Children's adjustment problems in families characterized by men's severe violence toward women: Does other family violence matter?

ObjectiveThis research examined whether additional forms of family violence (partner-child aggression, mother-child aggression, and women's intimate partner violence [IPV]) contribute to children's adjustment problems in families characterized by men's severe violence toward women.MethodsParticipants were 258 children and their mothers recruited from domestic violence shelters. Mothers and children completed measures of men's IPV, women's IPV, partner-child aggression, and mother-child aggression. Mothers provided reports of children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems; children provided reports of their appraisals of threat in relation to interparent conflict.ResultsAfter controlling for sociodemographics and men's IPV: (1) each of the additional forms of family violence (partner-child aggression, mother-child aggression, and women's IPV) was associated with children's externalizing problems; (2) partner-child aggression was associated with internalizing problems; and (3) partner-child aggression was associated with children's threat appraisals. The relation of mother-child aggression to externalizing problems was stronger for boys than for girls; gender differences were not observed for internalizing problems or threat appraisals.ConclusionsMen's severe IPV seldom occurs in the absence of other forms of family violence, and these other forms appear to contribute to children's adjustment problems. Parent-child aggression, and partner-child aggression in particular, are especially important. Systematic efforts to identify shelter children who are victims of parental violence seem warranted.Practice implicationsMen's severe IPV seldom occurs in the absence of other forms of family violence (partner-child aggression, mother-child aggression, and women's IPV), and these different forms of family violence all contribute to children's adjustment problems. Treatment programs for children who come to domestic violence shelters should address these different forms of family violence, especially parent-child aggression.     

Help-Seeking Experiences and Attitudes among African American, Asian American, and European American College Students

The study examined African American, Asian American, and European American college students’ previous direct and indirect experiences of seeking professional psychological services and related attitudes. Survey data were collected from 254 European American, 182 African American and 82 Asian American college students. Results revealed that fewer African American and Asian American college students had sought professional psychological services, knew someone who had sought psychological services, and knew a close person who was diagnosed with a psychological disorder, relative to European American students. Furthermore, African American and Asian American participants showed less favorable attitudes on a variety of help-seeking attitudes, compared to the European American group.     

Sources of satisfaction and stress among Indigenous academic teachers: findings from a national Australian study

Academics of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent are few in number but play a vital role in Australian university teaching. In addition to teaching both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, they interact with academic colleagues in a context where pressures to “Indigenize” Australian curricula and increase Indigenous enrolments are growing. In this article, we will draw on our nation-wide research with Indigenous academics to further explore this under-researched area of Australian university teaching, and the highs and lows of how Indigenous teachers experience their roles. Our findings reveal that for our Indigenous colleagues, sources of personal and professional satisfaction – as well as stress – appear qualitatively different from those commonly associated with academic work. Of particular concern are the findings in relation to issues of cultural difference on our campuses, played out in the ways Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and students interact daily. Counterbalancing this potential negativity is the strong, indeed inspiring, commitment on the part of our Indigenous academic participants to the educational futures of their students, and thus, to the futures of Indigenous communities across Australia. The findings raise some thought-provoking questions for individuals and institutions in the higher education systems of our region, and perhaps beyond.     

A real-time biomechanical feedback system for training rowers

A system was developed that quantifies rowing mechanics while an athlete trains on a rowing ergometer. The system consists of a Concept II rowing ergometer instrumented with a load cell and a series of potentiometers, a data acquisition computer and custom software. Kinematic and kinetic rowing data are displayed in the form of a two-dimensional stick figure animation, overlaid with kinematic and kinetic profiles. The software allows data to be saved and later replayed. Static and dynamic error analyses were performed to determine the accuracy and limitations of the system. Static measurements compared joint locations predicted by the RowTrainer system with values measured directly. Average static joint position errors ranged from 2 mm to −25 mm, with a typical joint location error being 10 mm. Using three-dimensional motion analysis, both dynamic and static error analyses were conducted. Average dynamic joint errors ranged from ±1 mm to −44 mm, with typical errors on the order of ±10 mm. Errors in joint positions resulted in average knee and hip joint angle errors of 9.6° and 5.8°, respectively. Additionally, the average handle horizontal velocity error during the drive phase was −1.8%.