Domain specificity in relationship history, social-information processing, and violent behavior in early adulthood.

Using prospective longitudinal data, we tested 5 hypotheses: (a) that the relation between earlier developmental experiences (peer social rejection and victimization in a romantic relationship) and adult violent behavior toward peers and romantic partners is specific to relationship domain; (b) that the relation between social-information processing (SIP) biases and subsequent violence is also specific to relational domain (romantic partner vs. peer); (c) that the relation between developmental experiences and SIP biases is domain specific; (d) that domain-specific SIP mediates the impact of earlier developmental experiences on later violent behavior; and (e) that harsh parenting early in life is a domain-general predictor of SIP and later violent behavior. Harsh parenting was assessed through interviews with parents when their children were age 5 years. Classroom sociometric assessments indexing peer rejection were completed in elementary school, and self-report of victimization by romantic partners was provided at age 18 years. SIP was assessed via interview at age 22 years, and violent behavior was measured via self- and partner report at ages 23 years and 24 years. Structural equation analyses revealed specificity in the relation between developmental experiences and violence and in the prediction to and from SIP in the peer domain, but not in the romantic-relationship domain. The impact of early harsh treatment on violence toward peers was mediated by SIP biases in the peer domain. These findings provide support for domain specificity in the peer domain but for cross-domain generality in the romantic relationship domain in the development of violent behavior in early adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Qualitative Examination of Black College Women's Beliefs About Abuse in Relationships.

Do you wonder how young Black women view violence in dating relationships? In this qualitative study, the authors analyzed the responses of 64 Black college women to open-ended survey questions about abusive relationships. Participants shared their definitions of abuse, beliefs about what causes abuse, experiences of abuse, and opinions about offenders. The results revealed risk factors and sources of support for participants, which can be used to inform practitioners' interventions and prevention strategies. Practical implications for practitioners, future directions for research, and limitations of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and Offending From Adolescence to Adulthood: A 10-Year Follow-Up.

This study examined the predictive validity of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, 2003) from adolescence to early adulthood. The authors coded the PCL:YV using file information and collected criminal record information over a 10-year follow-up period on 157 boys, ages 12 through 18, referred to Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services for assessment in 1986. The risk for violence into early adulthood was greater among those with high PCL:YV scores than among those with low scores, even after controlling for conduct disorder, age at first offence, and history of violent and nonviolent offending. These results indicate that the PCL:YV provides meaningful information about young offenders' risk for violence into early adulthood. Clinical implications are discussed, with reference to pertinent ethical issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When social assistance reproduces social inequality: intimate partner violence survivors’ adverse experiences with subsidized housing

This study examined women’s experiences using priority-subsidized housing programs for intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Interviews with 10 women highlighted that subsidized housing programs, although very important, can impede women’s efforts to safely escape abuse. Our analysis explored three negative accounts: subsidized housing programs as stigmatizing, difficult to access and qualify for, and controlling. Results have important implications for improving practices and policies of subsidized housing programs and suggest that: (a) subsidized and nonsubsidized housing should be integrated; (b) eligibility should not be based on extent and timeframe of abuse; and (c) women should be permitted to choose their own housing.     

Political violence and child adjustment in Northern Ireland: Testing pathways in a social–ecological model including single-and two-parent families.

Moving beyond simply documenting that political violence negatively impacts children, we tested a social–ecological hypothesis for relations between political violence and child outcomes. Participants were 700 mother–child (M = 12.1 years, SD = 1.8) dyads from 18 working-class, socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, including single- and two-parent families. Sectarian community violence was associated with elevated family conflict and children's reduced security about multiple aspects of their social environment (i.e., family, parent–child relations, and community), with links to child adjustment problems and reductions in prosocial behavior. By comparison, and consistent with expectations, links with negative family processes, child regulatory problems, and child outcomes were less consistent for nonsectarian community violence. Support was found for a social–ecological model for relations between political violence and child outcomes among both single- and two-parent families, with evidence that emotional security and adjustment problems were more negatively affected in single-parent families. The implications for understanding social ecologies of political violence and children's functioning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

One measure does not a construct make: Directions toward reinvigorating psychopathy research—reply to Hare and Neumann (2010).

In our article by J. L. Skeem & D. J. Cooke, (2010), we outlined the dangers inherent in conflating the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL–R; R. Hare, 1991) with psychopathy itself. In their response, R. Hare and C. Neumann (2010) seemed to agree with key points that the PCL–R should not be confused with psychopathy and that criminal behavior is not central to psychopathy; at the same time, they said we provided no clear directions for theory or research. In this rejoinder, we clarify our argument that progress in understanding the unobservable construct of psychopathy hinges upon setting aside procrustean dependence on a monofocal PCL–R lens to test (a) actual theories of psychopathy against articulated validation hierarchies and (b) the relation between psychopathy and crime. In specifying these conceptual and applied directions, we hope to promote constructive dialogue, further insights, and a new generation of research that better distinguishes between personality deviation and social deviance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community Safety Indicators: Are We Measuring What Counts?

Recent reviews of crime prevention practice conclude that the local level of governance is most effective at coordinating various key actors and implementing workable policy. However, the question of how to evaluate effectiveness of these efforts is notoriously difficult to answer. Domestic violence, in particular, is largely under-reported to police, generational in nature, highly politicised, and contingent on external social and economic variables. This article will use the State of Victoria, Australia, as a case study to examine how attempts to develop demonstrated progress measures on safer streets, homes and workplaces have foundered because of lack of gender analysis, political interference and the inability to translate the current language of good governance into meaningful measures for locally based community safety efforts.

     

Miki Paul: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent or Institutional Practice in the Private Sector.

Provides the biography of Miki Paul and announces that she has received the APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent or Institutional Practice in the Private Sector (2004) for her work as clinician, educator, activist, leader, advocate role model, and humanitarian as concerns domestic violence and partner abuse. A selected bibliography is also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conference report: Potent podium on pornography.

We wish to describe briefly the proceedings of a large symposium held in Toronto during February 1984 on Media Violence and Pornography. We shall not attempt to describe in any detail what particular speakers had to say, since that would take far too much space. Instead, we shall try to give an impression of the meeting and use this as a platform to discuss the questionable contribution of research findings to conferences which are preoccupied with emotional issues. The symposium was clearly not intended to be a scientific enterprise. It was not intended to inform an intelligent audience of the issues surrounding pornography and violent entertainment. The organizers wished to convince the public that censorship is necessary. The conference drove home to us how important it is for psychologists and other social scientists to ensure that programmes are balanced and well moderated should they decide, as well they might, to "enter the fray" in areas where strong emotional stands are being voiced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptions of Man: A Need for a Reawakening.

The author calls for a re-examination of our basic conceptions of man from a psychophilosophical point of view. It is asserted that humananistic psychology's contemporary view of man as as being of good character, of rational thought, and of constructive conduct is contradicted by the events seen in daily news reports: mass murder, bomb scares, political corruption, razor blades found in children's Halloween apples. It is suggested that this "qualitative" conception of human nature will remain until man accepts the reality of life and stops using the defense mechanism, denial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)