Prevalence of Sexual Trauma History Using Behaviorally Specific Methods of Assessment in First Year College Students

There are several challenges associated with evaluating the prevalence of sexual trauma, including child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault. The aim of this study was to assess sexual trauma prevalence rates among first year college students (N = 954) using behaviorally specific questions and a more representative recruitment sample that did not rely on self-selection. Participants completed a list of sexual trauma questions, including general questions containing labels such as “rape” or “abuse” as well as behaviorally specific questions that describe specific behaviors that qualify as sexual trauma without labels. Results indicated that 6.7% of the sample reported at least one incident of child sexual abuse, with similar rates for men and women. Women were more likely to report a history of adult sexual assault, which was reported by 12.4% of the total sample. Participants were also more likely to endorse a history of sexual trauma when answering behaviorally specific rather than general “label” questions. Women survivors in particular were more likely than men to identify their experiences as abuse/assault (66.7% versus 21.1% for child sexual abuse), which may help explain prevalence differences between men and women in prior research. Men may be less likely than women to label their experiences as abuse and may be underidentified in sexual trauma research without the use of behaviorally specific questions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the prevalence of sexual trauma is better assessed using behaviorally specific questions and that this is an important topic of study among both men and women.     

Building an Institution Second to None: Dr. Inabel Burns Lindsay—A Social Work Leader in the Academy

ABSTRACT

This article describes Dr. Inabel Burns Lindsay's leadership as the founding dean at Howard University School of Social Work during her 30 years of service from 1937 to 1967. It chronicles her efforts to build the School as well as her efforts to highlight social injustices of the time. Her lifelong efforts promoted the inclusion of African American social workers in the workforce and the need to understand sociocultural factors in working with different ethnic and racial groups. As a female dean, Dr. Lindsay was an avid promoter of social justice and a prolific writer and speaker on the topic. This article introduces the reader to this under-recognized social work pioneer, with emphases on the challenges of her time and her leadership style.     

Development and validation of the Chinese adolescent gambling expectancy scale

Gambling expectancies have been reported to be an important variable in adolescents' gambling behaviours. However, little is known regarding the role of gambling expectancies among Chinese adolescents. This study aimed to identify Chinese adolescents' expectancies for gambling and to evaluate their relation to gambling behaviours. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed which confirmed that a five-factor model was a good fit for the data. The five factors – namely, social benefits, relational costs, material gain, being out of control, and money loss – were revealed. The findings demonstrate the importance of understanding gambling behaviours within specific cultural contexts.     

Violence against psychiatric nurses. An untreated epidemic?

1. Psychiatric nurses frequently are targets of assault by their clients. 2. Psychiatric nurses often experience emotional and physical injuries after being assaulted by their clients. 3. An interaction of individual, social-psychological, interpersonal, situational, and sociocultural factors lead to increased rates of workplace assaults by clients. 4. Nursing staff need to take an active role in preventing violent episodes from occurring.     

Re-thinking accountability in child welfare

This paper observes that PL 96-272 has largely focused on the development of external mechanisms, such as citizen's boards and court reviews, to strengthen accountability in the child welfare system. The paper suggests that we might be reaching the limits of what these mechanisms can accomplish, and that further external regulation might have the unanticipated effects of blurring the lines of accountability and of discouraging skilled workers from entering or staying in the field. Instead, the paper argues for renewed attention to structuring child welfare systems in ways that support skilled casework practice. Only then will real accountability be achieved.     

THE USE OF A BIPOLAR ITEM FORMAT FOR FACES III: A RECONSIDERATION

FACES III, and cohesion, independence, and conflict scales form the Family Assessment Device, the Family Environment Scale and the Structural Family Interaction Scale-Revised were administered to 183 high school seniors and college freshmen. The results of polynomial regression analysis indicate FACES III is a linear measure of cohesion and adaptability. MANOVA findings are used to re-examine the suggestion that a bipolar item format is the only, or best, solution for turnig FACES III into a curvilinear measure of the Circumplex Model.