Further evidence of the divergent correlates of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory factors: Prediction of institutional misconduct among male prisoners.

Recent evidence suggests that 2 largely orthogonal dimensions underpin the latent construct assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996): Fearless Dominance (PPI-I) and Impulsive Antisociality (PPI-II). Relatively few data exist on the correlates of these 2 dimensions in offender samples, however. The present study examines the criterion-related validity of these 2 dimensions among male prison inmates (N = 131) in relation to the prediction of 3 categories of institutional maladjustment: aggressive misconduct, nonaggressive misconduct, and any misconduct. PPI-II significantly predicted each criterion type, with effect sizes of moderate magnitude, whereas PPI-I was essentially unrelated to these outcome measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring social media usage in improving public perception on workplace violence against healthcare workers

Workplace violence against healthcare workers has been a major social problem in many countries. A misunderstanding between patients and physicians is the primary cause of violence . The recent rise of social media offered a new communication channel between the government and the public. This study aims to explore and examine the use of social media to improve public perception about the medical workplace violence by considering a recently issued policy in China. We collected 12,250 posts before, during and after the implementation of the policy from Weibo, which is similar to Twitter. Sentiment classification and topic clustering methods were used to analyze the data. One-way ANOVA was applied to assess the changes of public sentiments over time. Results showed that the proportion of posts with negative sentiment statistically significantly decreased after the release of the policy, indicating the effectiveness of social media in improving public perception about the medical workplace violence, to a large extent. Topic clustering results regarding the policy showed that most people supported the policy. However, some believe that punishment measures contained in the policy need to be strengthened and that more attention should be paid to the hospitals and medical staffs, as well as how to effectively protect the interests of patients. Based on these findings, we suggested government to effectively and scientifically use social media to address medical workplace violence from the perspective of the public and further consider its causes in terms of both patients and medical staffs, and building an expert witness system seems to be helpful. Measures for guaranteeing the safety of medical staffs should be built by comprehensively evaluating the potential risk. These results can help governments increase the engagement of their citizens.     

不同机械约束下压装PBX炸药反应演化行为

为研究机械约束下炸药反应演化行为,加深对武器装药意外点火后反应烈度演化影响因素及机制的认识,对压装PBX炸药反应演化过程进行实验研究。设计一种机械约束装药点火实验装置,采用激光干涉仪和压力传感器分别测量壳体膨胀速度和内部压力,分析不同约束下两种HMX基压装PBX炸药装药的反应演化行为;结合空气冲击波超压测试结果和装置、炸药残骸回收分析,表征装药的反应烈度。研究结果表明：2 MPa机械约束下,PBX-1和PBX-2装药反应最高压力不超过200 MPa,壳体膨胀速度在70 m/s左右,装药反应烈度为爆燃;50 MPa机械约束下,PBX-1和PBX-2装药在百微秒甚至几十微秒内压力超过1 GPa,壳体膨胀速度达到500 m/s,装药发生爆炸反应;不同炸药的力学性能会造成装药反应演化过程存在一定差异,但机械约束影响更明显,新装置2 MPa和50 MPa机械约束装药反应压力和约束壳体速度相差接近1个数量级。     

The potential impact of violent victimization on somatic symptoms among Asian American adolescents: A national longitudinal study.

This study explored the mental health repercussions among Asian American adolescents following experiences of violent victimization. Utilizing a subsample of Asian American adolescents from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study examined the relationship between violent victimization and somatic symptoms one year later, as well as moderators of this relationship. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that emotional bonds with fathers were negatively related to somatic symptoms. In addition, instrumental bonds with mothers weakened the link between violent victimization and somatic symptoms. The practical implications of these results for addressing the psychosocial needs of Asian American adolescents were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The validity of violence risk estimates: An issue of item performance.

Typically, research conducted on the cross-validation or generalization of risk assessment schemes focuses on the aggregate score accuracy of the schemes within the new sample or population. Often overlooked when the schemes are examined in their aggregate form is the performance of the individual items. This study looks at the association between the items of the HCR-20 (C. D. Webster, K. S. Eaves, D. Douglas, & S. D. Wintrup, 1995) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG; C. D. Webster, G. T. Harris, M. E. Rice, C. Cormier, & V. L. Quinsey, 1994) and violent recidivism in a sample of predominantly violent offenders. The results show that a number of the items from each scale do not distinguish between violent recidivists and nonrecidivists and that the presence of these items potentially reduces the predictive accuracy of the instruments. In addition, the inclusion of items that do not discriminate between recidivists and nonrecidivists potentially undermines the validity of the risk assessment process. Discussion centers on the application of prediction schemes and their individual risk factors in forensic practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meeting the challenge of the "junk science" defense in domestic violence litigation.

Attorneys increasingly challenge the admissibility of expert testimony in domestic violence litigation on the ground that it is "junk science." This article discusses the standards courts apply when determining whether to admit "novel" scientific theory and methodology. It is recommended that psychologists offering testimony that may be subjected to this kind of challenge, critically evaluate the foundation for their opinions in light of the admissibility standards being applied in the pertinent jurisdiction, and that they directly address with the attorneys offering them as witnesses how best to present that foundation to the trial judge in their mutual effort to meet and overcome the junk science challenge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and defensive coping among Jews and Arabs in Israel.

The authors conducted a large-scale study of terrorism in Israel via telephone surveys in September 2003 with 905 adult Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCIs). Structural equation path modeling indicated that exposure to terrorism was significantly related to greater loss and gain of psychosocial resources and to greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms. Psychosocial resource loss and gain associated with terrorism were, in turn, significantly related to both greater PTSD and depressive symptoms. PCIs had significantly higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms than Jews. Further, PTSD symptoms in particular were related to greater authoritarian beliefs and ethnocentrism, suggesting how PTSD may lead to a self-protective style of defensive coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Domestic violence, emotion coaching, and child adjustment.

This article addresses the question of whether parents in domestically violent homes have difficulty talking to and helping their children manage their emotions-what has been referred to as emotion coaching. Emotion coaching as a moderator in the relationship between domestic violence (DV) and children's behavior problems was also examined. Results indicated that DV was not associated with a general deficit in emotion coaching but that DV was associated with less coaching of anger and fear depending on whether the parent was the perpetrator or victim of DV. Emotion coaching also moderated the relationship between DV and children's behavior problems. Implications for the development of an intervention program to improve parental coaching of emotion in domestically violent homes is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role and relevance of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in court: A case law survey of U.S. courts (1991-2004).

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003) is the most empirically validated instrument for measuring psychopathy in correctional and forensic psychiatric populations. The PCL-R's predictive utility with criminal justice populations has led to its frequent use by clinicians conducting forensic assessments in criminal and sexually violent predator (SVP) cases. Despite its apparent wide acceptance in U.S. courts, little is known about how often the PCL-R is being introduced, the types of cases in which it is being used, and whether claims made in court regarding psychopathy are empirically defensible and/or relevant to the question at hand. This project documents some uses of the PCL-R in U.S. courts from 1991 through 2004 by year, jurisdiction, type of evaluation, and party. The results suggest that the PCL-R is being used by expert witnesses with increasing regularity across U.S. jurisdictions, primarily to assess risk of future violence. A review of 3 recent cases is also provided that illustrates concerns about the validity of the PCL-R for certain types of legal questions that may arise in criminal and SVP trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)