A new measure of risk-taking in gambling

This study uses a simple metric to assess the degree of risk an individual player takes on while gambling. The player’s average potential gross win per bet placed captures both the amount of money put at risk and the volatility of returns, each of which will be correlated with risk of gambling harm. To illustrate the potential usefulness of this metric, the study analyses individual account data relating to online bets on horse racing. Analysing total stakes, the traditional indicator of risk taking, and applying ordinary least squares regression, the greatest risk takers appear to be males in their mid-fifties. Using the new metric and applying quantile regression to allow a focus on heavier bettors, the highest risk takers are shown as substantially younger, males around 30. Choice of metric and estimation method therefore matter and the approach proposed here could be used by operators to identify which online players take greatest risks.     

The Late-Life Divorced

This study on divorce and the elderly includes a secondary analysis of data taken from Current Population Reports (CPR) and from The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH). Age specific divorce prevalence rates calculated using the CPR, suggests an increase in the proportion of elderly divorced persons over the last 15 years, with the proportion of divorced women being greater than that of divorced men. Findings from the analysis of NSFH data suggests that women were more likely to turn to others for emotional support during separation than were men. Older women were more likely to than older men, The younger were more likely to than the older. Older women had better adjustment scores and overall happiness than did older men.     

Practical Considerations in the Interview and Evaluation of Sexual Offenders

SUMMARY

The evaluation and assessment of sexual offenders is different than any other type of evaluation, and most clinicians are not properly trained to interview this population. This article addresses the clinical and ethical issues particular to the interview, assessment, and evaluation of these types of offenders. It offers both practical information regarding the interview itself, along with an overview of classification systems, paraphilias, and assessment techniques used with this population. In addition, issues related to risk assessment and risk management are also addressed, and an introduction to the use of actuarial risk assessment instruments is provided.     

Sexuality and Contemporary Issues in Black Parenting

Negotiating the burgeoning sexuality of adolescent children is an age-old challenge for parents of every cultural background. Contemporary parents must also manage increasingly sexualized social media that allow children and adolescents to be sexually engaged in unprecedented ways. For Black parents, this quandary is exacerbated by racism and internalized racism-often expressed through the hypersexualization of African American males and females in music, videos, advertising, and popular culture in general. Additionally, as more diversity regarding sexual orientation in African American families emerges, the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) Black adolescents must be addressed This article will outline a conceptual framework for consideration of these issues and make recommendations to assist Black parents in successfully guiding Black adolescents through the development of safe and healthy sexuality.     

The Importance of Domestic Violence-Sensitive Language

Abstract

It is important for judges to accurately convey what they intend when speaking to litigants involved in domestic violence. Language has idiosyncratic meaning to perpetrators and to victims. Therefore, it is imperative that judges know and understand the language of domestic violence and use it properly. This editorial comments on some of the pitfalls of improper use of language, its impact, and suggests some solutions.     

Co-Production,Service Exchange Networks,and Social Capital

ABSTRACT

Much social commentary has been written of late on the loss of mediating structures within communities and the resulting decline in social capital. One way to rebuild these structures is through a model known as co-production, which has been championedby attorney, Edgar Cahn. Co-production provides a vehicle by which community members can exchange services and build reciprocal relationships for mutual benefit. Economic value is accorded these services through a mechanism known as “time dollars.” This paper provides an overview of co-production models and examines the ways in which time dollars can be used to strengthen economic and social capital.     

Trust and Sexual Interaction: The Significance of the Internet on the Sex life and Sexual Risk Behaviors Of Gay and Bisexual Men in Spain

ABSTRACT

This study provides an understanding of the significance of the use of the Internet to find sexual partners, its impact on sexual life, and how it is linked to unprotected sex among gay and bisexual men. A grounded approach was used to analyze interviews with 31 men (aged 19 to 46 years) from Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao/San Sebastián, Spain. The results reveal that the Internet is impacting the form and style of life of many men, and particularly their experience of sexuality. Many men regard their sexual experiences with casual partners met through the Internet as unsatisfactory or frustrating. The men provided several reasons behind the search for sexual partners via the Internet: Some interviewees sought to channel needs other than the sexual (company, affection, stable partner). Trust and assumptions built into the virtual interaction become a key to understanding why some men have unprotected sex with partners met on the Internet.