Adolescent-Mother Agreement about Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Direction and Predictors of Disagreement

Correlations between adolescent and parent reports of adolescent problems are low in magnitude. In community samples adolescents tend to report more problems than parents and in clinical samples adolescents tend to report fewer problems than parents. Indices of agreement may be biased if some adolescents in a given sample report more problems and others report fewer problems than parents. In the current study, order and mean agreement between adolescent and maternal reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, taking into account the direction of disagreement, was examined in a community sample of 133 young adolescents and their mothers. Two-thirds to three-quarters of adolescents reported more problems than mothers. Accounting for the direction of discrepancies resulted in improved agreement between adolescents and mothers and differing patterns of predictors of discrepancies. Additionally, the results demonstrate the need to control for relations between adolescent-reported problems and discrepancies when exploring predictors of discrepancies. Erin T. Barker received her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Alberta. Her research interests include internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Marc H. Bornstein received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University. He has contributed scientific papers in the areas of human experimental, methodological, comparative, developmental, cross-cultural, neuroscientific, pediatric, and aesthetic psychology. Diane L. Putnick received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from George Washington University. Her research interests include child and family processes across cultures. Charlene Hendricks received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from George Mason University. Her research interests are in the areas of early adolescent development and adjustment and families by adoption. Joan T. D. Suwalsky received her M.S. degree in Human Development from Cornell University. Her research interests include parent-child interaction and child development in at-risk populations, including families by adoption.     

Charismatic Economies: Pentecostalism,Economic Restructuring,and Social Reproduction

Pentecostalism is one of the world's fastest growing religions, expanding most quickly in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Asia. To make sense of this expansion in so many developing regions, I suggest that Pentecostalism fosters norms and behaviors that harmonize with neoliberal economic restructuring. I frame this theoretically with Polanyi's notion of double movement. In our current era of weakened state governance vis-à-vis neoliberal trade and fiscal policy, non-state sites of reaction have emerged. Pentecostalism is one such site, and, in contrast with Polanyi's example, I suggest that Pentecostalism has embedded the self-regulated aspects of neoliberal capitalism. I make this argument by using the feminist political economy theorization of social reproduction to interpret a number of empirical studies of Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism addresses dilemmas of social reproduction engendered by neoliberalism, and so may be said to embed this form of economic organization in human social life in a way that reinforces neoliberal capitalism.     

New methods for examining expertise in burglars in natural and simulated environments: preliminary findings

Expertise literature in mainstream cognitive psychology is rarely applied to criminal behaviour. Yet, if closely scrutinised, examples of the characteristics of expertise can be identified in many studies examining the cognitive processes of offenders, especially regarding residential burglary. We evaluated two new methodologies that might improve our understanding of cognitive processing in offenders through empirically observing offending behaviour and decision-making in a free-responding environment. We tested hypotheses regarding expertise in burglars in a small, exploratory study observing the behaviour of ‘expert’ offenders (ex-burglars) and novices (students) in a real and in a simulated environment. Both samples undertook a mock burglary in a real house and in a simulated house on a computer. Both environments elicited notably different behaviours between the experts and the novices with experts demonstrating superior skill. This was seen in: more time spent in high value areas; fewer and more valuable items stolen; and more systematic routes taken around the environments. The findings are encouraging and provide support for the development of these observational methods to examine offender cognitive processing and behaviour.     

Public policy inquiry and advice as an aspect of constitutional reform

This article presents for the first time an outline of a classified review of the many types (some 20) of public policy inquiry or review exercises used in British public affairs. They are mainly created by the government but are also increasingly promoted by private bodies hoping to influence government and the established specialist interests in a policy field by supplying free and authoritative information and recommendations. A brief commentary on each of these ‘decision advice processes’ (DAPs) draws out their changing profile and questions the democratic propriety of the executive itself now investigating or reviewing important public policy issues which were, until quite recently, unquestioningly given out by departments for external and (normally) independent‐minded commissions and committees of inquiry to study and recommend upon. The question of whether the current movement for constitutional reform should include the overall ‘decision advice process’ and place it on a more independent and authoritative basis is raised. A parliamentary, rather than (or as well as) an executive, basis for most official ‘DAPs’ is proposed, while the currently flourishing practice of charitable foundations, think‐tanks and established interest groups promoting unofficial DAPs for the information and guidance of the government, parliament and the public is endorsed.     

American Based Biker Gangs: International Organized Crime

Many American based motorcycle clubs have evolved into biker gangs involved in organized crime nationally and internationally. Using the information contained on the national websites of seven biker gangs—Hells Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, Mongols, Warlocks, Sons of Silence and the Vagos, this article provides a listing of the gangs by chapter in the United States and internationally. These gangs have exported organized crime to the world as they have formed criminal networks with new chapters established outside the Continental United States.