Developmental experiences of child sexual abusers and rapists

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to identify the distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape. METHOD: For 269 sexual offenders (137 rapists and 132 child sexual abusers), developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender classification was obtained from official records and verified through polygraph examinations. RESULTS: Compared to rapists, child sexual abusers reported more frequent experiences of child sexual abuse (73%), early exposure to pornography (65% before age 10), an earlier onset of masturbation (60% before age 11), and sexual activities with animals (38%). In contrast to child sexual abusers, rapists reported more frequent experiences of physical abuse (68%), parental violence (78%), emotional abuse (70%), and cruelty to animals (68%). Both child sexual abusers and rapists (>93%) reported frequent exposure to violent media during their childhood. Most offenders (94%) described having insecure parental attachment bonds; 76% of rapists reported avoidant parental attachments and 62% of child sexual abusers reported anxious parental attachments. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study support the role of specific developmental experiences as etiological factors in differential sexual offending. Child sexual abusers' developmental histories were characterized by heightened sexuality; whereas rapists' childhood histories were more indicative of violence. These findings have implications for the treatment of sexual abusers and the prevention of sexual abuse. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study's findings suggest that sexual offenders have been socialized to satisfy human needs of intimacy and sexuality through maladaptive means, which implies that a risk management approach may not be sufficient treatment. Although risk models teach offenders skills to avoid high-risk situations, they fail to address the maladaptive strategies that they may have developed for satisfying needs. Instead, the focus of treatment should be to equip offenders with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to achieve these needs in an acceptable manner. Thus, this model will provide these individuals with the opportunity to live a healthy life without sexual offending.     

Information fluency for undergraduate biology majors: applications of inquiry-based learning in a developmental biology course

Many initiatives for the improvement of undergraduate science education call for inquiry-based learning that emphasizes investigative projects and reading of the primary literature. These approaches give students an understanding of science as a process and help them integrate content presented in courses. At the same time, general initiatives to promote information fluency are being promoted on many college and university campuses. Information fluency refers to discipline-specific processing of information, and it involves integration of gathered information with specific ideas to form logical conclusions. We have implemented the use of inquiry-based learning to enhance and study discipline-specific information fluency skills in an upper-level undergraduate Developmental Biology course. In this study, an information literacy tutorial and a set of linked assignments using primary literature analysis were integrated with two inquiry-based laboratory research projects. Quantitaitve analysis of student responses suggests that the abilities of students to identify and apply valid sources of information were enhanced. Qualitative assessment revealed a set of patterns by which students gather and apply information. Self-assessment responses indicated that students recognized the impact of the assignments on their abilities to gather and apply information and that they were more confident about these abilities for future biology courses and beyond.     

Limitations on reliability: regularity rules in the English plural and past tense

Two studies investigated 3- to 5-year-olds' trust in a reliable informant when judging novel labels and novel plural and past tense forms. In Study 1, children ( N = 24) endorsed the names of new objects given by an informant who had earlier labeled familiar objects correctly over the names given by an informant who had labeled the same objects incorrectly. In Study 2, children ( N = 24) endorsed novel names given by an informant who had earlier expressed the plural of familiar nouns correctly over one who had expressed the plural incorrectly. But children overwhelmingly endorsed the regular plural and past tense forms of new words provided by the formerly unreliable labeler (Study 1) or morphologist (Study 2) rather than irregular forms of those words provided by the formerly reliable informant.     

HX环与幂环

群的代数结构的提升，为一般代数系统的代数结构的提升提供了一种研究方法，于是人们自然会想到环的代数结构的提升问题．1988年，李洪兴教授首次提出了HX环的概念，开始了环代数结构的提升．2000年，钟育彬给出了非平凡HX环的例子，说明了非平凡HX环的存在性．本文建立了一般的HX环与幂环的构造理论，同时还给出一些非平凡HX环与非平凡幂环的例子．     

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: medical diagnostic criteria

Medical diagnostic criteria for Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy are presented. The strength of the known facts may vary from case to case, and thus there may be different degrees of diagnostic conviction. Therefore, diagnostic criteria for a definitive diagnosis, and a possible diagnosis of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy are provided. Because the gathering of evidence in a case may, ultimately, diminish or exclude the diagnosis of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, diagnostic criteria for the inconclusive determination and the definitely excluded diagnosis are also enunciated.     

Children's recall of medical experiences: the impact of stress

OBJECTIVE: The study compared children's reports of two medical events, to assess the effects of the type of event on children's recall. Additionally, the study examined the effect of props on children's event reports. METHOD: Twenty children between the ages of 37 and 67 months were interviewed following either a voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG) or a pediatric assessment (PA) at a hospital. Interviews were conducted between 6 and 8 days after the event and included a doll and prop items. RESULTS: Ratings of stress were significantly higher for children who underwent the VCUG than those who underwent the PA. Children who experienced the VCUG procedure reported more correct information than the children who experienced the PA. Age was correlated with the total amount of correct information reported. Stress levels were correlated with both errors and accuracy of information. CONCLUSIONS: Children who experienced a stressful medical procedure remembered more than children who experienced a neutral medical event, although this increase in amount recalled was at the expense of accuracy. These findings suggest that stress impacts negatively on recall: however, the unique and structured nature of the VCUG procedure compared to the PA, and the familiarity of the PA prop items to the children who experienced the VCUG procedure, may also have contributed to differences in recall of the two events.     

Child neglect: developmental issues and outcomes

OBJECTIVE: This article highlights the manner in which child neglect, the most common form of maltreatment, affects children's development. METHOD: The review is organized according to three developmental periods (i.e., infancy/preschool, school-aged and younger adolescents, and older adolescents and adults) and major developmental processes (cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral). Although the focus is on specific and unique effects of various forms of child neglect, particular attention is paid to studies that allow comparisons of neglect and abuse that clarify their similarities and differences. RESULTS: Past as well as very recent findings converge on the conclusion that child neglect can have severe, deleterious short- and long-term effects on children's cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral development. Consistent with attachment and related theories, neglect occurring early in life is particularly detrimental to subsequent development. Moreover, neglect is associated with effects that are, in many areas, unique from physical abuse, especially throughout childhood and early adolescence. Relative to physically abused children, neglected children have more severe cognitive and academic deficits, social withdrawal and limited peer interactions, and internalizing (as opposed to externalizing) problems. CONCLUSIONS: The current review offers further support for the long-standing conclusion that child neglect poses a significant challenge to children's development and well-being. Limitations with regard to the state of the knowledge are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.     

Toddlers' and Preschoolers' Experience in Family Day Care: Age Differences and Behavioral Correlates

One hundred and twelve children, 56 toddlers and 56 preschoolers, were observed in their family child care settings to determine whether toddlers cared for in settings that also included preschoolers were, relative to the preschoolers, receiving more or less high-quality care and/or whether their functioning at child care appeared to be more or less dependent on aspects of the care providers’ interactions with the children. Quality of care was analyzed along two dimensions: sensitive/supportive care and structured care. Four indices of child functioning at child care were examined: integration in social activities, attention, positive mood, and angry/aggressive behavior. Results indicate that toddlers received less sensitive, supportive care than preschoolers in these mixed-age settings and toddlers were less socially integrated and less engaged in activities in the child care setting. Preschoolers displayed increased levels of angry/aggressive behavior relative to toddlers. In addition, associations of care provider behaviors and child functioning were larger for toddlers than preschoolers, suggesting that toddlers were more dependent on caregiver support for more successful functioning in these family child care settings. For both toddlers and preschoolers, care provider behavior and child functioning was generally poorer in settings with more children.     

Human computers: the first pioneers of the information age

Before computers were machines, they were people. They were men and women, young and old, well educated and common. They were the workers who convinced scientists that large-scale calculation had value. Long before Presper Eckert and John Mauchly built the ENIAC at the Moore School of Electronics, Philadelphia, or Maurice Wilkes designed the EDSAC for Manchester University, human computers had created the discipline of computation. They developed numerical methodologies and proved them on practical problems. These human computers were not savants or calculating geniuses. Some knew little more than basic arithmetic. A few were near equals of the scientists they served and, in a different time or place, might have become practicing scientists had they not been barred from a scientific career by their class, education, gender or ethnicity.