Childhood Abusive and Supportive Experiences, Inter-Parental Violence, and Parental Alcohol Use: Prediction of Young Adult Depressive Symptoms and Aggression

Issues in both the children of alcoholics and child abuse literatures were addressed in an attempt to disentangle the effects on young adults of growing up in alcoholic homes versus abusive homes. Using multiple regression, retrospective reports of parental abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual) and parental support (love/support, independence, and fairness), witnessing violence between parents, and parental alcohol use were used as predictor variables for outcomes noted by both literatures. When the effects of all other predictors were statistically controlled, parental alcohol use was not significantly related to depressive symptoms or aggression. Different abusive and supportive behaviors, depending on sex of parent and sex of participant, were significant predictors of both depression and aggression. Results underscore the importance of including and controlling for inter-parental violence and for different types of child abuse (especially emotional abuse) and parental supportive behaviors in investigations of outcomes related to abusive and alcoholic families. Implications for treatment of individuals from these families are discussed.     

从符号学看女性的性屈从与主动

大众传播媒介传送的“社会文本”所再现出来的“女性形象”,相当程度地影响了社会大众对于女性相关角色的定义与认知。近几年来,在媒介中造成热门话题的女星写真集,其文本中所再现出的女性形象与性意识,是否能脱离男性观点的女性既有形象,而展现出一种女性主体的能动性,是主要的研究焦点。考量“风格”和“内容特色”两个条件,进行符号学分析发现,写真集中所展现出的女性特质与女性性意识具有4个特点:1.柔弱、迷惑无助、服从与被动的女人形象;2.被窥看的客体,以满足窥看者;3.文本里充斥着阳具象征物,女性在里面仍被视为性玩物;4.看似多元互异的女性风貌,其实大多是社会里既定的女性形象。文本里所再现的女性形象,正如反色情女性主义所说的,是社会里性别权力关系不平等的再现。     

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.     

Violence and Aggression in the Lives of Homeless Children

The present research examined the role of violence and aggression in the lives of children in homeless families, focusing on possible connections among family violence, children's aggression, and children's problems with social isolation and rejection. Measures were obtained from structured interviews with 93 sets of mothers and children. Consistent with past research, average estimates of specific violent incidents experienced by mothers (as adults) were quite high. Measures of this family violence were reliably correlated with children's behavior problems as well as with measures of aggression in peer relationships (victimization, ease of resolving fights with friends).Finally, results of regression analyses were most consistent with a model in which family violenceand economic distress contributed to problematic aggressive behaviors among children; that aggression, in turn, appeared to lead to social isolation and avoidance. The overall results emphasized the need to address violence and aggression in any intervention programs for homeless children and families.     

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.     

两类青少年暴力犯的共情差异

探讨两类青少年暴力犯在共性上的差异,为青少年犯的分类矫治提供心理学的依据。研究方法：采用冲动性／预谋性攻击量表和人际反应性指标（台湾修订版）对北京少管所的360名青少年暴力犯进行问卷调查并作统计分析。结果：对青少年暴力犯的分类是有效的;工具性青少年暴力犯在同情关怀上的得分显著低于反应性青少年暴力犯,在身心隐忧上的得分显著高于反应性暴力犯;青少年暴力犯的攻击行为与观点采择、同情关怀呈负相关,与身心隐忧呈正相关。结论：两类青少年暴力犯在共情上存在显著差异,在分类矫治中应区别对待。     

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.     

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.