia in this case had occurred within a very short time (most likely in less than 1 min) of suspension. The speed with which death may result from hanging not only gives an insight into fatal pathophysiological mechanisms, but also provides useful information for situations where a lethal outcome is to be avoided, or is not intended. For example, individuals at risk of suicide who are being monitored in institutional facilities need to be constantly under direct visual surveillance as significant hypoxia can be rapidly induced, parents and caregivers with infants and children in potentially unsafe sleeping environments need to realize how swiftly death or irreversible anoxic brain damage may occur from neck compression, and those who engage in recreational asphyxia should be informed just how quickly a fatal outcome may ensue.     

Personality typologies of male juvenile offenders using a cluster analysis of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory introduction

The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) is a unique adolescent instrument that attempts to delineate between personality and acute symptoms. This study sought to explore typologies based on the Personality Pattern scales of the MACI in a sample of detained male juvenile offenders (N = 103). A Ward's method cluster analysis yielded a four-cluster solution, and each cluster was provided a clinically relevant label: (a) disruptive, antisocials; (b) agreeable, antisocials; (c) anxious, prosocials; and (d) reactive, depressives. The largest group consisted of the reactive depressives (n = 41). This suggests the importance of considering the role of internalizing problems as a conduit to delinquency in addition to antisocial personality. No interaction between cluster membership and offense history or race was found.     

Adolescents' uses of media for self-socialization

The emphasis of this paper is on the role of media in the socialization of adolescents. First, a typology of adolescent media uses is presented, including entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and youth culture identification. Then, these five uses are discussed in relation to adolescent socialization. The central point of this discussion is that media differ from socializing agents such as family, school, community, and the legal system in that adolescents have greater control over their media choices than they do over their socialization from these other sources. The result is a substantial degree of self-socialization, in the sense that adolescents may choose from a diverse range of media materials the ones that best suit their individual preferences and personalities. Another result is that there is often a lack of integration in the socialization of adolescents, in the sense that they may receive different socialization messages from media (and peers) than they do from the adult socializes in their immediate environment.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the fifth biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, Califormia, February 10–13, 1994.Received Ph.D. from University of Virginia. Research interests include adolescent reckless behavior, adolescents' uses of media, and the transition to adulthood.     

Inspecting the Inspectors: Overseeing Labor Inspectorates in Parliamentary Democracies

Most theories of how to control bureaucracies are derived from American experience and are tested with data from the U.S. In contrast, this article uses evidence from the 15 members of the European Union to examine oversight mechanisms through which legislators attempt to control the bureaucracy. Analysis of European data shows that "police patrol" mechanisms of oversight appear in countries with relatively little gridlock as measured by the ideological range of their governments. "Deck stacking" mechanisms appear in countries that experience greater problems with gridlock measured in the same way.     

The Right to Do Wrong: Lying to Parents Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults

In this study, 229 high school students and 261 college students evaluated the acceptability of lying to parents under 19 different circumstances where a person's motive for lying differed. Students also indicated the frequency with which they had lied to their parents about diverse issue such as friends, dates, and money. Results indicated that adolescents and emerging adults quite commonly lied to their parents, and that in part they framed lying to parents as a way to assert the right to autonomy. Emerging adults were less accepting of lying and reported less frequent lying, compared to adolescents. Results also showed the association of sex, personality (self-restraint and tolerance of deviance), and family environment (control and cohesion) upon adolescents' and emerging adults' acceptance of lying to parents and lying behavior.