Miami University

About: Miami University is a education organization based out in Oxford, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 9949 authors who have published 19598 publications receiving 568410 citations. The organization is also known as: Miami of Ohio & Miami-Ohio.

From internalizing to externalizing: Theoretical models of the processes linking PTSD to juvenile delinquency

Abstract: In recent years, increasing attention has been drawn to a population previously overlooked in studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that is youth involved with the juvenile justice system. Although prevalence rates vary, recent studies reveal that as many as 32% of boys and 52% of girls in detention settings meet DSM-IV criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD (see Kerig & Becker, in press, for a review). However, given that this area of research is relatively new, few studies to date have gone beyond the documentation of prevalence rates to examine the underlying processes that might account for the link between trauma and severe forms of antisocial behavior. The present chapter describes the prevailing theoretical models of the developmental psychopathology of trauma and delinquency and reviews the existing empirical evidence in support of their suppositions. Models discussed include those focusing on emotion processing (e.g., affect dysregulation, emotional numbing, emotion recognition deficits); cognitive processes (e.g., hostile attributions, stigma, alienation); interpersonal processes (e.g., traumatic bonding, antisocial peers); as well as integrative models, including attachment theory and the trauma coping model. Patricia K. Kerig and Stephen P. Becker 2 TRAUMA EXPOSURE, PTSD, AND DELINQUENCY A large body of literature attests to the fact that youth in detention settings have been exposed to significant levels of trauma. For example, Abram and colleagues (2004) found that 93% of boys and 84% of girls in their sample had experienced a traumatic life event, with the typical youth having experienced 14 traumatic stressors over the life course. Similarly, Chamberlain & Moore (2002) reported that 93% of girls mandated to out-of-home treatment had undergone a terrifying experience in the past year: 67% had been attacked or beaten, 40% had been forced to engage in a sexual act, and 26% had been in a car accident; in a subsequent study with a larger sample, Smith, Leve, & Chamberlain (2006) found that sexual abuse was reported by 76% these girls. Using DSM-IV criteria, Ford and colleagues (2008) found that 61% of youth in a pre-trial detention center had been exposed to a traumatic event, whereas Kerig and colleagues (2009) found that, among detained youth, 85% of girls and 72% of boys met DSM-IV criteria for exposure to trauma. Further, there is evidence that exposure to traumatic events increases the risk of juvenile delinquency. In addition to the many concurrent studies showing an association between trauma and antisocial behavior, longitudinal research also suggests that maltreatment in early childhood is predictive of engagement in the kind of serious delinquency that involves youth in the juvenile justice system (e.g., Cernkovich et al., 2008; Feiring et al., 2007; Henry & Moffitt, 1997; Lansford et al., 2007; Mersky & Reyolds, 2007; Smith & Thornberry, 1995; Stewart et al., 2008; Tyler et al., 2008; Widom et al., 2006; Widom & White, 1997). Some research also suggests that the relationship between trauma and delinquency is particularly evident for girls. Delinquent girls typically are found to have been exposed disproportionately to trauma, particularly sexual abuse (e.g., Abram et al., 2004; Belknap & Holsinger, 2006; Ford, Hartman, et al., 2008; Gavazzi & Yarcheck, 2006; Holsinger et al, 1999; Johannson & Kempf-Leonard, 2009; Kerig et al,, 2009; Wareham & Dembo, 2007). Although the research is not entirely consistent, detained girls also have been found to have higher levels of PTSD symptoms than boys in a number of studies (e.g., Cauffman et al., 1998; Kerig et al., 2009; Martin et al., 2008; Wood et al., 2002). Yet another set of studies finds that traumatic experiences such as abuse and neglect are more predictive of delinquency, particularly violent behavior, among girls than boys (e.g., Delbo et al., 1995; Funk, 1999; Gavazzi & Yarcheck, 2006; Martin et al., 2008; McCabe et al., 2002; Trickett & Gordis, 2004; Widom & White, 1997; Wood et al., 2002). There are a number of limitations to this research, however, that limit our ability to draw clear conclusions about causal relationships between trauma and delinquency. First, the majority of studies have not directly tested whether trauma comprises a mechanism by which exposure to early adversity is linked to later delinquency. To establish this kind of causal link, formal tests of meditational effects in data derived from prospective longitudinal studies would be needed. Second, the majority of the studies conducted have not investigated “trauma” as it is defined formally by the DSM-IV. Instead, the term is used loosely to refer to adverse childhood experiences that are assumed to be traumagenic, including maltreatment and exposure to community violence. However, not all adverse childhood experiences involve the degree of “fear, helplessness, and horror” that DSM-IV requires for the definition of trauma, and not all children exposed to such events develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress (Fletcher, 2006). Third, the kinds of adverse experiences that are labeled as “traumatic” From Internalizing to Externalizing 3 differ along a number of important dimensions that may have significant implications for development. For example, Terr (1991) makes the distinction between Type I (discrete, dramatic, single-incident stressors) and Type II traumas (chronic, pervasive, early-onset stressors). Although the symptoms that follow from Type I traumas are captured by the DSMIV criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD, Type II traumas may be associated with very different symptom clusters and developmental sequelae. These have been termed complex PTSD (Herman, 1992; Ford & Courtois, 2009) or, more recently, the Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis proposed for DSM-V (Cook, Spinazzola, Ford, Lanktree, Blaustein, Cloitre, et al., 2005; van der Kolk, 2005, van der Kolk et al., 2009), which has been shown to have utility in discriminating the subgroup of delinquent youth who have experienced trauma (Silvern & McClintic, 2009). The distinction between Type I and Type II traumas is not necessarily clear-cut, however, and they are not mutually exclusive. Children growing up in maltreating homes may experience a backdrop of chronic, low-level adversity that would be labeled as Type II trauma, but which is punctuated at erratic intervals by the kinds of terrifying events or extremely abusive parental behavior that would be characterized as Type I trauma. Therefore, it is important to continue to take a broad view of the concept of trauma as we attempt to understand how it might derail normal development and set youth on the pathway to delinquent behavior. Another thorny issue concerns what exactly is meant by the dependent variable, “delinquency.” Although this is a term that some reserve for the legal designation of having been adjudicated in court, in much of the literature it is used as a catch-all phrase for engaging in a wide variety of misconduct. Particularly on measures requesting self-reports of delinquency in community samples, behaviors range widely from those that suggest exaggerations of normative youthful hijinks (e.g., vandalism), to those that are illegal only because of the minor status of the adolescents (e.g., cigarette use), to those that would represent truly heinous crimes at any age (e.g., sexual assault). The same widely divergent list of reasons that an adolescent is termed “delinquent” is evident even among those who are incarcerated. For example, at one point our own sample of youth housed in a county detention center included a boy who was a habitual runaway from an abusive and neglectful home, a girl who had participated in a “joy ride” that involved the unauthorized use of a neighbor’s automobile, and a boy who lured an eight-year-old girl into an abandoned shed and violently raped her after nailing her hands to the floor. Clearly, these forms of “delinquency” are diverse and likely are differentially predicted by such risk factors as PTSD. Although much of the literature equates delinquency with violence, this clearly is not the case for all youth, and focusing on the charges on a youth’s record does not necessarily distinguish which do and do not involve physical aggression. For example, charges such as domestic violence may, upon closer inspection, provide a euphemism for parent-child conflicts in which little-to-no actual violence is involved (e.g., Acoca, 1999). Therefore, this review requires a caveat in that what is meant by “delinquency” in the various studies is diverse and sometimes poorly defined. Future research on the role of PTSD in youth delinquency will benefit from greater clarity about the kind of antisocial behavior under question—for example, whether it involves predatory aggression, reacting against those who perpetrated the trauma, behaving in ways that are more self-destructive than harmful to others, or simply engaging in poor judgment. Patricia K. Kerig and Stephen P. Becker 4 MECHANISMS LINKING TRAUMA TO DELINQUENCY Although few have undergone direct empirical testing, a number of constructs, theories, mechanisms, and models have been proposed that might help to account for the relationship between posttraumatic stress and antisocial behavior—or, alternatively stated—the transformation of trauma into delinquency. In keeping with the developmental psychopathology principles of multideterminism, equifinality and multifinality, it is understood that delinquency is not “caused” by any single variable, and that risk factors for delinquency might also increase the risk for other disorders and for psychopathology in general. However, the goal of specificity is a valuable one, lest theoretical models be reduced simply to the obvious conclusion that “bad input leads to bad output” (Kerig & Wenar, 2006). Therefore, in this review we strive to identify ways in which each of these purported mediators might be associated sp

A linear programming model for reducing system peak through customer load control programs

Abstract: A linear programming (LP) model has been developed to optimize the amount of power system peak load reduction through scheduling of control periods in commercial/industrial and residential load control programs at Florida Power and Light Company, USA. The LP model can be used to determine both long and short term control scheduling strategies and for planning the number of customers which should be enrolled in each program. Results of applying the model to a forecasted late 1990s summer peak day load shape are presented. It is concluded that LP solutions provide a relatively inexpensive and powerful approach to planning and scheduling load control. Also, it is not necessary to model completely general scheduling of control periods in order to obtain near best solutions to peak load reduction.

Gas Bubbles in Electrochemical Gas Evolution Reactions

Abstract: Electrochemical gas evolution reactions are of vital importance in numerous electrochemical processes including water splitting, chloralkaline process, and fuel cells. During gas evolution reactions, gas bubbles are vigorously and constantly forming and influencing these processes. In the past few decades, extensive studies have been performed to understand the evolution of gas bubbles, elucidate the mechanisms of how gas bubbles impact gas evolution reactions, and exploit new bubble-based strategies to improve the efficiency of gas evolution reactions. In this feature article, we summarize the classical theories as well as recent advancements in this field and provide an outlook on future research topics.

Improving competitive position using branded ingredients

Abstract: Assesses how branded ingredients affect consumer product quality perceptions, confidence in product quality perceptions, product evaluations, taste perceptions, purchase likelihoods, and reservation prices of host brands of varying quality. In two experiments, we find that branded ingredients consistently and positively affected moderate‐quality host brands, but only occasionally positively affected higher‐quality host brands. Suggests that managers of both moderate and higher‐quality host brands consider implementing branded ingredient strategies, albeit for different reasons. While moderate‐quality host brands can improve their competitive position by using branded ingredients, higher‐quality host brands generally do not. However, higher‐quality host brands may benefit most by securing the most desirable branded ingredients for their own use, thereby blocking moderate‐quality host brands from using a branded ingredient strategy to improve their competitive position.