Criminal-thinking styles and illegal behavior among college students: validation of the PICTS

The present study examined the relation of self-reported criminal-thinking styles and self-reported illegal behavior among college students. Participants were 177 male and 216 female (N=393) undergraduate students. Participants were divided by gender and further classified into four groups of self-reported illegal behavior: control-status offenses, drug crimes, property crimes, and violent crimes against people. The psychological inventory of criminal-thinking styles (PICTS) (1) measured criminal-thinking patterns on eight scales. Results indicated that males who committed violent crimes against people endorsed significantly higher levels of distorted criminal-thinking patterns on all scales than the control-status offenses, and drug crimes groups. Interestingly, female participants who committed property crimes displayed six significantly elevated PICTS scales whereas females with violent crimes against people had significant elevations on only four of the criminal-thinking style scales. These results extend Walter's initial validation of the PICTS with incarcerated respondents to a non-incarcerated population and show potential use of the PICTS with other populations.     

Empirical Limits for the Forensic Assessment of PTSD Litigants

This paper discusses the limits of expert opinion on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in personal injury claims. The construct of PTSD is hampered by several empirical limitations. Multiple reliable measures of PTSD exist, but have not been evaluated sufficiently within litigating samples and are infrequently used by forensic assessors. Common methods for trauma screening appear insensitive. Opinions about causation of PTSD and disability are complicated by retrospective memory biases, as well as the failure of most anxiety disorders to be detected within primary medical care. PTSD appears to have a steep spontaneous remission curve during the first year, but at least 10% of trauma-exposed people suffer chronic distress. Little is known about the course beyond 1 year. Efficacious psychological treatments have been developed for PTSD, but are not in common use limiting claimants access to rehabilitative treatments. Research on functional disability associated with PTSD is in its infancy, but it seems likely that PTSD will account for only a part of the variance in work disability. We provide suggestions for improving forensic practice, advising the courts about the limitations of forensic opinions, and necessary research.     

论公安教学实习与教改

公安院校实习中的问题由来已久,"一加一"等教改模式的实践与论争也令人注目。理论与实际两张皮若即若离,使教改带有盲目性。实际的着眼点和效果,偏离了提高教学质量的目的。对教学实际与教改实效进行思考,能激发教改者们的忧患意识,以寻求真有效益的改革之路。     

公安高校应当加强全人教育与挫折教育

在新形势下,公安高校素质教育必须作出科学调整,确立两个重点内容:全人教育和挫折教育。全人教育能够为"执法为民"奠定坚实的人格思想基础;挫折教育能够为"执法为民"提供必备的心理素质条件。     

知识产品内容的部分披露和信号传递

知识产品具有典型的经验品性质,而信息不对称限制了高质量厂商征收高价的可能性。基于对互联网和数字经济时代商业实践的观察,考虑了一种崭新的信号传递机制,即高质量厂商可以通过知识产品内容的部分披露而将其与低质量厂商区分开来,以此为基础,刻画分析了部分披露导致分离均衡的条件以及均衡的相关性质。     

Public Administration Dilemmas: An Analysis of Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Performance Evaluation in Post-Colonial South Africa

The adoption of the principles of New Public Management by many governments across the world was invariably accompanied by the implementation of performance evaluation. It is generally accepted that performance evaluation optimizes the performance of workers. As part of a broader investigation which employed a mixed methods approach, the study used data from six interviews with high school principals and 100 survey questionnaires with purposively selected high school teachers in uMgungundlovu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the analysis of this data, the paper demonstrates that beyond the obvious benefits of performance evaluation such as improvement in performance, there are also unintended consequences such as a narrow focus on measured output, teacher burnout, and falsification of information in order to maximize credit or to avoid punishment. This study illustrates the understandings of high school educators in uMgungundlovu District of the effects of performance evaluation. The findings have important implications for public administration and scholars alike.     

Violence in school: An investigation of physical,psychological, and sexual victimization reported by Italian adolescents

In Italy, numerous studies have been carried out regarding the phenomenon of bullying; however, studies on single incidences of sexual, physical, and psychological victimization at school remain scant. Therefore the aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of scholastic violence with a broader perspective, as well as all the possible perpetrators including adults. The sample consisted of 277 adolescents (64% female), ranging from grade 6th to 13th (mean age = 13.29, SD = 2.19). Sixty-four percent of the participants were middle school students, the remaining were high school students. Results show that the most commonly reported type of victimization is psychological violence (incidence= 77%), followed by physical (incidence= 52%), and sexual victimization (incidence= 24%). These forms of violence are mainly inflicted by peers. The research confirmed the validity of the tool and its applicability in the Italian context for screening violent behavior at school.     

解析职场中的犬儒主义:基于心理学的视角

犬儒主义是一种对他人真诚和善良动机及行为的不信任倾向,其表现形式有嘲笑和挖苦等。对于犬儒主义的实质有两种看法,一种观点认为犬儒主义是一种人格特质,另一种观点认为犬儒主义是一种态度状态。犬儒主义的研究热点集中在个性犬儒主义、组织变革犬儒主义、职业犬儒主义、雇员犬儒主义、社会犬儒主义、政治犬儒主义以及消费者犬儒主义等方面。本文以情绪事件理论、组织公平理论、情绪感染理论、心理契约理论为指导,剖析了犬儒主义产生的深层机制。目前犬儒主义的研究在我国刚刚起步,未来应更加关注中国文化背景下犬儒主义理论构建及应对策略,注重研究方法多样性,重视犬儒主义的正反两方面的影响并开展跨文化的比较研究。     

Exploring psychological features in adolescents who assault their parents: a different profile of young offenders?

This study aimed to explore some psychological features of adolescents who have been reported by their parents for being violent towards them, analysing how they differ from other young offenders and from non-offender adolescents. Concretely, the presence of clinical diagnosis was explored and whether these juveniles received some psychological/psychiatric treatment. Moreover, this study examined substance use and some variables that characterise the social-cognitive style of these juveniles, along with the level of self-esteem. Information concerning clinical diagnosis and psychological/psychiatric treatment was extracted from the young offenders’ legal files. Measures included the social-cognitive subscale from the attitudes and social-cognitive strategies questionnaire (AECS), Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and a structured interview to assess substance use. Results indicated that juveniles who assaulted their parents present a different profile when compared to the other groups, as they showed a higher presence of psychopathology and more social-cognitive difficulties. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the design and implementation of specific treatments with these aggressive adolescents.     

深化公安教学改革培养高素质人才

文章结合辽宁公安司法管理干部学院公安教学改革的做法,指出了公安教学改革是公安工作开拓创新、提高“四个能力”的需要,也是为构建和谐社会培养高素质人才的需要,并提出了深化公安教学改革的基本做法。