Family Problems and Children's Competencies Over the Early Elementary School Years

SUMMARY

Problems experienced by families from a sample of at-risk, urban children were observed and recorded by social workers over a two year period. Four groups of families were distinguished through social worker case notes based on family problems and needs; families were grouped into stable high needs, stable low needs, change for better and change for worse categories. Children were then followed for three years, from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of second grade, and assessed on classroom competence and academic achievement outcomes. Classroom competence included the teacher's rating of both the child's social skills in the classroom, and the academic competence of the child. Academic achievement included a standardized assessment of both math and reading skills. Results indicated that children from families with stable low needs consistently perform with more competence in the classroom than children from families with stable high needs or those whose need status increased. Children from families with stable high needs score comparably to children from families with stable low needs on math, and no difference between groups were found in reading. Implications of these findings for strengthening family competence is discussed.     

Maltreatment and Family Dysfunction in Childhood and the Subsequent Adjustment of Children and Adults

The adjustment problems associated with sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing family violence during childhood were examined in three studies. Study 1 demonstrated significant overlap between maltreatment types in parent reports (N = 50) of maltreatment experiences of their child aged 5–12 years. Parental sexual punitiveness, traditionality, family adaptability and family cohesion significantly predicted scores on 4 maltreatment scales and children's externalizing behavior problems. Level of maltreatment predicted internalizing, externalizing, and sexual behavior problems. In Study 2, significant overlap was found between adults' retrospective reports (N = 138) of all 5 types of maltreating behaviors. Parental sexual punitiveness, traditionality, family adaptability, and family cohesion during childhood predicted the level of maltreatment and current psychopathology. Although child maltreatment scores predicted psychopathology, childhood family variables were better predictors of adjustment. Study 3 demonstrated that child maltreatment scores predicted positive aspects of adult adaptive functioning (N = 95).     

论加强海关缉毒国际合作

全球性的毒品泛滥愈演愈烈,对人类的生存和社会的发展构成了严重的威胁。尽管各国海关国际缉毒执法合作已取得了很大的成绩,但其中也存在不少问题。面对世界性的毒品危机,必须采取全球性禁毒战略,加强各国政府,尤其是加强海关之间的禁缉毒合作。     

Child Sexual Abuse Perpetrated by Women: Case Series and Review of the Literature

The literature on child sexual abuse (CSA) perpetrated by female sexual offenders (FSOs) is exiguous, and many studies have focused on judicial databases. The present retrospective study, instead, analyzed clinical and judicial data of a group of both victims and alleged FSOs, to additionally include women who have not been convicted by the criminal justice system, but who hold strong clinical suspicions of being perpetrators of CSA. The medical records and the Court files of 11 children and their eight suspected FSOs have been collected and critically reviewed in light of the literature to date. This approach allowed for a deeper understanding of the relationship between child and FSO. The authors hypothesize that the victims’ severe psychopathological outcomes were a result of a failure to develop appropriate attachments with their prospective caregivers, which could have been damaged by the pathological relationship with FSOs, who were the victims’ caregivers.     

对《中华人民共和国义务教育法》第11条的修改建议

我国义务教育法第11条关于儿童入学年龄的规定,脱离了我国的实际,造成了该条规定在现实生活中的认识不统一及实际上不能执行。为了避免理解不统一带来的法律遵守执行存在的问题,建议对义务教育法第11条的规定进行修改。     

Cultivation and Use of Opium in Rural India: Bottom-Up Insights Into Anti-Drug Efforts

Although India is a major supplier of licit (i.e., legally grown) opium, it is also a leading producer of illicit (i.e., illegally grown) opium. To learn who might be involved in both types of production, the researchers interviewed 50 licensed opium farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Those interviews covered, among other aspects, farmers’ opium use, community attitudes towards addiction and trafficking, and knowledge of government-set opium prices and regulations. In general, some of those interviewed outlined both informal social controls and shunning, used against rural addicts, and support, even if grudgingly given, for government regulation. Those same interviews, however, revealed evidence of important social/economic changes that are undercutting the limited efficacy of extant formal controls in curtailing opium use, addiction, and trafficking.     

IS THE APPROXIMATION RULE IN THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS?

In an effort to develop clear and uniform standards for the allocation of custodial responsibility, the American Law Institute has proposed a number of reforms. For example, under the approximation rule, the proportion of time parents spent with their children performing direct caregiving functions prior to the divorce would be reflected in the proportion of custodial time allotted to each parent after divorce. Much of the rationale used to justify the approximation rule is explicitly or implicitly based on attachment theory ( Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980 ). This article discusses the assumptions and implications of the approximation rule from the standpoint of attachment theory.     

Co-Occurrence of Interparental Violence and Child Physical Abuse and It’s Effect on the Adolescents’ Behavior

This study analyzed the impact of the co-occurrence of parental and interparental violence on the behavior of adolescents. Results reveal that the co-occurrence of interparental violence and child physical abuse has a significantly greater negative impact on behavior than does exposure to interparental violence only. Moreover, participants, who are both abused and exposed to interparental violence, exhibit internalized and externalized symptoms falling within the clinical range more frequently. Exposure exclusively to interparental violence also has definite impact; for example, teens who are only exposed to interparental violence exhibit internalized and externalized symptoms more frequently than do those who have been neither subject to physical abuse from a parent nor exposed to interparental violence. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

论广东有组织制贩毒品犯罪的历史、现状与发展趋势

广东有组织制贩毒品犯罪猖獗局面是国际毒潮压力下形成的，是世界毒品生产和贩运转移的结果。其现状表现为大要案频发，内外勾结、跨区域作案，科技性增强。受国内外毒品犯罪形势的影响，在相当长的时期内，广东毒情可能会继续恶化下去，其中有组织制贩毒品犯罪因素将起到推波助澜的作用。     

Rapid and non-destructive differentiation of Shahtoosh from Pashmina/Cashmere wool using ATR FT-IR spectroscopy

Shahtoosh, the most expensive and sought-after wool in the illegal wildlife trade is obtained from the underfur of a critically endangered species-the Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii). It is often adulterated or mixed with the wool of Pashmina goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) for making shawls, scarves and other woolen articles to maximize the profit. The comparable fineness, color and texture, makes it a challenging task in wildlife forensics to differentiate them. In this study, an attempt has been made to differentiate 50 reference unprocessed underfur hairs from five individuals of each species using ATR FT-IR spectroscopy in combination with chemometric tools such as PCA, and PLS-DA. Results of PCA model demonstrated slight overlap and thus failed to distinguish hairs of these two species. Subsequently, PLS-DA model was employed, and also validation tests (external and blind testing) were carried out to ensure the predictive ability of the model, which resulted in 100% accuracy. The results of PLS-DA model exhibited complete differentiation between Shahtoosh, Pashmina and Angora (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) wool used for external validation study with highly significant predictive ability (R-square value 0.99). This proof-of-concept study illustrates the potential of ATR FT-IR spectroscopy to complement current forensic microscopic and DNA based technique to analyze hair evidence in wildlife investigations owing to its rapid and non-destructive nature with high degree of confidence, and its ease-of-use with minimal to no sample preparation.