Factors predicting recommendations for civil commitment of sexually violent predators under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act

This study investigated the factors considered by forensic examiners when evaluating sexually violent predators (SVP) for civil commitment under Florida's “Jimmy Ryce Act.” The project was funded by a pre-doctoral research grant awarded by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). ^ This study proposed two specific research questions. First, what is the direct relationship between actuarial risk assessment scores and recommendations for sex offender civil commitment? Second, which other variables are likely to influence SVP commitment decisions, and to what degree? The purpose of the study was to determine if risk assessment practices are evidence-based, and whether offenders selected for commitment meet statutory criteria. ^ The purposive sample of 450 SVPs was drawn from the population of sex offenders evaluated for civil commitment in Florida between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001. Data were extracted from SVP evaluations provided by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Using multivariate logistic regression, this correlational research design examined the relationship between the dependent variable, commitment decision, and several sets of independent variables. The independent variables were derived from a review of the literature, and were grouped conceptually according to their degree of correlation with sex offense recidivism. Independent variables included diagnoses, actuarial risk assessment scores, empirically validated static and dynamic risk factors, consensus based risk factors, evaluator characteristics, and demographics. This study investigated the degree to which the identified variables predicted civil commitment decisions. ^ Logistic regression results revealed that the statistically significant predictors of recommendations for sex offender civil commitment were actuarial risk assessment scores, diagnoses of Pedophilia and Paraphilia NOS, psychopathy, younger age of victim, and non-minority race. Discriminant function analysis confirmed that these variables correctly predicted commitment decisions in 90% of cases. ^ It appears that civil commitment evaluators in Florida used empirically-based assessment procedures, and did not make decisions that were heavily influenced by extraneous factors. SVPs recommended for commitment consistently met the criteria set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hendricks v. Kansas (1997): they suffered from a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence, and risk assessment determined that they were likely to reoffend. ^

Ethnic identity, self-esteem and academic factors in second -generation post-1970 Jamaican immigrants

Immigrants from Jamaica represent the largest number of migrants to the United States from the English speaking Caribbean. Research indicates that of all Caribbean immigrants they are most likely to retain the ethnic identity of their home country for the longest period of time. This dissertation explored the nature of ethnic identity and sought to determine its impact upon the additional variables of self-esteem and academic factors. A secondary analysis was carried out using data collected in the Spring of 1992 by Portes and Rumbaut on the children of immigrants attending the eighth and ninth grades in local schools in San Diego and southern Florida. A sample of 151 second-generation Jamaican immigrants was selected from the data set. ^ Six hypotheses yielded mixed results. Both parents who have a Jamaican ethnic identity present in the household are the best predictor Jamaican youth who retain a Jamaican ethnic identity. It was expected that ethnic identity would be a predictor of positive academic factors. The study showed that ethnic identity was not associated with one of the academic factors which were examined: help given with homework. ^ Neither family economic status nor parents' level of education played a significant role in the retention of Jamaican identity. Other findings were that there was no mean difference in the self-esteem scores of respondents who had similar ethnic identities to their parents and those who did not. There was also no difference found in the academic factors of either group. The study also showed that there was a small correlation between parent-child conflict and self-esteem. Specifically, the study found that the higher the conflict between youth and their parents, the lower the self-esteem of the youth. Finally it found that time lived in the U.S. was the best predictor of a higher GPA and it was also related to lower self-esteem. ^ Surprisingly, the study found that the relationship between ethnic identity and SES was the opposite of what was expected in that it found that SES was higher when there was no Jamaican identity. ^

Predictors of client retention in alternative -to -prison substance abuse programs

Increased treatment retention among substance abusing individuals has been associated with reduced drug use, fewer arrests, and decreased unemployment, as well as a reduction in health risk behaviors. This longitudinal study examined the predictors of client retention for alternative to prison substance abuse treatment programs through assessing the roles of motivational factors and the client-worker relationship. The sample was comprised of 141 male felony offenders who were legally mandated to community based long-term residential drug treatment programs. ^ The primary measures used in the study were the consecutive days a participant remained in treatment, Stages of Change Readiness Model and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES), the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), and The Readiness Ruler. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted for four hypotheses (a) participants who are more motivated to change at the time of entry will remain in treatment longer, (b) participants who have a strong therapeutic alliance will remain in treatment a greater number of consecutive days than participants who have weaker therapeutic alliance, (c) motivation to change, as measured at treatment entry, will be positively related to therapeutic alliance, (d) during the course of treatment variation in motivation to change will be predicted by the therapeutic alliance. ^ Results support the following conclusions: Among clients in alternative-to prison programs the number of days in treatment is positively related to their motivation to change. The therapeutic alliance is not a predictor of the number of days in treatment. Motivation to change, particularly recognition of a drug problem, is positively related to the therapeutic alliance. Changes in motivation to change in response to treatment are positively related to the therapeutic alliance among clients in an alternative to prison substance abuse treatment programs. These results carry forward prior research and have implications for social work practice, research, and social welfare policy. ^

Evaluation of a mentored self -help intervention for the management of psychotic symptoms

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be promising for the treatment of individuals experiencing psychotic symptoms, who are often diagnosed with schizophrenia. Using a non-random non-equivalent comparison group design (n = 26), this study explores whether an individually mentored self-help and self-paced intervention based upon cognitive behavioral approaches to auditory hallucinations or "hearing voices" makes a significant positive difference for individuals with major mental disorder diagnoses and psychotic symptoms who are residing in the community and receiving community mental health services. The mentored self-help intervention uses a workbook (Coleman & Smith, 1997) that stemmed from the British psychiatric survivor and "voice hearers"' movements and from cognitive behavioral approaches to treating psychotic symptoms. Thirty individuals entered the study. Pre- and post-intervention assessments of 15 participants in the intervention group and 11 participants in the comparison group were carried out using standardized instruments, including the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Hoosier Assurance Plan Inventory - Adult. Four specific research questions address whether levels of self-esteem, overall psychotic symptoms, depression-anxiety, and disruption in life improved in the intervention group, relative to the comparison group. Pre- and post-assessment scores were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results showed no significant difference on any measure, with the exception of the Brief Psychiatric Rating subscale for Anxious Depression, which showed a statistically significant pre-post difference with a strong effect size. A conservative interpretation of this single positive result is that it is due to chance. An alternative interpretation is that the mentored self-help intervention made an actual improvement in the level of depression-anxiety experienced by participants. If so, this is particularly important given high levels of depression and suicide among individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. This alternative interpretation supports further research on the intervention utilized in this study. ^

Influence of gender and life stressors on longitudinal depression treatment outcomes among older primary care patients

Purpose: Depression in older females is a significant and growing problem. Females who experience life stressors across the life span are at higher risk for developing problems with depression than their male counterparts. The primary aim of this study was (a) to examine gender-specific differences in the correlates of depression in older primary care patients based on baseline and longitudinal analyses; and (b) to examine the longitudinal effect of biopsychosocial risk factors on depression treatment outcomes in different models of behavioral healthcare (i.e., integrated care and enhanced referral). Method: This study used a quantitative secondary data analysis with longitudinal data from the Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for Elderly (PRISM-E) study. A linear mixed model approach to hierarchical linear modeling was used for analysis using baseline assessment, and follow-up from three-month and six-month. Results: For participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder female gender was associated with increased depression severity at six-month compared to males at six-month. Further, the interaction between gender and life stressors found that females who reported loss of family and friends, family issues, money issues, medical illness was related to higher depression severity compared to males whereas lack of activities was related to lower depression severity among females compared to males. Conclusion: These findings suggest that gender moderated the relationship between specific life stressors and depression severity similar to how a protective factor can impact a person's response to a problem and reduce the negative impact of a risk factor on a problem outcome. Therefore, life stressors may be a reliable predictor of depression for both females and males in either behavioral health treatment model. This study concluded that life stressors influence males basic comfort, stability, and survival whereas life stressors influence females' development, personal growth, and happiness; therefore, life stressors may be a useful component to include in gender-based screening and assessment tools for depression. ^

Ações de cuidado nas relações intrageracionais em crianças em acolhimento institucional

According to the Statute of Children and Adolescents (1990) children and adolescents are conceived as subjects of rights, with absolute priority and development peculiar condition. Thus, if these rights were violated or threatened, will be applied protection measures. Within these measures, in that Statute, the foster institutional is proposed, with transitional and exceptional character. When the child goes out from family and community life, and she is upheld in an institution, the child is placed in a new development context, therefore, with new people, new places, and new relationships. According with Socio-Historical Psychology, theoretical support of this study, each context presents specific demands of socialization that influence child development and her subjectivity is constituted through the relations that the subject establishes in each context. These contexts bring challenges and proposals for the child and she needs to respond these. Then, whereas he is in relation to the other, in this moment, the subject is constituted, the interactions established during the foster institutional will be of paramount importance to the child. Among these interactions, we can cite situations involving aspects of moral development, specifically those that can ask (or not) the exercise of the virtues. About the intersection between these actions can then arise care actions beyond those involving the attending of an emerging need. The objective of this study is to investigate the presence of relation everyday permeated by care actions among children in foster institutional. For the scope of the objective three children were participated, with three years old and in foster care measure. The research is qualitative and the procedure for building the corpus was, mainly, the participant observation. Procedures with video and history in books were also used as supplementary procedures. The analysis of the corpus was made through Thematic Content Analysis, the episodes were grouped into analysis categories pre-and post-established. The preestablished were care actions related to body care, care actions related to socio affective aspects, and care actions related to body care and socio affective aspects simultaneously. The two post-established categories were dismemberment of the preceding categories, called care actions developed in child-child interaction, without the intervention of an adult, and care actions developed in child-child interaction, with direct intervention of the educator. The analysis indicated that in the everyday interaction between foster children, they identify the physical and emotional needs of each other foster member, and they are willing to help them in whatever way they can, emphasizing the importance of play and playful moments like mediators about these interactions. The care actions observed are based on children´s concepts and interpretations made from their experiences and largely refer to maternal care. The condition of being away from their family life can be an element that enables these actions. Finally, this study reaffirms the importance of designing the foster institution as a socialization and care space. It follows the importance of valuing and strengthening the positive aspects that arise in the relationships established by the children in this context, including the care actions, the research objective, which are components of the subjectivity of these children

Do discurso da resistência à resistência do discurso: as construções identitárias de Mossoró nos enunciados da literatura de cordel

This study has as objective to investigate the identity constructions of Mossoró, at the statements of the string literature. Having as thread the episode of resistance of the city against the group of Lampião at June the thirteenth of nineteen twenty seven, our study built itself at the statements present in nine strings, produced between the space-time of 1927 and 2007, year that Mossoró celebrated eighty years of the episode. Aware that the theme extrapolated the limits of the means of communication of the time and it became part of the everyday of the people from Mossoró, producing at the collective memory the image of a resistance city at the street’s names, at companies’ names, at radios’ names with the “FM Resistance”, at the discourses of the politicians, at the city hall which name is “Palace of the Resistance”, the central question that guides our investigation congregates the discussion around the dialogical relations done at the statements about the theme in vogue. This bias, the research elected as categories of analysis the concept of social voices and chronology, considering that the different identities are produced according to placements made by the subjects, as well as, by the context of production. Admitted at the area of Applied Linguistics (AL) and its line language and pratic of social the research articulates the theorizations provided from the area of Cultural Studies (especially regarding identity) with the theoretical framework of the bakhitinian Circle (regarding the social-historical conception of language and in its dialogical character). The results indicate that even existing an axiological movement around the representations of Mossoró and of the episode of 1927, the statements of the strings converge to a hegemonic discourse, corroborating with the identity profile of resistance transported over eighty decades

“Eu quero ver se a justiça vai funcionar mesmo”: a resolubilidade dos casos de abuso sexual contra crianças e adolescentes no município de Natal/RN

This study presents the issue of Children and Youth sexual violence from a critical eye in assessing the actions of the organs of defense and protection in cases of sexual abuse against children and adolescents in the city of Natal / RN. We aimed to perform this evaluation from the investigation of 05 cases of child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse that were answered by Precinct Specializing in Defense of Children and Adolescents (DCA), considering the service flow of cases, the articulation between the organs that make up System Warranty rights (SGD), the record of the complaint, as well as the elapsed time between the record of the complaint and the accountability of the offender. Thus, the present study consists in an analysis from the quantitative and qualitative theoretical-methodological approach assuming 'sexual violence in their social, historical, cultural, legal and economic dimensions. The route established between the knowledge about the object and the method of analysis involved: literature about the conceptual discussion on sexual violence, analyzing quantitative data provided by DCA, as well as semi-structured interviews with victims and those responsible for the professionals working in institutions of the defense agencies. Is apprehended in this study that the situations of violence against children is a multifaceted phenomenon that has expressions from ancient societies, assuming a peculiarity in contemporary society to consider the juvenile population as subjects of rights. Furthermore, it was possible to identify the lack of effectiveness, with respect to the actions of the organs of defense in intervention situations of sexual abuse now investigated as yet not actually configure a process of articulation between these bodies from the perspective of ensuring rights and break the cycle of violence.

O Estado e o Associativismo Profissional e Sindical dos Assistentes Sociais em Portugal: trajetória e perspetivas atuais

Este estudo exploratório, de caráter descritivo, tem como objetivos compreender a relação do Estado com a organização profissional dos assistentes sociais nas diferentes conjunturas sócio-históricas da trajetória da profissão; conhecer o contributo do associativismo sindical e profissional para a organização dos assistentes sociais em Portugal; caraterizar as diversas formas de associativismo profissional e sindical dos profissionais de Serviço Social e compreender a importância da regulação profissional para a categoria. Na trajetória do Serviço Social no nosso país, identificámos várias estruturas associativas desde os anos 50 do século XX. Apesar dessa diversidade ao nível da organização profissional, nos últimos anos tem sido o projeto de constituição da ordem o que tem congregado os profissionais de Serviço Social, embora de forma fragmentada. Em Portugal não existe um estatuto jurídico de regulação da profissão de assistente social, sendo do interesse dos profissionais, utentes e sociedade que o mesmo seja efetivado. A criação de uma ordem profissional poderá vir a fortalecer o trabalho dos profissionais de Serviço Social, bem como proteger e regulamentar o exercício profissional e a formação académica. Com a erosão do Estado Social, as relações de trabalho tendem a ser desregulamentadas e flexibilizadas, subsistindo a precariedade e o desemprego. O enfrentamento a estas questões por parte do movimento associativo é ténue e a sua não articulação fragiliza a proteção dos profissionais, como indiciam a subsistente ausência da constituição da ordem profissional e a extinção do Sindicato Nacional de Profissionais de Serviço Social, apesar do ressurgimento do associativismo sindical durante o presente ano (2013). As condições atuais diferem das existentes aquando do processo de obtenção da licenciatura e estruturação e implementação das carreiras profissionais de Serviço Social que potenciaram e galvanizaram os assistentes sociais. A categoria profissional apresenta-se desmobilizada e com pouco poder reivindicativo, e as associações profissionais e sindicais vivem com constrangimentos financeiros, funcionando em regime de voluntariado, o que denota a insipiência da sua estrutura organizativa. A atual conjuntura justificaria uma maior convergência, debate e processos de resistência por parte das estruturas associativas face ao agravamento de políticas baseadas na austeridade, que têm reflexos no mercado de trabalho, formação e organização profissional. Parece justificar-se a existência de estratégias articuladas com maior clareza sobre o projeto para a categoria, apostando num debate que se faça com os seus diversos intervenientes. Desta forma, o associativismo poderá constituir uma alavanca que confira maior dinamismo às suas estruturas organizacionais, maior visibilidade e presença pública da categoria, mas também uma maior solidez das suas organizações, que não sendo corporativas ou elitistas, salientem o primado da ética do serviço sobre a ética do ganho. / This descriptive exploratory study aims to understand the relationship between the State and the professional organisation of the social workers in the different social-historical situations of the profession course; to know the contribute of the unions and professional membership drive to the organisation of the social workers in Portugal; to characterise the several ways of the social workers’ professional and union membership drive and to understand the importance of the professional regulation for the area. In the Social Service trajectory in our country, we have identified several associative structures since the 1950s. Despite this diversity concerning the professional organisation, the project of constituting the professional order has been responsible for the social workers’ congregation in the past years, although in a fragmented way. In Portugal, there is not a legal status of regulation of the social workers’ profession, and it is of the interest of the professionals, users and society that this may be brought about. The creation of a professional order may strengthen the activity of the social workers, as well as it may protect and regulate the profession exercise and the university education. With the Social State’s erosion, the work relationships tend to be deregulated and softened, persisting the job insecurity and the unemployment. The associative movement does not strongly face these issues, and its non-articulation weakens the professionals’ protection, as the permanent absence of the professional order creation and the extinction of the National Social Workers Union show, despite the reappearance of the union membership drive during the present year (2013). The current conditions are not equal to the ones existent in the process of obtaining the university degree and the structuring and implementing of professional careers in the Social Service area, which have strengthened and galvanised the social workers. The professional category is not mobilised and it has few claimable power; the professional and unions’ associations live with financial problems, functioning in a volunteering regime, which shows the insipience of its organisation structure. The current situation would justify a bigger convergence, debate and resistance processes on behalf of the associative structures regarding the worsening of policies based on austerity – this has consequences in the work market, training and professional organisation. It seems to be pertinent the existence of strategies articulated in a clearer way about the project for this professional area, investing in a debate among its several participants. Therefore, the professional membership drive may constitute a lever that can give more dynamism to its organisational structures, a bigger visibility and public presence of the area, but also a stronger solidity in its organisations which, being not corporative or elitist, may highlight the service’s ethics over the profit’s ethics.

What Drives Parental Concerns about their 18-Month-Olds at Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Preliminary Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the ACL Scale: Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, Reliability, and Validity

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Práticas sócio-ambientais no espaço escolar: uma reflexão sobre a percepção dos usuários de duas escolas do ensino fundamental em João Pessoa, Paraíba

In the social-historical moment we live in, it is each time more evident the necessity of the people to learn to deal with the environment in conscientious way, taking care of themselves properly through it. In this direction, considering the school as a place where children, young and adolescents spend great part of their time, this work had as objective to examine the perception of school environment for students, professors and employees of two schools in João Pessoa city - Centro Estadual Experimental de Ensino-Aprendizagem Sesquicentenário and Escola Estadual de Ensino Fundamental e Médio Presidente Emílio Garrastazu Médici (Experimental State Center of Learning-teaching Sesquicentenário and Basic and High State School Education Emilio Garrastazu Médici President). From the presupposed that the environments in which and with which people live reflect their daily practices, the field work searched to identify the social-environmental practices that characterize the relation of these users with the school and, from this understanding, to infer some of their concerns regarding the environment as a whole. To analyze the use of the available physical space in the two institutions it was opted the use of the After-Occupation Evaluation, one of the approaches that feed the process of building production or built set, rescuing aspects related to its use, operation and maintenance. Besides analyzing diverse school environments (such as classroom circulations/accesses, library, pedagogical and sportive spaces) in relation to the environmental comfort and the perceptions of the main users of the schools (pupils, professors and employees), the dissertation tried to inquire the care (ambient education) of these users with the school space. In general, it was verified that the two schools have evaluations and perceptions really different for four reasons: (i) management of the schools; (ii) the users perception; (III) localization of schools and (IV) feeling of place, territoriality and appropriation

Rezeptions- und produktionsorientiertes Lernen in mediengestützten kollaborativen Szenarien

Jede Lernumgebung muss ein Gleichgewicht von drei Anforderungen sicherstellen: Inhaltsvermittlung, Förderung von Aktivitäten der Studierenden und Unterstützung von lern- und arbeitsbezogenen Interaktionen. Auf dem Hintergrund von Ansätzen zu Task-Technology-Fit und zu Prozessverlusten bei Gruppenleistung wird ein Workflow-basiertes Modell einer Lern- und Arbeitsumgebung für kooperatives und kollaboratives Lernen und Arbeiten in der Psychologie und den empirischen Sozialwissenschaften zur Erreichung dieser Ziele vorgelegt. Es wird gezeigt, wie rezeptionsorientierte Lernvorgänge, die durch Lernprogramme angeregt werden, durch Funktionalitäten von Kooperation ergänzt werden können. Ferner wird gezeigt, wie produktionsorientierte Lernvorgänge durch kollaborative Lernprojekte gefördert werden können, welche die Lern- und Arbeitsschritte in einer studentischen Arbeitsgruppe unterstützen. Die Nutzung eines geteilten Arbeitsbereichs sowohl für Aktivitäten im Lernprogramm als auch im Lernprojekt werden diskutiert.(DIPF/Orig.)

Vietnamese masculinities in lê thi diem thúy's The gangster we are all looking for

The defeat of South Vietnam in 1975 transformed Vietnamese men into fleeing refugees, boat people, and state-sponsored asylees. Writing against the popular and scholarly representations of Vietnamese refugee men as incapacitated objects of rescue, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the intimate, insightful, and intense portrayal of Vietnamese masculinities in lê thi diem thúy’s novel, The Gangster We Are All Looking For. Focusing on the “sad and broken” father in the novel, the article conceptualizes his bouts of domestic violence neither as a private family matter nor an example of individual failing, but as a social, historical, and transnational affair that exposes the conditions—war, urban neglect, poverty—under which Vietnamese masculinity is continually produced, negotiated and transformed.

Aprendizagem de um gênero de discurso e de atividade de autoconfrontação em ações de formação docente continuada na educação superior

The objective of this text is to discuss a central question in a doctorate study, in progress, about the learning of the speech genre in self-confrontation situations. This consists of a procedure, which a worker observes your own images, video recorded at the time it performs activities related to their craft; It requests that he comment on what he was doing on the images in order to clarify matters for himself and another - be it a intervenant (simple self-confrontation) or a coworker (crossed self-confrotation). (CLOT, 2008/2010). In the context of this research, the confronted workers are university teachers and students who participate in an action of teacher continuing education. The object of the research is the process of speech genre of learning self-confrontation situation, having as subject a person who conducts self-confrontations training, which initially observed the conduct of dialogues and reflections, and will gradually participating in the self-confrontation activity and becoming also forming another. The theoretical foundations of the research seeks an articulation between sciences such as the Psychology of Labor, the Cultural-historical Psychology and Linguistics. The concepts that are employed come from Clot´s theory of the Psychology of Labor, that is, from the Clinic of Activity and from the activity genre studies (CLOT, 2008/2010); they also come from the Vygotskian theory of human development, with the concepts of thinking and speech (VIGOTSKI, 1934/1998); and from the Bakhtinian dialogic principle (BAKHTIN, 1979/2011). We believe that the formation of the person conducting self-confrontation occurs through learning a gender of speech and a genre of activity.