Sexual Health Education in OB-Gyn Residencies—The Program Directors’ Survey

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate U.S. obstetrics-gynecology (OB-Gyn) program Director appraisal of resident physician female sexual health training. Methods: An OB-Gyn resident sexual health curriculum survey was developed and sent to 237?U.S. OB-Gyn program directors. University/military programs were compared to community-based programs. Results: 115 OB-Gyn residency program directors responded (48.5% participation); 37.9% university/military and 43.2% community OB-Gyn Program Directors appraise the resident curriculum as “not well” preparing residents to manage sexual health therapies upon graduation. Topics not sufficiently covered include human sex trafficking, sexual health for women with disabilities, and cultural competency. Conclusions: This study identifies opportunities in OB-Gyn residency female sexual health education.     

PERCEPTIONS OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION: COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES AND COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES

ABSTRACT

In the mid-1990s, the Jacob Wetterling Act and Megan's Law were passed, respectively, formalizing the practice of registering sex offenders in publicly accessible, state-wide databases. The laws were passed in an effort to prevent recidivism of sex offenders and to promote community awareness of convicted sex offenders living in communities. However, the creation of these registries have led to numerous unforeseen collateral consequences for offenders. In qualitative in-depth interviews with registered sex offenders in Jefferson County, Kentucky, respondents reported experiencing difficulties with employment and relationships, instances of harassment, stigmatization, and persistent feelings of vulnerability, all of which they believed were attributable to their status as registered sex offenders. The collateral consequences reported by sex offenders are consistent with those reported for felons in past research. However, the extent to which sex offenders experienced these consequences appears to be greater and more intense.     

Incarcerated Dutch juvenile sex offenders compared with non-sex offenders

There is some debate about whether or not sex offenders are similar to non-sex offenders with regard to family background (parental characteristics), personality, and psychopathology. The central aim of this study focused on the comparison of juvenile sex offenders and non-sex offenders. The sample consisted of incarcerated juvenile male sex (n = 30) and non-sex (n = 368) offenders. It appeared that sex offenders resembled non-sex offenders with respect to most of the offender and parental characteristics. Results demonstrated some differences between both groups, while the majority of characteristics were similar. Limitations of the study are discussed, especially the low number of sex offenders, followed by suggestions for further research.     

The Vanishing Military Veteran: A Postmodern Disappearance of the Hero

This article brings a postmodern philosophical perspective on the impact of U.S. media, cyber-technology, and the loss of the veteran hero in our current day American culture. Societal ambivalence, media depersonalization, and techno-war tactics along with the collusion of institutional under-responsiveness contribute to the metaphorical and real disappearance, or lack of recognition, and alienation of the veteran and his or her behavioral health needs. This phenomenon also speaks to the denial of community and governmental responsibility that in fact, we all as a society, share toward returning service members in helping them to reintegrate into civilian life with renewed sense of hope, health, dignity, and identity.     

Suffering in the Shadows: Interviews with Wives of Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or Traumatic Brain Injury

The body of research examining issues confronting combat veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars continues to grow. However, this research focuses primarily upon veterans with very less attention given to the challenges confronting their spouses. Using a semi-structured interview methodology and a feminist perspective, this study examines what it means to be a wife of a combat veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our findings indicate these women—who experience tremendous emotional, financial, and social challenges that arise from being the caregiver for their husbands—feel isolated from and abandoned by both the military community and the civilian community. Furthermore, the social and emotional disconnection of these women experience amplify the stresses they confront in daily life—stresses that are unique to their relationship to being with a combat veteran spouse who has PTSD and/or TBI. We argue future research should build upon this exploratory study to better understand how both the military community and the civilian community impact the subjectivity of these women and their efforts to reintegrate themselves and their families into civilian life.     

Registration,Residency Restrictions,and Community Notification: A Social Capital Perspective on the Isolation of Registered Sex Offenders in Our Communities

This article highlights the importance of social capital for registered sex offenders who are reintegrating back into their communities. Although not always identified among community corrections, the sex offender registry creates a punitive atmosphere that diminishes the amount of available social capital for all involved—community members, sex offenders, and the government. Lost social capital contributes to recidivism, reentry problems, and mental health issues among registered sex offenders. We argue that deterrent and protective features of the sex offender registry are overemphasized and the goal of reintegration has been undermined. The loss of social capital exacerbates (1) the minimization of trust, (2) low expectations of rehabilitation and reentry, (3) limited contact and information from role models, (4) increased access to criminal capital, (5) formal sanctioning power of the registry, and (6) loss of sanctioning power from family and communities. Through this in-depth analysis, we argue that the current state of the registry system harms the social capital of all involved when a sex offense occurs—not just the offender—and we assess directions for future practices, as well as policy implications.     

Empathy, intimacy, loneliness and locus of control in child sex offenders: a comparison between familial and non-familial child sexual offenders

There has been relatively little previous research examining differences between subgroups of child sex offenders. In this study, we compared a group of familial and non-familial child sex offenders attending a community based treatment program on a number of relationship dimensions thought to be important in explaining offending. No statistically significant differences were found between these groups on measures of general empathy, intimacy and loneliness, although non-familial offenders were found to have higher levels of cognitive empathy and a more internal locus of control than familial offenders. These findings are discussed in terms of their possible implications for service delivery.     

Community Reactions to Young People Who Have Sexually Abused and Their Families: A Shotgun Blast,Not a Rifle Shot

Data on 117 young sexual abusers were examined to investigate the nature of community responses to young people's abusive behaviour. A wide range of community responses were found, with stigmatisation, social isolation and collateral damage being common. A contagion effect was noted, with community responses extending over time and across contexts. Some young offenders and their families were attacked and forced out of their homes. In some cases, community responses heightened risk factors. The policy and practice implications of the findings are discussed, including the need for caution about the inclusion of children in policies on community notification of sex offenders.     

Greedy Media: Army Families,Embedded Reporting,and War in Iraq

Abstract

Embedded reporting in Operation Iraqi Freedom provided real-time coverage of soldiers in war that was viewed and read by publics around the globe. Most constituents, such as the military, media, and the larger U. S. public perceived this coverage as positive; however, live television coverage had an intense and uncalculated impact on some U.S. Army wives and others on a military post at the individual, community, and institutional levels. This study provides a qualitative perspective on U.S. Army wives (N = 23) and their children on a military post whose soldiers deployed in the earliest phase of the war in Iraq in 2003. Live coverage created three types of viewing for Army wives and their children—compulsive, controlled, and constrained—and hastened use of other types of communication media. Live coverage also contributed to the expansion of the traditional definition of the military family and extended the reach of the Family Readiness Groups and the role of the Rear Detachment Command. We argue for an extension of Mady Segal's “greedy institution” application to the military family to include the mass media—specifically live television coverage of war.     

Female sex offenders: a comparison of solo offenders and co-offenders

Even though much of the prior sex offender literature focuses on males, recent research has included females as offenders. Such research, however, has been limited by small sample sizes. Several researchers have proposed typologies of female sex offenders that include both females who act alone (i.e., solo offenders) and females who act with another person (i.e., co-offenders), often a male. The current research includes a cross-national sample of 123 females who were solo offenders and 104 who were co-offenders. It was found that the two groups of females were not significantly different in regard to their age, race, time of offense, and the location of the offense. Co-offenders were more likely than solo offenders to have more than one victim, to have both male and female victims, to be related to the victim, and to have a nonsexual offense in addition to the sexual offense listed.     

Toward an Integrated Theoretical Model of Risk Factors for Post-Deployment PTSD and its Implications for Justice-Involved Veterans

At present, very little knowledge exists about individual differences in susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after combat trauma. Two differing perspectives have emerged. Some researchers maintain that a distinct linear dose-response relationship exists between the severity of combat trauma and the later development of PTSD. Conversely, others have questioned whether differential exposure to combat alone is sufficient to explain differences in the prevalence of post-deployment PTSD. This debate has implications for military veteran offenders who suffer from PTSD. In this paper, I propose a cumulative stress model that posits that it is the particular combination of psychosocial factors and combat exposure that interact to predict the likelihood of developing and maintaining PTSD after deployment. Therefore, PTSD influences post-deployment offending and antisocial behavior through this mechanism. Finally, this paper will discuss implications for criminal justice policy and practice.     

Female Veterans: Navigating Two Identities

Female veterans differ from their male veteran counterparts in terms of ratio of men to women, minority status, economic status, and age. In 2014, female veterans totaled over 2 million; roughly 10% of the veteran population. In addition to balancing personal and professional responsibilities, many female veterans also have to adjust to and cope with the physical and/or mental health conditions they experience post-deployment. The extent to which female veterans succeed in transitioning back to civilian life post-deployment may be determined by biological, psychological, and social factors within their home and community. Circumstances that can support or hinder female veterans’ reintegration process include: (a) availability of gender-specific Veterans Affairs policies and services; (b) access to education and employment; (c) supports specific to mental health and/or military sexual trauma; and (d) social stigmas associated with being a female veteran. Along with other healthcare professionals, social workers have an obligation to promote social justice, and to empower underprivileged populations, including female veterans, whose needs may differ from male veterans and require specific expertise and knowledge.     

Brain Abnormalities and Violent Behavior

Abstract

Introduction: It is difficult to rationally discuss the question of whether violent behaviour is a disorder because violent actions engender very strong emotional reactions in the public. But there are good reasons to believe that a variety of social and biological factors predispose the individual toward criminal behaviour. This study concerns the question, whether there is an association between violent behaviour and brain abnormalities.

Method: Ninety-six mentally ill offenders of a high security prison consecutively underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (MRI). The number of sex offenders was 62.5%. Fourteen offenders were excluded because they had a neurological disease, a psychotic disorder, a severe organic mental disorder or they were older than 60 years. All scan reports were in narrative format, and they were reviewed and coded according to presence or absence of brain abnormality. Neuroradiologists were blind to clinical diagnoses and offence history. Offenders were distributed either to a “high violent group” or to a “no or low violent group.” There was no significant difference in age between both groups.

Results: In the included sample (n = 82; 50 sex offenders) 48.8% had MRI abnormalities. In the high violent group 65.5% showed MRI abnormalities. In the low violent group 16.6% had MRI abnormalities. This difference is significant (p = 0.001). The high violent sex offender group showed a MRI abnormality rate of 59.4%, and the low violent sex offender group 22.2%. The difference is significant (p = 0.011). There is no significant difference in MRI abnormality rate between the sex offender and the “non sex offender.”

Conclusions: The results indicate that there is an association between unspecified brain anomalies and high violent behaviour in the whole sample as well as in the sex offender group. There is no association between sexual offence and unspecified brain abnormalities. Modern brain imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging should be included in the diagnostic procedure of mentally ill offenders.     

Heterosocial competence of rapists and child molesters: A meta‐analysis

A meta‐analysis of 119 effect sizes from 14 papers examined the heterosocial competence of sex offenders. Rapists had significantly lower heterosocial competence than non‐sex‐offenders, but this effect was relatively small. Rapists in prison differed from non‐sex‐offenders who were not in prison; however, they did not differ from non‐sex‐offending prisoners. When unreliable measures were excluded from the analysis, nonincarcerated students and other volunteers who reported committing rape did not differ from nonincarcerated non‐sex‐offenders. The difference in heterosocial competence between child molesters and non‐sex‐offenders was significantly larger than the difference between rapists and non‐sex‐offenders. Also, child molesters had significantly less heterosocial competence than rapists. Findings clarify the relationship between heterosocial competence, rape, and child sexual abuse. Implications for the research and treatment of sex offenders are discussed.     

LAST OF THE DINOSAURS? BIG WEAPONS,BIG SCIENCE,AND THE AMERICAN STATE FROM HIROSHIMA TO THE END OF THE COLD WAR

This article examines the origins and recent crises in linkages between big science, big weapons, and the U.S. state during and after the cold war. We examine the sources of legitimacy of military dominance of U.S. research and development (R&D) in the first decades of the cold war and argue that the exigencies of a nuclear arms race between two superpowers gave the military an unprecedented peacetime claim on science and technology resources. We argue that economic crises, political challenges by peace movements, and technological exhaustion of the nuclear arms race in the 1980s weakened military claims to science and technology leadership, but that the 1991 Persian Gulf war deflected what might have been a major shift in U.S. R&D priorities. We conclude by examining U.S. post-cold war R&D policy and find that military priorities remain preeminent.     

利益、信息与偏好:美军与安巴尔部落镇压叛乱的代理人战争

2006年至2008年,美军与伊拉克安巴尔部落在打击“伊拉克伊斯兰国”的过程中发展出代理关系。本文尝试从利益、信息与偏好三个维度来观察和理解美军与当地部落之间复杂的互动关系。在美军与当地部落的互动过程中,双方之间的利益匹配脆弱,在未受到“伊拉克伊斯兰国”威胁和美军持续激励的情况下,当地部落几乎不会遵从美军的偏好行事,这一潜在分歧在“伊拉克伊斯兰国”被严重削弱后逐渐凸显;当地部落拥有非对称信息优势,致使美军对部落的自主行为缺乏有效监督;安巴尔部落之间存在的偏好异质问题,阻碍了它们设置代理议程并采取集体行动。总体上看,双方的合作仍采用应急反应策略,尚未形成以长远利益为基础的稳固代理关系。     

Advantages of Group Therapy for Adolescent Participants in the Same Gang Rape

This paper deals with the issue of including in the same therapeutic group in a prison setting two (or more) young people who participated in the same gang rape. We provide a background for group therapy with adolescent sex offenders and point out the characteristics of group rape. In addition, we describe the uniqueness of working in a prison as opposed to working in the community or other settings outside the home. Characteristics of adolescent sex offenders and the group process provide a rationale against the inclusion in the same therapeutic group of two youths who committed a rape together. However, our observations during eight years of clinical experience and research in the prison clarify why it can and should be done.     

Veteran Status,Race‐Ethnicity,and Marriage Among Fragile Families

We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,679 ) to examine the impact of men's past military service on the likelihood that a couple will marry within 5 years of a nonmarital birth. Logistic regression analyses showed that men's past military service increased marriage odds by 54% for couples with Black fathers even after controlling for potential mediators. But veteran status had no effect on couples with White or Hispanic fathers. As a result, the large Black‐White gap in postbirth marriage evident among couples with civilian fathers did not exist among couples with veteran fathers. Our findings bolster other evidence that military service exerts lasting and unique pro‐marriage effects on Blacks.