A controlled,problem-solving,group-based intervention with vulnerable incarcerated young offenders

Recent research has indicated that vulnerable incarcerated young offenders--such as those at risk of suicidal behaviour, those on formal protection due to their inability to assimilate into mainstream, and those who are bullied but remain in normal circulation--display impoverished problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, deficits in their problem-solving skills are significantly correlated with levels of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a time-limited, group-based problem-solving training intervention compared with a no-treatment control for vulnerable, incarcerated young offenders. A total of 46 young offenders were equally allocated to intervention or control groups. Intervention participants experienced significant reductions in their levels of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness and improvement in their self-assessed social problem-solving abilities. Gains in aspects of self-assessed problem-solving ability and mental health for the intervention group continued to be evident at 3-month follow-up. Methodological concerns in this study and directions for future research are discussed.     

Shame and guilt in child sexual offenders

In this article, the authors build on previous discussions of the possible role of shame and guilt in sexual offending. They review the general psychological literature on shame and guilt and conclude that the distinction between internal and external shame is an important one in considering sexual offenders. The effects of shame and guilt on victim empathy and relapse are discussed, and it is proposed that the phenomena of shame and guilt have implications for treatment beyond those identified in previous studies. Shame is a salient feature in the initial presentation of many sexual offenders against children. Furthermore, aspects of the treatment of sexual offenders can be characterized as a shift from shame toward guilt. Implications of shame and guilt for treatment of sexual offenders are described.     

The lost generation: How the government and non-governmental organizations are protecting the rights of orphans in Uganda

Millions of Ugandan children have become orphaned over the last two decades, the primary cause being the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic. This phenomenon has prompted the government to institute numerous legal reforms. These internal reforms, implemented in a legal environment based on English common law and increasingly, international standards, greatly influence the legal inheritance rights of Ugandan orphans and their chances for prosperity. In many regions, however, the traditional local mores trump both national and global standards, meaning that while Ugandan parents may own appreciable property upon death, their children rarely receive it, but rather fall victim to “property grabbing” or mismanagement by relatives. The key impediments to solving this problem and to Uganda’s adoption of a more egalitarian system of inheritance include the ineffectiveness of local councils, the inadequate enforcement of the Children Stature, and the heavily centralized and cumbersome structure of the national government. Therefore, significant reforms are needed, including the pronouncement of a national policy regarding orphans, the reduction of national reliance on NGOs, and the restoration of a national legislative effort to codify orphans’ property rights.     

Presidential Party,Incumbency, and the Effects of Economic Fluctuations on House Elections, 1916–1996

There is little professional consensusregarding the effect of economic conditionson House Elections. We argue that recentwork still uses the paradigm of Party toorganize their data and tests. Given thatrecent developments in the theory ofcongress emphasize the paradigm ofIncumbency, we investigate the empiricalrelevance of that competing paradigm. Weshow that (1) Incumbency matters in a purePresidential Party Model of HouseElections, (2) Presidential Party mattersin a pure Incumbency Model, (3) Once bothParty and Incumbency are accounted for,economic conditions exert a highlysignificant and temporally stable influenceon House elections, (4) Return Rates aremore affected by economic fluctuations thanare Vote Shares, and (5) Not allPresidential Party incumbents face the samedegree of electoral accountability foreconomic fluctuations.