Retrospective Assessment of Childhood Sexual and Physical Abuse: A Comparison of Scaled and Behaviorally Specific Approaches

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195 undergraduate students recruited from three geographically diverse universities. Agreement was high across the two measures in the classification of victim status (92% and 80% for sexual and physical abuse, respectively). However, the CTQ classified more participants as sexually abused than did the CAMI, whereas the opposite trend was found for physical abuse. For child physical abuse, many participants reporting abusive acts on the CAMI scored below the cut-point for physical abuse on the CTQ. Classifi cation differences for both types of abuse were largely unrelated to demographic factors, socially desirable responding, or self-reported withholding of information. The implications of these results are discussed in light of future research using retrospective methods of assessing childhood abuse

Broad-scale distribution of the winter protozooplankton community in the North Sea.

Protozooplankton (PZP) (here size range: 12–200 μm) are rarely sampled over a broad scale, especially in ecosystem monitoring programs, despite their trophodynamic importance as grazers in the microbial loop and as prey for larger zooplankton and early life stages of fish. In this study we sampled PZP from Dutch, French,German and Norwegian research vessels taking part in the annual ICES coordinated International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS) which provides data on fish stock abundances and status for the entire North Sea. The abundance,biomass, composition and distribution of PZP were examined at 39 stations across the North Sea (from 3.2°W to 7.6°E and 50.5 to 59.8°N) in mid-winter (January–February 2014), a period of the year which is under-investigated so far. Twenty four taxa of dinoflagellates and ciliates were identified. Two groups comprised 89% of the total abundance of PZP: Gymnodinium spp. and other athecate dinoflagellates (68%) and Strombidium spp. and other naked ciliates (21%). The biomass of PZP at each station ranged between 0.08 and 2.4 μg C L−1, which is much lower than that reported for spring or summer (≥100 μg C L−1) in the North Sea. Relatively small-sized (< 40 μm) PZP contributed 46% of the total biomass. No significant spatial pattern in the composition of the PZP community was found, although the total abundance of tintinnids was highest in the southern North Sea, an important over-wintering area for marine fish larvae. Using this fish survey (IBTS) as a sampling platform allowed us to obtain a synoptic view of the PZP community over a large area. The present collaborative effort provides an example of how existing monitoring platforms can be augmented in the future to collect relevant data and potential ecological indicators needed to advance the ecosystem-based approach to managing marine systems.Broad-scale distribution of the winter protozooplankton community in the North Sea.publishedVersio

A Pilot Study of Lay Health Worker Outreach and Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Chinese Americans

The research team recruited eight Chinese American (seven females, one male) lay health workers (LHWs). They received 12 h of training about colorectal cancer (CRC), its screening, and basic health education techniques. Each LHW were asked to recruit ten participants and conduct two educational sessions. Of the 81 participants recruited, 73 had not received colorectal cancer screening. Their mean age was 63.0 years, and 72.6% were women. Knowledge of colorectal cancer, its causes, and its screening increased significantly. Receipt of first colorectal cancer screening test increased from 0.0% at baseline to 55.7% for fecal occult blood tests, 7.1% for sigmoidoscopy, and 7.1% for colonoscopy. LHW outreach is feasible and may be effective in promoting CRC screening among Chinese Americans

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Reliability, validity, and factor structure of the psychological abuse and neglect scales of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI)

The National Research Council (1993), called for the development of clear definitions of neglect and psychological abuse to increase our knowledge base. In order to accomplish this task, psychometrically reliable and valid measures, based on sound theoretical and conceptual frameworks, must be utilized. Towards that end, the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI) was developed. The CAMI is a retrospective self-report measure that assesses adults for multiple forms of child abuse (i.e., sexual, physical, psychological, neglect, witnessing domestic violence). The primary objective of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the CAMI Psychological Abuse and Neglect subscales. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) identified five subcategories that may help to operationalize and define the term psychological abuse. The CAMI Psychological Abuse scale was administered to two different samples and the resulting factor structures were nearly equivalent across the two samples. Represented in the factor structures were items that depict Emotional Responsiveness, Terrorizing/Spurning, Isolating, Demanding/Rigid, and Corrupting parental behaviors. Alpha coefficients were within acceptable limits and results suggested that the factors were internally sound. The results of EFA using the data generated from the CAMI Neglect scale were less clear cut. Several subcategories of neglect were identified in the two samples including Safety Concerns, Basic Needs Neglect, Cleanliness, Medical/Educational Neglect, and Supervisory Neglect. However, results suggested that many of the factors were not internally sound and were difficult to interpret. Operationalizing and defining the subcategories of psychological abuse and neglect will help to disentangling the relationship between these two forms of child abuse and other forms of child maltreatment. Along those lines, clear definitions of all forms of child maltreatment will aid in the development of effective interventions and treatment approaches. Knowing the problematic behavior will help to pinpoint specific targets for change. This also makes clear the value of developing psychometrically sound instruments such as the CAMI so that comprehensive assessments can be accomplished

Reliability and Factor Structure of the Psychological Maltreatment and Neglect Scales of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI)

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Psychological Maltreatment (PM) and Neglect subscales of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI; DiLillo et al., 2010). The CAMI is a retrospective self-report measure that assesses multiple forms of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual, physical, psychological, neglect, exposure to interparental violence) retrospectively from adults. The CAMI’s PM and Neglect subscales were administered to a geo-graphically diverse sample of 400 college students and a sample of 412 newlyweds. Exploratory fac-tor analyses were conducted for each group separately by subscale. Represented in the PM factor structures were items that depict emotional responsiveness, terrorizing/spurning, demanding/rigid, corrupting, and isolating parental behaviors. The Neglect scale included items depicting basic needs, cleanliness, abandonment, monitoring and medical neglect factors. Revised versions of the CAMI PM and Neglect subscales based on the factor analysis are presented

Faculty Publications Bibliography 2003

The works listed here represent the scholarly pursuits and products of the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi faculty & staff during the 2003 calendar year. It is with great pride and gratitude that the Mary and Jeff Bell Library honors their contributions to their fields and presents this bibliography.The works listed here represent the scholarly pursuits and products of the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi faculty & staff during the 2003 calendar year. It is with great pride and gratitude that the Mary and Jeff Bell Library honors their contributions to their fields and presents this bibliography.A reception honoring the Faculty who are listed in this Bibliography has been made possible through the generous support of Dr. Harvey Knull, Associate Vice President of Research & Scholarly Activities. Publication of this Bibliography has been made possible through the Library. Compiled by Richard Graham & Stacey Nash. Design & Layout by Cindy Bates. Display cases by Sarah Sutton & Virginia Buckley

‘Pink is for girls, blue is for boys’ exploring brand gender identity in children’s clothing, a post‐evaluation of British retailer John Lewis

“I think if my girl knew it was gender-neutral, she wouldn’t want it, because she would say ‘well that’s for boys Mum’ and she wants girls’ stuff, just girls’ stuff like all the other little girls”. Brand gender identity has been widely explored within academia and is integral to the way brands engage with their respective gendered target audiences. A brand can be seen to adopt a masculine or feminine personality through a myriad of symbolic and functional representations which play a crucial role in conveying a brand gender identity. Prior research suggests that brands with a strong gender identity (either masculine or feminine) will encourage formidable consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). But what if those gender identities are transforming and those typical personality traits are no longer clear? We are in the midst of a gender revolution, a shifting landscape of gender identity which is equally challenging existing brand gender theory and brand management practice. Since the societal shifts in definitions of gender identities, there has been a rapid rise in the adoption of gender-neutral brands in the apparel industry. Despite this rise in popularity, this field has been relatively un-explored in academia and even-less so within the category of children’s clothing. The existing literature has expressed concerns over the impinging factors that impact gender-neutral brands, specifically marketing complexity and confusing con- sumer proposition. Furthermore, it is not clear within the existing literature how gender-neutral brands combine the masculine and feminine functional attributes in the formation of brand gender identity, or how gender identity and gender stereotypes impact parents' perceptions of gender-neutral childrenswear in the retail environment. Therefore, this explorative research is exceptionally beneficial to practitioners and brand academics based on the growing rise of gender-neutral brands being adopted by the industry. In this paper, we explore brand gender identity in children’s clothing, specifically parent consumer perceptions of gender-neutral brands with the adoption of a specific single study on British retailer John Lewis. This paper is significant because it is valuable to clothing brand strategists planning to adopt gender-neutral approaches, equally this is essential reading for brand management academics as the paper proposes to develop academic thinking on brand gender identity. Qualitative research methods were deployed and the findings support the impact of the cognitive antecedents in the top-down processing of the participants’ formation of perceptions. Moreover, the findings revealed the existing themes of social acceptance, including perceived homosexuality and social in/out-group culture and the role of parents on gender- neutrality for their children which found to have a direct impact on the formation of the negative perceptions. The study proposes a conceptual framework based on the findings which incorporate the negative perceptions of gender-neutral brands, specifically correlating with the existing research on brand gender conformity and non-conformity in symbolic consumption