Sexual harassment stories: testing a story-mediated model of juror decision-making in civil litigation

The story model of juror decision-making proposes that jurors use personal experience and information presented at trial to create stories that guide their verdicts. This model has received strong empirical support in studies using criminal cases. The research presented here extends the story model to civil litigation and tests a story-mediated model against an unmediated model of jury decision-making. In Phase 1, content analysis of mock juror responses to 4 realistic sexual harassment cases revealed prototypic plaintiff and defense stories. In Phase 2, these prototypic stories were included as mediators in a model predicting verdicts in 4 additional sexual harassment cases. Mock juror attitudes, experiences, and demographics were assessed, then attorneys presented abbreviated versions of 4 actual sexual harassment cases. Path analyses provided support for the story-mediated model, which added significantly to the amount of variance accounted for in the outcome measures of verdict, commitment to verdict, and confidence times verdict. Implications for sexual harassment and other types of civil cases are discussed.     

Depressive symptomatology among very early maturing girls

This study investigated whether menarche is associated with depression when its onset is at the very early extreme of the normal age range. Girls who were postmenarcheal at the beginning of the sixth grade, comprising less than 10% of a sample of girls in that grade, were classified as very early maturers; their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, short form (BDIs), were compared with those of their premenarcheal peers. Additionally, postmenarcheal seventh graders, who comprised 30% of a sample of girls in that grade, were compared to their premenarcheal peers on the BDIs. Results were that postmenarcheal sixth graders were significantly more depressed than their premenarcheal peers, but that postmenarcheal and premenarcheal seventh graders did not differ significantly. The results suggest that very early menarche is associated with higher levels of depression than more normative menarcheal timing.This research was supported by Grant 16034 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Some portions of the data were cited previously at meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development and the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research.Received Ph.D. from Clark University. Major interest is in clinical-developmental psychology. To whom reprint requests should be addressed.Received Ph.D. from Tufts University. Major interests are psychobiology and adolescent development     

Psychological mindedness and abstract reasoning in late childhood and adolescence: An exploration using new instruments

This study introduces two new measures of psychological mindedness, applying them in a study of the growth of abstract thinking in children and adolescents in a developmental design. The capacity to achieve psychological understanding of the self and of others involves comprehension of the motives, attitudes, and characteristics of the self and others. Psychological mindedness toward the self (PS) and toward others (PO) may be seen as complex cognitive capacities that should show a pattern of related development in childhood. Three groups of 60 fifth, eighth, and twelfth graders completed two measures of formal operations and two instruments to assess the two components of psychological mindedness. We find that psychological mindedness and abstract thinking both increase significantly with age, although the relationship between them is complex and varies with gender and age. Because the development of abstract reasoning skills does not correlate with the development of psychological mindedness in a simple way, a more complex model is necessary, taking age and gender differences into account. Performance on the two measures of psychological mindedness is found to be largely unrelated, suggesting that these are two different psychological skills. Implications of these findings are discussed, with special reference to education, peer counseling, and psychotherapy.Received Ph.D. from University of Michigan and psychoanalytic training from The Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. Main research interests are psychoanalytic theory, the therapeutic alliance, and insight and self-observation.Received Ph.D. from University of Michigan. Main research interests are adolescent development, peer counseling, short-term psychotherapy, and the psychology of women.Received M.A. from The University of Michigan. Main research interests are infant mental health and attachment theory.Received M.A. from The University of Michigan. Main research interests are gender identity and children of divorce.Received B.A. from The University of Michigan. Main research interests are gender issues and adolescent development.     

Timing of menarche,preparation, and initial menstrual experience: Replication and further analyses in a prospective study

The goals of this study were to assess the significance of two timing variables (objective timing of menarche and subjective timing, i.e., the belief—not necessarily true—about one's status as early, average, or late maturing) and two cognitive variables (preparation for menstruation and ego functioning) as predictors of the experience of menarche. Subjects were 92 girls who changed from pre- to postmenarcheal between two test occasions, six months apart. Findings were that subjective timing of menarche and preparation were significant predictors of menarcheal experience, while objective timing and ego functioning were not. The results replicated earlier findings based on cross-sectional analyses. Interpretation of the results suggested some directions for further exploration of determinants of initial menstrual experience.This research was supported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant 16034 to the first two authors.Received Ph.D. from Clark University. Major interest is in clinical-developmental psychology.Received Ph.D. from Tufts University. Major interests are psychobiology and adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Brandeis University. Major interest is early adolescent girls' development.     

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Neuropsychological Functioning as Part Mediators of the Race–Antisocial Relationship: A Serial Mediation Model

Objectives

We test a serial multiple mediation model in which the relationship between ethnicity and antisocial behavior is sequentially mediated by disadvantaged neighborhoods and impaired neuropsychological functioning.

Methods

Parental and self-report measures of antisocial behavior were assessed in a community sample of 341 adolescent males and females. Neighborhood disadvantage was assessed from census data. Neuropsychological functioning was evaluated using a computerized battery. Separate serial multiple mediation models were tested using non-executive functioning and executive functioning.

Results

The serial mediation model for executive functioning was supported, with the pathway from race to antisocial behavior through neighborhood disadvantage and executive functioning in serial accounting for 10.8% of the total effect of race on antisocial behavior.

Conclusions

Findings support social neurocriminology theory by integrating neighborhood disadvantage and executive functioning as sequential mediators of the race–antisocial relationship. To our knowledge, these are the first findings to explain the race–antisocial relationship in terms of connected social and neuropsychological processes. While this pathway is significant, the effect is still relatively small and thus should be understood as one of many mechanisms through which race may affect antisocial behavior. From a translational science standpoint, the identification of neurocognitive mechanisms by which neighborhood disadvantage predisposes to antisocial behavior suggests the potential benefits of cognitive enhancement techniques to remediate the negative effects of adverse neighborhoods on brain functioning in at-risk minority groups.

     

Equality,empowerment, and choice: what does feminism mean to contemporary women?

Feminisms work to correct the social gender imbalance, necessitating women's continued self-identification as feminist. There are several reasons noted for women choosing to identify: (1) exposure to feminist beliefs through education, (2) personal influences such as strong feminist role models, and (3) awareness of gender discrimination. The current research literature on feminism has largely omitted the dynamic and contextual factors that may influence this decision. This study sought to fill this gap by utilizing qualitative methodology to evaluate reasons why contemporary women choose to self-identify as feminist. Overall, the data indicate that a general desire for equality, empowerment, and the freedom to make choices are instrumental in the decision-making process. Further, exposure to feminism, both through education and personal role models, has also led to their self-identification. The implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for the continuation of the feminist movement are discussed.     

Models of engagement between the state and the faith sector in sub-Saharan Africa – a systematic review

ABSTRACT

In sub-Saharan Africa many individuals rely on non-state health providers, and engagement between state and non-state providers is increasingly common. Little analytic work has been done on the varied models of engagement, resulting in a lack of clarity about the promises and challenges of public–private engagement (PPE) for health. Despite their prevalence, PPEs often fail. Faith-based health providers (FBHPs) form a significant proportion of the non-state health sector in sub-Saharan Africa, and the number of partnerships with FBHPs is increasing. Building on a prior systematic review project that developed a typology of organisational models for PPE for health, this article reports on a secondary analysis, highlighting PPE initiatives with FBHPs.     

One Strike to Second Chances: Using Criminal Backgrounds in Admission Decisions for Assisted Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has changed its position toward housing individuals with criminal records from strict one-strike policies in the 1980s to providing second chances to returning citizens. Many public housing authorities have not updated their admission policies for using criminal backgrounds and still adhere to the one-strike philosophy. In response to new guidance from HUD, housing agencies are trying to find a balance between screening practices to identify demonstrable risk but avoid discrimination and violation of the Fair Housing Act. This research examines several questions critical to assisting housing providers to address the new guidance from HUD. Findings provide direction for housing providers on understanding recidivism risk rates, using useful lookback periods, considering risk and harm across crime types, and verifying rehabilitation and other evidence to design informed policies and procedures for using criminal records in admission decisions for assisted housing.