Extreme Pessimists? Expected Socioeconomic Downward Mobility and the Political Attitudes of Young Adults

Political Behavior - In recent decades, and especially since the economic crisis, young people have been finding it more difficult to maintain or exceed the living standards of their parents. As a...     

Morbidity Involving the Hallucinogenic Designer Amines MDA and 2C‐I*

Abstract: A case is presented of a 39‐year‐old woman who suffered severe debilitation because of a hemorrhagic stroke in the context of substance abuse. The patient presented to the emergency room with rapidly diminishing mental status, hypertension, and vasoconstriction; her friends provided a history of ingestion of cocaine, 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 2C‐I, a novel designer amine. A multi‐targeted LC‐MS/MS method for sympathomimetic amines and related drugs in urine detected and quantified 2C‐I and MDA, while ruling out MDMA. The cause of the stroke was determined to be an underlying cerebrovascular abnormality called Moyamoya, secondary to substance abuse. In clinical laboratories, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) confirmation of a positive amphetamine immunoassay is usually directed only towards amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA and MDA. This report demonstrates the utility of testing for a wider menu of compounds using LC‐MS/MS in order to better characterize the prevalence and toxicities of novel amines such as 2C‐I.     

Proactive and Reactive Violence among Intimate Partner Violent Men Diagnosed with Antisocial and Borderline Personality Disorder

Personality disorder features have been an important basis of many batterer typologies (Babcock et al. J Fam Violence 15:391–409, 2000; Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart Psychol Bull 116:476–497, 1994), most notably Antisocial and Borderline Personality Disorders. Aggression that partner violent men commit has also been found to be heterogeneous, motivated by the need to control (proactive) or enacted out of emotion (reactive). In the present study, men who were physically abusive towards their female partner (N = 124 couples) were administered the SCID-II diagnostic interview for Antisocial (ASPD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). It was hypothesized that partner violent men diagnosed with ASPD would show highest levels of proactive violence whereas men diagnosed with BPD (alone or comorbidly with ASPD) were expected to be reactively violent. Results suggest that violence perpetrated by men with different personality disorders differs in its function. Within the context of intimate relationships, BPD/comorbid men appear to use violence more reactively, while ASPD men tend to use violence both proactively and reactively. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Predicting Conduct Problems from Community and Family Violence: The Moderating Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Although the devastation was immediately apparent, the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the behavior of youth are just now being revealed. Much post-disaster research targets adjustment of adults, but ample evidence indicates that youth experience a variety of psychological symptoms following a disaster, including depressive symptoms, aggression, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. The aim of the current study was to determine whether hurricane exposure serves as a risk factor for developing conduct problems among violence-exposed youth. Results indicate that hurricane exposure had differential effects on the relations between conduct problems and community violence versus corporal punishment in the home. Though not statistically significant, there was an unexpected trend for youth with high hurricane exposure to show decreased conduct problems and those with low hurricane exposure to show increased conduct problems as violence exposure increased. Hurricane exposure played the predicted role in the relation between corporal punishment and conduct problems, such that high levels of hurricane exposure predicted increased conduct problems among youth experiencing high levels of corporal punishment, but not among those experiencing low levels of corporal punishment. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

We do negotiate with terrorists: navigating liberal and illiberal norms in peace mediation

The normative framework in mediation processes is growing. Mediators are increasingly expected by their mandate-givers to incorporate liberal norms such as inclusivity into their overall strategy. However, in the wake of the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September 2001, and the policy shifts that accompanied the “Global War on Terror”, mediators find themselves simultaneously pressured to design mediation processes actively excluding armed groups proscribed as terrorists and consequently incorporating this illiberal norm of “exclusivity”, barring proscribed groups’ access to negotiations. This article asks what consequences this development has on the normative agency of mediators, based on if and how they incorporate proscribed armed groups into their mediation strategies. It argues that the dichotomy between liberal and illiberal norms has important consequences on a mediator’s normative agency. First, the dichotomy constrains mediators to a single normative standard, rendering only liberal and illiberal views possible. Second, the assumption that liberal norms are “good” and illiberal norms are “bad” engenders a double dichotomy that greatly constrains a mediator’s normative agency. Third, these constraints on a mediator engender new mediation practices such as outsourcing and risk-sharing in an attempt to salvage normative agency. The article contributes to scholarship on norms, terrorism and mediation through providing a more nuanced view of normative parameters in mediation practice.     

Talking Together,Thinking Alone: Relations among Co-Rumination,Peer Relationships,and Rumination

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Girls are more likely to engage in rumination, associated with the development of mental health problems, as well as report higher levels of friendship quality,...     

A European response to non-compliance: the Commission’s enforcement efforts and the Common European Asylum System

This article aims at systematically analysing the European Commission’s effort to enforce compliance with the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). In recent years, human rights organisations have increasingly denounced EU member states’ violations of the right to asylum and accused the EU of turning a blind eye to non-compliance with the CEAS. Although the primary responsibility to implement EU law lies with member states, the Commission ought to assist them and enforce violated legislation. How exactly does the Commission react to member states’ non-compliance with the CEAS? What can be inferred from these insights? By using infringement data, policy documents, and complementary interviews, the article scrutinises which of the available instruments are applied de facto. Subsequently, the findings are critically discussed, suggesting that the Commission prefers capacity-enhancing instruments and is rather tentative in using instruments to increase member states’ willingness to comply.     

Effects of Financial Incentives on Saving Outcomes and Material Well‐Being: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda

The use of savings products to promote financial inclusion has increasingly become a policy priority across sub‐Saharan Africa, yet little is known about how families respond to varying levels of savings incentives and whether the promotion of incentivized savings in low‐resource settings may encourage households to restrict expenditures on basic needs. Using data from a randomized controlled trial in Uganda, we examine: (1) whether low‐income households enrolled in an economic‐empowerment intervention consisting of matched savings, workshops, and mentorship reduced spending on basic needs and (2) how varied levels of matching contributions affected household savings and consumption behavior. We compared primary school‐attending AIDS‐affected children (N = 1,383) randomized to a control condition with two intervention arms with differing savings‐match incentives: 1:1 (Bridges) and 1:2 (Bridges PLUS). We found that: (1) 24 months post‐intervention initiation, children in Bridges and Bridges PLUS were more likely to have accumulated savings than children in the control condition; (2) higher match incentives (Bridges PLUS) led to higher deposit frequency but not higher savings in the bank; (3) intervention participation did not result in material hardship; and (4) in both intervention arms, participating families were more likely to start a family business and diversify their assets.     

Training in Austria’s and China’s Forestry Administration: A Comparison of Human Capital Development

The article analyzes forestry training for state employees in Austria and China from a comparative perspective, drawing on government publications and expert interviews; fieldwork was conducted between 2015 and 2016. It identifies institutional differences and analyzes how they translate into the management of HCD. The study ties in with research in the field of cadre training in China contributing with a new perspective and delivering new findings, as it inquires on the training in a specific government department, whose primary responsibility is to further educate and train its staff in the context of its policies and reform agendas.