Diverting multi-problem youth from juvenile justice: investigating the importance of community influence on placement and recidivism

In the U.S., diversion has increasingly become one of the most utilized alternatives to detention of delinquent youth. Programs providing diversion can vary greatly. Variations in program design make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of program outcomes. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, this study examines variations in outcome for ten program sites of the New York State MH/JJ Diversion Project. Program and youth predictors were evaluated on two outcomes: out-of- community placement and recidivism. At the individual level, significant mental health and substance abuse problems, age, prior placements, and use of wraparound funds were predictive of youth placements, while significant substance abuse problems were predictive of recidivism. Program variations were found to have a significant impact on youth outcomes. Specifically, sites providing direct (or "in house") care had significantly reduced rates of placement. Study results and implications for future research are discussed.     

Framing divorce reform: media, morality, and the politics of family

No-fault statutes changed divorce from an adversarial system pitting victims against victimizers, with the state acting as enforcer of marital norms, to a private decision between unhappily married but legally blameless partners. Divorce reform following no-fault primarily focused on making divorce more fair for the parties involved. Over the last several decades, divorce reform has transitioned from making divorce better to making marriage healthier. The good divorce has slipped from policy attention, elevating the potential for restigmatization of divorced couples and their children. We trace the trajectory of media framing of divorce reform discourse in three general circulation newspapers from the start of the no-fault revolution, noting how media framing parallels and naturalizes the transition in divorce reform policy. We conclude by observing the prevalence of divorce and the related need for therapists to be cognizant of this naturalization process, thereby keeping the good divorce as a goal for those who desire to end their marriages.     

The simplicity of politicians' personalities across political context: An anomalous replication

Modern politics is becoming increasingly personalized. The personal qualities of political candidates, in fact, account for a considerable amount of the variance in the candidate preference of voters, often more than the political issues in their electoral programs. Despite the emphasis that both the media and campaign leaders place on the ways in which the personalities of politicians are portrayed, people tend to view the personalities of politicians in remarkably simple ways. Here we show that, although people tend to use five personality dimensions to characterize their own personalities, they rely upon only two dimensions to characterize the personalities of politicians. This finding holds across countries (i.e., Italy and the US), and across political figures (i.e., Prodi and Berlusconi in Italy, and Bush and Kerry in the US). The two factors obtained from evaluations of Prodi, Berlusconi, and Kerry were respectively a blend of Energy/Extraversion and Openness and a blend of Friendliness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability. The two factors obtained from evaluations of the US president, though, were respectively a blend of Openness, Conscientiousness, and Friendliness, and a blend of Energy/Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Friendliness. Thus, the present study is novel in suggesting that while the personalities of politicians may be reduced by voters, they are not always reduced to the same basic factors. Alternative explanations of this “simplification effect” are discussed.     

The Moderating Effects of Justice on the Relationship Between Organizational Politics and Workplace Attitudes

Research suggests that perceptions of organizational politics consistently result in negative outcomes for individuals. In the current study, distributive and procedural justice are explored for their effects on the relationships between perceptions of organizational politics and turnover intentions and job satisfaction. We tested these relationships in a sample of 311 employees of a water management district. Results indicated the politics––turnover intentions and politics––job satisfaction relationships were weaker when perceptions of both forms of justice are high. Further, and potentially more interestingly, politics mattered the most when the distribution of outcomes was unfair (distributive justice) as opposed to when procedures were unfair (procedural justice). Implications for future research and management practice are discussed.     

“Cuts in Action”: A High‐Density EEG Study Investigating the Neural Correlates of Different Editing Techniques in Film

In spite of their striking differences with real‐life perception, films are perceived and understood without effort. Cognitive film theory attributes this to the system of continuity editing, a system of editing guidelines outlining the effect of different cuts and edits on spectators. A major principle in this framework is the 180° rule, a rule recommendation that, to avoid spectators’ attention to the editing, two edited shots of the same event or action should not be filmed from angles differing in a way that expectations of spatial continuity are strongly violated. In the present study, we used high‐density EEG to explore the neural underpinnings of this rule. In particular, our analysis shows that cuts and edits in general elicit early ERP component indicating the registration of syntactic violations as known from language, music, and action processing. However, continuity edits and cuts‐across the line differ from each other regarding later components likely to be indicating the differences in spatial remapping as well as in the degree of conscious awareness of one's own perception. Interestingly, a time–frequency analysis of the occipital alpha rhythm did not support the hypothesis that such differences in processing routes are mainly linked to visual attention. On the contrary, our study found specific modulations of the central mu rhythm ERD as an indicator of sensorimotor activity, suggesting that sensorimotor networks might play an important role. We think that these findings shed new light on current discussions about the role of attention and embodied perception in film perception and should be considered when explaining spectators’ different experience of different kinds of cuts.     

Emergent Powers

Topoi - I shall introduce at the beginning of the paper a characterization of strong ontological emergence. According to it, roughly, something strongly emerges from some other thing(s) iff the...     

Balancing Act: Career and Family During College-Educated Women’s 30s

We assessed career, marriage, and motherhood expectations of 118 White Women and 82 Women of Color in 1993, when they were seniors at five northeastern U.S. colleges. Sixteen years later, in 2009, 77.5 % responded to our survey and answered questions about their career, marriage, motherhood, attitudes, and life satisfaction outcomes. As seniors, they wanted it all, career, marriage, and motherhood. In 2009, nearly two thirds were employed full time, 91 % had married, nearly three quarters were mothers, and about 57 % were combining full-time employment and motherhood. Comparisons are made among three role-status outcome groups: Have It All (mothers, employed full time); Traditional (mothers, employed part time or not at all), and Employed Only (childfree, employed full time). Educational level of the women did not predict role status. Spouses’ educational level relative to the women’s predicted role status, with Have It All women more likely to be married to less educated spouses than Traditional or Employed Only women. The role-status groups did not differ in their attitudes toward women in general, but Have It All mothers had lower levels of employment-related concerns about separation from their children than Traditional mothers. Most of the women still wanted to have it all. Many Traditional women looked forward to returning to employment, and many of the Employed Only women wanted to have children. Being a mother was associated with higher life satisfaction than being childfree. Results are discussed in terms of multiple-role theory and the positive influence of having family roles in the mix.     

Emergency Department Youth Patients With Suicidal Ideation or Attempts: Predicting Suicide Attempts Through 18 Months of Follow‐Up

This prospective study of suicidal emergency department (ED) patients (ages 10–18) examined the timing, cumulative probability, and predictors of suicide attempts through 18 months of follow‐up. The cumulative probability of attempts was as follows: .15 at 6 months, .22 at 1 year, and .24 by 18 months. One attempt was fatal, yielding a death rate of .006. Significant predictors of suicide attempt risk included a suicide attempt at ED presentation (vs. suicidal ideation only), nonsuicidal self‐injurious behavior, and low levels of delinquent symptoms. Results underscore the importance of both prior suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self‐harm as risk indicators for future and potentially lethal suicide attempts.     

Personal values and political activism: A cross‐national study

Using data from 28 countries in four continents, the present research addresses the question of how basic values may account for political activism. Study (N = 35,116) analyses data from representative samples in 20 countries that responded to the 21‐item version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ‐21) in the European Social Survey. Study (N = 7,773) analyses data from adult samples in six of the same countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, and United Kingdom) and eight other countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States) that completed the full 40‐item PVQ. Across both studies, political activism relates positively to self‐transcendence and openness to change values, especially to universalism and autonomy of thought, a subtype of self‐direction. Political activism relates negatively to conservation values, especially to conformity and personal security. National differences in the strength of the associations between individual values and political activism are linked to level of democratization.