Confronting abusers: the opinions of clinicians and survivors

Confrontation of an abuser is often regarded as a powerful process in clinical work with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This paper explores direct and symbolic forms of survivors confronting their abusers via a review of the current literature and the self-report of 12 female survivors, post-therapy. Six of the survivors had chosen to directly confront their abusers and six had not. Their experiences and opinions are presented together with a discussion of important issues within this area and the need for further research.     

What Do Children Know About Sex?

A review of literature with two tables showing responses to sex differentiation cues and methods of childbirth. The article concludes with a brief annotated bibliography.     

Self-reported drinking-game participation of incoming college students

Drinking games are associated with excess alcohol use and alcohol-related problems, yet it is unclear whether they are unique to the college environment or whether students come to college familiar with such games. The authors queried 1,252 students attending voluntary summer orientation programs about their experiences with drinking games. A majority (63%) indicated they had played drinking games and viewed them as a means to get drunk quickly and to socialize, control others, or get someone else drunk. Logistic regression analyses revealed that familiarity with drinking situations was associated with a greater likelihood of playing drinking games. Students who reported drinking more frequently and consuming greater quantities of alcohol than others, having lifetime marijuana use, and initiating alcohol consumption between the ages of 14 and 16 years were significantly more likely to have participated in drinking games. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering students' participation in drinking games when campus officials address alcohol use.     

Pediatrics: The emerging psychosocial challenges of the AIDS epidemic

HIV has a pervasive and profound effect on the psychological, social and neuropsychological functioning of infected infants, children and their families. This article discusses direct and indirect psychological manifestations of HIV in children. Direct effects are the outcome of the virus acting on the central nervous system and can result in compromised cognitive, language, motor, socio-emotional and motivational functioning. Indirect effects involve psychological responses to the stress of living with a life threatening illness, the social ostracism, disruption in life goals and undergoing frequent invasive and protracted medical procedures. A major focus of this article is to outline and describe a model comprehensive psychosocial support system developed within the Pediatric Branch of the National Cancer Institute. This includes early intervention issues and strategies for working with families during the introductory phase of the treatment program that also provides the framework for a care management approach, salient mental health problems that frequently occur in this group, and appropriate interventions for individuals and families. Attention is also given to dealing with anticipatory loss and bereavement, implementing traditional innovative intervention techniques, and for providing advocacy services concerning possible legal, financial, housing, and educational issues.     

The sexually experienced woman: Multiple sex partners and sexual satisfaction

It has been suggested that women who have had more than one sex partner differ from those who have had only one, both in their background and in their current functioning (in the forms of attitudes, partner interaction, sexual satisfaction, desired changes in their sex life, and other behaviors). To explore these issues, we distributed a questionnaire to a sample of 868 nurses located in 15 states. For most variables, there were no significant differences among those with only one lifetime partner, those with few (2-5) partners, and those with many (6 or more) partners. Those with more partners did report having intercourse earlier, reaching orgasm earlier, and pretending to reach orgasm more often. Those with many partners indicated their partners more often delayed orgasm until after their own first orgasm. They also expressed more concern about a lack of interest in and a lack of adequate foreplay by their partners. Those women with a few partners expressed the least psychological sexual satisfaction (79%).     

Prevalence of snoring in college students

Snoring in college students may be the earliest presentation of adult sleep-disordered breathing, yet the literature contains few studies that demonstrate its effects on learning or whether early diagnosis leads to interruption of disease progression or prevention of comorbidities. OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors conducted this study in January-April 2004 to assess the prevalence of snoring in college students (N = 2,200). METHODS: They developed a questionnaire on sleep behaviors and distributed it to 18- to 25-year-old undergraduates at a California university. RESULTS: Almost one-third (30%) of participants reported snoring. The prevalence of snoring was higher among men than women (42% and 25%, respectively). The prevalence of self-reported snoring was highest in Asian students (37%). CONCLUSIONS: Snoring is highly prevalent in college students; prevalence is higher in men than women, correlates with body mass index, and varies by ethnicity.     

Social Citizenship Rights and the Welfare Circle Dilemma: Attitudinal Findings of Two Chinese Societies

This paper places social citizenship momentum into the context of squaring the welfare circle for examination. Citizenship is a powerful world-level organizing principle especially by the minority groups for their claim of equal treatment. The squaring of welfare circle refers to the need of the governments to constrain their budgets but also meet the rising demands from and needs of their people. This comparative study looks at the attitudinal findings of two Chinese societies of Hong Kong and Taiwan to see whether or not the cultural factor can mitigate the momentum of social citizenship rights and the demand side of the welfare circle. Implications for social policy are also discussed.     

East meets West: internist also practices acupuncture

Meet Col. Arnyce Pock, a Western-trained internist who made several trips to China to study the ancient art of acupuncture.     

The Service Provider and Medication Usage Grids: A New Method to Measure “Treatment as Usual” (TAU)

This article reviews the creation and evaluation of two instruments that measure “treatment as usual” (TAU) in a clinical research setting. The Service Provider and Medication Usage Grids were developed to assess children’s past and current utilization of mental health services and medications. A pilot study revealed that compared to information gathered from other sources, these instruments provide an accurate method to assess, record, and track TAU in clinical studies. In addition, these instruments provide a clear and concise way to organize this information and do not require much time to administer. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.