“I’m Not a Pimp,but I Play One on TV”: The Moral Career and Identity Negotiations of Third Parties in the Sex Industry

Goffman described the moral career of stigmatized persons as a process by which an individual acquires a stigmatized identity. His analysis, which assumes that individuals recognize and adopt the normative framing of their behavior, glosses over individual identity negotiations. Drawing on 50 interviews with sex industry third parties, this article examines stereotype consciousness—defined as the interactional processes that lead individuals to recognize that they have a discreditable identity. We explore how participants negotiate their identities in response to the social and legal constructions of pimps, procurers, and traffickers, and examine their resistance to the stigmatizing stereotypes that characterize their work.     

The association of antidepressant and statin use with death and incident cardiovascular disease varies by depression severity

Depression has been reported to be associated with a greater risk of death and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the impact of antidepressants (ADM) on CVD risk remains controversial. Statin use is known to decrease CVD risk. Whether the use of these medications together affects CVD risk has not been studied. Patients (N = 26,828) completing the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), ≥40 years of age, without prior CVD, and no prior ADM use were studied. Depressive severity was categorized as none-mild (PHQ-9 score ≤14, n = 21,517) and moderate-severe (PHQ-9 score ≥15, n = 5311). Cox hazard regression was used to evaluate the association of no ADM/no statin use (n = 23,104 [86.1%]), ADM/no statin use (n = 877 [3.3%]), no ADM/statin use (n = 2627 [9.8%]), and ADM/statin use (n = 220 [.8%]) with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: death, CAD, stroke). Patients averaged 56 ± 12 years; 61% female. There were 1182 (4.4%) 3 year MACE events. The association of ADM and statin use with MACE varied by depressive symptom severity, with statin therapy associated with a decreased risk in the none-mild group (HR = .78, p = .007) and ADM in the moderate-high group (HR = 0.58, p = 0.02). Concomitant use of ADMs and statins did not appear to provide additive benefit.     

Relationship Contexts as Sources of Socialization: An Exploration of Intimate Partner Violence Experiences of Economically Disadvantaged African American Adolescents

Intimate partner violence (IPV) among African Americans is a serious public health concern. Research suggest that African Americans adolescents, particularly those from economically disadvantaged communities, are at heightened risk for experiencing and perpetrating dating violence compared to youth from other racial and ethnic groups. In the present study, we examined different relationship contexts that are sources of IPV socialization. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 economically disadvantaged African American adolescents. Content analysis yielded five relationship contexts through which the participants witnessed, experienced, and perpetrated IPV: (a) adolescents’ own dating relationships (64%), (b) siblings and extended family members (e.g., cousins, aunts, uncles) (59%), (c) parent-partners (27%), (d) friends (23%), and (e) neighbors (18%). Adolescents also frequently described IPV in their own dating relationships and in parent-partner relationships as mutual. Moreover, they appeared to minimize the experience of IPV in their own relationships. Efforts to reduce rates of IPV among economically disadvantaged African American adolescents should consider these relational contexts through which adolescents are socialized with regards to IPV and adolescents’ beliefs about mutual violence in relationships. Results highlight the importance of culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs that consider these relationship contexts.     

Identifying reading strategies using latent semantic analysis: Comparing semantic benchmarks

We explored methods of using latent semantic analysis (LSA) to identify reading strategies in students’ self-explanations that are collected as part of a Web-based reading trainer. In this study, college students self-explained scientific texts, one sentence at a time. LSA was used to measure the similarity between the self-explanations andsemantic benchmarks (groups of words and sentences that together represent reading strategies). Three types of semantic benchmarks were compared: content words, exemplars, and strategies. Discriminant analyses were used to classify global and specific reading strategies using the LSA cosines. All benchmarks contributed to the classification of general reading strategies, but the exemplars did the best in distinguishing subtle semantic differences between reading strategies. Pragmatic and theoretical concerns of using LSA are discussed.     

Restraint stress and corticotropin releasing hormone modulation of murine cutaneous POMC mRNA

The skin is a unique immunological defense barrier that protects the organism from occupational and environmental exposures and provides a model system in which to evaluate the interaction of the central nervous system with the peripheral immune response. In the studies presented here, we tested mild, acute restraint stress activation of the cutaneous corticotropin releasing hormone-pro-opiomelanocortin (CRH-POMC) axis. We verified that 2 h restraint stress increased the serum concentration of corticosterone and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone. We report for the first time that CRH upregulates POMC mRNA expression in mouse skin in vitro. We also demonstrated, by RT-PCR, that 2,4 di-nitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) upregulates cutaneous POMC mRNA expression, the production of which is suppressed by restraint stress. These data confirm the presence and functionality of two hormones of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in the skin and suggest that activation of the central hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis may over ride activation of the cutaneous CRH-POMC mechanism in the development of DNFB-stimulated allergic contact dermatitis.     

The interpersonal measure of psychopathy: construct and incremental validity in male prisoners

The authors examined the construct and incremental validity of the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P), a relatively new instrument designed to detect interpersonal behaviors associated with psychopathy. Observers of videotaped Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) interviews rated male prisoners (N = 93) on the IM-P. The IM-P correlated significantly with the PCL-R total score. Moreover, the IM-P was preferentially related to the interpersonal rather than the affective and antisocial lifestyle features of psychopathy. IM-P scores were significantly correlated with age, antisocial behaviors, and self-reported fear, anxiety, and socialization (in reverse). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that although the IM-P exhibited incremental validity beyond the PCL-R total score in detecting self-reported fear, anxiety, and several personality traits, it did not exhibit much incremental validity beyond PCL-R Factor 1. These findings raise questions concerning the unique assessment contribution of the IM-P beyond PCL-R Factor 1. Potential reasons for these findings and alternative means of enhancing the interpersonal assessment of psychopathy are discussed.     

Test-retest reliability of standard and emotional stroop tasks: an investigation of color-word and picture-word versions

Previous studies have examined the reliability of scores derived from various Stroop tasks. However, few studies have compared reliability of more recently developed Stroop variants such as emotional Stroop tasks to standard versions of the Stroop. The current study developed four different single-stimulus Stroop tasks and compared test-retest reliabilities. The four Stroop tasks included two standard Stroop tasks (color-word and picture-word) as well as two emotional Stroop tasks (color-word and picture-word). The four Stroop tasks were administered on two occasions, separated by 1 week, to 28 undergraduate students. Test-retest reliability coefficients were high for standard and emotional Stroop tasks when reliability was measured using response latencies alone. However, test-retest coefficients were unacceptably low when reliability estimates were calculated using difference scores. The findings have important implications for clinical and experimental use of standard and emotional Stroop tasks.     

Factor analyses of the DIB-R in adolescents

The goal of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R; Zanarini, Gunderson, Franckenburg, & Chauncey, 1989) in a nonpatient sample of 118 adolescents. A principal components factor analysis with a Varimax rotation extracted three factors. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that this three-factor model provided an adequate fit. The first factor, which included depression, anxiety, helplessness/hopelessness, loneliness/emptiness, and also encompassed odd thinking/unusual perceptive experiences and quasi-psychotic experiences, appeared to be centered on painful feelings and dissociative defense. The second factor, labeled "impulsivity," consisted of impulse action patterns, counterdependency, and stormy relationships. This factor seemed to be centered on defensive acting-out. The third factor, called "aggressiveness," consisted of anger, hypomania, devaluation/manipulation/sadism, and demand/entitlement, and might express manic/narcissistic defenses. These analyses suggest that there may be homogeneous components of borderline symptomatology in adolescents that may reflect affective disturbances and defensive mechanisms.