Skull Fracture with Brain Expulsion in a One-Level Jumping-Fall

Abstract:  Here presented is the case of a one-level jumping-fall with extensive skull fractures and brain expulsion. The body was found on the basement floor at the foot of the stairs. At the autopsy, the skull was extensively fractured, with about half of the brain expulsed several feet away from the body. The cause of death was established as a craniocerebral trauma with brain expulsion. The circumstances and manner of death were still unclear at that time. A low fall seemed very unlikely considering the severity of the skull and brain damage. The police investigation clearly revealed that the man, in a paranoid psychotic state, attacked his wife with a knife and then was witnessed by his children to have hit his head several times with a hammer. Afterwards, they saw him running to the top of the basement stairs and jumping to the bottom of the stairs head first.     

The effect of police on crime,disorder and victim precaution. Evidence from a Dutch victimization survey

Using individual data from a large-scale Dutch crime victimization survey, we are able to expand the analysis of the effect of police on crime to crimes types that do not easily find their way into police statistics, and to public disorder and victim precaution. To address heterogeneity and simultaneity in the relation between police and crime, we model the police funding formula – used to distribute police resources across municipalities – to identify the endogenous variation in police levels. We use the remaining variation in police levels to identify the effect of police. We find significantly negative effects of higher police levels on property and violent crime, public disorder, and victim precaution. The effect on victim precaution is a hitherto largely ignored benefit of higher police levels not reflected in lower rates of crime and public disorder.     

Risk Factor Models for Adolescent Verbal and Physical Aggression Toward Fathers

Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeconomic factors (paternal education and family structure); inherent individual factors (child gender and developmental trajectories of physical aggression from early to later childhood, problematic substance use), family environment (concurrent parent-child involvement, parental problematic substance use), and prospective and concurrent parenting process variables (mean parental supervision at puberty, concurrent punishment practices) as predictors of adolescent-directed aggression against fathers (in the last 6 months). A childhood behavioral pattern characterized by physical aggression showed the highest risk of adolescent-directed verbal and physical aggression toward fathers, regardless of sex. In terms of parental practices, verbal (and not corporal) punishment in the last 6 months significantly predicted aggression toward fathers. A childhood life-course of violence is likely to culminate in aggression toward fathers during adolescence. Beyond this risk, it seems that harsh verbal punishment by parents builds up the odds of child-directed aggression against fathers.     

From evaluation to auditing and from programs to institutions: Causes and consequences of the decline of the program approach

In the wake of the “audit revolution” during the 1980s and 1990s, administrative systems across the western world have tended to gradually downplay evaluation as a component of the policy process. At the same time, auditing has dramatically increased in scope and depth, and has also, to some extent, come to fill the role in policymaking previously played by evaluation studies. This article reviews this development from the perspective of policymaking and institutional change or “drift.” Specifically, we look at the types of information and knowledge that are lost and gained as a result of these developments. We apply a cross‐national approach, drawing on the examples from the European and North American contexts.     

Beyond law and order: Motives in the mobilization of the penal system

Résumé Cet article constitue une proposition théorique et méthodologique afin d'étudier les conditions menant à la mise en oeuvre du droit et, plus particulièrement, au déclenchement du processus pénal dans des situations concrètes. En utilisant de nombreux travaux empiriques et théoriques, les auteurs ont privilégié trois dimensions analytiques. Premièrement, les déterminants susceptibles d'affecter la mise en oeuvre du système pénal seront examinées. En deuxième lieu, une attention particulièrement sera accordée à l'identité des renvoyants. Enfin, les motifs à l'origine de la décision de renvoyer une affaire vers le système pénal seront discutés.      

Depressive symptoms in adolescents as a function of personality factors

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the personality factors of sociotropy and autonomy and depressive symptomatology in a nonclinical sample of adolescents. One hundred and thirty-six adolescents (60 males, 76 females), ranging in age from 15 to 17 years and enrolled in a high school of the Western Quebec Regional School Board, completed the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Subjects with high sociotropy showed significantly more depressive symptoms than subjects with low sociotropy. With regard to autonomy, high autonomous females scored higher on the Beck Depression Inventory than high autonomous males. Results are discussed in light of the literature on adolescent depression.This is an extended version of a poster presented at the 12th annual convention of the Quebec Society for Research in Psychology (SQRP), Ottawa, October 1989. The authors wish to thank Mr. Michael Donlan for his cooperation.Received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of Ottawa. Major research interest is adolescent depression. To whom reprint requests should be addressed.     

Prevalence and predictors of dating violence among adolescent female victims of child sexual abuse

The purpose of this study was to advance knowledge of dating violence behaviors among adolescent victims of child sexual abuse (CSA), first, by determining the prevalence of psychological and physical dating violence and the reciprocity of violence, and second, by investigating the influence of certain CSA characteristics to dating violence. Respondents included 126 females ages 13 to 17 years. More than 45% reported experiencing some sort of physical violence in their dating relationships. Psychological violence was reciprocal in more than 90% of the cases. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant contribution of CSA characteristics. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the duration of the sexual abuse and the presence of violence or completed intercourse during the abuse could significantly contribute to dating violence above and beyond other known risk factors. Discussion underscores the need to gain a better understanding of CSA and other risk factors that might influence violent dating behaviors.