‘Keeping the Ruins Private’: Anna Kavan and Heroin Addiction

Abstract

In 1964, the number of registered heroin addicts in Britain was 753. One of these was Anna Kavan, née Helen Woods. Beginning her writing career under the name Helen Ferguson, she wrote conventionally realist novels that enjoyed modest commercial success. In 1939–40, after a number of serious breakdowns and suicide attempts, and now calling herself Anna Kavan, Woods/Ferguson left a Swiss sanatorium addicted to heroin, which had almost certainly been therapeutically prescribed for sleeping disorders and severe depression. From then until her death in 1968, when she was found collapsed over a box of heroin, Kavan had an intermittent but intense relationship with the drug. This essay examines the ways in which Kavan has been constructed as an ‘addict writer’, both by her biographers and critics, and how this designation has influenced critical readings of her work.     

小学生网络成瘾与抑郁关系的研究

目的：了解小学生网络成瘾的发生率与抑郁水平情况,探讨小学生网络成瘾与抑郁的关系。方法：采用网络成瘾损害量表、儿童抑郁量表对小学生进行问卷调查。结果：小学生网络成瘾与抑郁总分及各维度均呈显著正相关。网络成瘾可以正向预测小学生的抑郁水平。结论：小学生网络成瘾程度越严重,抑郁水平越高     

Taking Stock of Drug Courts: Do They Work?

ABSTRACT

Although researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike have long known about the established link between substance abuse and criminal behavior, criminal justice agencies in the United States are still tasked with managing an influx of individuals who display symptoms of abuse and dependence. By the late 1980s, the drug court model emerged as an innovative response to this problem, and this reform has since proliferated to such an extent that it is the most common type of problem-solving court in America. Still, there remains much variation in how drug courts are implemented across jurisdictions, which can have strong implications for the outcomes among the courts’ participants. In this review, we summarize the key research on drug court implementation, followed by an assessment of whether they can be said to “work” in terms of reducing criminal behavior and relapse among adults. We conclude that the model remains an evidence-based practice and suggest some directions for future work, including increased emphasis on theory and causal dynamics and key measurement issues.     

Is PCL-R psychopathy associated with either type or severity of personality disorder?

The extent to which assessment of personality disorders (PDs), and trans-diagnostic measures of PD severity, can capture the variance in psychopathy measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was examined in 100 forensic patients with a history of violent offending. Correlational and linear regression analyses were carried out to establish whether (i) combinations of PDs would predict PCL-R scores for each of its two factors, interpersonal–affective (F1) and antisocial deviance (F2); (ii) ‘acting out’, a putative measure of externalising maladjustment that transcends PD categories, would predict PCL-R scores. Results showed that narcissistic and avoidant PDs contributed significantly to the prediction of F1, but only antisocial PD contributed to the prediction of F2. ‘Acting out’ predicted both F1 and F2, suggesting that core features of PCL-R psychopathy are embedded within and across different PD diagnoses. Results are discussed in relation to different sub-types of psychopathy described in the literature.     

An integrated case formulation approach in forensic practice: the contribution of Occupational Therapy to risk assessment and formulation

Forensic services focus on risk reduction and extol the value of multidisciplinary working. Due to the complex relationship of personality disorder and risk, a multidisciplinary approach to risk assessment, formulation, management and reduction is essential. Occupational Therapists provide a unique perspective; however, current literature pertaining to the contribution of Occupational Therapy is negligible. This paper aims to initiate discussion of the value of Occupational Therapy contributions to risk assessment and formulation with personality disordered offenders. A new approach is described that integrates occupational adaptation and multiple sequential functional analysis to provide a structured framework for Occupational Therapy risk assessment and formulation. A single case report is presented to demonstrate the advantages of the approach for identifying offenders’ strengths and difficulties, predicting risk of reoffending, identifying offence paralleling behaviour and informing and evaluating efficacy of intervention, thereby supporting the aims of forensic practice settings to assess, manage, treat and reduce risk.     

Age of conduct disorder onset and comorbid anxiety and depression

The relationship between age of onset for conduct disorder (CD) and the externalizing disorder attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is well researched. However, little is known about associations between age of CD onset and comorbid internalizing disorders. This study examined whether age of CD onset significantly predicted the presence of a comorbid mood or anxiety disorder in a community-based sample of adolescents (n = 147). Results showed each one-year increase in age of CD onset was significantly associated with increased probability of comorbid depression, but not significantly associated with the probability of a comorbid anxiety disorder. Analyses were replicated in subsamples of youth with (n = 77) and without (n = 70) ADHD. The significant positive relationship between age of CD onset and comorbid depression held in youth with ADHD only, while a negative relationship with anxiety emerged as significant in youth without ADHD.     

“成瘾犯罪”若干问题探析

“成瘾”是行为人由于反复或者过度从事某种行为而导致的一种精神行为障碍，行为人在这种状态下实施的犯罪行为即为“成瘾”犯罪。成瘾犯罪的产生有多种原因，因此，对其预防也应从多方面入手。精神行为障碍是影响刑事责任能力的重要因素，刑事责任能力是行为人承担刑事责任的基础，“成瘾”犯罪的刑事责任能力的有无和大小将决定其刑事责任的有无和轻重。     

CCK受体基因多态性及与部分精神疾病症状的相关性

胆囊收缩素(CCK)不仅存在于消化系统,而且还广泛存在于中枢及外周神经系统,并以神经递质的形式通过其受体(CCK-R)发挥着重要的生理作用。CCK-R有两种类型,CCK-AR和CCK-BR。CCK-R基因具有遗传多态性,并通过影响或改变CCK对中枢神经系统的作用强度而与酒精中毒、精神分裂症、恐慌症等人类精神疾病密切相关。CCK-R基因遗传多态性的研究可能为法医学个人识别与亲权鉴定新提供新的遗传标记及为司法精神病鉴定提供参考性遗传学指标。     

精神病人刑事责任能力评定标准探讨

刑事责任能力直接关系着刑事案件的定性与处理,其评定要件目前倾向认为有医学要件(标准)与法学要件(标准),但对法学要件一直缺乏明确的规定和统一认识,严重影响鉴定结论的一致性与科学性,因此亟待制订刑事责任能力评定的相关行业标准。长期以来,责任能力的评定大多是经验式判断,缺乏客观的评定工具,虽然也强调应该根据法学要件即辨认与控制能力具体分析其责任能力大小,但实践中评定模式仍多是重点考察作案当时行为人的精神状态。我们认为,精神障碍只是责任能力评定的基础,而不是其决定因素,决定责任能力大小的只能是作案时其辨认或控制能力的程度。评定刑事责任能力,首先应考察其精神状态,如果精神状态正常,即可认定为具有完全刑事责任能力;如果患有某种精神障碍,就应该去重点考察其辨认或控制能力受损的程度,再根据这种受损程度的大小相应评定,因为所有的精神障碍的落脚点都是其辨认或控制能力的受损情况。同时,为避免过去经验式判断的主观性,在相关评定标准中应该要求辅以标准化评定工具,以提高评定结果的科学性与客观性。     

Forms of Social Support That Moderate PTSD in Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors

Although social support has been found to attenuate psychological symptoms in victims of sexual abuse, literature does not identify the specific forms of social support that mitigate maladjustment following a sexual abuse experience. This study sought to distinguish the specific types of perceived social support that buffer the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). One hundred and seventy-two adult females reporting CSA were administered the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) and the Impact of Events Scale (IES). The ISEL measures the perceived availability of 4 support types. The IES measures core PTSD symptoms of intrusion and avoidance. Regression analysis indicated that social support significantly buffered PTSD development. The best model was one which contained self-esteem and appraisal support. Tangible and belonging support added little to prediction. Further, self-esteem support was identified as the most important variable in preventing PTSD development.