Malingering and Pain: is this a Major Problem in the Medicolegal Setting?

The term malingering has a negative connotation, in that it is considered to intentionally project exaggerated physical and/or psychosocial symptoms for the purpose of gaining some external rewards/secondary gain. The present article will review a number of misconceptions about malingering, as well as the inherent problem in objectively measuring this construct. It will be suggested that a more comprehensive biopsychosocial approach should be used to evaluate potential barriers to recovery, as well as suboptimal performance that may delay, or prevent, recovery over an expected time period for musculoskeletal pain disorders. Such an approach will eliminate the common misuse and misdiagnosis of the construct of malingering.     

WHEN IT HAPPENS IN A FAMILY: AIDING PARENTS OF SUBSTANCE‐ABUSING ADOLESCENTS*

This article first summarizes key data on the scope of teen substance abuse and the lack of teen access to needed treatment services. It then describes how and why attorneys may be helpful to parents who discover their teen's drug or alcohol problem and seek advice and counsel about the legal implications of various actions that can or may be taken. The article explores such issues as parents finding illegal drugs in the house or on their teen's person, various modalities of treatment and how family members are involved, how parents might secure residential evaluations for their youth without the necessity of juvenile court involvement (and why this is important), concerns about placing youth in unlicensed residential treatment facilities, health insurance coverage issues, home drug testing, and how past American Bar Association (ABA) policy on youth drug and alcohol abuse is being followed up with a new ABA project to aid parents of substance‐abusing teenagers and their families.     

Popular support for legislatures in Asia

Legislatures have long served as the fundamental organ of democratic rule. They bring together disparate views and competing preferences in one venue as an effort to introduce a equitable means of compromise to produce policies that affect those whom legislatures represent. They also check the authoritarian tendencies of other government actors, notably the executive, and create the conditions for institutionalised, rather than violent, debate. The legislatures of democratic Asia are no different. In this paper, I evaluate popular support for assemblies across the democracies of Asia, in terms of their legitimacy and use as a check on power. Traditional measures of support, including age, education, and liberal values, indicate growing support for legislatures. However, the significant effects of economic evaluations and the limited attachment to political parties suggest that the legislatures of Asia are still far from consolidating their role as assemblies that support democratic regimes in the region.     

Effectiveness of hotline, advocacy, counseling, and shelter services for victims of domestic violence: a statewide evaluation

The authors report the results of an evaluation of services provided by 54 Illinois domestic violence agencies. In collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago evaluation team, domestic violence advocates identified services to be evaluated, specified desired outcomes of those services, and participated in developing measures of those outcomes in both English and Spanish. With in the limitations of the study, outcomes were positive in all four program areas: hotline, counseling, advocacy, and shelter. The authors then discuss implications for evaluation of domestic violence programs that maintain victim safety as a guiding principle.     

Obstacles to dependent health care access in Oregon: health insurance or health care?

In the 1980s, Oregon was one of a handful of "states that could not wait" for national health care reform. Oregon's chosen approach to reform was predicated on two widely accepted assumptions. First, universal access to health care is best achieved by universal access to health insurance. Second, universal access to health care could best be achieved, at least politically, by incrementally building upon the existing health care delivery and insurance system. This article questions both of these assumptions in light of Oregon's decade-long experience in trying to expand access to health care among its dependent population.     

A Healthy Public Service is a Vital Part of Australia''s Democratic System of Government

This article outlines and explores the differences and connections in the ideas underpinning the reform of public institutions in Australian society over the past two decades. In particular, the article asks whether public institutions have been renewed or eroded through the changes of the 1980s and 1990s and whether the changes were as inevitable as some advocates and analysts claim. Some ideas and theories appropriate to the future role of government and public institutions in Australia beyond the current consensus are explored. The article offers afresh analysis of public sector reform in Australia and contributes to the ongoing debate about alternatives.     

Factors associated with the insanity adjudication

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology -     

Lifetime prevalence and socioemotional effects of hearing about community violence

This study extends findings on community violence (CV) exposure in young adults by examining the prevalence, characteristics, and socioemotional effects related to hearing about violence. Surveys of lifetime CV exposure and socioemotional outcomes were completed by 518 male and female undergraduates completed and were divided into groups with high, moderate, or low scores on hearing. Of respondents, 97.8% reported hearing about violence at least once, with a substantial proportion hearing about different types of acts. Reportedly, the most frequent perpetrators were non-family members, the most frequent location was near home, and most incidents occurred within the past year. The high-scoring group reported significantly greater levels of depressed mood, posttraumatic stress symptoms, aggressive behavior, and interpersonal problems associated with personality disorders. Results extend previous findings on the unfortunate prevalence of violence exposure and its negative psychological effects in today's young adults and suggest that chronic exposure to hearing about violence can have deleterious repercussions.