Exposure to Family Violence in Childhood and Intimate Partner Perpetration or Victimization in Adulthood: Exploring Intergenerational Transmission in Urban Thailand

Investigators who study intimate partner violence have long recognized a relationship between exposure to violence in the family of origin and subsequent offending and victimization in the family context. This relationship holds not only for direct exposure (i.e., experiencing violence), but also for indirect exposure (i.e., witnessing violence against a parent or sibling). Typically, this relationship has been attributed to a social learning process that results in the intergenerational transmission of family violence. In this study, we explore intergenerational transmission in a sample of 816 married women in Bangkok, Thailand to determine how childhood exposure to violence in the family of origin is related to intimate partner perpetration and victimization during adulthood. Our results show that there are indeed long-term and significant effects of childhood exposure to family violence on the likelihood of Thai women’s psychological and physical intimate partner perpetration. However, these effects appear to be indirect. Additionally, our results demonstrate a direct association between childhood exposure to parental intimate partner violence and subsequent psychological and physical victimization in adulthood.     

The Clinical and Adaptive Features of Young Offenders with Histories of Child-Parent Violence

This study compared the clinical and adaptive features of juvenile offenders (N = 223) who were violent towards their parents (CPV) with those who had no history of violence against their parents (NCPV). These two groups were also examined on demographic data, arrest findings, mental health issues, relationship findings, intellectual abilities, and school performance. Youths in the CPV group were more likely to (a) associate with peers who own guns, (b) affiliate with gang members, (c) belong to a gang, (d) have been psychiatrically hospitalized and medicated, (e) have attempted suicide, (f) come from a non-intact home, and (g) have trouble relating to their parents and other household members. The CPV group also committed a greater number of nondomestic violent offenses, while those in the NCPV group committed a greater number of property offenses. Analyses revealed no significant group differences on the Emotional Symptom Index and Personal Adjustment Composite of the Behavior Assessment System for Children; however, interaction effects were detected by gender and race.     

"Keepin' my mind right": identity maintenance and religious social support in the prison context

It is not uncommon for inmates to experience religious conversions in prison. These conversions allow inmates to portray themselves in a prosocial light and help them to establish a sense of control in their current lives, regardless of their past. Despite the value of these conversions, maintaining a new outlook of one's self is remarkably difficult. Using semistructured interviews with 63 inmates who had undergone a religious conversion, the authors examine the process that they engaged in to keep these new senses of self. The narratives suggest that they relied on various social support mechanisms to keep themselves focused and inspired. Specifically, they stressed the importance of connecting with positive others in formal and informal settings, sharing their stories with those in need, and reflecting on their daily choices. It is through these strategies that inmates keep the inspiration and focus to "keep their minds right."     

Inhibition of bleach-induced luminol chemiluminescence

The luminol chemiluminescence presumptive test for blood is based on the mild peroxidase activity of hemoglobin in basic peroxide solution. However, this test is subject to interference by strong oxidants, certain transition metal ions, and true peroxidases. This paper reports methods for reducing the interference caused by hypochlorite-containing bleaches. Amines such as 1,2-diaminoethane react rapidly with hypochlorite without interfering significantly with the hemoglobin-catalyzed oxidation. Thus, addition of 0.1 mol/L 1,2-diaminoethane to a standard luminol-peroxide spray lead to almost complete inhibition of hypochlorite-induced chemiluminescence while satisfactory chemiluminescence was still observed from bloodstains. If time allows, an alternative method for reducing interference from hypochlorite bleach is to wait several days until the bloodstains have dried thoroughly, by which time the hypochlorite will have decomposed.     

A rapid test for heroin (3,6-diacetylmorphine) based on two chemiluminescence reactions

A rapid method for screening drug seizure samples for 3,6-diacetylmorphine (heroin), which consists of a simple hydrolysis procedure and flow-injection analysis with two chemiluminescence reagents, is described. Before hydrolysis, 3,6-diacetylmorphine evokes an intense response with a tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) reagent (prepared by dissolving the perchlorate salt in acetonitrile), and a relatively weak chemiluminescence response with a second reagent: potassium permanganate in an aqueous acidic polyphosphate solution. However, the permanganate reagent is extremely sensitive toward the hydrolysis products of 3,6-diacetylmorphine (i.e., 6-monoacetylmorphine and morphine). Some compounds commonly found in drug laboratories may cause false positives with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III), but do not produce the markedly increased response with the permanganate reagent after the hydrolysis procedure. The combination of these two tests therefore provides an effective presumptive test for the presence of 3,6-diacetylmorphine, which we have verified with 14 samples obtained from a forensic science laboratory.     

Small scale socio-cultural thematic maps for development and administrative planning

Because of the domination of development and administrative planning by economists there has in the past been a concentration on variables that are mostly economic and measurable and a tendency to give insufficient attention to socio-cultural and socio-political variables. Now perspectives are changing and there is an awareness of the need to use more accurate and complete data on social and cultural phenomena. There is as a result a need to appreciate the contribution that geographers and cartographers can make. This article reviews the small scale socio-cultural mapping of third world countries. It considers the available range of such maps and carto-bibliographical guides, and proceeds to consider how socio-cultural mapping could be extended in a way that would be useful for development planners and administrators.