Although behavioral risk factors such as substance use have been hypothesized to increase women's vulnerability to sexual victimization, prospective studies provide mixed empirical support. In the current prospective study, the authors considered substance use, sexual activity, and sexual assertiveness as predictors of sexual victimization from…

Concern is increasing about children growing up in families where there are substance use problems but relatively little is known about the perspectives of the children themselves. This article reports on a qualitative study with young people who grew up in such families, exploring their accounts of their daily lives at home, school and leisure.…

This study was designed to identify predictors of relationship outcomes among 179 young (ages 14-24) coparenting couples during the transition to parenthood, with a particular focus on interpersonal process and psychopathology. Findings indicated that couples identified as hostile during the prenatal assessment were more likely to report…

Evidence linking alcohol and other drug abuse with child maltreatment, particularly neglect, is strong. But does substance abuse cause maltreatment? According to Mark Testa and Brenda Smith, such co-occurring risk factors as parental depression, social isolation, homelessness, or domestic violence may be more directly responsible than substance…

The perpetration of severe inter-sibling violence (SISV) remains a largely unexplored area of family violence. This article describes an investigation of risk factors for intentional SISV perpetration. A sample of 111 young people under the care of the Scottish criminal justice or welfare systems was studied. A SISV perpetration interview schedule…

This study examines the positive aspects of intimate relationships perceived by drug-involved women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The article examines the association of psychological distress, childhood abuse, and severity of IPV with the different positive aspects the women indicated. Most analyses were conducted on a subsample of…

The nation's child protection system (CPS) has historically focused on preventing maltreatment in high-risk families, whose children have already been maltreated. But, as Jane Waldfogel explains, it has also begun developing prevention procedures for children at lower risk--those who are referred to CPS but whose cases do not meet the criteria for…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence how child welfare workers attribute responsibility for child maltreatment and child safety in cases involving domestic violence. Methods: The study used a factorial survey approach, combining elements of survey research with an experimental design. Case vignettes were…

In September 1989, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), with the collaboration of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), held a technical review meeting focusing on the relationships of drugs and violence. Data from a number of NIDA and NIJ-funded research projects addressing different aspects of these relationships were presented and…

Rebecca Blank explores a weakness of the welfare reforms of the mid-1990s--the failure of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program to address the plight of so-called "hard to employ" single mothers and their children. TANF has moved many women on the welfare caseload into work, but the services it provides are not intensive or flexible…

Assessed substance abuse and domestic violence in family therapy clients. Findings from 262 case records revealed that 12 percent of clients originally presented domestic violence as main issue and 3 percent presented substance abuse as main issue. However, 40 percent had domestic violence as therapeutic issue during treatment, and 30 percent had…

Frequently, firearm fatalities occur in the context of domestic violence, suicide, or acts committed under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. Because gun violence is related to these other social problems, it must be considered more than just a criminal justice issue. It is also a public health issue that should be addressed by domestic…

Objectives: This study evaluated substance use and HIV risk profile using a latent model analysis based on ecological theory, inclusive of a risk and protective factor framework, in sexually active minority adults (N=1,056) who participated in a federally funded substance abuse and HIV prevention health initiative from 2002 to 2006. Methods: Data…

National estimates of characteristics of maltreated infants and report of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) 54 months later are presented. The study was based on 1,196 infants from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Measures of neurodevelopment, language, and cognition were…

Some 70 percent of Hispanic women surveyed in South Carolina say they are victims of domestic violence, according to studies by researchers at the University of South Carolina. It's a serious problem in South Carolina's growing Hispanic community. Recent census estimates reported more than 110,000 Hispanics in the state, but those who study the…