Guest Editorial: Intimate Partner Violence as a Global Problem: International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives

This editorial introduces the Focus Section on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) as a worldwide problem, which brings together six papers that are truly international and interdisciplinary. They provide insights into IPV from nine different cultures – China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States – from scholars in the fields of psychology, gender studies, political science, and economics. The first three papers look at how widespread the experience of IPV is among different groups of women, examine selected risk factors associated with heightened vulnerability to victimization, and discuss consequences of intimate partner victimization. Another two papers place the problem of IPV in the wider context of societal perceptions and attitudes about victims and perpetrators of IPV in different countries, whereas the last paper examines the role of individual differences in the management of emotions in the escalation or de-escalation of relationship conflict. In combination, the papers highlight the interplay between the macro level of social and cultural norms condoning the use of violence, the micro level of family relations and construction of couple relationships, and the individual level of attitudes and behaviors that precipitate IPV

Alcohol-related sexual assault: A common problem among college students

ABSTRACT. Objective: This article summarizes research on the role of alcohol in college students' sexual assault experiences. Sexual assault is extremely common among college students. At least half of these sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, the vic tim or both. Method: Two research literatures were reviewed: the sexual assault literature and the literature that examines alcohol's effects on ag gressive and sexual behavior. Results: Research suggests that alcohol consumption by the perpetrator and/or the victim increases the likeli hood of acquaintance sexual assault occurring through multiple path ways. Alcohol's psychological, cognitive and motor effects contribute to sexual assault. Conclusions: Although existing research addresses some important questions, there are many gaps. Methodological limi tations of past research are noted, and suggestions are made for future research. In addition, recommendations are made for college prevention programs and policy initiatives. (J. Stud. Alcohol, Supplement No. 14: 118-128, 2002

Modeling the psychological determinants of life quality

Personality and social psychologists have recently focused on a number of issues which life quality researchers have also examined. This study combines these two perspectives on well-being to address the following two questions: (1) To what extent are perceptions of stress, internal and external control, social support, performance, anxiety, and depression determinants of life quality? (2) To what extent are the predictors of different aspects of life quality (affective, cognitive, global, specific domains) similar or different? Data were collected from 675 respondents in a longitudinal study. Respondents were interviewed four times, six weeks apart. Bivariate analyses, stepwise regressions, and structural modeling were used to analyze the data. The modeling results suggested that internal control, social support, and performance caused increased life quality, whereas stress and depression caused decreased life quality. Control by others did not relate to life quality. The positive affect component of life quality related most strongly to ‘positive’ psychological concepts. Similarly, the negative affect component of life quality related most strongly to ‘negative’ psychological concepts. The implications of these findings for future life quality research are described.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43683/1/11205_2004_Article_BF00317657.pd

Implementation and Impact of a Family-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program in Rural Communities

A family-based alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse prevention program was evaluated. The program targeted families with students entering middle or junior high school. The goals of the program were to increase resiliency and protective factors including family cohesion, communication skills, school attachment, peer attachment, and appropriate attitudes about alcohol and tobacco use by adolescents. The Families In Action program is a structured program which includes six 2 1/2 hour sessions, offered once a week for six consecutive weeks to parents and youth. The program was offered to all eligible families in eight rural school districts. Families who chose to participate began the program with lower scores on several protective factors as compared to nonparticipating families. Analysis of covariance controlling for initial differences found several positive effects of program participation at the one year follow-up. The results were strongest for boys. These findings suggest that providing parents and youth with similar communication skills can be an effective approach to substance abuse prevention.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45091/1/10935_2004_Article_423488.pd

Social effects of diazepam use: A longitudinal field study

A longitudinal panel study examined the effects of actual use of diazepam (ValiumR) on subjective reports of life quality, affect, performance, stress, social support, control, coping and other variables related to mental health. Standardized interviews were conducted with 675 persons from the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Based on prescription records, diazepam users and nonusers were selected to represent a variety of sociodemographic characteristics rather than to be a completely random sample. Significant others in work and in personal life were also interviewed. Four interviews took place, one approximately every 6 weeks. Testing for social effects was conducted by within- and accross-person analyses of 367 respondents who reported taking the medication at some time during the study and by comparisons with 308 respondents who did not report taking Valium. Users of Valium tended to take less Valium than prescribed. They also reported consuming less alcohol when using Valium than at other times and less than non-Valium users. Although there was a modest, positive cross-sectional relation between Valium use and distress, numerous multivariate analyses controlling for levels of stress and health indicated no notable effects of Valium use on any of the social or psychological indicators, including anxiety. Several interpretations of the results are examined including the possibility that the effects of Valium use were short-lived rather than long-term and that Valium may have been taken in anticipation of anxiety rather than after its occurrence.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25927/1/0000490.pd

Does Family Structure Matter? A Comparison of Adoptive, Two-Parent Biological, Single-Mother, Stepfather, and Stepmother Households

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74184/1/j.1741-3737.2001.00840.x.pd

Predictors of Early Substance Use Among African American and Caucasian Youth From Urban and Suburban Communities

The deleterious effects of early substance use have been well documented. Past research has produced mixed results regarding the extent to which the profile of risk differs for urban African American and suburban Caucasian youth. Sixth graders from urban (n = 420; 92% African American) and suburban (n = 391; 89% Caucasian) schools in metropolitan Detroit completed surveys at the beginning and end of the school year. More similarities than differences were found in hierarchical multiple regression analyses predicting substance use among these two groups of students. For both groups, peer pressure susceptibility and school commitment were significantly related to substance use. For girls only, participation in after-school activities was negatively associated with substance use. The importance of prevention programs in the transition to middle school is discussed