“Thine is the Kingdom,the Power,and the Glory”: New Vistas for the Theology of the Cross

Abstract : This article examines fifteen recent books on a theology of the cross in the English language. Following the publication of Moltmann's The Crucified God and Hall's Lighten Our Darkness in the 1970s, unprecedented interest has been devoted to a theology of the cross in theological literature. The author categorizes this literature into four types: exegetical and historical treatments, critiques of theologies of glory, challenges to the abuse of power, and signals of the coming of God's kingdom. Two hypotheses are ventured regarding the emergence of these works at this time: 1) they evidence a theological response to the enormity of human suffering brought into awareness in an age of instant electronic communication; and 2) the urgent concern for the poor and the cry for social justice, which emerged with liberation theologies, are now finding expression through advocates for the theology of the cross.     

Ecstasy Use,Outcome Expectancies,and Sexual Risk Taking

Ecstasy has become one of the most widely used illicit drugs in Australia. This study investigated outcome expectancies as possible motivating and maintaining factors in ecstasy use and sexual risk‐taking behaviour. A sample of regular ecstasy users (N = 220) from Sydney and Canberra, Australia, was recruited for structured face‐to‐face interviews. They also completed an Ecstasy Expectancy Questionnaire. Seven of eight subscales significantly differentiated regular users from non‐users. Interestingly, light and heavier users held similar outcome expectancies, except that light users endorsed items on the sexual enhancement subscale more strongly than heavier users. Further investigation showed that the level of sexual risk taking observed in this sample was high, with the majority of participants reporting multiple partners, “casual” sexual encounters, sex under the influence of substances, and inconsistent condom use. Using logistic regression analyses, a key finding was that positive sex‐related ecstasy outcome expectancies were associated with involvement in disinhibited sexual behaviour under the influence of ecstasy. These effects persisted after statistically controlling for the frequency of ecstasy use. The findings suggest that sexual risk taking is related not only to the disinhibiting properties of ecstasy but also to beliefs that users hold about the effects of the drug.     

Preference for gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in current users

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a drug with significant abuse potential. The present study aimed to assess the relative value of escalating doses of GHB to current GHB users via the Multiple Choice Procedure (MCP), and to validate that the dose rated highest with the MCP would be self-administered at a greater rate than placebo. Participants were 5 current GHB users who were not currently trying to stop using GHB. To examine the value of escalating doses of GHB, the following doses of GHB were used: 0 (placebo), 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50 mg/kg. Participants typically assigned higher doses of GHB had higher crossover points on the MCP. During choice sessions, participants made repeated choices between administering GHB, placebo or nothing. All participants selected GHB exclusively (5 out of 5 instances) except for one participant who selected GHB on 4 out of 5 instances, thus 96% (i.e., 24/25) of choices were for active GHB. Based on these data, GHB appears likely to function as a dose-dependent reinforcer for humans based on our sample.     

Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence

Extensive work has documented an association between sustaining intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol/drug abuse among women, yet little research has documented the same association in men, even though men comprise 25–50% of all IPV victims in a given year. This study investigates the associations among sustaining IPV and alcohol/drug abuse among both a clinical and community sample of men. The clinical sample is comprised of 302 men who sustained intimate terrorism—a form of IPV that is characterized by much violence and controlling behavior—from their female partners and sought help. The community sample is composed of 520 men, 16% of whom sustained common couple violence, a lower level of more minor reciprocal IPV. Analyses showed that among both groups of men who sustained IPV, the prevalence and frequency of alcohol/drug abuse was significantly higher than in men who did not sustain IPV. However, a dose–response relationship between sustaining IPV and alcohol/drug abuse was found only among men in the community sample. Path modeling showed that, for the community sample, the best fitting models were ones that showed that the alcohol/drug abuse predicted IPV victimization, an association that was fully mediated by their use of IPV. Aggr. Behav. 38:31‐46, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Weak etiologic links between control and the externalizing behaviors delinquency and substance abuse in adolescence

Impulsive/disinhibitory personality traits have consistently been associated with externalizing symptomatology such as delinquency and substance use problems, often starting in adolescence. Yet the etiological nature of this co-occurrence is not well understood. Using a classic twin study design with self-report data from 717 male and female twin pairs, aged 15–18 years, a hierarchical psychometric model was examined. In this model the shared variance and etiological structure between control, delinquency and substance abuse symptoms, was modeled through a common externalizing factor. Model fitting indicated that the genetic and environmental influences differed in strength between male and female adolescents. The heritability of the externalizing factor was 45% in males and 10% in females, though neither was statistically different from zero. A statistically significant influence of shared environmental factors was seen for both sexes, 21% in males and 54% in females. In both sexes, the externalizing factor accounted for little variance in control, indicating a weak association and little shared etiology with externalizing liability. These results illuminate further that facets of impulsivity are differentially associated with vulnerability for externalizing symptomatology.     

Multiple forms of child abuse and neglect: adult retrospective reports

There are few research reports of the experience of multiple forms of child abuse and neglect (multi-type maltreatment). A critical review is presented of 29 studies in which adult retrospective reports of more than one form of child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, or witnessing family violence) are assessed. Empirical investigations of the extent and impact of multi-type maltreatment are identified. Data on the relationship between the different forms of maltreatment and the adjustment problems associated with each type of maltreatment are critiqued. As well as using dichotomous measures of maltreatment, an important methodological problem was the failure of researchers to assess all child maltreatment types, the relationship between multi-type maltreatment and adjustment, and the role of variables influencing the occurrence or impact of maltreatment. Considerable overlap was found in the occurrence of maltreatment types. The compounding or interacting effects of experiencing multi-type maltreatment were ignored in many studies. Where an assessment was made of the specific impact of multi-type maltreatment, it was associated with greater impairment than single forms of abuse or neglect. A multi-dimensional approach to prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect is required in which children's vulnerability to multi-type maltreatment is addressed.     

A “Wife’s Duty” and Social Suffering: Sexual Assault in Marital Relationships in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Sexual assault in marital relationships tends to be somewhat neglected in Vietnam compared to other forms of domestic violence. This relative neglect does not occur because of a lack of concern for abused women among Vietnamese people. Rather, it is due to structural barriers, cultural assumptions and stigma associated with sexuality, sexual violence, domestic violence, and secrecy, or misunderstanding on the part of many abused Vietnamese women. Yet, these women confront a variety of emotional, bodily, and social assaults from their husbands. Suffering is commonly expressed by abused Vietnamese women as they narrate their experiences of the violence. Abused women express their suffering as bodily and emotional pain, shame, frustration, disorientation, and social marginalization. Contemporary marital sexual violence and domestic violence more broadly in Vietnam are linked to the state’s emergent political and economic goals, as well as gender and kinship ideologies drawn upon in support of these goals. These processes have resulted in abused women experiencing social suffering derived from intersecting Vietnamese state, cultural, and social forces. I suggest institutional practices, and non-supportive perspectives and approaches of some professionals and state employees assisting abused women, have made addressing marital sexual violence a difficult and painful process, as well as an additional source of suffering. Second, layered upon these structural and cultural barriers has been the neglect by some professionals of intersecting inequalities based on gender, class, and disability. Third, some institutions in Vietnam provide more effective and beneficial assistance to abused women, making the process of acquiring assistance complex.     

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