The association between body mass index and pulmonary thromboembolism in an autopsy population

Abstract: To evaluate the association between obesity and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in a forensic context, 160 autopsy cases of fatal PTE were compared with age‐ and gender‐matched controls. The mean age of cases was 66 years (range 26–98 years; M/F 74:86). The mean body mass index (BMI) of cases with PTE was 30.88 (range 14.95–79.51), which was significantly higher than in the controls (mean BMI = 25.33; range 12.49–61.84) (p < 0.0001). Comparing the group with PTE with controls showed that five (3.1%) compared to 20 (12.5%) were underweight, 39 (24.4%) compared to 67 (41.88%) were of normal weight, 49 (30.63%) compared to 43 (26.88%) were overweight, 43 (26.88%) compared to 24 (15%) were obese, and 24 (15.0%) compared to six (3.75%) were morbidly obese. In each category of above‐normal BMIs, there were significantly greater numbers in the groups with PTE: overweight (p < 0.01), obese (p < 0.001), and morbidly obese (p < 0.0001).     

‘Monsters don’t bother me anymore’ forensic mental health service users’ experiences of acceptance and commitment therapy for psychosis

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for psychosis (ACTp) is an approach that aims to change the relationship an individual with psychosis has with difficult thoughts, emotions and experiences. It promotes the use of acceptance, defusion, mindfulness and focussing on valued outcomes as opposed to struggling with psychotic experiences. This service evaluation project explored service users’ experiences and meanings of ACTp within a medium secure mental health service. Thematic analysis was used to analyse interviews with 10 male service users. Four main themes emerged from the data: ‘Recovery’, ‘Insight’, ‘Developing Skills’ and ‘Accessibility’. Overall, service users viewed their experience of ACTp positively and identified encouraging therapeutic outcomes. These findings suggest that ACTp is an approach that should be considered a therapeutic option within forensic mental health contexts. These outcomes were compared with previous research findings. Limitations of the study, clinical implications and ideas for future research have been discussed.     

No End of a Lesson: Australia's Unified National System of Higher Education

No End of a Lesson: Australia's Unified National System of Higher Education . By Stuart Macintyre, André Brett, Gwilym Croucher (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2017), pp.xii + 332. AU$49.99 (pb).     

How Ideology Fuels Affective Polarization

Scholars have reached mixed conclusions about the implications of increased political polarization for citizen decision-making. In this paper, we argue that citizens respond to ideological divergence with heightened affective polarization. Using a survey experiment conducted with a nationally representative sample of U.S. citizens, we find that increased ideological differences between political figures produce increasingly polarized affective evaluations, and that these differences are especially large among respondents with stronger ideological commitments and higher levels of political interest. We provide further support for these findings in an observational study of citizens’ evaluations of the U.S. Senators from their state. We also find that the polarizing effects of ideological differences can be largely mitigated with biographical information about the public officials, which suggests that the pernicious consequences of ideological polarization can be overcome by focusing on matters other than political disagreement.     

Referrals to a mental health criminal justice Liaison and diversion team in the North East of England

There is growing interest in the health correlates of people detained in police custody, and a number of innovations have been introduced to try to meet the complex needs of detainees. The implementation of Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion (CJL&D) Services commissioned by the Department of Health in England is a substantial part of this investment. In this paper, we describe data from 858 detainees who were referred to the CJL&D service of a busy metropolitan police station in the North East of England. The detainees referred to the service had complex mental health needs, substance misuse and a range of vulnerabilities requiring specific intervention. The effective operation of these teams and how they interface with health and criminal justice systems also depend upon a number of systematic issues that emanate both from within the teams, and from external policy drivers.     

Enhancing Data-Driven Law Enforcement Efforts: Exploring how Risk Terrain Modeling and Conjunctive Analysis Fit in a Crime and Traffic Safety Framework

Law enforcement’s examination of vehicle crashes is often nested in the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) framework which highlights the importance of hot spot analysis. To assist law enforcement efforts, this study explores how two additional spatial techniques, namely risk terrain modeling (RTM) and conjunctive analysis of case configurations (CACC), could be incorporated within the DDACTS framework. RTM was utilized to identify how the built, physical environment contributed to the risk of traffic incidents. RTM identified 6 risk factors related to the occurrence of vehicle crashes, and high-risk places were compared to hot spots on predictive accuracy. CACC was used to explore configurations likely to result in traffic incidents for the priority places. Our findings support the Theory of Risky Places and fit within a vulnerability-exposure framework, providing law enforcement with guidance for identifying places where vehicle crashes are likely to occur in the future. In addition to providing insight for law enforcement, we discuss how law enforcement can develop working partnerships with stakeholders capable of preventing and/or reducing traffic incidents, which is in line with the general DDACTS framework.

     

The Impact of Child Abuse Severity on Adult Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance in College Women: The Role of Emotion Dysregulation

Recent evidence suggests a significant and unique effect of child abuse experiences on attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adult romantic relationships, although mechanisms underlying this relationship have yet to be identified. The current study examined the relation between three forms of child abuse (sexual, physical, and psychological) severity, emotion dysregulation, and attachment-related anxiety and avoidance among 830 college women. Results indicated that emotion dysregulation significantly mediated the relationship between child abuse severity and attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Future directions for research and implications for intervention are discussed.