Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Health in a Sample of Asian and Caucasian Women: The Roles of Social Support and Coping

This study examined the potential mediating effects of social support and coping strategies on the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and psychological outcomes. A sample of 100 Caucasian women and 61 Asian women were recruited from domestic violence agencies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Analysis of the combined group revealed that there was an indirect effect of the level of violence on psychological outcomes via the mediating variables of perceived social support and passive coping strategies. Ethnic group comparisons, however, indicated differences between Caucasian and Asian women. In the Caucasian group, the level of violence had an indirect effect on psychological outcomes via the mediating variables of perceived social support and passive coping strategies. In contrast, in the Asian group, the direct effect of the level of violence on psychological outcomes was strong and significant, and the mediating roles of these variables were not found. Research implications for practice are delineated. This study was funded by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the University of Texas at Austin.     

Alternatives to punishment beatings and shootings in a Loyalist community in Belfast

The author is a former Loyalist prisoner who recently carried out a piece of research in the Loyalist community of the Greater Shankill District of Belfast. That research was designed to explore with a range of community activists (including Loyalist paramilitaries) the potential for an alternative strategy to the current system of punishment beatings and shootings. The author argues that this can only be achieved by distinguishing between the types of activities that attract the attention of Loyalist paramilitaries and focusing intervention only upon those areas where it may readistically have an effect, i.e. that matter relating to the internal discipline of Loyalist paramilitary members and disputes between groupings relating to drugs will by necessity fall outside any potential intervention. He goes on to offer the outline of a programme designed as an alternative to punishment beatings which could prove to be effective within those parameters despite the acknowledged difficulties.     

Collaborating for Mental Health Services in Wales: A Process Evaluation

The need for inter-agency collaboration between managers of mental health services has long been recognized, as has the difficulty of achieving and maintaining such relationships. Hudson et al . (1999) have developed a model for collaboration in the public sector and the current research has tested the model against attempts to achieve and maintain inter-agency collaboration between mental health managers in Wales. We find Hudson's model a useful analytical framework but our evidence suggests that it needs to be amended by giving greater emphasis to the importance of 'uninterrupted . . . opportunities for interaction' between key managers. Forthcoming changes to NHS structures in Wales (for example, the abolition of Health Authorities and the conversion of Local Health Groups into Local Health Boards) will not necessarily facilitate collaboration if the Local Health Boards are given the role of planning and commissioning mental health services without having the necessary 'critical mass' of knowledge, expertise and dedicated staff capacity for planning and commissioning mental health services.     

Harsh Discipline and Child Problem Behaviors: The Roles of Positive Parenting and Gender

This study examined harsh verbal and physical discipline and child problem behaviors in a community sample of 2,582 parents and their fifth and sixth grade children. Participants were recruited from pediatric practices, and both parents and children completed questionnaire packets. The findings indicated that boys received more harsh verbal and physical discipline than girls, with fathers utilizing more harsh physical discipline with boys than did mothers. Both types of harsh discipline were associated with child behavior problems uniquely after positive parenting was taken into account. Child gender did not moderate the findings, but one dimension of positive parenting (i.e., parental warmth) served to buffer children from the detrimental influences of harsh physical discipline. The implications of the findings for intervention programs are discussed. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.