Exploring definitions of bullying among personality disordered patients in a maximum‐secure hospital

The current study explored the perceptions of staff and patients concerning how patient‐to‐patient bullying should be defined and what behaviours it should include. Participants were randomly selected from the Personality Disorder Unit of a maximum secure hospital. A total of sixty interviews were conducted (30 staff and 30 patients). Problems in attempting to utilise definitions of bullying developed for use in other contexts, i.e., schools, were identified. Patients and staff presented with similar views about how it should be defined: both felt that aggression did not have to be repeated or severe in order to be classed as bullying, that bullying could be accidental, that the power imbalance between perpetrator and victim was not always explicit and, finally, that victims could provoke bullies unintentionally. Indirect (i.e. covert) forms of aggression were less likely to be considered bullying than direct (i.e. overt) forms. A number of differences were found between staff and patients regarding how bullying was conceptualised. Staff were more likely than patients to hold the belief that some patients liked being bullied, and appeared to acknowledge a broader definition of bullying than patients, accounting for a wider range of aggressive behaviours. A number of similarities between the current study and previous prison‐based research were found. The implications of these findings for current research and the value in attending to prison‐based research are highlighted. Aggr. Behav. 00:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Forging a Collaborative Relationship Between the Black Church and the Counseling Profession

In the field of counseling, there has been a growing awareness of the important role the Black church plays in African American communities. Although counseling professionals have begun recognizing the influence the Black church has in the lives of African Americans, there seems to be little information on how counselors can collaborate with African American congregations to meet the mental health needs of African American clients. The authors examine how counselors can use the psychological and social strengths of the Black church. Strategies and implications for collaborating with this institution are also discussed.     

Women,Human Rights,and Counseling: Crossing International Boundaries

As the world becomes more globalized, psychological and counseling issues have become more pronounced. As social justice issues become illuminated on a global scale, there is increased attention to women as identified victims of social injustices and human rights violations. This article examines the role of professional counselors working with women from an international perspective with the intention to heighten awareness and understanding of the interrelationship of global women's issues and effective counseling interventions.     

Putting It on the Line: Telephone Counseling for Adolescent Smokers

Adolescent smokers need cessation help, but the question of how best to intervene remains unanswered. This article describes the empirically validated protocol of an established, well‐utilized adolescent telephone counseling program for smoking cessation, tailored to adolescent developmental needs and shown to increase clients' 6‐month prolonged abstinence rate significantly. Clinical issues addressed include client assessment, motivation, self‐efficacy, familial and social support, planning, coping, relapse‐sensitive call scheduling, and self‐image. Counselor training considerations are also discussed.     

Puerto Rican Gangs: A Historical Overview

This article presents the problem of gangs on the island of Puerto Rico from a historical, economical, and political perspective. Some Puerto Rican historians are convinced that the gang problem in Puerto Rico is due to the political ambiguity and human rights violations of prison inmates (F. Picò, 1998).     

State faith‐based education in Israel: a messianic‐nationalist model of interpretation

This article analyzes the traces and configuration of three syntagmatic interpretation models in the educational text produced by Israel’s state religious educational system: the modus, the hermetic and the gnostic models, which together add up to a fourth, and unique one: the messianic nationalist model of interpretation. This interpretive model has a concrete configuration which, as opposed to similar but secular educational models, uses transcendental motifs in order to pragmatically organize the explanation of ‘reality’. From this point of view the messianic nationalist model presents a case study in religious education, which integrates between modern (i.e., nationalist) and traditional (religious) motifs in a relatively flexible way, situating itself between a fundamentalist religious idiosyncrasy and a secular one. Theoretically and methodologically the article develops the textual analysis of educational texts. The specific analysis presented here assumes that an educational ideological text interprets, and is interpreted constantly by, its producers and its users as well.     

Coercion in Intimate Partner Violence: Toward a New Conceptualization

For decades, battered women’s advocates have placed coercive control squarely at the center of their analysis of intimate partner violence. Yet, little work has been done to conceptualize and measure the key construct of coercive control. In this article, we apply French and Raven’s social power model to a conceptualization of coercive control in intimate partner violence relationships. Central elements of the model include: social ecology; setting the stage; coercion involving a demand and a credible threat for noncompliance; surveillance; delivery of threatened consequences; and the victim’s behavioral and emotional response to coercion. These elements occur in spiraling and overlapping sequences to establish an overall situation of coercive control. The implications of this model for theory and practice are discussed.