The authors identified the number, type, and frequency of protective behaviors that undergraduate college students who consume alcohol use to prevent alcohol-related consequences. Their hypothesis was that students who engage in more types of protective behaviors with greater frequency would be less likely to experience alcohol-related consequences. Participants consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1,355 undergraduates aged 18 years and older at a large public university. Students completed a mailed questionnaire on alcohol and health behaviors in spring 2002. The findings (after adjustment for covariates) indicated that self-protective behaviors are inversely associated with alcohol-related problems for women but not for men. The influences of gender and racial and ethnic differences are considered in relation to prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing alcohol-related consequences on college campuses.

This study examined the nature and extent of domestic violence and its impact on psychosocial functioning among women of different age groups. No differences were found across age groups in the severity of violence, nature of injuries, use of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident, attribution of blame, likelihood to report violence, or rates of childhood physical abuse and depression. However, the older women were more likely to have experienced violence for a longer time, to be in current violent relationships, and to have health and mental health problems than were the younger women. These similarities and differences are discussed in terms of interventions.

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The authors explored the differences between African American and White college students' drinking behaviors and their attitudes toward consequences, harm-reduction strategies, and health information sources. They collected data from a randomly selected sample of 1,110 students in a large public university to examine the effects of a high-risk drinking prevention intervention. In the current analysis, they compared African American and White students on indicators of high-risk drinking, drinking consequences, harm-reduction strategies, the sources that students typically used for health information, and the believability of those sources. The African American students scored lower on drinking measures than the White students did, reported fewer negative consequences, and more regularly employed drinking-reduction strategies, with one exception--choosing a designated driver. Both African and White respondents reported that their parents were their most frequent and usual sources of health-related information and said that parents and health professionals were the most credible sources.

Leniency bias, or the tendency to evaluate individuals more favorably than is warranted, can prevent accurate evaluation and constructive supervision. This study tested leniency bias among field instructors of 90 clinical social work interns by comparing face-to-face and anonymous field instructors' ratings of students' knowledge, values, and skills. We also compared students' own ratings to field instructors' assessments. Results indicated little variance and consistently high ratings when field instructors evaluated face-to-face. There was greater variance and lower mean ratings when supervisors evaluated anonymously. Students' self-assessments were the most critical and best matched the anonymous evaluations; whereas, the anonymous and face-to-face field instructor evaluations significantly differed on most items. These findings suggest the need for evaluation training for field instructors and the use of multiple assessment methods.

This study examined an ecological model of maternal substance abuse and child neglect. Data are presented that identified an interplay among family history, interpersonal risk factors, current family functioning, and community networks in examinations of child neglect in a sample of substance-abusing women entering treatment.

Client-perpetrated violence against child protective services (CPS) workers is common and detrimental to worker wellbeing with consequences including physical injury and psychological illnesses. Despite the impacts of violence, few studies capture violence in a representative sample of CPS workers. This study examines prevalence and applies a structural inequality framework to consider who among CPS workers is most susceptible. This article used the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families dataset, a longitudinal panel study of newly hired CPS workers ( N = 1,501) to examine the prevalence of violence in the first 6 months of employment and consider the influence of individual characteristics. CPS workers experienced high levels of non-physical violence (75%), threats (37%), and physical violence (2.3%). Age and race were significantly related to instances of violence as were college major and position. Relationships were nuanced and did not uniformly follow a structural inequality framework. The high prevalence of violence within the first months on the job illustrates the importance of conflict and violence training before workers acquire independent caseloads. In addition, institutionalized mandatory reporting procedures with definitions of non-physical violence, threats, and physical violence may promote a culture of safety rather than an attitude that violence is part of the job. Finally, supervisors and peers can benefit from opportunities to support one other. The high prevalence of violence within certain subgroups of workers coupled with its wide-ranging consequences call for additional theoretical and empirical research and responsive policy to prioritize worker safety and wellbeing.

Findings provide support to the relationship between purging behavior and severity of sexual violence and also to the link between inaccurate body weight perception and being underweight.