Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior: Community Violence, Cognitive, and Behavioral Predictors Among Urban African American Youth

We use longitudinal multilevel modeling to test how exposure to community violence and cognitive and behavioral factors contribute to the development of aggressive and prosocial behaviors. Specifically, we examine predictors of self-, peer-, and teacher-reported aggressive and prosocial behavior among 266 urban, African American early adolescents. We examine lagged, within-person, between-person, and protective effects across 2 years. In general, results suggest that higher levels of violence exposure and aggressive beliefs are associated with more aggressive and less prosocial peer-reported behavior, whereas greater self-efficacy to resolve conflict peacefully is associated with less aggression across reporters and more teacher-reported prosocial behavior. Greater knowledge and violence prevention skills are associated with fewer aggressive and more prosocial teacher-reported behaviors. Results also suggest that greater self-efficacy and lower impulsivity have protective effects for youth reporting higher levels of exposure to community violence, in terms of teacher-reported aggressive behavior and peer-reported prosocial behavior. Differences among reporters and models are discussed, as well as implications for intervention.     

Revising the Communication Mediation Model for a New Political Communication Ecology

A long tradition of research focuses on conversation as a key catalyst for community integration and a focal mediator of media influence on participation. Changes in media systems, political environments, and electoral campaigning demand that these influences, and the communication mediation model, be revised to account for the growing convergence of media and conversation, heightened partisan polarization, and deepening social contentiousness in media politics. We propose a revised communication mediation model that continues to emphasize the centrality of face‐to‐face and online talk in democratic life, while considering how mediational and self‐reflective processes that encourage civic engagement and campaign participation might also erode institutional legitimacy, foster distrust and partisan divergence, disrupting democratic functioning as a consequence of a new communication ecology.     

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF INFANT INTERSEX: THE JURIDICO‐ETHICAL DILEMMA OF CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC LEGAL RESPONSE

Technological advances in the field of medicine and health sciences not only manipulate the normal human body and sex but also provide for surgical and hormonal management of hermaphroditism (intersexuality). Consequently, sex assignment surgery has not only become a standard care for babies born with genital abnormalities in the West but even in some Muslim states. On the positive side, it goes a long way in saving children born with abnormal genitalia from numerous legal interdictions of the pre‐sex corrective surgery. Nevertheless, the larger ethical and legal questions that medical management of genital abnormality raises to some extent have not been adequately appreciated by contemporary Muslim responses. This article, therefore, in principle argues against surgical management of intersexuality during early infancy from the Islamic legal perspective.     

Ritual Male Infant Circumcision and Human Rights

Opponents of male circumcision have increasingly used human rights positions to articulate their viewpoint. We characterize the meaning of the term “human rights.” We discuss these human rights arguments with special attention to the claims of rights to an open future and to bodily integrity. We offer a three-part test under which a parental decision might be considered an unacceptable violation of a child's right. The test considers the impact of the practice on society, the impact of the practice on the individual, and the likelihood of adverse impact. Infant circumcision is permissible under this test. We conclude that infant circumcision may be proscribed as violating local norms, even though it does not violate human rights.     

The Experience of Being a Qualified Female BME Clinical Psychologist in a National Health Service: An Interpretative Phenomenological and Repertory Grid Analysis

This study explores the lived experience of black and minority ethnic (BME) clinical psychologists employed in the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). A mixed method qualitative approach was employed using repertory grids and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Six female BME clinical psychologists took part. Four master themes emerged from the analysis, including standing out as different, negotiating cultural and professional values, sitting with uncertainty, and feeling proud to be a clinical psychologist. The repertory grid analysis supported these findings and enriched the study. Implications of the study are discussed—namely, the importance of the profession increasing the cultural competency and sensitivity of its members as well as becoming more diverse.     

Comprehension of direct and indirect sarcastic remarks in children and adolescents with Tourette’s syndrome

Previous research has reported that aspects of social cognition such as nonliteral language comprehension are impaired in adults with Tourette’s syndrome (TS), but little is known about social cognition in children and adolescents with TS. The present study aims to evaluate a measure of sarcasm comprehension suitable for use with children and adolescents (Experiment 1), and to examine sarcasm comprehension in children and adolescents with TS-alone or TS and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, the measure of sarcasm comprehension was found to be sensitive to differences in nonliteral language comprehension for typically-developing children aged 10 to 11 years old compared to children aged 8 to 9 years old; the older group performed significantly better on the comprehension of scenarios ending with either direct or indirect sarcastic remarks, whereas the two age groups did not differ on the comprehension of scenarios ending with sincere remarks. In Experiment 2, both the TS-alone and TS+ADHD groups performed below the level of the control participants on the comprehension of indirect sarcasm items but not on the comprehension of direct sarcasm items and sincere items. Those with TS+ADHD also performed below the level of the control participants on measures of interference control and fluency. The findings are discussed with reference to the possible contribution of executive functioning and mentalizing to the patterns of performance.     

Sleep and Attachment in Preterm Infants

Infants born preterm are at elevated risk for socioemotional difficulties; however, factors contributing to this risk are largely understudied. Within the present study, we explored infant sleep as a biosocial factor that may play a role in infant socioemotional development. Within a prospective longitudinal design, we examined parent‐reported sleep patterns and observed parenting quality as predictors of infant–mother attachment in 171 infants born preterm. Using structural equation modeling, we examined main effect and moderator models linking infant sleep patterns and parenting with attachment security. Sleep patterns characterized by more daytime sleep and positive/responsive parenting predicted infant attachment security. Parent‐reported nighttime sleep patterns were unrelated to attachment in this sample of infants born preterm. These results indicate that daytime sleep and parenting quality may be important for emerging attachment relationships in infants born preterm.     

Report of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs: professionalism in the use of social media

Although many physicians have been using the internet for both clinical and social purposes for years, recently concerns have been raised regarding blurred boundaries of the profession as a whole. In both the news media and medical literature, physicians have noted there are unanswered questions in these areas, and that professional self-regulation is needed. This report discusses the ethical implications of physicians' nonclinical use of the internet, including the use of social networking sites, blogs, and other means to post content online. It does not address the clinical use of the internet, such as telemedicine, e-prescribing, online clinical consultations, health-related websites, use of electronic media for clinical collaboration, and e-mailing patients (some of which are already covered in the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics).