Cognitive-behavioral skills,social supports,and child abuse potential among mothers of handicapped children

This study examined the relationship among cognitive functioning, social support networks, and risk for child abuse in a sample of 92 mothers of developmentally disabled children. Mothers found to be at highest risk for child abuse potential tended to score low on cognitive skills, social support networks, and life satisfaction. Beck Depression Inventory scores were found to explain 57% of the variance in the Child Abuse Potential Scores. Single mothers differed significantly from married mothers on child abuse potential, relationship satisfaction, community involvement, and loneliness. The authors discuss implications of the study and the need for future research with families of handicapped children.     

Age-cohort analysis of arrest rates

Logistic regressions of age-period-cohort models for city arrest rates are estimated with data from seven U.S. cities for the years 1970–1980 to study the dependence of officially designated criminality in select offense categories on age. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine how dependent the findings are on details of model specification.     

Interstate rendition: Discretionary or mandatory?

Ratification of a federal form of government in 1789 launched the United States into a fractious search for clear delineations of the authorities of the states vis-a-vis each other; interpretation of the extradition clause of the new constitution was a vital, though intermittent, element in this interstate struggle, Ultimately the courts were invoked to establish the legal definitions of interstate rendition rights and the obligation of state governors under the constitutional clause. Characteristically, courts have varied greatly in their rulings on such rights and duties, but there is an overall tendency to avoid an “absolute” interpretation of the extradition duty. A second strain of theory explored in this article is the application of the rendition clause to juvenile proceedings, which do not (by definition) pertain to crime. Rendition of juveniles is controlled among the states and territories by the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, and this arrangement has fulfilled its intended functions effectively.