Adding rooms onto a house we love: Central banking after the global financial crisis

This article examines the extent to which central bankers have been willing and able to rethink their beliefs about monetary policy in the wake of the global financial crisis. We show that despite the upheaval, the core pre‐crisis monetary policy paradigm remains relatively intact: central bankers believe that they should primarily pursue price stability through targeting a low inflation rate in a transparent manner, and that they need operational independence in order to achieve this goal. In a bid to address post‐crisis conditions and maintain their credibility, however, central bankers have also layered new elements onto this paradigmatic core. We document both the resilience of pre‐crisis beliefs and the process of layering using computer‐assisted text analysis and qualitative analysis of 13,586 speeches given between 1997 and 2017 by central bankers from around the world.     

Coping Styles in Delinquent Adolescents and Controls: The Role of Personality and Parental Rearing

The aim of the present study was to compare coping styles in delinquent adolescents (n=178) versus matched controls (n=91) from the Arkhangelsk region in Northern Russia and to test for possible interrelations with personality traits and parental rearing factors. The samples were assessed by means of the Coping Scale for Children and Youth (CSCY), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and the EMBU questionnaire on parental rearing. The delinquents differed significantly from the controls on most aspects of the coping styles under investigation. Furthermore, some specific correlational patterns between coping styles and both personality dimensions and parental rearing factors emerged. The findings are discussed in the light of the interactive nature of relations between personality and parental rearing in the development of coping styles.     

Building a ‘culture of dialogue’ among stakeholders in North-West Russian oil extraction

This article analyses the development of relations between indigenous communities, oil companies and the state in Russia's Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Using first hand information from anthropological fieldwork and one co-author's own involvement in regional politics, we analyse efforts to establish stakeholder dialogue. We show that ‘collective agency’ is crucial to prepare the ground for trustful relations, whereas high personnel turnover within interest groups jeopardises initially promising initiatives. Lessons from this experience have relevance for similar analyses throughout Russia in those cases where consistent federal and regional legislation is not likely to be in place in the near future.     

Pro-bullying attitudes among incarcerated juvenile delinquents: Antisocial behavior,psychopathic tendencies and violent crime

The objective was to evaluate a new scale aimed at assessing antisocial attitudes, the Pro-bullying Attitude Scale (PAS), on a group of 259 voluntarily-recruited male juvenile delinquents from a juvenile correctional institution in Arkhangelsk, North-western Russia. Exploratory factor analysis gave a two-factor solution: Factor 1 denoted Callous/Dominance and Factor 2 denoted Manipulativeness/Impulsiveness. Subjects with complete data on PAS and Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) (n = 171) were divided into extreme groups (first and fourth quartiles) according to their total scores on PAS and the two factor scores, respectively. The extreme groups of total PAS and PAS Factor 1 differed in CPS ratings and in violent behavior as assessed by the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC). They also differed in the personality dimension Harm Avoidance as measured by use of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and in delinquent and aggressive behavior as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR). The extreme groups of PAS Factor 2, in turn, differed in aggressive behavior as assessed by the YSR, and in the TCI scale Self-Directedness. When PAS was used as a continuous variable, total PAS and PAS Factor 1 (Callous/Dominance) were significantly positively related to registered violent crime. The possible usefulness of PAS in identifying high-risk individuals for bullying tendencies among incarcerated delinquents is discussed.     

A Longitudinal Study of Somatic Complaints in Urban Adolescents: The Role of Internalizing Psychopathology and Somatic Anxiety

Despite the frequent association between anxiety and somatization, the role of somatic anxiety—a tendency to experience somatic sensations, when anxious—in relationship to persistent somatic complaints has not been addressed previously. This study assessed the predictive role of internalizing psychopathology (anxiety, posttraumatic stress, depression) and somatic anxiety for somatic complaints over a 1-year period in a community sample of urban youth. The Social and Health Assessment, a self-report survey, was administered to 2,524 (mean age = 12.8, 54 % female) American urban adolescents in two consecutive years. There was significant continuity of somatic complaints over 1 year. Girls reported higher levels of somatic complaints and somatic anxiety than boys. All types of internalizing psychopathology significantly predicted somatic complaints over time. Somatic anxiety was associated with somatic complaints over and above the role of internalizing symptoms. Internalizing psychopathology and somatic anxiety should both be considered in the assessment and treatment of youth with persistent somatic complaints.     

Antisocial process screening device: validation on a Russian sample of juvenile delinquents with the emphasis on the role of personality and parental rearing

The objectives of the present study were 1) to validate the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) in a sample of Russian juvenile delinquents; 2) to examine subgroups of delinquents with higher versus lower levels of childhood problem behaviors with respect to the APSD subscales, personality traits, and parental rearing; and 3) to attempt to replicate the previous finding that the APSD subscale measuring callous/unemotional traits can differentiate subgroups of delinquents with different precursors for problem behaviors (predominantly biological versus predominantly social). A group of 250 Russian juvenile inmates (mean age=16.4) was examined by means of the APSD completed by the staff at the correctional institution. The inmates completed several self-reports assessing their current and childhood behavior problems, personality traits and experienced parental rearing practices. A factor structure of the APSD was obtained that is similar, albeit not identical, to that from the original studies by Frick and colleagues [Frick, P.J., O'Brien, B.S., Wootton, J.M., McBurnett, K., (1994). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 700-707]; [Frick, P.J., Barry, C.T., Bodin, S.D., (1999). Applying the concept of psychopathy to children: Implications for the Assessment of antisocial youth. In Gacono, C.B. (Ed), The clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy: A practitioners guide. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum]; [Frick, P.J., Lilienfeld, S.O., Ellis, M., Loney, B., Silverthorn, P., (1999). The association between anxiety and psychopathy dimensions in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 383-392]; callous unemotional traits in the present sample were expressed in manipulative behavior. Results further disclosed higher levels of antisocial and aggressive activities, higher levels of personality attributes such as narcissism and novelty seeking, as well as lower cooperativeness, and negatively perceived parental rearing in a subgroup with higher (versus lower) number of childhood symptoms of conduct disorder and oppositional disorder. The juvenile delinquents with higher levels as compared to lower levels of callous unemotional traits also perceived their parents as using more negative rearing strategies. The findings are discussed in terms of interactional processes between personality of the juvenile delinquents and parental rearing in the development of antisocial behavior.     

Risk factors for violent offending in autism spectrum disorder: a national study of hospitalized individuals

Little is known about risk factors for violence among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study uses data from Swedish longitudinal registers for all 422 individuals hospitalized with autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome during 1988-2000 and compares those committing violent or sexual offenses with those who did not. Thirty-one individuals with ASD (7%) were convicted of violent nonsexual crimes and two of sexual offenses. Violent individuals with ASD are more often male and diagnosed with Asperger syndrome rather than autistic disorder. Furthermore, comorbid psychotic and substance use disorders are associated with violent offending. We conclude that violent offending in ASD is related to similar co-occurring psychopathology as previously found among violent individuals without ASD. Although this study does not answer whether ASDs are associated with increased risk of violent offending compared with the general population, careful risk assessment and management may be indicated for some individuals with Asperger syndrome.