Sexual and physical abuse history and adult sexual risk behaviors: relationships among women and potential mediators

OBJECTIVE: While research has supported associations between experiencing abuse and engaging in risky sexual behaviors during adolescence, research regarding these associations among adult women is much more equivocal. In addition, few studies have attempted to identify potential pathways from abuse experiences to sexual risk behaviors. The current study examined the associations between a history of physical or sexual abuse and recent sexual risk behaviors among adult women. Additionally, this study evaluated binge drinking and depressive symptomatology as potential mediators of any relationships between abuse history and sexual risk behaviors. METHODS: A total of 1,428 women between 18 and 40 years of age attending family planning clinic appointments completed a self-report survey regarding their recent sexual behaviors and sexual and physical abuse history. Logistic regressions using backward elimination were conducted to identify factors associated with sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: A history of physical abuse by a romantic partner was associated with several sexual risk behaviors. Few significant associations between intrafamilial physical or sexual abuse and recent sexual risk behaviors were found. Additionally, there was no evidence that these relationships were mediated by binge drinking or depressive symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Familial abuse experiences are not necessarily associated with recent sexual risk behaviors among adults. In contrast, physical abuse experiences, particularly those perpetrated by a romantic partner, are associated with engaging in adult sexual risk behaviors among women. However, these associations are not mediated by alcohol use or depressive symptomatology.     

Resilience to adult psychopathology following childhood maltreatment: evidence from a community sample

OBJECTIVE: Child abuse is an important risk for adult psychiatric morbidity. However, not all maltreated children experience mental health problems as adults. The aims of the present study were to address the extent of resilience to adult psychopathology in a representative community sample, and to explore predictors of a good prognosis. METHODS: Data are drawn from a follow-up of the Isle of Wight study, an epidemiological sample assessed in adolescence and at midlife. Ratings of psychiatric disorder, peer relationships and family functioning were made in adolescence; adult assessments included a lifetime psychiatric history, personality and social functioning assessments, and retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse. RESULTS: Ten percent of individuals reported repeated or severe physical or sexual abuse in childhood. Prospective measures revealed increased rates of adolescent psychiatric disorders in this group. Rates of adult psychopathology were also high. A substantial minority of abused individuals reported no mental health problems in adult life. Resilience of this kind was related to perceived parental care, adolescent peer relationships, the quality of adult love relationships, and personality style. CONCLUSION: Good quality relationships across childhood, adolescence and adulthood appear especially important for adult psychological well being in the context of childhood abuse.     

Individual, family, and neighborhood factors distinguish resilient from non-resilient maltreated children: a cumulative stressors model

OBJECTIVE: Children who are physically maltreated are at risk of a range of adverse outcomes in childhood and adulthood, but some children who are maltreated manage to function well despite their history of adversity. Which individual, family, and neighborhood characteristics distinguish resilient from non-resilient maltreated children? Do children's individual strengths promote resilience even when children are exposed to multiple family and neighborhood stressors (cumulative stressors model)? METHODS: Data were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Study which describes a nationally representative sample of 1,116 twin pairs and their families. Families were home-visited when the twins were 5 and 7 years old, and teachers provided information about children's behavior at school. Interviewers rated the likelihood that children had been maltreated based on mothers' reports of harm to the child and child welfare involvement with the family. RESULTS: Resilient children were those who engaged in normative levels of antisocial behavior despite having been maltreated. Boys (but not girls) who had above-average intelligence and whose parents had relatively few symptoms of antisocial personality were more likely to be resilient versus non-resilient to maltreatment. Children whose parents had substance use problems and who lived in relatively high crime neighborhoods that were low on social cohesion and informal social control were less likely to be resilient versus non-resilient to maltreatment. Consistent with a cumulative stressors model of children's adaptation, individual strengths distinguished resilient from non-resilient children under conditions of low, but not high, family and neighborhood stress. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that for children residing in multi-problem families, personal resources may not be sufficient to promote their adaptive functioning.     

Impact of a statewide home visiting program to prevent child abuse

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program in preventing child maltreatment and reducing the multiple, malleable psychosocial risks for maltreatment for which families had been targeted. METHODS: This collaborative, experimental study focused on 6 Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) programs; 325 families were enrolled in 2000-2001, randomized to intervention and control groups, and interviewed to measure baseline attributes. Follow-up data were collected when children were 2 years old (85% follow-up rate). Outcomes included maltreatment reports, measures of potential maltreatment and parental risks, for example, poor mental health, substance use, and partner violence. HFAK records were reviewed to measure home visiting services. Home visitors were surveyed to measure perceived effectiveness and training adequacy. RESULTS: Parental risks were common at baseline, and one-sixth of families had a substantiated child protective services report in the child's first 2 years of life. There was no overall program effect on maltreatment reports, and most measures of potential maltreatment. Home visited mothers reported using mild forms of physical discipline less often than control mothers. The groups were similar in their use of more severe forms of physical discipline. There was no program impact on parental risks. There was no impact on outcomes for families with a 'high dose' of home visiting. Home visitors often failed to address parental risks and seldom linked families with community resources. Contradictions in the model compromised effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: The program did not prevent child maltreatment, nor reduce the parental risks that had made families eligible for service. Research is needed to develop and test strategies to improve the effectiveness of home visiting.     

幸福之源

在一次去马蒂家的路上,我听到他说：“人需要决定让自己幸福。”我赶紧问他：“你这话是什么意思？”     

论玉素甫·哈斯·哈吉甫的政治思想

这篇论文简要论述我国十一世纪著名的维吾尔族科学家、思想家、诗人、哲学家、法学家玉素普哈斯阿基普的政治思想即把他用于当今我国的政治体制改革问题。     

论我国民事诉讼法证人制度的完善

该论文浅谈我国民事诉讼法证人制度,接纳了国外的立法经验结合我国证据立法,提出并建议制定证人强制出庭作证制度和证人拒绝出庭作证并进一步完善我国证人制度的。     

现代图书分类要适应时代的要求

随着经济和文化的全球化,作为文化事业重要组成部分的图书馆及文献资料展现了自己的作用。该文章主要讨论了寻找关于占在各个学科交叉点来编写的各种文献资料的新分类方法和理论。     

六颗纽扣

我的衣服上有六颗纽扣。 两颗在我的口袋上, 两颗在我的衣领上, 两颗在我的衣襟上, 包裹着我的身体, 抵御冬天的寒风!     

资本主义生态问题的解决：资本主义和社会主义条件下的可能性

作者在本文中区分了3个为实现社会可持续发展而必须加以解决的资本主义生态问题：增长、技术和消费。与其之前的著作相一致,特别是在马克思主义生态传统方面,作者认为增长问题的解决需要对资本主义制度进行替代。而这是必要而非充分条件：生态可持续性同样有赖于对技术和消费问题的解决,这要求不间断地进行改革。然而,在资本主义制度下这种改革的力度相对较小。历史资料证明,不能保证作为资本主义制度替代物的社会主义一定能够实现生态可持续。社会主义制度要实现生态可持续,必须满足两个条件：一是对资本主义增长方式的革命性突破,二是对技术和消费的不间断改革。苏联和古巴的例子能够证明上述观点。