I. Community Responsibility and Action

Community is the key to successful reduction of alcohol and other drug abuse. Only at the community level can effective comprehensive response be developed that will reduce both supply of and demand for destructive psychoactive drugs. Only the community can bring about the fundamental societal changes in attitudes and behavior that will reduce significantly our demand for drugs. Only the community can develop and sustain accessible programs that over time, will successfully prevent, treat and control substance abuse. The interest of society is to create a safe, secure and healthy environment that is free of drug abuse among all its members.     

Healing Families: An Outcome Evaluation of a Community Family Court

In this paper, a model community family court program that seeks to break the intergenerational cycle of crime and substance abuse by treating families holistically will be presented. This model court seeks to reduce crime and provide safe and permanent homes for children of substance‐abusing parents. In this community family court, the prototypical problem‐solving court has been both focused and expanded. The community family court provides a focused response designed to address the unique combination of problems facing families on a family‐by‐family basis. At the same time, supervision and treatment services have been expanded to include every family member and all open court cases including criminal charges, juvenile delinquency, dependency, and civil cases. An overview of the court's evolution and discussion of integrated services designed to provide a wraparound style intervention will be highlighted as key contributors to the largely positive results of this community family court's evaluation.     

Cumulative experiences of violence among high-risk urban youth

This study examines type-specific and cumulative experiences of violence among a vulnerable population of youth. Sixty high-risk, shelter-dwelling, urban youth were interviewed regarding their history of childhood maltreatment, exposure to community violence (ECV), and experience with intimate partner violence (IPV). Results show a high prevalence and high degree of overlap among multiple types of violence exposure. Childhood physical, sexual (CSA), and emotional (CEA) abuse were interrelated and were associated with ECV. Cumulative experiences of childhood abuse (CCA) had a graded association with IPV victimization. In multivariate analyses, CCA and ECV were independently associated with IPV victimization. Gender moderated the effect of one association: CEA raised the risk of IPV victimization for girls but not for boys. Only CSA predicted IPV perpetration. Findings suggest that cumulative exposures to violence create cumulative risk for experiencing more violence. Shelter-dwelling, urban youth may be particularly vulnerable to this additive effect.     

Traumatic Event Exposure and Behavioral Health Disorders among Incarcerated Females Self-Referred to Treatment

At least half of the women inside prison have mental health problems, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during their formative years and often in adulthood, and have addiction problems. Only a minority of these women receive treatment for their behavioral health problems associated with trauma while incarcerated, even though these problems are risk factors for returning to prison after release. This study focuses on the traumatic experiences and behavioral health problems of a group of female inmates who volunteered in August 2009, to be screened for admission into an integrated trauma-reentry program implemented at an adult female correctional facility. Of the 278 women who self-referred for screening, 196 preliminarily met the time eligibility criterion of residing at the prison for eight to 24 more months. Half of these women (n?=?97) were actually time-eligible for screening and agreed to be screened. Of this sample of treatment-seeking soon-to-be-released female prisoners, the vast majority (93%) reported significant and complex histories of traumatic event exposure and high rates of either posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or sub-threshold PTSD, past alcohol and other substance abuse or dependence, other axis I psychiatric disorders, and subjective distress. Identifying trauma exposure histories and associated behavioral health problems within this population and providing effective interventions holds potential promise for preparing incarcerated women to manage their post-release lives in ways that will keep them safe, healthy, and in the community.     

A dangerous direction: legal intervention in sexual abuse survivor therapy

In this Article, Professors Bowman and Mertz question recent popular and academic commentary that disputes the validity of all delayed-recall memories of childhood sexual abuse. They examine one court's decision to allow a father, accused by his daughter of childhood sexual abuse, to recover malpractice damages from his daughter's therapist in connection with therapy during which the daughter recovered memories of the abuse. The authors argue that such third-party liability is unsound in terms of established principles of tort doctrine and in terms of public policy. After a review of the scientific evidence, the authors further conclude that, although some memories may be inaccurate, delayed-recall memory can also accurately reflect that past abuse occurred. Permitting third-party liability against therapists when accurate memories of abuse surface in therapy gives abusers a weapon to use against their victims. Because such suits exclude the party in privity (the client), they effectively erase the victim's voice. Professors Bowman and Mertz argue that such a novel extension of third-party liability is at best a misuse of the courts' resources and ultimately harms abuse survivors, therapists, and the community far more than it helps any wrongfully accused parents.     

Testing the Influence of Community Characteristics on School Misconduct

This study examines the effect of dynamic and structural community characteristics on school misconduct. Data include over 45,000 students in the eighth, tenth, or twelfth grade in 237 schools. Hierarchical linear models tested the direct and interactive effects of community measures, while accounting for student and school characteristics. Community substance abuse norms as well as perceptions of community crime and disorder mediated the influence of concentrated disadvantage on school misconduct. Interaction effects demonstrated that community substance abuse norms were more influential for students enrolled in schools that had a less positive school climate although individual and school characteristics remained robust predictors of school misconduct. School misconduct is influenced by the characteristics of the surrounding community and school context, as well as the interaction between those contexts. Research relying on census data measures of community characteristics may underestimate community influence on school misconduct, and omit proximal community influences on school misconduct.     

The correlation of childhood physical abuse history and later abuse in a group of Turkish population

Domestic violence is passed from one generation to the next, and it affects not only the victim but also the psychological states of the witnesses, and especially the psychosocial development of children. Studies have reported that those who have been the victim of or witnessing violence during their childhood will use violence to a greater extent as adults in their own families. This research examines the relationships between a history of childhood physical abuse, likelihood of psychiatric diagnoses, and potential for being a perpetrator of childhood physical abuse in adulthood among women who received psychiatric treatment and in the healthy population from Turkey. Estimates of the prevalence of childhood physical abuse vary depending on definition and setting. The frequency of witnessing and undergoing physical abuse within the family during childhood is much higher in the psychiatrically disordered group than the healthy controls. Childhood physical abuse history is one of the major risk factors for being an abuser in adulthood. The best indicator of physically abusing one's own children was found to be as physical abuse during the childhood period rather than psychiatric diagnosis. There is a large body of research indicating that adults who have been abused as children are more likely to abuse their own children than adults without this history. This is an important study from the point of view that consequences of violence can span generations. Further studies with different risk factor and populations will help to identify different dimensions of the problem.     

The RWJF Reclaiming Futures Initiative: Improving Substance Abuse Interventions for Justice‐Involved Youths

Juvenile justice systems in the United States do not always respond effectively to substance abuse problems among young offenders. In 2002, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched a 10‐community demonstration project to address this problem. Reclaiming Futures (RF) relies on community partnerships to improve treatment quality, strengthen local leadership, expand inter‐organizational collaboration, and create systems of shared performance management. The initial findings of a cross‐site evaluation suggest that Reclaiming Futures is yielding important and positive change. Bi‐annual surveys of key informants measure the quality and integration of juvenile justice and substance abuse treatment systems in each community. Of 13 indices measured by the surveys, 11 showed significant improvements between 2003 and 2005.     

Social Support Choices for Help with Abusive Relationships: Perceptions of African American Women

A recent national telephone study of the African American community found that over 90% of respondents would feel comfortable talking to a family member or friend who was being abused about the abuse, with the majority advising she get help from a domestic violence program. The purpose of this study was to understand how comfortable abused women would feel talking to members of her support system about the abuse and how comfortable women who have not experienced partner abuse would feel if they were abused. Over 70% of women who have experienced abuse reported at least some comfort getting assistance for abuse from a friend, clergy/spiritual leader, Black community member, family member their age, or physician. Women who reported never experiencing physical or sexual partner violence were less likely to perceive feeling comfortable getting assistance from their social support systems (both formal and informal) if they were abused. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Detection

Sexually abused children who are not treated will likely commit violent crimes and will probably abuse or condone the abuse of their own children. But the best of treatment programs are of no use if the abused children are not found. Reporting laws adopted in recent years, even though of somewhat limited scope, have greatly increased the number of children found and brought to treatment, and each child treated not only improves that child's pursuit of happiness, it also breaks a cycle of abuse to his children. Reporting laws can be strengthened. They can help more children. They can cast a broader net of those who must report abuse and of those who are protected when they report. They can clarify the procedures to be taken and the agencies responsible when reports are made. They can provide for confidentiality and protective orders to save the family a second trauma during judicial and administrative procedures. They can identify public policy as to when to treat and when to punish if both cannot be done. They can encourage research for determining the truth of reports and for improving treatment methods. There is resistance to reporting laws. Physicians are well aware that if they report an abuse they may well lose not merely that family as patients but also their friends and relatives which can be a severe economic hardship. Lawyers and physicians resist intrusions into the confidentiality of their relations with their clients and patients. Foster homes and residential care facilities know that even a hint of impropriety may end their arrangements for payment by the public and insurance carriers. Families often resist reporting because of its embarrassment and potential impact on their jobs and on their relationships with friends. Children resist because of guilt feelings or for fear of losing a parent. Mothers resist because they fear the breakup of their homes and loss of a breadwinner. Compulsory reporting laws may be the best means of helping sexually abused children and of breaking the cycle of sexual abuse by those who were sexually abused and even of reducing violent crime. It is not a simple solution. But just as we can do nothing about child abuse unless it is reported, neither can we do anything about abuse unless the reports are managed efficiently, with prompt investigation and prompt action when appropriate. A report allowed to gather dust may have cost a physician a part of his practice without protecting or helping the child.     

Won't you be my neighbor? Using an ecological approach to examine the impact of community on revictimization

An ecological model is used to explore the moderating effects of community-level variables on the relation between childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) within a sample of 98 African American women from low incomes. Results from hierarchical, binary logistics regressions analyses show that community-level variables (perceived neighborhood disorder and community cohesion) moderated the relation between childhood emotional abuse and adult physical IPV. Findings support the use of an ecological approach in examining the phenomena of revictimization. Clinical implications from a community and ecological perspective are discussed.     

上市公司现金分红制度的自治与强制——以股利代理成本理论为逻辑基础

控制股东与小股东之间的利益冲突是我国上市公司中存在的主要问题。我国股利分配失衡问题归根究底在于公司内部缺乏适当的权利制衡机制,存在内部人特别是控制股东侵害小股东合法利益的问题,这是公司治理机制不完善不健全的结果。我国与再融资行为相挂钩的上市公司现金分红制度具固有缺陷。依据股利代理成本理论,公司现金分红是小股东利益保护机制的结果,只有小股东利益保护机制得以有效执行,我国上市公司的股利分配失衡问题才能迎刃而解。应当尊重公司自治原则,通过契约设计和制度创新来增强公司股东对现金分红决策的参与度,对大股东权利的行使形成有效的制衡;同时,强化特定情形下控制股东的诚信义务,发展股东强制股利分配之诉,对上市公司控制股东滥用控制权侵害小股东利益的行为进行责任追究是我国解决股利分配失衡问题的必然出路。     

The Relationship of Abuse to Women’s Health Status and Health Habits

The present study examined the relationship between exposure to abuse and women’s health status and health behaviors in a sample of rural women. One hundred forty-eight women visiting a community health care center completed survey packets that included measures that assessed: exposure to abuse, impairment associated with exposure to abuse, physical and mental health problems, health behaviors, and the extent of health care usage. Results indicated that exposure to abuse was positively and significantly related to the adoption of a negative psychological perspective, which in turn was negatively correlated with physical and mental health, as well as with the practice of healthy behaviors. Results also showed that women exposed to abuse engage in less healthy behaviors and utilize more health care resources than do women with no such exposure. Implications for improving the assessment and treatment of abuse in health care settings are discussed. This article is based on a thesis completed by the first author with the same title as this report.     

Definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from Israel

This article presents a study conducted among 148 men from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to examine their definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse. The definitions provided by the majority of the participants were highly consistent with definitions that are accepted in the professional literature. The majority of participants tended to view wife abuse as unjustified and held violent husbands responsible for their behavior. They were also in favor of helping women who were abused. At the same time, however, some participants showed a tendency to blame women for violence against them and indicated that the reasons why women stay with husbands who are abusive can be attributed more to external factors than to her internal situation. Substantial amounts of the variance in the participants' definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse can be explained by the extent of their patriarchal ideology. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

The Morality of Compensation through Tort Law

In this paper, I will focus on the normative structure of tort law. Only by elucidating the point or rationale of holding the wrongdoer responsible to the victim can we understand the value of having tort law instead of establishing other mechanisms of redress, such as a social insurance scheme. Ultimately, I will argue that the value of interpersonal justice, which underlies tort law, might not suffice to fully justify it in a given community. It all depends on whether victims of accidents are able to vindicate their rights against wrongdoers on a regular basis. If social conditions make this unlikely, then the state might be morally required to implement other forms of compensation, either replacing tort law altogether or supplementing it with social insurance in cases where private justice mechanisms tend to fail more dramatically.     

DIVORCE AND THE FAMILY COURT: WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

Approximately 50% of couples who have separated report being victims of violence and/or emotional abuse by their former intimate partners. Family courts can make an important contribution toward reducing the number of intimate partners who report being victims of domestic violence and abuse during and following their participation in divorce proceedings in three ways. First, increase opportunities for participation in nonadversarial procedures. Second, implement mandatory assessment/screening for domestic violence using field‐tested instruments that link subscores on sets of items (e.g., control motivated violence, conflict instigated violence/abuse, substance abuse associated violence/abuse) with appropriate community‐based treatments and/or resources. Third, educate family court judges, lawyers, mediators, and other court personnel in the dynamics of domestic violence generally, as well as the dynamics associated with separation/divorce.     

一个半公正的司法解释--兼与苏力教授对话

对幼女的年龄的明知是奸淫幼女成罪的必要要件 ,此乃刑法关于奸淫幼女的规定的本意。司法解释只有遵循这一本意才具有合法性。最高人民法院关于奸淫幼女的批复要求以对幼女的年龄的明知作为奸淫幼女的入罪条件 ,符合立法原意 ,因而具有公正的成分。将奸淫幼女解释为严格责任罪 ,既不符合立法精神 ,也有悖法理。但是 ,最高法院的批复在将对幼女的年龄的明知作为绝对的入罪条件的同时没有将幼女的年龄的不明知作为绝对的出罪条件 ,因而又不是完全公正的。     

Is sexually abusive behaviour in personality disordered inpatients analogous to sexual offences committed prior to hospitalization?

Abstract

Sexually abusive behaviour by personality disordered patients presents a serious threat to the integrity of staff–patient relationships and the safety of other residents. The occurrence of such behaviour is also problematic for the offending patient, as it may impact on perceived treatment needs and their access to the community. This paper reports on a study of sexually abusive behaviour in a high security psychiatric hospital. It also examines the relationship between these behaviours and patients’ history of sexual offending. The results showed a high frequency of low-severity sexually abusive behaviour and no significant associations between sexually abusive behaviour during hospitalization and sexual offence history. These findings imply that low-severity sexually abusive behaviour within secure settings may be determined, partly, by environmental conditions. This sexual abuse may also be functionally dissimilar to severe sexual abuse perpetrated in the community. The meaning and determinants of sexual abuse within secure settings must be scrutinized carefully and comprehensively before they are considered analogous to previous sexual offences.     

Type and extent of child abuse as predictors of adult functioning

Child abuse is associated with a variety of difficulties later in life. However, it is unclear to what extent these outcomes are related to the type and combinations of abuse (i.e., sexual versus physical) rather than the variable characteristics within each type. Information regarding child abuse histories as well as current functioning was gathered from a community sample of 259 working women. Incest and severe physical abuse were each associated with similar symptoms, with people who were more severely abused showing worse outcomes. Those women who were both physically and sexually abused had less favorable outcomes than those abused in only one manner. The effects of abuse could not be understood without taking combinations of different types and severities into account. The implications of the similarities of the outcomes of severe sexual and physical abuse were discussed.     

Child abuse and chronic pain in a community survey of women

This study examined the relationship between a self-reported history of child physical and sexual abuse and chronic pain among women (N = 3,381) in a provincewide community sample. Chronic pain was significantly associated with physical abuse, education, and age of the respondents and was unrelated to child sexual abuse alone or in combination with physical abuse, mental disorder (anxiety, depression, or substance abuse), or low income. Number of health problems and mental health disorders did not mediate the relationship between physical abuse and chronic pain. Despite considerable evidence from the clinical literature linking exposure to child maltreatment and chronic pain in adulthood, this may well be the first population-based study to investigate this relationship for child physical and sexual abuse independently. The significant association between childhood history of physical abuse and pain in adulthood calls for a greater awareness of the potential for chronic pain problems associated with this type of maltreatment. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism for this complex relationship.