The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity and Adult Relationship Health for Economically Marginalized, Racially and Ethnically Diverse Individuals

Childhood adversity is prevalent and significantly influences an individual’s life. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to chronic physical and mental health issues, as well as maladaptive and abusive patterns of behavior in adult relationships such as unhealthy problem-solving strategies, poor ability at conflict resolution, and intimate partner violence (IPV). The current study explored the relationship between ACEs and adult relationship health outcomes. Controlling for the effect of average individual yearly income on adult relationship health, the extent to which demographic factors (i.e., gender, race and ethnicity, and children status) moderate the relationship between ACEs and adult relationship health and the extent to which behavioral self-regulation mediates the relationship between ACEs and adult relationship health are examined. The study utilized a subset of archival pre-data from a large, federally funded research grant which offered individual and couple relationship education (RE) to economically marginalized, racially and ethnically diverse populations. Descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and path analysis answered the research questions and tested the path models. Results indicated the increased prevalence rate of ACEs among racially and ethnically diverse populations. Further, higher ACEs scores were associated with lower adult relationship health scores. There were no significant interaction effects with gender, race and ethnicity, and children status, and no significant indirect effects with behavioral self-regulation scores. Additionally, income was not a significant covariate. Study implications as well as effective and accessible preventive interventions for at risk populations are discussed

Barriers to Counseling Among Human Service Professionals: The Development and Validation of the Fit, Stigma, & Value Scale

This study sought to confirm rates of attendance in counseling of human service professionals and validate a 32-item questionnaire designed to identify barriers to counseling seeking behavior among this population. Results indicated that a large percentage of human service professionals attend counseling, with males and females attending at similar rates and non-Caucasians attending at lower rates. A multivariate analysis of variance and descriptive statistics identified the most common barriers to attendance in counseling and examined demographic differences in participants’ sensitivity towards barriers to attendance in counseling. A Principal Factor Analysis (PFA) revealed three subscales (fit, value, and stigma), which we called the Fit, Stigma, & Value (FSV) Scale. How the instrument can be used with students in human service programs, and with human service professionals, to reduce barriers to attendance in counseling and ultimately ameliorate personal problems, reduce vicarious traumatization, and limit countertransference are discussed

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

Trinidadian And U.S. Citizens\u27 Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence And Their Willingness To Intervene: Does Culture Make A Difference?

In this study, Trinidadian (n = 194) and U.S. (n = 290) citizens were compared on their attitudes toward domestic violence (DV) as well as their willingness to intervene in five distinct DV contexts (when the DV involved an immediate family member, extended family member, a friend, neighbor, and a coworker). The results indicated that Trinidadians were modestly, albeit statistically significantly, more tolerant of DV compared to U.S. citizens - a finding that was accounted for primarily by age differences between the two national groups. Also, Trinidadians reported being significantly less willing to intervene in DV involving a friend, neighbor, and coworker than U.S. citizens, even after controlling for differences in sociodemographic variables. Regarding gender, women expressed significantly less tolerance for DV than men across nationality. Diverse interpretations of these findings are discussed in the context of culture. © 2006 Sage Publications

The Continuum Of Conflict And Control Relationship Scale (Ccc-Rs): Psychometrics For A Measure Designed To Discriminate Among Types Of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) classifications have treatment implications for couples. This study tested the psychometrics of the Continuum of Conflict and Control Relationship Scale (CCC–RS) and examined differences between violence severity and CCC–RS scales. A sample of 575 low-income, ethnically diverse participants contributed data. Results indicated a 3-factor, 22-item solution