Firearms Matter: The Moderating Role of Firearm Storage in the Association Between Current Suicidal Ideation and Likelihood of Future Suicide Attempts Among United States Military Personnel

The relationship between firearm ownership and suicide is well documented. This study hypothesized that how soldiers store their firearms would moderate the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, and that this relationship would be explained by fearlessness about death. There were 432 military personnel (91.3% men, 74.2% White, M_age = 27.60) who endorsed current ownership of a private firearm and who were recruited from a military base in the southeastern United States (94.5% National Guard). Firearm storage moderated the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, but this relationship was not explained by fearlessness about death. Individuals who reported keeping their firearms loaded and stored in an unsecure location exhibited higher mean levels of fearlessness about death. Findings highlight the need for research examining contributors to suicide risk in the context of firearm storage, and provide support for suicide prevention efforts involving restricting means.     

Implementing Firearms Restriction for Preventing U.S. Army Suicide

Suicide among U.S. Army soldiers remains a significant concern for both population health and personnel readiness, with firearms constituting the majority of soldier suicides. Means restriction, or removing an at-risk soldier’s access to lethal means, is a well-established procedure for reducing suicides. Nonetheless, various cultural, legal, and practical concerns may encumber firearms restriction implementation in the U.S. Army. This article reviews policy relevant to firearms restriction, including federal laws, Department of Defense directives, and U.S. Army regulations. Recommendations are provided for providers and commanders that balance the rights of soldiers with the need to ensure safety. In particular, installation restriction, field settings, enlisting supportive others, unit engagement, and off-installation storage are discussed. These approaches span the public health intervention model, providing numerous potential avenues to a balanced approach for firearms restriction in preventing suicide.     

Hair sampling for cortisol analysis with mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes

BackgroundA first step to advance stress science research in young children is understanding the relationship between chronic stress in a mother and chronic stress in her child. One non-invasive measure of chronic stress is hair cortisol. However, little is known about strategies for hair sampling in mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes in the U.S. To address prior limitations, the purpose of this study was to understand the feasibility of sampling hair for cortisol analysis in mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes in the U.S. We examined feasibility related to participation, eligibility, and gathering an adequate hair sample weight.MethodsWe approached 142 low-income, racially diverse, urban-dwelling mothers who were participating in an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort study for informed consent to cut approximately 150 hairs from the posterior vertex of their scalp and their toddlers’ (20–24 months) scalp. We demonstrated the process of sampling hair with a hairstyling doll during home visits to the mother and toddler using rounded-end thinning shears.ResultsOverall, 94 of 142 mother-toddler dyads (66 %) participated in hair sampling. The most common reason for participation refusal was related to hairstyle. All but three hair samples were of adequate weight for cortisol extraction.DiscussionThe findings from this study can help researchers address sampling feasibility concerns in hair for cortisol analysis research in mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes in the U.S.     

Home-school literacy experiences of Latino preschoolers: Does continuity predict positive child outcomes?

The current study explored the literacy practices used by primary caregivers and Head Start teachers of low-income Latino children, examined the extent to which these practices are continuous, and investigated the role of continuity in home-school literacy practices on Latino preschoolers’ emergent literacy development. Results showed that continuity in home-school global literacy practices, as well as in the use of high-challenging talk during book sharing interactions, was predictive of children's emergent literacy skills at the end of the Head Start year. By contrast, discontinuity in home-school book sharing styles led to higher emergent literacy outcomes. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of the home and preschool environments in supporting low-income Latino children’s early literacy development.     

Violence in Low-Income Neighborhoods in the United States

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the chronic violence in low-income neighborhoods to which children and adults are regularly exposed. Such neighborhoods have been called “urban war zones,” and those who witness the violence have been referred to as co-victims. This paper examines what we know about the prevalence of neighborhood violence, the consequences of continued exposure to it, the dominant responses to the problem within psychology, a critique of these responses, and possible next steps.     

Freedom,Firearms, and Civil Resistance

The claim that guns can safeguard freedom is common in US political discourse. In light of a broadly republican understanding of freedom, I evaluate this claim and its implications. The idea is usually that firearms would enable citizens to engage in revolutionary violence against a tyrannical government. I argue that some of the most common objections to this argument fail, but that the argument is fairly weak in light of other objections. I then defend a different argument for the claim that guns can safeguard freedom. I claim that firearm ownership among members of oppressed groups can hinder the use of systematic violence aimed at preventing them from exercising their basic liberties. I show how a commitment to armed self-defense is compatible with non-violent civil resistance as a tool of political change, and show how the former facilitated the latter during the Civil Rights Movement. Finally, I consider the policy implications of my argument. I don’t think it vindicates lax gun control policies. However, it may vindicate some individuals acquiring guns and learning how to use them, and some organizations aiding them in doing so.

     

Behavior Problems in Toddlers With and Without Developmental Delays: Comparison of Treatment Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an in-home parent management program for toddlers with behavior problems and developmental delays by comparing outcomes for a group of toddlers with developmental delays (n = 27) and a group of toddlers without developmental delays (n = 27). The majority of children lived in single parent, low-income homes. Results suggest that the parent management program is equally effective for children with and without developmental delays. Parents from both groups reported clinically significant improvement in their children's behavior and parenting practices. Clinical implications regarding the importance of these findings for improving outcomes for toddlers with behavior problems and developmental delays living in poverty were discussed.     

Firearms and the mentally ill: A legislative overview and jurisprudential analysis

This article examines federal and state laws that prohibit the mentally ill from possessing firearms and assesses the jurisprudence that has developed as courts have applied the federal law. It argues that although there is little or no empirical data linking the mentally ill with firearms violence, legislative activity and popular political debate invariably include such restrictions on the mentally ill. Notwithstanding the proliferation of firearms and antecedent violence, this article suggests that legislators and policy-makers must separate this issue from the broader and more emotional issue of “gun control” in order to effectuate better public policy and simultaneously protect the constitutional rights of the mentally ill.     

Fraud and the American Dream: Toward an Understanding of Fraud Victimization

ABSTRACT

American culture and the practices of government focus an overwhelming majority of attention on violent “street” crime. As a result, very little is known about the victims of fraud. In order to contribute to this literature, a case study is provided that examines the victim population of a Ponzi scheme. Data are provided on the general characteristics of the victims, their investments, and the growth of the scheme. A theoretical model is formulated from Messner and Rosenfeld.'s work in Crime and the American Dream. This paper expands the concepts of this theory by providing evidence that it can be used to explain victim behavior.     

Mass media and delinquency prevention: The case of “scared straight”

This paper focuses on the Oscar winning television documentary “Scared Straight.” This documentary describes the Juvenile Awareness Project (JAP) at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, which attempts to deter juvenile delinquency by briefly exposing young offenders to the harsh realities of prison life. The paper analyzes the possible reasons for the popularity of this show and the JAP. It is suggested that factors such as the public perception of increasing crime rates, declining support for rehabilitation, and a dramatic promise of a new, synthetic solution for delinquency were among the major reasons for the success of the television documentary.     

‘Un-certainty’: working therapeutically with a transgender young person and learning to bear the unknown

Abstract

The rate of referrals to mental health services for children and young people for whom gender dysphoria is the identified clinical issue has increased significantly over the last ten years. Debates around the classifications of gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria or gender incongruence, as well as the involvement of child and adolescent mental health services with this group of children and young people seem to be re-enacting the societal gender binary world view where we see acceptance versus rejection, open-mindedness versus conservative, trans-phobic thinking. In this paper the author will attempt to shed some light on the work with these young people in a clinical setting by reflecting on a year of therapeutic work with a female to male young person. Through the therapist’s reflections upon these binary preconceptions, along with the use of developmental and object relations theory, an in-depth account of the work is given. It is suggested that in some cases the therapist’s capacity to bear the unknown, while gradually observing and mirroring the un-integrated inner self of the patient, can gradually bring the fragments together, even if not in a perfect fit, and that this in turn provides a sense of relief.     

Gaze behaviour during walking in young adults with developmental coordination disorder

BackgroundIndividuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) experience difficulty with motor coordination and this affects their daily functioning. Research indicated inferior visuospatial processing and oculomotor control in DCD. As visual information is essential for locomotor control, more insight in the gaze behaviour of this population during walking is required and crucial for gaze training interventions as a possible means to improve daily functioning of children and adults with DCD.AimThis study explored differences and similarities in gaze behaviour during walking between typically developing young adults and those with DCD.Methods and proceduresTen young adults with DCD (age: 22.13 ± 0.64) and ten typically developing individuals (age: 22.00 ± 1.05) completed a walking task in which they had to place their feet on irregularly placed targets wearing eye tracking glasses.Outcomes and resultsIndividuals with DCD walked slower and demonstrated a different gaze strategy compared to their neurotypical peers as they fixated almost each and every target sequentially. Typically developing individuals, on the other hand, directed gaze further along the path and often fixated areas around the targets.Conclusions and implicationsDespite adequate walking performance in daily situations in young adults with DCD, fundamental control deficits persist into adulthood.What this paper adds?This paper is the first to demonstrate differences in gaze behaviour between young adults with DCD and typically developing individuals in a task that resembles a task of daily living, as previous research focused on laboratory tasks. This is a valuable finding as DCD has a clear impact on the daily life. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the fundamental control deficits of DCD persist into adulthood despite frequent performance and practice of these daily tasks. Lastly, these findings might contribute to the therapeutic potential of gaze training interventions to improve the daily functioning of children and adults with DCD.     

“My first choice is to work out at work; then i don't feel bad about my kids”: A discursive psychological analysis of motherhood and physical activity participation

ObjectivesThe determinants of physical activity participation for mothers of young children are only beginning to be understood. The aim with this study was to further this understanding by exploring motherhood as a socially and culturally constructed identity linked to physical activity participation.DesignDiscursive psychology was used to theorize mother identities as subject positions constructed within discourse(s), and explore the implications for one woman's physical activity participation, through an in-depth case study approach (see Yin, 2009).MethodA newly active 35 year old woman with two young children, husband and activity partner, were interviewed over 16 weeks. Critical discourse analysis (see Wetherell, 1998) of nine interviews was used to explore the constructive nature of language and the effects by identifying the discourses within which mother identities were constructed.ResultsTwo primary discourses were identified: a patriarchal discourse of the family and a liberal feminist discourse. Participants drew upon these discourses to position the woman's identity as a good mother and/or super mother. Based on the behavioural practices linked to discourses and the subject positions/identities (e.g., good mothers place children's needs over their own), a situation came into being which made physical activity participation difficult.ConclusionsThis study contributes towards understanding motherhood and physical activity participation by attending to social and cultural discourses. By constructing mother identities within a patriarchal discourse of the family and a liberal feminist discourse, physical activity barriers of time, fatigue and the family functioned in nuanced ways, and were not easily surmounted.     

Firearms and Their Role in Homicide and Suicide*

ABSTRACT: Various arguments against firearms from the standpoint of their role in homicide and suicide are discussed. It is contended by some that murderers are law-abiding citizens who get into trouble because of the availability of firearms. A study in Detroit indicated that both murderers and suicidal persons are prone to misuse the firearm as they would misuse any potential instrument of destruction, independent of gun control measures. If the Second Amendment to the Constitution is to be used by those favoring the right to bear arms, the argument must involve an incorporation of an inherent responsibility toward the use of the firearm; that people wanting to use them should be able to accept reasonable rules and personality qualification as a factor in having the right to obtain them. More effective education and screening of the overly aggressive person or the self-destructive individual are suggested, in terms of school mental health programs, screening at the police precinct level, gun permit application level, and through effective suicide prevention and crisis centers.     

Child Maltreatment,Problem Behaviors,and Neighborhood Attainment

Using data from a prospective cohort design study of a group of children with documented histories of abuse and neglect (n = 908) and matched controls (n = 667), this paper examines whether problem behaviors (e.g., prostitution, crime, school problems, and homelessness) in young adulthood explain the link between maltreatment in childhood and living in high‐risk neighborhoods in middle adulthood. Problem behaviors were assessed at mean age of 29 and neighborhood characteristics were assessed at mean age of 40. Child maltreatment predicted living in less desirable neighborhoods in middle adulthood. Problem behaviors in young adulthood partially mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and residence in less desirable neighborhoods in middle adulthood. The direct paths from child maltreatment to neighborhoods were not significant for Black children. For White children, there was a direct relationship between child maltreatment and living in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. Problem behaviors were a stronger mediator between child maltreatment and living in more disordered and less socially cohesive neighborhoods for Black children, while the problem behaviors were a stronger mediator for living in more economically disadvantaged and less socially cohesive neighborhoods for White children. Further research is needed to understand these racial differences. Interventions should focus on preventing problem behaviors to minimize the risk of residency in high‐risk neighborhoods.     

Rap,rhythm and recognition: Lyrical practices and the politics of voice on a community music project for young people experiencing challenging circumstances

Given the prominence of rap music and its influence in debates about the moral status of young people, this paper seeks to highlight young people's own lyrical practices and interpretations of the genre. Evidence gathered by the National Foundation for Youth Music has found that such lyrical modes of music making can serve as a vital means of self-expression, particularly for those children and young people who otherwise lack confidence, self-esteem and cultural validation. This paper centres on a detailed case study of a community music project called Ustudios, which drew on peer-mentoring practices to develop and record rap lyrics with local young people who were identified as experiencing a range of challenging circumstances while residing on two adjacent council estates on the outskirts of Brighton, England. By tracing the lyrical practices of a group of young participants, this paper establishes a clear sense of their potential to explore their own voice, both as means to enhance their emotional expression and development, and as a way of supporting their participation as active members within their community. Taken alongside wider evidence, this case develops an emerging thesis on the political significance of voice, listening and recognition for reframing understandings of the emotional geographies of young people.     

Assessing the Practices and Products of Darkweb Firearm Vendors

ABSTRACT

The development of the Darknet as a parallel network to the Web in the 21st century has facilitated illegal trafficking in small arms, as defined by the United Nations. The authors have used investigative research methodologies to observe six weapon sale sites on the Darknet over a six-month period to identify sellers of firearms, the type and caliber of weapons for sale, manufacturer, price in Bitcoin, and the principle national origins of the firearms. This is the first study of its type to explore the illegal sale of firearms on the Darknet. This evidence can be used by law enforcement to intercept and shut down said sites and provide insight to the nature of the illegal arms trade on the Darknet.     

Evaluation of Fraud Examinations: The Case of Inappropriate Accounting Practices at Fuji Xerox

ABSTRACT

There is a growing business for global auditing firms and local law firms as well as independent detectives to conduct forensic investigations at client organizations when there is suspicion of white-collar misconduct and crime. Client organizations normally do not disclose investigation reports. An investigation report concerned with inappropriate accounting practices at Fuji Xerox in New Zealand is publicly available. This article presents an evaluation of the investigation. Specifically, this article focuses on the mandate, where examiners were asked to find causes of misconduct. Examiners present eight reasons for inappropriate accounting practices. However, as discussed in this evaluation, the report of investigation presents little or no evidence for most of the causes.     

Effects of television exposure on developmental skills among young children

BackgroundLiterature addressing the effects of television exposure on developmental skills of young children less than 36 months of age is scarce. This study explored how much time young children spend viewing television and investigated its effects on cognitive, language, and motor developmental skills.MethodsData were collected from the Pediatric Clinics at University Medical Center in Southern Taiwan. The participants comprised 75 children who were frequently exposed to television and 75 children who were not or infrequently exposed to television between 15 and 35 months old. The age and sex were matched in the two groups. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-second edition and Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-second edition were used to identify developmental skills. Independent t-tests, χ² tests, and logistic regression models were conducted.ResultsAmong 75 children who were frequently exposed to television, young children watched a daily average of 67.4 min of television before age 2, which was excessive according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Viewing television increased the risk of delayed cognitive, language, and motor development in children who were frequently exposed to television. Cognitive, language, and motor delays in young children were significantly associated with how much time they spent viewing television. The type of care providers was critical in determining the television-viewing time of children.ConclusionWe recommend that pediatric practitioners explain the impacts of television exposure to parents and caregivers to ensure cognitive, language, and motor development in young children. Advocacy efforts must address the fact that allowing young children to spend excessive time viewing television can be developmentally detrimental.