Revictimized Adult Women: Perceptions of Mental Health Functioning and Associated Services

In this study, using a sample of adult women (N = 418) from various environments, mental health outcomes and perceptions about different types of support following childhood and adulthood sexual and physical violence were assessed. The respondents were from three locations: general community, state prison, and sexual assault and domestic violence service providers. A cluster analysis based on victimization experiences was conducted; subsequent analyses showed that women who endured more types of abuse had more self-reported mental health difficulties. Somewhat paradoxically, women who utilized more therapeutic services held more negative perceptions of their mental health functioning, while use of tangible services had no significant association. Those who found therapeutic services helpful had significantly higher self-reported concurrent mental health functioning.     

An Exploratory Study of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile Psychometrics,and the Mediating Effect of Social Support Sources on Mental Toughness and Suicidal Ideation Among Military Police

Research suggests that social support and mental toughness (i.e., the ability to effectively cope with stress despite adversity and/or failure) may be associated with decreased suicide risk, although methods for measuring mental toughness remain largely undeveloped. The relationship remains largely unknown. In response to this research gap, the psychometric properties of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile (MTPSP; Asken 2005), and its association with suicide ideation, were evaluated in a sample of active duty U.S. Air Force Security Forces personnel, a subpopulation especially vulnerable to suicide risk. 273 participants from two Air Force bases completed self-report scales including the MTPSP. Results indicated that the MTPSP is comprised of five subscales: Negative Mindset, Positive Mindset, Confidence, Achievement, and Health Behaviors. All five MTPSP factors were independently correlated with general distress, somatic anxiety, positive affect, presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, positive self-bias, social support sources, and suicide ideation. The Confidence factor was the only factor that had a significant association with suicide ideation when all five factors were considered simultaneously (β?=??0.18, p?=?.016), but was fully mediated by social support (β?=??0.17, p?=?.033). Self-confidence may be associated with reduced suicide risk because those individuals tend to report higher social support.     

“Error But Without Malice” in Defamation of Public Officials: The Value of Free Expression in International Human Rights Law

Government officials in various parts of the world use defamation to silence critics, but defamation liability may curtail freedom of expression on topics of public interest and undermine human rights generally. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees freedom of expression unless a state can show need to protect individual reputation and acts proportionally. In its adjudication of complaints for violations of Article 19, and in its General Comment 34, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has crafted the principle that defamation liability may not be imposed if an erroneous statement about a public official was made in “error but without malice.” Although soft law, General Comment 34 represents the committee's most compelling articulation of the values animating freedom of expression in international human rights law, and chief among the values is the role played by free expression to promote realization of all human rights.     

Amino acid content in fresh sperm and sperm stains

Seminal fluid was studied biochemically for sperm identification in stains. The qualitative and quantitative distribution of amino acids in samples of fresh sperm has been alayzed. These findings were compared to the results of a similar study of fresh samples and stains of urine, saliva, vaginal fluor, and sweat. The results obtained show a specific and relatively constant level of amino acids in each of five biological liquids. There was no significant variation in results between fresh samples and stains.     

The Massachusetts Task Force on Secure Facilities: An Examination of the Issue of Security in a Community-Based System of Juvenile Corrections

Authors' note: This article reviews the findings of the Massachusetts Task Force on Secure Facilities' Final Report “The Issue of Security in a Community-Based System of Juvenile Corrections,” L. Scott Harshbarger, Chairman (1977), and includes the comments of the authors which do not necessarily represent the official position of the Task Force.