Exploring three approaches to identity development

Identifications from the past, current feedback from social relations, and one's own priorities combine to make up one's identity. These insights were incorporated into three separate identity development programs and administered to 57 high school seniors. Pretests and posttests included the Rasmussen Scale of Ego-Identity and a Self-Identity Social-Similarity Grid. Significant differences in change were demonstrated on the grid between the experimental groups and the control. That there were no significant changes in the Rasmussen scores highlights the diverse attempts to operationalize the many aspects of Erikson's theory. Suggestions for administering and evaluating future identity development programs are made.Received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Major interests are identity and moral development.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Major interests are adolescent social and moral development.     

High rates of suicide and attempted suicide using pesticides in Nickerie, Suriname, South America

Suicide and attempted suicide are identified as a serious mental health problem in Suriname, especially in the district of Nickerie. An epidemiological study in the Nickerie catchment area revealed high rates of suicide (48 per 100,000) and attempted suicide (207 per 100,000) on average in the years 2000-2004. Particularly remarkable is the high number of attempted suicides among males (49%), and the use of pesticides in both fatal (55%) and nonfatal suicidal behavior (44%). Probably this high incidence of suicidal behavior reflects the very poor economic situation of the district, poverty of most of the population, high levels of alcohol misuse, domestic violence, the rigidity of Hindustani culture regarding family traditions, the accessibility of pesticides, and the lack of future perspectives. Health care alone will not be sufficient to tackle this problem. One of the most urgent measures to prevent suicides is to stow away pesticides in locked cabinets with the key held by the proprietor.     

Revisiting Respondent “Fatigue Bias” in the National Crime Victimization Survey

For more than three decades the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)—and its predecessor the National Crime Survey (NCS)—have been used to calculate estimates of nonfatal crime in the United States. Though the survey has contributed much to our understanding of criminal victimization, some aspects of the survey’s methodology continue to be analyzed (e.g., repeat victimizations, proxy interviews, and bounding). Surprisingly, one important aspect of NCVS methodology has escaped this scrutiny: respondent fatigue. A potential source of nonsampling error, fatigue bias is thought to manifest as respondents become “test wise” after repeated exposure to NCVS survey instruments. Using a special longitudinal NCVS data file, we revisit the presence and influence of respondent fatigue in the NCVS. Specifically, we test the theory that respondents exposed to longer interviews during their first interview are more likely to refuse to participate in the survey 6 months later. Contrary to expectations based on the literature, results show that prior reporting of victimization and exposure to a longer interview is not a significant predictor of a noninterview during the following time-in-sample once relevant individual characteristics are accounted for. Findings do demonstrate significant effects of survey mode and several respondent characteristics on subsequent survey non-participation.     

Taking Back Druid Hills: An Evaluation of a Community Policing Effort in Birmingham, Alabama

This paper examines the effectiveness of a cooperative police‐citizen effort to eradicate open‐air drug markets in the Druid Hills neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. Using calls‐for‐service data, the study found that calls increased during initial efforts to organize citizen cooperation. As efforts to implement police activities in the area began, calls decreased; the types of calls changed as well. The results indicate the program was effective in reducing problems associated with the open‐air drug market in this neighborhood and illustrate the usefulness of calls for service as a way to monitor the value of a program's efforts.     

Factors predicting verdicts in cases where battered women kill their husbands

This study tested factors influencing verdicts in legal cases involving battered women who kill their husbands. A total of 388 college students (213 females and 175 males) read a fictitious but prototypical legal case. Subjects received one of three stories varying the level of force used by the husband against the wife before she killed him. Half of the subjects received courtroom testimony regarding the Battered Woman Syndrome. One-half received judge's instructions ofnot guilty by reason of selfdefense (NGRSD), and the other half receivednot guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) instructions. Subjects decided on a verdict and completed a questionnaire including demographics, reasons for their verdicts, and relevant attitudinal measures. Judge's instructions were most predictive of verdicts, with NGRSD being more likely to produce not guilty verdicts. Verdicts were also influenced by the subject's view of the severity of the past beatings, the testimony of the expert witness, the subject's feelings about the woman using a weapon, race of the subject, the subject's own history of abuse, attitudes toward abuse in relationships, and the subject's belief that people are responsible even if provoked. The preference the subjects showed for NGRSD belies the commonly held belief that impaired mental defenses in these cases would be more likely to yield not guilty verdicts. Situational aspects of the case rather than long-standing attitudes of subjects appeared to be better predictors of verdicts.     

The role of emotional abuse in physically abusive relationships

Two hundred thirty four women were interviewed to assess the relationship of emotional abuse to physical abuse. Six major types of emotional abuse were identified. Analyses determined if the types of emotional abuse were related to the frequency and severity of physical abuse. Women in long-term abusive relationships were contrasted with women experiencing only short-term abuse. Other comparisons consisted of: women who thought emotional abuse was worse than physical abuse vs. women who thought the opposite; and women who could predict physical abuse from the emotional abuse were compared with those who could not. The extent to which the women believed the men's threats and ridicule or thought their abusive behavior was justified was used as a factor to determine the impact of emotional abuse. Future research should investigate emotional abuse patterns in nonbattering relationships for comparison with battered women's experiences.     

NGOs and income-generation projects: Lessons from the Joint Funding Scheme

A visit to a number of small enterprise and income-generation projects supported under the ODA's Joint Funding Scheme in Zimbabwe and Kenya has raised a series of key points which have wider implications for practitioners and donors. The article discusses each point and makes nine ‘recommendations?s for NGOs and donors who support them. While the general benefits of NGOs — such as their relatively low cost, ability to reach the poor, and innovativeness — are affirmed, the article argues that the challenge facing NGOs is to progress further from this base. In particular, it argues that NGOs need to develop more business-like operations, focusing on the most practicable forms of enterprise structure, but without losing their priority of seeking to benefit the poor and other disadvantaged groups. Technology-oriented projects need to ensure that they concentrate on the application of technology in a market context, rather than developing it for its own sake. NGOs with donors need also to strive for a realistic definition of sustainability, to work towards a more credible project-planning process, and to be aware of the dangers of very visible and expensive investment in project transport undermining NGOs' efficiency.