Assessing Conduct Disorder: A New Measurement Approach

The Delinquent Activities Scale (DAS) was used to develop indicators of conduct disorder (CD) in terms of symptom severity and age of onset. Incarcerated adolescents (N = 190) aged 14 to 19 were asked about their delinquent behaviors, including age the behavior was first performed, as well as substance use and parental and peer influences. Assessments were performed for the 12 months prior to incarceration and at 3-month postrelease follow-up. Evidence supports the utility of the DAS as a measure of CD diagnosis, including concurrent incremental validity. Furthermore, CD severity (symptom count) was significantly associated with two peer factors: friend substance use and friend prior arrests, with medium to large effect sizes (ESs). Earlier age of CD onset was associated with earlier marijuana use. This study finds that the DAS is a useful instrument in that it is easy to apply and has adequate psychometrics

Validation of the delinquent activities scale for incarcerated adolescents

Purpose: This study examined the validity of the Delinquent Activities Scale (DAS), based in part on the Self Reported Delinquency (SRD) scale. Method: Participants were 190 incarcerated adolescents (85.8% male; average age 17 years) at a juvenile correctional facility in the Northeast. While incarcerated, they were asked about substance use and delinquent activities in the 1 year prior to incarceration, as well as parental, peer, and demographic information. They were tracked at three months post-release, given the DAS, and assessed for post-release substance use. Results: Three factors of the DAS assess general, alcohol-involved, and marijuana-involved delinquent activities. Principal components analysis was used to develop subscales within each factor. Support was found for concurrent and predictive incremental validities of these factors and their subscales in predicting substance use, with stronger findings for the general and the alcohol-involved factors. Subscales related to stealing showed lower validity than those related to more aggressive behaviors. Conclusions: These analyses suggest that the factors and empirically derived subscales offer researchers and clinicians a psychometrically sound approach for the assessment of adolescent misbehaviors

Integrating Multiculturalism and Intersectionality Into the Psychology Curriculum: Strategies for Instructors

This comprehensive book provides psychology instructors with practical guidance for incorporating multicultural topics into their courses. The contributors are experienced instructors who recommend effective teaching strategies, classroom activities, and assignments for creating inclusive classrooms that expand students’ worldviews. Chapters focus on sociocultural factors including gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic and ability status. The authors take an intersectional approach, exploring how these factors overlap to influence human psychology. Guidelines for core psychology courses are also provided.https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/books/1078/thumbnail.jp

Women\u27s sexual identity patterns: Differences among lesbians, bisexuals, and unlabeled women

To better understand women with same-sex attractions who do not identify as lesbian or bisexual (i.e., unlabeled women), we examined differences and similarities among self-designated lesbian, bisexual, and unlabeled women. Two hundred eight non-heterosexual women ranging in age from 18 to 69 years (85% identified as White) completed an online survey examining indicators of sexual orientation and beliefs and self-perceptions associated with sexual identity. Compared to lesbians, unlabeled women reported the weakest collective sexual identities and, along with bisexuals, they were less likely to view sexual orientation as fixed, being more focused on the person, not the gender. Unlabeled women reported the greatest likelihood that their sexual identity would change in the future. These findings highlight the complexity of women\u27s sexual identities and question the adequacy of categorical approaches

Phyllis Bronstein (1939-2012)

This article memorializes Phyllis Bronstein (1939-2012). Bronstein was a feminist scholar, social and clinical psychologist, and activist for social justice. At the University of Vermont, she engaged almost 100 undergraduates in her research teams, mentored the research and professional development of 43 graduate students, and trained over 90 clinical psychology students in the feminist family therapy program she developed. Bronstein published over 45 chapters and journal articles, and three edited books. One stream of her scholarship focused on sociocultural factors in parenting, child and adolescent development, with studies conducted in the United States and Mexico. Bronstein is perhaps best known for two volumes on the integration of multicultural and gender issues into the psychology curriculum, coedited with Kathryn Quina and published by the American Psychological Association. Bronstein\u27s third stream of scholarship addressed sexist, racist, and ageist practices in academic and clinical professions

Preventing violence in schools

The importance of nonviolent alternatives is evident in our society\u27s ongoing struggle with the issue of violence as it invades our schools, workplaces, and streets.\u27 The United Nations declared nonviolence to be the main theme for the first decade of the twenty-first century. The State of Rhode Island has undertaken an effort to become a model as the first nonviolent state in the nation, and the University of Rhode Island is acting as the laboratory for this experiment. The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies was formed to promote nonviolence as a flexible approach to conflict resolution. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, a civil rights activist who worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was hired to bring to the University of Rhode Island the teachings and theories of Kingian nonviolence and its applications. The Center\u27s mission can be summarized as an ultimate goal to build a nonviolent society that promotes mutual understanding and peaceful processes in resolving conflicts. The Center seeks to accomplish this by providing training programs and education, by expanding its efforts to build additional centers nationally and internationally, and by cooperating with other peace-building organizations. This chapter describes a nonviolence training program offered by the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island. The Center offers nonviolence training to University of Rhode Island students; in addition, it has been contracted by local school districts to provide training to high school students and teachers in Rhode Island. The training consists of a two-day seminar that focused on issues of conflict resolution within a multicultural medium. We also describe the results of an evaluation of the program, designed to find out if this particular training seminar is achieving its goals and objectives. To do so, we first defined those goals and objectives; next, we developed an appropriate nonviolence measure which we later used to assess changes among students and teachers who have participated in the program. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc