POLICE CULTURE AND COERCION*

Researchers have long noted the link between police culture and coercion. To date, however, there have been no empirical studies of this relationship. Using data collected as part of a systematic social observation study of the police in Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida, this research examines the relationship between traditional views of police culture—from an attitudinal perspective‐and coercion—from a behavioral perspective. After developing a classification scheme of officers' outlooks in the context of police culture, we examine the extent to which officers' alignment with cultural attitudes translates into differences in coercive behavior. The findings indicate that those officers who closely embody the values of the police culture are more coercive compared with those that differentially align with the culture, suggesting that police use of force is a function of officers' varying attitudinal commitments to the traditional view of police culture. The implications of these findings for policy and future research are considered.     

The Influence of Sexual Orientation on Health Behaviors in Women

SUMMARY

Lesbians may be at risk for poorer health outcomes than heterosexual women because of differential health behaviors and risk factors for disease. Difficulty recruiting representative lesbian populations and a lack of simple, accurate measures of sexual orientation have hindered research about the differential health risks and outcomes faced by lesbian and heterosexual women. The purpose of this article was to (1) examine the relationship between self-chosen sexual orientation labels and other sexual orientation measures and (2) compare the health related behaviors of women of diverse sexual orientations based on simple sexual orientation measures. The participants in this study were women aged 18 to 74 recruited via public announcements in mainstream and minority communities to participate in a randomized trial of breast cancer risk counseling strategies. Sexual orientation, relevant health behaviors and other outcomes related to breast cancer risk and screening were measured. No single measure of sexual behavior or desire appears to accurately measure lesbian sexual orientation. Lesbians were found to participate in mammography and Pap testing at significantly lower levels than bisexuals and heterosexuals. These data add to the growing body of knowledge on lesbian health and point to areas of community action and future research.     

Adolescents’ internalizing and aggressive behaviors and perceptions of parents’ psychological control: a panel study examining direction of effects

This panel study investigated the directionality of relations between adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ psychological control and adolescents’ self-reported internalizing and aggressive (physical and relational) behaviors. Data were collected from a random, community sample of 530 adolescents ages 12–19 years old at time 1, and again 2 years later. Hierarchical regression analyses found that adolescents’ perceptions of parents’ psychological control at baseline did not predict changes in adolescents’ internalizing and aggressive behaviors over 2 years but higher internalizing behavior and physical aggression at time 1 predicted increases in adolescents’ estimates of their mothers’ and fathers’ psychologically controlling behaviors. Higher relational aggression reported by adolescents at time 1 predicted increases in their perceptions of mothers as psychologically controlling. This study provides more evidence for child effects on adolescents’ ratings of their parents’ psychological control than for parent effects of perceived psychological control on adolescents’ behavior.

冷战后中国对东南亚国际政治行为的基本特征

国际政治行为是国际行为主体在特定国际利益基础上,围绕着国际政治权力的获得和运用、国际政治权利的获得和实现而展开的一系列活动。它主要包括:国际政治参与、国际政治斗争,国际治理等。中国对东南亚诸国的国际政治行为呈现如下特征:总体政治行为以体制内参与为主,少有大的冲突;国际政治参与的通道初步建立,但制度与机制体系尚需完善;区域治理已初见成效,但范围与深度仍需拓展;政治行为主体正趋向多元化;行为动机的建构主义特征增强;国际政治行为更加强调独立自主和以国际法及“和平共处五项原则”为准则。     

The Role of Religion in the Transition to Adulthood for Young Emerging Adults

Recent research has highlighted the role of culture in emerging adulthood (age between 18 and 25 years). However, most studies have examined majority cultures (e.g., China) as well as subcultures (e.g., American ethnic minorities). Thus, work on other aspects of culture such as religion is needed given the emerging evidence that it may have an impact on development. This study explored the role of religious culture in the emerging adulthood of college students. Participants were 445 undergraduates (ages 18–20 years) from institutions that were Catholic (31 males, 89 females), Mormon (48 males, 200 females), and public (21 males, 56 females). Results found religious differences in (a) the criteria young people deemed necessary for adulthood, (b) the extent to which emerging adults felt they had achieved these criteria, (c) various aspects of spirituality including practices and beliefs, and (d) the behaviors in which emerging adults engage.Portions of this study were presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Adolescence, Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2004.Assistant Professor of Psychology at Loyola College in Maryland. She received her PhD in 2001 from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her major research interests are in social-and self-development during adolescence and emerging adulthood.Assistant Professor of Marriage, Family, and Human Development in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. He received his PhD in 2000 from the University of Maryland, College Park. His major research interests are in social-and self-development during early childhood and emerging adulthood.     

College Women and Personal Goals: Cognitive Dimensions that Differentiate Risk-Reduction Sexual Decisions

As the twenty-first century begins, a high level of participation in premarital sexual intercourse by college women is well-documented. But, in the research exploring risk-reduction sexual behaviors, the relationship of cognitive abilities to responsible sexual behavior has been under-researched. Anonymous questionnaires were administered to 626 never-married, heterosexual women at a midwestern university to examine personal goal-setting, a cognitive variable postulated to be related to risk-reduction sexual behavior. Women who frequently set goals were more religious, optimistic about life, conservative in sexual attitudes, comfortable with their sexuality, and more psychologically sexually satisfied. Those who less often set goals were more likely to drink alcohol prior to sexual intercourse, become more intoxicated, and less likely to ask if new sex partners had STI(s). The cognitive variable, goal-setting, did differentiate college women who made responsible sexual decisions from those who engaged in risk-taking sexual behaviors.Professor Emerita of Family and Consumer Science, Texas State University-San Marcos. Received her PhD from the University of Texas, Austin in Child Development and Family Relations and is a Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and licensed in the State of Texas. Her research interests include sexual attitudes and behavior of college students, adoption attitudes of unmarried pregnant teens, and teen pregnancy/parenting programs.University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Received his PhD from the University of Florida in Family Sociology and is a Clinical Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Sexologists and Fellow, National Council on Family Relations. His research interests include sexual attitudes and behavior of college students, adoption attitudes of unmarried pregnant teens, female sexual adjustment, and perceptions of the female physiological sexual response.     

规范党支部换届选举中党员行为的思考

市场经济条件下,基层党支部换届选举中显露出开放性和竞争性、隐蔽性和不确定性、价值性和多元性特点。党员行为的多样化对于加强和改善党的领导既有积极的一面,又有消极的一面,必须进行有效调控。调控的主要原则有客观性原则、价值导向原则、竞争规范化原则;调控的途径主要有自律与他律两大类。