A person-oriented perspective on sexual offenders, offending trajectories, and risk of recidivism: A new challenge for policymakers, risk assessors, and actuarial prediction?

Current risk assessment tools are embedded in a variable-oriented perspective and based on the assumption that the risk of reoffending is linear, additive, and relatively stable over time. As a result, actuarial instruments tend to overestimate the risk of violent/sexual recidivism for some sex offenders while underestimating this risk for others. One of the main causes of such predictive inaccuracies is the inability of current actuarial tools to account for the dynamic aspects of offending trajectories over time. Using a person-oriented approach, the current study examined the presence of offending trajectories in sex offenders using measures of offending at multiple time points in adulthood to examine the risk of violent/sexual reoffending. The study was based on a sample of 246 adult males convicted of a sexual offense between 1994 and 1998. Group-based modeling was used to identify offending trajectories, while Cox proportional hazard was used to examine the links between the identified trajectories and recidivism. Findings suggest that a sex crime is more reflective of a transitory phase of the criminal career rather than evidence of a “sexual criminal career” in the making. The findings challenge underlying assumptions of current actuarial tools and calls for a more sophisticated approach to risk assessment that accounts for offending patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managers' practices related to work–family balance predict employee cardiovascular risk and sleep duration in extended care settings.

An increasing proportion of U.S. workers have family caregiving responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether employees in extended care settings whose managers are supportive, open, and creative about work–family needs, such as flexibility with work schedules, have lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and longer sleep than their less supported counterparts. From semistructured interviews with managers, we constructed a work–family balance score of manager openness and creativity in dealing with employee work–family needs. Trained interviewers collected survey and physiologic outcome data from 393 employees whose managers had a work–family score. Employee outcomes are sleep duration (actigraphy) and CVD risk assessed by blood cholesterol, high glycosylated hemoglobin/diabetes, blood pressure/hypertension, body-mass index, and tobacco consumption. Employees whose managers were less supportive slept less (29 min/day) and were over twice as likely to have 2 or more CVD risk factors (ORs = 2.1 and 2.03 for low and middle manager work–family scores, respectively) than employees whose managers were most open and creative. Employees who provide direct patient care exhibited particularly elevated CVD risk associated with low manager work–family score. Managers' attitudes and practices may affect employee health, including sleep duration and CVD risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are coalminers, with low "risk factors" for ischaemic heart disease at greater risk of developing progressive massive fibrosis?

Coalminers with "A" shadows (the first stage of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF)) have a similar standardised mortality ratio (SMR) to those without PMF, and those with A shadows have a much higher specific mortality from pneumoconiosis. It is therefore argued that either A shadows confer immunity against some other disease(s) or that those developing A shadows are selected on the basis of increased life expectancy. These two hypotheses were investigated and as the selection hypothesis appeared promising further studies were made to discover which specific cause of death might be associated with this selection. This, surprisingly, appeared to be ischaemic heart disease.     

Is imposing risk awareness cultural imperialism?

Epidemiology is the main supplier of "bases of action" for preventive medicine and health promotion. Epidemiology and epidemiologists therefore have a responsibility not only for the quality and soundness of the risk estimates they deliver and for the way they are interpreted and used, but also for their consequences. In the industrialised world, the value of, and fascination with health is greater than ever, and the revelation from epidemiological research of new hazards and risks, conveyed to the public by the media, has become almost an every-day phenomenon. This "risk epidemic" in the modern media is paralleled in professional medical journals. It is in general endorsed by health promoters as a necessary foundation for increased health awareness and a desirable impetus for people to take responsibility for their own health through behavioural changes. Epidemiologists and health promoters, however, have in general not taken the possible side effects of increased risk awareness seriously enough. By increasing anxiety regarding disease, accidents and other adverse events, the risk epidemic enhances both health care dependence and health care consumption. More profoundly, and perhaps even more seriously, it changes the way people think about health, disease and death--and ultimately and at least potentially, their perspective on life more generally. The message from the odds ratios from epidemiological research advocates a rationalistic, individualistic, prospective life perspective where maximising control and minimising uncertainty is seen as a superior goal. The inconsistency between applying an expanded health concept, comprising elements of coping, self-realisation and psycho-physical functioning, and imposing intolerance to risk and uncertainty, is regularly overlooked. Acceptance and tolerance of risk and uncertainty, which are inherent elements of human life, is a prerequisite for coping and self-realisation. A further shift away from traditional working-class values like sociability, sharing, conviviality and tolerance can not be imposed without unwanted side effects on culture and human interaction. The moral and coercive crusade for increased risk awareness and purity in life style can too readily take on the form of cultural imperialism towards conformity. Epidemiologists and the health care movement in general have a mandate to fight disease and premature death; they have no explicit mandate to change culture.     

Evaluation of cancer risk through genetic analysis?

BACKGROUND: The recent literature of familial cancer, specifically related to germline mutations of RB1, p53, NF1, ATM, BRCA1, Mismatch repair genes and APC is reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Germline mutations do not relate to an increased tumor risk of any single tissue, but instead to spectra of neoplastic diseases. The genetic background plays a major role in modifying the cancer risk. Therefore, mass screening for mutations of single genes seems to be without practical value. Only in combination with an adequate and informative family history can molecular genetic analysis significantly support the care for the individual. Comparison of the data of patients inheriting germline mutations and the experience from the corresponding "knockout" mouse demonstrate that only the p53 and APC knockout mice are useful models of human disease.     

"Nonspecific" chest pain associated with high long-term mortality: results from the primary prevention study in G?teborg, Sweden

BACKGROUND: The syndrome angina pectoris with effort-related chest pain or discomfort is usually easy to recognize. However, vague and nonspecific symptoms may cause little reason for extensive evaluation. The prognosis of such patients in the general population has so far not been well described. HYPOTHESIS: The study was undertaken to investigate long-term prognosis in men with chest pain considered to be nonspecific in comparison with men with typical angina pectoris (AP) or prior myocardial infarction (MI), and men without chest pain. METHODS: At the second screening of the G?teborg Primary Prevention Study in 1974-1977, 6,488 men aged 51 to 59 years at baseline were available for the present analysis. Men who had responded positively to a postal questionnaire about chest pain during exercise or at rest were interviewed by a physician according to a Rose questionnaire at the screening examination. Those with typical or probable AP were further examined by single experienced physician. The following four groups were formed: Group 1: men who did not complain of chest pain (n = 5,545). Group 2: men who had not consulted any doctor because of chest pain, but who had chest pain according to a questionnaire (n = 441); these men were not considered to have AP according to a three-step examination by experienced physicians. Group 3: typical AP (n = 232). Group 4: men who had suffered an MI (n = 134). RESULTS: During 16 years of follow-up, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality for Groups 1-4 was 8.0, 19.5, 24.8, and 48.5%, respectively. Mortality from all cardiovascular diseases was 11.5, 24.5, 31.2, and 59.0%, respectively. Noncardiovascular disease mortality was 14.1, 17.7, 14.3, and 8.7%, respectively. Thus, the relative risk (RR) for CHD mortality among men with nonspecific chest pain (Group 2) was 2.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.20, 3.50], for all cardiovascular disease mortality 2.46 (95% CI 2.00, 3.02), and for noncardiovascular disease mortality 1.60 (95% CI 1.28, 2.00). Total mortality in this group was as high (44%) as among those with typical AP (45%), but the highest mortality was found among men with a previous MI (68%). In men without chest pain it was 26%. Patients of Groups 2-4 had higher levels of cardiovascular risk factors than those in Group 1. Neither any specific questions in the Rose questionnaire, nor electrocardiographic changes at rest (uncommon) were of prognostic significance. Serum cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking were significant predictors of outcome, both with respect to fatal CHD and to total mortality during the 16-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: We found a high cardiovascular as well as noncardiovascular mortality among patients with chest pain who had not been considered to have AP at a three-step examination procedure. It is important to be suspicious of early CHD symptoms in men (and women?) with "nonspecific" chest symptoms and to analyze their cardiovascular risk factor pattern further because they are at considerably higher risk for future events than those in whom CHD is not suspected.     

Children of adolescent mothers: are they at risk for abuse?

Adolescent mothers are typically depicted as inadequate parents. Their children are thought to be at significant risk for maltreatment. A review of the literature, however, reveals that a confluence of factors other than maternal age are implicated. Many studies make comparisons between teenage and older mothers without identifying the sample's socioeconomic group. The degree of risk to children of adolescent parents may well be determined by the financial, social, and emotional stresses these families face, with availability of resources which offer support and encouragement perhaps being the critical factor. The technique of "mapping" might be used to isolate these correlates. The authors suggest a reformulation of the question of adolescent parental ability, focusing on conditions under which adolescent parents may be at greater or lesser risk of maltreating their children. This approach could ultimately prove conducive to planning and implementing effective intervention programs.     

Is ABH nonsecretor status a risk factor for obstructive lung disease?

In a multidisciplinary study of risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a significantly more impairment of forced expiration was observed in ABH nonsecretors than in ABH secretors among 1017 white adults. (ABH refers to the "A" and "B" antigens of the ABO blood group system and "H", the heterogenetic substance which is found in persons of all ABO types including type "O".) Nonsecretors had significantly lower mean values of forced expiratory volume in one second as a percentage of forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC%) and a significantly larger proportion of them had aberrant values, defined as FEV1/FVC% less than 68. These differences remained when mean values or rates of aberrancy were adjusted for other factors reported to alter risk of airway obstruction. In view of the known COPD-peptic ulcer and nonsecretor-duodenal ulcer associations, these findings suggest that the ability to secrete ABH antigens into secretions of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract may have a protective effect on epithelialized organs in general, or on the lung and portions of the gut specifically.     

Exploring individual differences in reactions to mortality salience: Does attachment style regulate terror management mechanisms?

Five studies examined the contribution of attachment style to mortality salience effects. In Study 1, mortality salience led to more severe judgments of transgressions only among anxious–ambivalent and avoidant persons but not among secure persons. In addition, whereas anxious–ambivalent persons showed immediate and delayed increases in severity judgments, avoidant persons showed this response only after a delay period. In Study 2, anxious–ambivalent persons showed immediate and delayed increases in death-thought accessibility after death reminders. Avoidant and secure persons showed this effect only after a delay period. Study 3 revealed that worldview defense in response to mortality salience reduced death-thought accessibility only among avoidant persons. Studies 4–5 revealed that mortality salience led to an increase in the sense of symbolic immortality as well as in the desire of intimacy only among secure persons, but not among avoidant and anxious–ambivalent persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying and reducing risk factors related to trainee–client sexual misconduct.

Sexual misconduct involving therapists-in-training and their clients is addressed. Personal and situational factors that may constitute risk factors for the development of inappropriate sexual activity between trainees and their clients are identified. Although there may be certain characteristics that put particular students at risk for such involvement, the authors believe this risk is more strongly related to systemic, programmatic, and pedagogic characteristics of the environments in which students train. Examples include, respectively, the decline of concern over transference and countertransference, failure to include education about client–therapist sexual attraction and the consequences of sexual misconduct in graduate psychology curricula, and the reluctance of supervisors to deal straightforwardly with trainees' sexual feelings. Suggestions for reducing risks for client–therapist sexual misconduct are directed toward these situational factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual risk among African American girls: Psychopathology and mother–daughter relationships.

Objective: To examine the associations among mental health problems, maternal monitoring and permissiveness, mother–daughter communication and attachment, and sexual behaviors among African American girls receiving outpatient psychiatric care. Youths with mental health problems report higher rates of HIV-risk behavior than do their peers, and African American girls have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections than do girls of all other racial groups. Method: A sample of 12- to 16-year-old African American girls (N = 266, mean age = 14.46 years) and their female caregivers (73% biological mothers) completed computerized assessments of girls' mental health symptoms, maternal monitoring and permissiveness, and mother–daughter communication and attachment. Girls indicated their sexual risk behaviors (vaginal/anal sex, consistent condom use, number of partners). Results: African American girls who reported clinically significant externalizing problems, more permissive parenting, less open mother–daughter sexual communication, and more frequent mother–daughter communication were more likely to report having had vaginal and/or anal sex. Sexually active girls with greater maternal attachment were less likely to report inconsistent condom use. Conclusions: Findings revealed important risk and protective factors for African American girls in psychiatric care. HIV-prevention programs may be strengthened by improving mother–daughter relationships and communication and by reducing girls' mental health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring occupational differences in work–family interaction: Who is at risk?

The aim of this study was to explore occupational differences in work–family interaction (WFI), both regarding the direction of influence (work-to-family vs. family-to-work), and the type of effect (conflict vs. facilitation). A large sample of 8 occupational groups in Norway (lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working in advertising and information technology; N = 3,313) was used to examine which occupational groups are likely to be at risk for work–family conflict and which find WFI the most facilitating. Strong tests for factorial invariance supported the use of the WFI scale and found that it was comparable for the 8 occupational groups. Follow-up analysis demonstrated significant latent mean differences in the 4 dimensions of WFI among the 8 groups. In general, the analyses indicate that those experiencing the least conflict are also among those experiencing the least facilitation. Similarly, with few exceptions, those experiencing the most conflict are also among those experiencing the most facilitation. Subsequent analyses indicate that this applies for both men and women. These results empirically support the orthogonal nature of WFI and suggest that the interaction between work and family may be more permeable in some occupations than others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

纯铜中铋,锑,砷,铁,镍,铅,锡,锌的光谱定量分析

本文介绍了一种光谱定量分析方法。该方法使用ＢＹＧ０１－１氧化铜光谱标准样品，对１－４号纯铜中铋、锑、砷、铁、镍、铅、锡、锌８个杂质元素进行定量分析。分析方法简单，测定结果与化学结果基本相符。方法的测定下限为３×１０￣（０６）。     

铂饰品中Pt, Pd, Au, Ag, Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe的测定

试验研究建立了同一试料溶液连续、同时测定铂饰品中各成分的分析方法。主体Pt以氯铂酸铵称量法及火焰原子吸收光谱(FAAS)法或电感耦合等离子发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定滤液中残留Pt进行补差而测定。主成分Pd,Au,Ag,Cu和焊料成分Ni,Zn,Fe以FAAS法或ICP-AES法测定。其方法回收率分别为:Pt99.9%~100%;Pd99.3%~99.7%;Au99.5%~l01.5%;Ag98.0%~100%;Cu97.7%~99.3%;Zn98.0%~99.0%;Ni94.0%~105%;Fe95.0%~99.0%。实际试样分析时,各成分质量分数之和一般在99.12%~l01.2%之间,接近于100%,间接说明方法的可靠性。本法适用于Pt-Pd二元体系和Pt-Pd-Au-Cu多元复杂体系的铂饰品的破坏分析,可用于校正X荧光光谱法无损检测铂饰品的分析结果。     

X射线荧光光谱法测定烧结矿中Fe,Al,Ca,Mg,Si,S,Mn,P

烧结矿是高炉冶炼的重要原料之一 ,准确快速分析烧结矿中主、次量元素 ,对于指导烧结矿及高炉生产具有重要意义。由于烧结矿日常分析元素较多 ,采用化学分析方法 ,分析时间长 ,手续繁琐。本文利用多道同步Ｘ射线荧光光谱仪 ,合理选择分析及制样条件 ,对烧结矿中主、次量元素进行分析。结果表明 :该法分析速度快、准确度高 ,完全满足日常分析的要求。1　实验部分1 1　仪器及工作条件Ｓｉｍｕｌｔｉｘ 1 1型Ｘ射线荧光光谱仪 (日本理学 ) ,盘式振动磨 (ＷＣ材质 ) ,5 0ｔ油压机。工作条件 :Ｘ光管 ( 4 0ｋＶ - 2 5ｍＡ) ,Ｐ1 0气体流量 2 5ｍ…     

Alcohol and sexual risk behaviors as mediators of the sexual victimization–revictimization relationship.

Objective: Women who experience sexual victimization, whether in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, are at elevated risk of sexual revictimization. The mechanism responsible for this robust association is unclear, however. The present study proposed and tested a prospective, mediated model that posited that the association between adolescent and college victimization is mediated via 2 types of risk exposure in the first semester of college: alcohol-related and sexual risk behaviors. Method: Female adolescents (N = 469) were recruited from the community at the time of high school graduation. They completed baseline assessments as well as follow-ups at the end of the first and second semesters of college. Results: Consistent with hypotheses, adolescent sexual victimization was associated indirectly, via high school risk behaviors, with increased first-semester college risk behaviors (i.e., sexual partners, hookups, heavy episodic drinking, and heavy drinking contexts), which were, in turn, strongly predictive of sexual victimization experiences in the first year of college. College risk behaviors partially mediated the significant association between adolescent and first-year college victimization; however, even women without prior victimization faced elevated risk of college victimization with higher levels of college risk behaviors. Conclusions: Women who have experienced adolescent sexual victimization engage in higher levels of risk taking in college, thereby increasing vulnerability to college victimization. Intervention to reduce these primarily alcohol-related risk-taking behaviors may reduce vulnerability to college sexual victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing bimodal stimulus information under alcohol: Is there a risk to being redundant?

The impairing effects of alcohol are especially pronounced in environments that involve dividing attention across two or more stimuli. However, studies in cognitive psychology have identified circumstances in which the presentation of multiple stimuli can actually facilitate performance. The “redundant signal effect” (RSE) refers to the observation that individuals respond more quickly when information is presented as redundant, bimodal stimuli (e.g., aurally and visually), rather than as a single stimulus presented to either modality alone. The present study tested the hypothesis that the response facilitation attributed to RSE could reduce the degree to which alcohol slows information processing. Two experiments are reported. Experiment 1 demonstrated the validity of a reaction time model of RSE by showing that adults (N = 15) responded more quickly to redundant, bimodal stimuli (visual + aural) versus either stimuli presented individually. Experiment 2 used the RSE model to test the reaction time performance of 20 adults following three alcohol doses (0.0 g/kg, 0.45 g/kg, and 0.65 g/kg). Results showed that alcohol slowed reaction time in a general dose-dependent manner in all three stimulus conditions with the reaction time (RT) speed-advantage of the redundant signal being maintained, even under the highest dose of alcohol. Evidence for an RT advantage to bimodal stimuli under alcohol challenges the general assumption that alcohol impairment is intensified in multistimulus environments. The current study provides a useful model to investigate how drug effects on behavior might be altered in contexts that involve redundant response signals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ICP-AES法测定铍铜合金中Be, Ni, Ti, Co, Fe, Al, Si, Mg和Pb

通过操作条件的试验研究，用基体匹配法校正基体干扰，并选择了最佳工作条件。样品加标回收率为96％～110％，方法快速、简便、可靠，适用于铍铜合金的快速检验。     

Elevated mortality from nonalcohol-related chronic liver disease among female rubber workers: is it associated with exposure to nitrosamines?

BACKGROUND: Despite several case reports describing liver toxicity of nitrosamines and the fact that some N-nitroso compounds are used to induce cirrhosis of the liver in animal models, this association has not been investigated in epidemiological studies. METHODS: A cohort of 2,875 female rubber workers who were active on January 1, 1976, or hired thereafter, and who had been employed for at least 1 year in one of five plants producing tires or technical rubber goods was followed for mortality from January, 1976, through December, 1991. Work histories were reconstructed using routinely documented "cost center codes" and classified into six work areas. Age and calendar year standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated and stratified by plant, work area, year of hire, and years of employment in the respective work area. RESULTS: The excess mortality from cirrhosis of the liver was most pronounced for nonalcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver (ICD-9 571.4-571.9: 10 deaths, SMR 202; 95% CI 97-372). Mortality from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver (ICD-9 571.0-571.3: 3 deaths, SMR 153; 95% CI 31-446) and from other alcohol-related diseases (organic psychoses, injury, and poisoning) was not statistically significantly elevated. All 10 cases of nonalcohol-related cirrhosis had worked in production of technical rubber goods (SMR 279; 95% CI 134-514) and risks increased with earlier years of hire and with longer duration of employment in this work area. DISCUSSION: Although our results must be interpreted with caution, they suggest that the observed excess deaths from cirrhosis of the liver are associated with occupational risk factors. In light of additional evidence from case reports and animal data, exposure to nitrosamines may be a plausible risk factor for the observed excess mortality.