Social and emotional detachment in Dutch children

Characteristics associated with psychopathy were, along with the symptoms of aggressive and antisocial behaviour, rated by parents in a community sample of 2535 four-to-eighteen-year-old Dutch children in 2003. An analysis of principal components suggested two dimensions of psychopathic characteristics. The first dimension comprised egocentric characteristics and the second unemotional characteristics. Regression analyses further showed that antisocial behaviour could be predicted by egocentric characteristics, while aggressive behaviour could be predicted by the interaction of egocentric and unemotional characteristics. To avoid unnecessary stigmatisation of youngsters, it is proposed to label the egocentric dimension as the 'social detachment' factor and the unemotional dimension as the 'emotional detachment' factor.     

Parenting Plans for Special Needs Children: Applying a Risk‐Assessment Model

Family courts are seeing an increasing number of separating or divorced families who have a special needs child. These cases present complex challenges for family law professionals charged with crafting parenting plans based on best interests standards. For many of these children, the typical developmentally based custodial arrangements may not be suitable, given the child's specific symptoms and treatment needs. We present a model for understanding how the general and specific needs of these children, as well as the demands on parents, can be assessed and understood in the context of divorce. This includes an analysis of risk and protective factors that inform timeshare and custodial recommendations and determinations. The risk assessment model is then applied to three of the most commonly occurring childhood neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders likely to be encountered in family court, namely, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depressive disorders, and autistic spectrum disorders.

Key Points for the Family Court Community
• There has been a dramatic rise in the population of children with neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and medical syndromes whose parents are disputing custody in the family courts.
• Family law professionals of all disciplines should develop a fundamental knowledge base about the most commonly seen special needs children in family court, such as those with neurodevelopmental conditions like autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and severe depressive disorders (especially with teenagers), which may involve suicidal or self‐harming behaviors.
• Commonly recommended parenting plans may be inappropriate for many special needs children, as some function significantly below their chronological age and pose extreme behavioral challenges.
• A systematic analysis of risk and protective factors should inform timeshare arrangements and determinations with this varied population, including the safety of the child and severity of the disorder, parental commitment and availability to pursue medical, educational, and therapeutic services, the parental attunement and insightful about the problem, and the differential parenting skills of each parent.

     

Severe personality disorder,treatment engagement and the Legal Aid,Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012: what you need to know

Empirical research has demonstrated a link between legal coercion and treatment engagement following conviction among those with severe personality disorder. Legal coercive pressures were often applied by the Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP), until it was replaced by the Extended Determinate Sentence by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In this paper, it is proposed that use of the new determinate sentence will lessen motivation for treatment engagement. One effect of treatment refusal may be greater reliance by the Secretary of State for Justice on his jurisdiction to transfer prisoners due for release to secure hospital transfers under the Mental Health Act 1983. Not only will this risk posturing undermine the principal aim of the Offender Personality Disorder Implementation Pathway to improve treatment engagement among the target group, it will also have negative implications for medical practitioners working in secure forensic hospitals. To demonstrate what is at stake, the paper briefly recapitulates empirical findings familiar to readers of the journal, before drawing on original unpublished data.     

Anger and Aggression: A New Beginning?

Within our civilian population, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has become a major health problem. Consequences of anger and aggression have resulted in incarceration rates which place the United States as the world's leader with 2.2 million people in prisons and jails. The current treatment of anger and aggression is based primarily on theories that were developed in the early 1980s. Advances in neuroscientific knowledge have exponentially added to our understanding of the underlying biological basis and neuroanatomy of violence and aggression. Through a binaural sound‐based non‐verbal intervention, we have found a key to unlock long‐term memory (Reconsolidation) that facilitates rapid remediation of anger and violence issues. Within our Pilot Study findings, a number of our combat‐veterans with Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) experienced a positive transformation in their capacity to evidence empathy, intimacy and social engagement as contrasted with their prior isolative tendencies. We extrapolate how this intervention might positively impact those engaged in Anger Management (AM) and IPV programs.     

青少年“网瘾”者矫治措施的合法性研究

本文从界定“网瘾”的概念入手,对目前我国矫治青少年“网瘾”所采取的种种措施之合法性展开研究．笔者认为,我国目前的“网瘾”概念有被扩大使用的情况。这种情况反而可能会侵害接受矫治的青少年之合法权益。     

How do professionals experience working with offenders diagnosed with personality disorder within a prison environment?

To explore the different experiences of a Multidisciplinary Team working with offenders diagnosed with personality disorder (PD) and produce a substantive model of the Offender PD Pathway strategy from a staff perspective. Fourteen participants were recruited from ‘Unit A’ located within a high security prison. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and the data collected were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. A model was constructed depicting the experiences of those working with offenders with PD. Main themes identified were: prison environment; synergy of the workforce; understanding of the client; individual perceptions; support; and personal change. Although there was enough similarity within the participants’ responses to consider them to be a homogenous population, there were some noticeable differences in trends of responses evident between the two sub-groups of health service-based clinical staff and prison staff as expressed in the model. There is interplay between factors which influence an individual’s experience of working with offenders with PD. How a member of staff experiences working with offenders with PD depends on more than just the nature of the client and the challenges they pose. These factors external to the client group appear to have a significant impact on the professional and their emotional experiences of their work.     

Parental Battlefield: Divorcing Parents and the Treatment of Children with ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) typically manifests as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity among children, resulting in stimulant drug therapy. Children exposed to high‐stress situations, such as divorcing parents, are twice as likely to present with ADHD symptoms. Often these symptoms are a result of the stress and not truly ADHD. Additionally, parents in conflict frequently disagree about the appropriate diagnosis and treatment for their child, which leads to court disputes. Thus, this Note proposes a policy be implemented setting forth alternatives that must be exhausted for a period of time prior to administering stimulants to a child of divorce.     

论中国在建立国际经济新秩序中的战略定位——兼评“新自由主义经济秩序”论、“WTO宪政秩序”论、“经济民族主义扰乱全球化秩序”论

1980年代以来,国际社会中力图阻挠或扭曲建立国际经济新秩序(NIEO)历史潮流的各种学说层出不穷,诸如"新自由主义经济秩序"论、"WTO宪政秩序"论、"经济民族主义扰乱全球化秩序"论等等。这类学说虽然激发了一些新的有益思考,却确实造成了一系列新的思想混乱。建立NIEO乃是1950年代以来全球弱势群体数十亿人口争取国际经济平权地位的共同奋斗目标,当代中国人应当全面、完整、准确地加深理解邓小平的"韬光养晦、有所作为"方针,将中国在建立NIEO历史进程中的战略坐标和基本角色,定位为旗帜鲜明、言行一致的积极推动者。中国理应进一步发扬传统的具有独特内涵的中华民族爱国主义,通过BRICSM类型的"南南联合"群体,成为建立NIEO的积极推手和中流砥柱之一。总之,中国人务必保持清醒,谨防落入上述各种"时髦"理论的陷阱。     

Diagnostic Bias and Conduct Disorder: Improving Culturally Sensitive Diagnosis

Disproportionately high rates of Conduct Disorder are diagnosed in African American and Latino youth of color. Diagnostic bias contributes to overdiagnosis of Conduct Disorder in these adolescents of color. Following a diagnosis of Conduct Disorder, adolescents of color face poorer outcomes than their White counterparts. These negative outcomes occur within mental health and juvenile justice settings. The aims of this article are to: (a) identify the factors that contribute to overdiagnosis of Conduct Disorder in adolescents of color, (b) discuss the associated negative outcomes, and (c) provide recommendations for culturally sensitive diagnosis of adolescents of color with conduct problems in order to reduce overdiagnosis. Clinical and research implications will also be presented.     

情势变更制度下的再交涉义务司法适用之反思--一个法经济学的视角

为发挥情势变更制度下的再交涉义务解决纠纷之自律性、协作性的价值理念,学理上普遍将其作为司法适用的前置程序规范并与后续司法介入效果形成体系化互动。但司法实践的运用未对学理期待予以积极回应,需要对再交涉义务的学理定位重新作出解答。从法经济学的视角来看,再交涉义务能作为实现优化当事人地位、创造新的价值以及降低成本等诸多经济功效的制度性担保工具,但受制于再交涉行为特有的博弈属性以及再交涉结构固有的不均衡因子,再交涉义务无法抑制机会主义行动风险的产生以及矫正再交涉地位的落差。原理上通过联动后续司法介入效果可治愈其适用上的弊端,但考虑到法官信息偏差之现实困境,其无法对再交涉的过程与内容作出有效的法律评价。《民法典》视域下唯有对再交涉义务祛司法适用之限缩解释,将其纯化为倡导性规范,切断其与后续司法介入效果的适用关联,限制法官介入再交涉过程之法律评价,始能最大程度上保障法官有效完成当事人利益之公平分配的司法任务。