PTSD and the Vietnam veteran: the battle for treatment

1. Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often encounter treatment that is complicated by professional bias, personal issues, countertransference, and pathological staff dynamics. 2. Treatment is further complicated by diagnostic confusion, the dual diagnoses of substance abuse or depression, and symptoms that mimic personality disorders or psychosis. 3. The special circumstances of the Vietnam conflict that contributed to the susceptibility and etiology of PTSD are the individual characteristics of those who served, the special nature of the war itself and the military strategies used, and the psychosocial and cultural milieu in which it occurred.     

Research in family financial counseling

Domains of family financial counseling research are proposed in order to establish criteria for assessing research needs in this relatively new field. Identification of the research domains implies progress for an emerging profession. A survey of the family financial counseling research to date is reported. Results of research in several domains are shown to demonstrate how results from empirical studies can contribute to the theory and practice of family financial counseling.Research conducted under the auspices of Agricultural Experiment Station Research Project 01803, Family Economic Problems and Resource Management.Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907. Her Ph.D. was received from Purdue. Current research interests include income adequacy, economic security, financial problems, and financial counseling.     

The energy and mass balance of Los Angeles County

We conducted an urban “metabolic” study of inputs and outputs of food, water, energy, and pollutants from Los Angeles County, USA. This region has been the subject of recent debate about the nature of population density and distribution as it relates to urban form and associated environmental impacts. We found that with the exception of food imports and wastewater outputs, inputs of resources and outputs of pollutants generally declined on a per capita basis from 1990 to 2000. Reductions likely reflected a combination of changes in public policy, improvements in technology and public infrastructure, and impacts of increases in population density. However, in comparison to other municipalities and urban regions, resource consumption per capita was still relatively high in some categories, particularly inputs of water and transportation energy. Per capita greenhouse gas emissions were lower in Los Angeles County than for the average of the USA as a whole but higher than previous analyses of urban areas internationally, largely due to comparatively high emissions from the transportation sector. Wastewater discharge accounted for less than 40% of water inputs excluding precipitation; however the partitioning of water outputs through other potential losses, specifically evapotranspiration, runoff, and groundwater recharge, remains highly uncertain. We suggest that more detailed information about water losses will greatly improve future mass and energy accounting for analyses of urban environmental sustainability in this semi-arid region.     

Alcohol use among college students: responses to raising the purchase age

On December 1, 1985, New York State raised its alcohol purchase age from 19 to 21. We used a quasi-experimental research design to explore the changes in alcohol use behaviors and attitudes of undergraduates at a large central New York university before and after this legislation was enacted. The overwhelming majority of this undergraduate population is under 21 years old and is thus affected by the new legislation. A comparison of data from the two survey times revealed that 90% of the undergraduates sampled continued to drink at least occasionally. Our analysis of drinking quantity showed a slight moderation in alcohol consumption overall, with the greatest changes occurring for the heaviest drinkers--men and members of Greek organizations. Even with apparent moderation in student drinking, reported negative consequences such as physical injuries were more common. A change in drinking location to less-controlled environments, such as private rooms and unmonitored parties, is offered as one possible explanation.     

Experiences of Women Elite Leaders Doing Gender: Intra‐gender Micro‐violence between Women

This paper responds to the dearth of research into women's negative intra‐gender relations and lack of understanding as to why and how these relations manifest. Through a qualitative study of women elite leaders' experiences in UK organizations, the research considers how gendered contexts, women doing gender well and differently simultaneously, intra‐gender competition and female misogyny may explain negative intra‐gender social relations between women. We consider micro‐aggression research and women's abjection and offer a unique conceptualization of intra‐gender micro‐violence with themes of disassociating, suppression of opportunity and abject appearance. The themes illustrate how the masculine symbolic order shapes and constrains women elite leaders' social relations with other women. We conclude that raising consciousness to intra‐gender micro‐violence between women is important as a means of disruption; to facilitate women and men's acceptance of intra‐gender differences between women; and to open up opportunities and possibilities for women in organizations.