Gender differences associated with young people's emotional reactions to sexual intercourse

The differences between male and female adolescents' emotional reactions to their most recent occasion of sexual intercourse were examined. The sample included 932 sexually active Australian secondary school students who completed a self-report questionnaire concerning their sexual behavior. The majority of young people reported that they felt happy or good following their most recent occasion of sex. Females were more likely than males to report negative emotions such as feeling bad and used, but there was no difference between the percentage of males and the percentage of females who reported feeling guilty. Girls were more likely to feel bad, used, or guilty last time if they were drunk/high or had sex with someone who was not a steady partner. Boys who had sex with someone other than a steady partner last time were more likely to feel guilty. Peer and parental influences were also associated with feelings of guilt. Girls who were more confident that they could talk to one of their parents/guardians about sex, and boys who believed that most of their peers were sexually active, were less likely to have felt guilty.Received B.A. (Hons) from University of Queensland. Research interests include adolescents mental and sexual health.Received B.A.(Hons) from University of Queensland. Interested in the areas of sex roles and sexual behavior among adolescents.Received Ph.D. from Murdoch University. Research interests include population studies of sexual behavior and mental health.Received M.B.B.S., M.D. from University of Sydney. Research interests include adolescent health, psychological response in disasters, coping with grief and loss and living with HIV/AIDS.     

Disordered Eating Precursors in Pre- and Early Adolescent Girls and Boys

First- and second-year findings from a study of the development of disordered eating in pre- and early adolescents are presented. Fifth- and sixth-grade girls (n = 80) and boys (n = 85) were assessed on depression, body image, self-esteem, and eating behaviors and attitudes in Year 1 and again one year later. Weight, height, and pubertal development were also evaluated in Year 1 and Year 2. Gender differences existed on all measures in Year 2 and indicated consistently poorer scores for girls compared to boys. For girls, Year 1 Body Mass Index and pubertal development predicted Year 2 disordered eating. For boys, poor body image in Year 1 predicted Year 2 disordered eating. The importance of identifying early risk factors for eating disorders is discussed.     

Tramadol (Ultram) concentrations in death investigation and impaired driving cases and their significance

We reviewed a series of 66 deaths in Washington State between 1995-2000 in which tramadol (Ultram and Ultracet, Ortho-McNeil) was detected in the decedent's blood, in order to assess the role tramadol was determined to have played. Additionally, we reviewed a series of 83 impaired driving cases in which tramadol was detected in order to establish a non-lethal blood tramadol concentration reference range. In both populations, tramadol was consistently found together with other analgesic, muscle relaxant, and CNS depressant drugs. Death was rarely attributable to tramadol alone. However, tramadol may be a significant contributor to lethal intoxication when taken in excess with other drugs, via the potential interaction with serotonergic antidepressant medications, as well as the potential for increased CNS depression. Although the incidence of tramadol detection has increased consistently over the last eight years, there is no evidence of a corresponding increase in the number of cases in which death was attributed solely to tramadol. Blood drug concentrations in many deaths exceeded the therapeutic serum range of 0.28-0.61 mg/L; however, the concentrations overlapped almost completely with the range identified in living subjects arrested for impaired driving. These findings suggest caution in the interpretation of blood tramadol concentrations outside of the recognized therapeutic range. It also suggests that the drug, even when used in moderate excess, is not a principle cause of death in suicidal or accidental deaths.     

Editorial (30) 2

Critical Criminology -     

The Office of Management and Budget in a Changing Scene

Authors' Note: It is too early to provide a definitive view and appraisal of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan presidency. The discussion that follows is based partly on current and recent articles and a few recent monographs and books, many of which are credited in footnotes. In additon we have relied upon a considerable number of interviews with current participants and alumni of OMB as well as with some observers from outside. It would be impracticable to list those who helped us, but we are grateful to all of them. The substance of this article was completed in mid-July 1982.     

Assessing the psychological and mechanical impact of electoral rules: A quasi-experiment

The paper assesses the influence of electoral rules on vote choice and election outcomes using a quasi-experiment conducted during a recent Canadian provincial election. Respondents were invited to vote under three voting systems (first past the post, alternative voting and proportional representation) and to answer a short questionnaire. We examine how the distribution of votes and seats is affected, and we ascertain how much of the total difference is due to psychological and mechanical effects. We find that a PR system would have increased legislative fractionalization by the equivalent of one effective party and that the mechanical effect is much more important than the psychological effect. As for AV, its mechanical and psychological effects act in opposite directions.     

Risk Factors and Pathways to Imprisonment among Incarcerated Women in Victoria, 1860–1920

Criminological studies have found that men’s and women’s pathways to imprisonment differ, with risk factors such as substance abuse, mental illness, socioeconomic circumstances and past victimisation more strongly associated with female prisoners. However, limited quantitative or longitudinal research exists on how the risk factors associated with female offending may have shifted over time. This article investigates the criminal careers and pathways to imprisonment of 6,042 women incarcerated in Victoria between 1860 and 1920, and the risk factors associated with subsequent recidivism. The findings suggest that, while many of today’s risk factors were present historically, there have been notable shifts across time.     

Public Beliefs in the Causes of Wealth and Poverty and Legitimization of Inequalities in Russia and Estonia

The article analyzes the attributions of the causes of poverty and wealth in Russia and Estonia in 1991 and 1996 and their determinants. Among the latter are the perceived actual justice of the society, the perceived size of the middle class, and the personal position in the system of inequalities. Despite the economic hardships and a rise in inequalities in both countries, individualistic explanations of wealth and poverty have increased over the 5 years between the surveys. At the same time respondents in both countries demonstrated a growing awareness of the importance of starting positions and connections to achieve wealth. The perceived middle class has a significant effect on attributions of poverty but not on wealth. Russians in Estonia have a particular bias against wealth, whereas non-Russians in Russia are more likely to justify wealth on the basis of individual merit. Explanations of poverty and wealth in Estonia are more rooted in the factors of socialization (age, education, and gender), whereas in Russia they are more rooted in the changes in the family financial circumstances between 1991 and 1996. There was a general increase in support for government intervention in distribution in both countries.     

David Marr's ‘Vietnamese anticolonialism’

Abstract

Because of its legendary resistance against the United States and its struggle for national salvation, Vietnam has entered into the consciousness of progressive mankind and has begun to attract the attention of foreign historians. In the United States, the war of aggression waged by the U.S. government has been costly in lives and property and has seriously weakened the country in all aspects, leading to the increasing opposition among the American people to the war. While protesting against the policy of the U.S. government of continuing and widening its aggression in Vietnam, for the purpose of defending America's honor and to fight for their democratic rights and economic livelihood, the American people from all walks of life have been building a friendly relationship with the Vietnamese people. Because of this reason, the American people would like to have a better understanding of the land and people of Vietnam, past and present. However, in the United States “the study of Vietnamese anti-colonial movements has been largely the preserve of the political scientist, the practicing journalist, and the intelligence specialist.” Since nearly all of these people have conducted their research according to strict political guidelines from the White House and the Pentagon, they have ignored the historical truth in an effort to justify present-day American neo-colonialism. Despite these limitations, Marr's Vietnamese Anticolonialism is one of the first historical studies published in the United States which makes a larger contribution to America's understanding of the Vietnamese struggle for freedom and independence, and thereby shows that the present U.S. war of aggression is doomed to failure.