Framing the Problem of Sex Trafficking

News media play an important role in explaining the issue of sex trafficking and may influence discourse among the public and policymakers. Understanding the ways that mass media address sex trafficking has implications for the news industry and the global status of women. This study, a quantitative content analysis, analyzed news coverage of sex trafficking in major US newspapers to understand how the issue was framed during a year of coverage. Using Entman's typology to classify the function of frames, the study focused on how news coverage defined the problem of sex trafficking and identified the remedy. The study found that news coverage of trafficking was overwhelmingly framed as a crime issue (episodic not thematic) and proposed no remedies. Most news coverage favored official sources. Survivors of trafficking and their advocates were the least heard-from sources. The authors argue ultimately that if media are to fulfill their watchdog role where trafficking is concerned, a wider range of news frames and sources is needed.     

A method for diagnosing and planning the treatment of adolescent drug abusers (the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis [ADAD] instrument)

There is a need for a diagnostic method and an instrument appropriate for adolescent drug abuse clients, that permits the assignment of clients to the most appropriate treatment setting, provides the basis for individualized treatment planning, and facilitates comparability across research studies. The development of the Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD), a 150-item instrument with a structured interview format, modeled after the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) (which is for adults), is described. The ADAD produces a broad-spectrum comprehensive evaluation of the client, the interviewer's ten-point severity ratings, and composite scores for each of nine life problem areas that are often relevant to the treatment needs of adolescent drug abuse clients. A series of validity and reliability tests are described. The characteristics of the standardization sample (N = 1,042), and the comparison of the characteristics of the three subsamples (outpatient, residential or non-hospital, and inpatient) are also presented.     

HOW TRADING INSTITUTIONS AFFECT FINANCIAL MARKET PERFORMANCE: SOME LABORATORY EVIDENCE

The effects of trading institutions on market efficiency and trading volume are examined. The trading institutions are computerized versions of continuous double auction and "clearinghouse" markets. Traders are experienced, profit-motivated undergraduates. The traded good is a financial asset whose monetary value is state- and trader type-contingent. Traders possess asymmetric private information on asset value. The results show that clearinghouse markets are as informationally efficient as double auction markets and almost as allocationally efficient; the double auction encourages greater trading volume but the clearinghouse provides greater depth; public orderflow information enhances double auction performance but impairs clearinghouse performance.     

THE EFFECTS OF ENDORSEMENTS ON PRODUCT EVALUATION

This paper examines the effect of product endorsement claims on a consumer's decision making processes. A simulated endorsement claim was made for a product after which a consumer was presented with the product. Endorsements tested were the three most common types in use: celebrity, expert, and typical consumer, with two control groups for experimental design. Three scales of measurement were used to assess the effect of the endorsement: a consumer's intent to purchase, his overall attitude towards the product, and his expected price of the product. The results show the strength of celebrity and typical consumer endorsers. They also show that the endorser effect is dramatically weaker than hypothesized. The Lavidge-Steiner hierarchy of advertising effects model is introduced in an attempt to explain this phenomenon. Guidelines for further research are provided.     

Profiles of behavioral problems in children who witness domestic violence

Unlike previous investigations of shelter-based samples, our study examined whether profiles of adjustment problems occurred in a community-program-based sample of 175 school-aged children exposed to domestic violence. Cluster analysis revealed three stable profiles/clusters. The largest cluster (69%) consisted of children below clinical thresholds for any internalizing or externalizing problem. Children in the next largest cluster (18%) were characterized as having externalizing problems with or without internalizing problems. The smallest cluster (13%) consisted of children with internalizing problems only. Comparison across demographic and violence characteristics revealed that the profiles differed by child gender, mother's education, child's lifetime exposure to violence, and aspects of the event precipitating contact with the community program. Clinical and future research implications of study findings are discussed.