Adults’ Judgments of Children's Coached Reports

This study investigated adults’ judgments of the honesty of children's coached true and fabricated mock testimony. Adults saw video clips of children testifying in a mock court about a true or fabricated event in their lives. They were asked to make an assessment of the truthfulness of the testimony, and respond to questions about their perception of children's credibility. Half of the adults saw children testifying after a competence examination, and the other half saw children testifying without a competence examination. Overall, girls were rated as more competent than boys, and their testimony was more likely to be believed. Younger children were more likely to be rated as incompetent than older children. A factor analysis of adults’ responses revealed six factors which significantly predicted adults’ overall assessment of children's credibility, and their evaluations of children's competence to testify. Adults’ detection accuracy was at chance, with the majority of children rated as truthful. Viewing the competency examination and cross-examination did not improve the adults’ detection accuracy. However, seeing the cross-examination made adults’ less likely to believe children's testimony. The implications of these results for the judicial system are discussed.     

The Relationships Between Childhood Sexual Abuse,Social Anxiety,and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women

The relationships between childhood sexual abuse, social anxiety, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were examined in a sample of 313 undergraduate women. Thirty-one percent of the women reported some form of sexual abuse in childhood. Women with a history of sexual abuse reported more symptoms of anxiety, distress in social situations, and posttraumatic stress disorder than other women. Women who experienced attempted or actual intercourse reported more avoidance than women with no history of abuse and women with exposure only, and more PTSD symptoms than all other groups of women. Women who experienced fondling reported more PTSD symptoms than women with no history of abuse. Pressure, age of onset of abuse, abuse by a family friend, and abuse by other perpetrators were all significant abuse characteristics in predicting adult social anxiety. Implications of these results for research and interventions are discussed.     

Reasons for Returning to Abusive Relationships: Effects of Prior Victimization

Studies have demonstrated that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk of revictimization, but research has not yet examined whether a history of CSA may affect patterns of remaining in or returning to abusive relationships in adulthood. This study examines the impact of a CSA history on decisions to return to abusive relationships in a sample of 104 adult domestic violence survivors. Participants were interviewed about the number of times that they had previously separated from and returned to their abusive partner, the factors that influenced their decision to return (both psychological/internal and environmental/external factors), and their perceived likelihood of returning in the future. As predicted, CSA survivors (n = 34) reported a significantly greater number of past separations than non-CSA survivors (n = 70). CSA survivors were also significantly more likely to report that their decisions to return were influenced by emotional attachment to the batterer. CSA survivors did not perceive themselves to be at greater risk of returning in the future, suggesting that they may be more likely to underestimate their vulnerability to returning to the battering relationship. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

简论晚明“西洋哲学”之输入

《记法》专门探讨"记忆"问题,是一部介绍西洋"认识论"或"知识论"的专著。《童幼教育》是教育学及伦理学专著,属哲学之一支,既是介绍"西洋法学"、"西洋医学"入中国之最早文献之一,亦是引介"西洋神学"及"西洋大学"之最早文献之一,可说"太西总学之大略"已赖此书输入中国。《西学凡》介绍了哲学学科四年之课程(第一年逻辑学,第二年物理学,第三年形而上学,第四年数学与伦理学),已经把当时"西洋哲学"之全部内容包含完了。《灵言蠡勺》分四篇,一论灵魂之体,二论灵魂之能,三论灵魂之尊,四论灵魂所向美好之情,是晚明一部专门介绍西洋"灵魂"学说之哲学典籍。这些书在中国之刻印,正值"西洋近代哲学"之发源期,它们没有把"西洋近代哲学"介绍到中国来,但却把"西洋近代哲学"之前的"西洋哲学"介绍到中国来了。近代以前"西洋哲学"之完整框架,已经在弗.培根活动的那时节,出现在晚明中国学术界。     

Morphologic patterns of lip prints in a portuguese population: a preliminary analysis

Lip prints are thought to have the ability to distinguish individuals and, hence, have a potential use in human identification purposes. However, questions remain regarding their utility for sex determination. This study aimed to classify lip prints for different individuals in a Portuguese population and to determine whether sex differences exist. Lip prints of 25 females and 25 males were obtained using dark-colored lipstick and cellophane tape. Lip prints were analyzed using a magnifying lens and classified according to the Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification. A Type II pattern was found to be most common. A comparison of lip-print patterns between males and females showed results with a statistically significant difference: Type III pattern was most common in males, and a Type II pattern in females. This study corroborates the hypothesis that lip prints are able to distinguish individuals and may be useful in sex determination.     

High road in regulating online child pornography in South Africa

Online child pornography is a repulsive reality which cannot be ignored; the biggest child pornography manufacturing ring in South African history was cracked with the arrest of eight family members. There are more than 116 000 Internet searches daily for child pornography. Pornography is no longer confined to consenting adults, children are not only being exposed to pornographic material but are increasingly being used as victims of child pornography. In South Africa, the Internet and Cell phone Pornography Bill tabled in 2010 aims to make it illegal for Internet and mobile phone service providers to distribute pornography or permit it to be distributed. The objective of the Bill is to protect children from child pornography and women from the indignity of being seen as objects of pornography. This paper takes as its focal point the continuing crisis which centres on the conceptual framework, the existing legislation regulating online child pornography and measures to curb infringement.     

LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE: WHY THE FORENSIC INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN IN CHILD PROTECTIVE CASES SHOULD BE VIDEO RECORDED*

Child sexual abuse is often difficult to prove due to a lack of physical evidence. In many instances, the only evidence is a child's statement given during a forensic interview. Forensic interviews are conducted to assess whether the child has been abused, to develop a plan to protect a child's safety pending trial, and to provide further investigative leads. Note taking by the interviewer is currently the primary method for documenting what takes place in a forensic interview. Research shows that this form of documentation is problematic because interviewers tend to omit abuse‐related details in their notes. This Note suggests that federal law should require that forensic interviews of children in child sexual abuse cases be video recorded. State law can provide for a policy of video recording even in the absence of a federal law mandate. Video recording would better preserve the child's statements thereby improving the reliability of the information that is obtained during forensic interviews. The child's demeanor would also be fully captured on video as opposed to getting lost in an interviewer's notes.     

Palatal rugae pattern in a Portuguese population: a preliminary analysis

Palatal rugae have been related with specific racial groups and are said to be useful in sex discrimination. This work aimed to characterize the palatal rugae patterns in a Portuguese population. Fifty plaster casts were examined for first and third rugae shape evaluation; shape, frequency, and association with sex were studied. In females, the most prevalent first rugae were the straight type on the right and the curve type on the left; in males, the straight type was the most prevalent on both sides. The most frequent third rugae type was sinuous on both sides, in both sexes. No significant sexual dimorphism in rugae shape was found (p > 0.05). When comparing these results with those from other investigations, it was clear that a particular rugae pattern could be established for different ethnic groups. However, the small sample size justifies further work in larger samples to validate these findings.     

Drug-facilitated sexual assault using tetrahydrozoline

Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) has been defined as the use of a chemical agent to facilitate a sexual assault. We report two cases of the use of tetrahydrozoline for DFSA. We believe this is the first report with urinary quantification of tetrahydrozoline levels postassault. Blood and urine were obtained c. 20 h postexposure in two cases of reported DFSA. Tetrahydrozoline was not detected in blood but was identified in urine in both victims. After initial identification in the urine using the 2010 update to the AAFS mass spectrometry database library, tetrahydrozoline was quantified at 114 and 150 ng/mL, respectively, using GC/MS. Two unique clinical features reported in these cases were intermittent periods of consciousness and postexposure vomiting. Use of GC/MS was successful in identifying tetrahydrozoline in the 100 ng/mL range up to 20 h postexposure. For victims with late presentation, urine may be a better sample for evaluation for tetrahydrozoline.