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The growing sophistication, frequency and severity of cyberattacks targeting all sectors highlight their inevitability and the impossibility of completely protecting the integrity of critical computer systems. In this context, cyber-resilience offers an attractive alternative to the existing cybersecurity paradigm. We define cyber-resilience as the capacity to withstand, recover from and adapt to the external shocks caused by cyber-risks. This article seeks to provide a broader organizational understanding of cyber-resilience and the tensions associated with its implementation. We apply Weick’s (1995) sensemaking framework to examine four foundational tensions of cyber-resilience: a definitional tension, an environmental tension, an internal tension, and a regulatory tension. We then document how these tensions are embedded in cyber-resilience practices at the preparatory, response and adaptive stages. We rely on qualitative data from a sample of 58 cybersecurity professionals to uncover these tensions and how they reverberate across cyber-resilience practices.

Research on assisted desistance has not considered the influence of criminal-involvement factors on the receptivity to assistance. Although most crimes committed are motivated by the prospect of gain, current knowledge on desistance from lucrative offending is still rudimentary. The purpose of this study was to examine the assistance in the desistance process of 27 individuals having committed profit-driven crimes. First, based on life story narratives, the acknowledgment of assistance was explored. Then, how and when this assistance arose in participants’ lives was studied. Results demonstrate the value of the assisted desistance framework in understanding desistance. Other findings include the fact that assistance may take many forms and may arise at various phases in the process of desistance.

Dealing with use of excessive force by the police has historically been a struggle in the United States. The 1992 protests in Los Angeles following the death of Rodney King are one example of public response to an instance of excessive use of force. More recently, the death of George Floyd led to widespread protests against excessive use of force and the current model of policing in general. The increasing popularity and availability of social media over the past decade have made it a powerful tool for mobilizing citizens and provided a place for protest. This study looks at the negative reactions of social media users to police use of force in the United States based on analysis of two significant instances: the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Using quantitative, forensic linguistics, and advanced topic modelling methodologies, three prominent aspects of policing identified in the literature – excessive use of force, racial bias, and legitimacy – were analysed from 14 days of tweets following each event. Analyses deal with trends in frequency, case similarities, and topic modelling. The results show important differences in negative online reaction to the two events, particularly regarding excessive use of force: those following the Floyd death focused on the technicalities of the intervention, while those responding to the Blake death focused on its aftermath. Analysis of tweets related to racial bias and police legitimacy revealed similar patterns, with users repeating criticisms such as differential treatment according to race and the need for changes in the policing model. The results also suggest that perceptions of excessive use of force and racial bias are deeply intertwined. Implications and issues are discussed., La question de l’usage excessif de la force par la police est un problème de longue date aux États-Unis. En 1992, à Los Angeles, les manifestations qui ont suivi la mort de Rodney King sont un exemple de réaction populaire devant un cas d’usage excessif de la force et, plus récemment, la mort de George Floyd a suscité un peu partout des manifestations contre la brutalité policière et le modèle de maintien de l’ordre en vigueur. Depuis dix ans, la popularité et la disponibilité croissantes des médias sociaux ont fait de ceux-ci de puissants outils de mobilisation citoyenne, ainsi qu’un lieu où manifester. Cette étude porte sur les réactions négatives des utilisateurs et des utilisatrices des médias sociaux devant l’usage de la force aux États-Unis. Elle se fonde sur deux cas révélateurs : la mort de George Floyd à Minneapolis et les coups de feu tirés sur Jacob Blake à Kenosha. Trois revendications contre la police déterminées par la littérature sur le sujet – l’usage excessif de la force, les préjugés raciaux et la légitimité – sont analysées ici au moyen de méthodes quantitatives, de la linguistique forensique et de la modélisation thématique avancée, dans un corpus formé de gazouillis publiés sur Twitter dans les 14 jours suivant chacun des évènements. Les analyses portent sur des tendances observées dans la fréquence, la ressemblance entre les occurrences et la modélisation des thèmes. Les résultats montrent des différences marquées dans la réaction négative en ligne aux deux évènements, en particulier en ce qui concerne l’usage excessif de la force : les réactions à la mort de George Floyd se concentrent sur les détails techniques de l’intervention policière, tandis que celles qui suivent l’arrestation violente de Jacob Blake se concentrent sur ses conséquences. L’analyse des gazouillis associés aux préjugés raciaux et à la légitimité policière révèle des résultats similaires : les utilisatrices et les utilisateurs partagent des critiques comme le traitement différentiel selon la couleur de la peau et la nécessité de revoir le modèle actuel de maintien de l’ordre. Les résultats suggèrent par ailleurs une imbrication étroite de la perception d’un usage excessif de la force et de la perception de préjugés raciaux. Les conséquences et les enjeux de ces résultats sont ensuite examinés.

Young adults that drive after cannabis use (DACU) may not share all the same characteristics. This study aimed to iden-tify typologies of Canadians who engage in DACU. About 910 cannabis users with a driver's license (17–35years old) who have engaged in DACU completed an online question-naire. Two-step cluster analysis identified four subgroups, based on driving-related behaviors, cannabis use and related problems, and psychological distress. Complementary comparative analysis among the identified subgroups was performed as external validation. The identified subgroups were: (1) frequent cannabis users who regularly DACU; (2) individuals with generalized deviance with diverse risky road behaviors and high levels of psychological distress; (3) alco-hol and drug-impaired drivers who were also heavy frequent drinkers; and (4) well-adjusted youths with mild depres-sive-anxious symptoms. Individuals who engaged in DACU were not a homogenous group. When required, prevention and treatment need to be tailored according to the different profiles.

Due to the prevalence of victimization in society, it is likely that many victimologists have been victimized or will be in their lifetimes. This poses a challenge for the field of victimology as traditional, positivist conceptions of ‘good science’ require researchers to be outsiders relative to populations they study. This paper asks: What are the epistemological and practical implications of victimological research conducted by researchers who have firsthand experiences of victimization? What lessons can be retained by other victimologists and researchers in general? How can these epistemological considerations be applied in practice? To answer these questions, I examine the meanings of insider and outsider status and the implications for objectivity and subjectivity as per positivist and standpoint epistemologies. I present the case of victimologists who have been victimized as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this form of insider research. I deconstruct insider–outsider, subjectivity–objectivity dualisms as they pertain to victimologists, concluding that all victimologists can be subjective whether they are technically insiders or not. In closing, I discuss how all victimologists can embrace their own and their participants’ subjectivity as a resource for objectivity by examining location, emotions and bodies, and ethics throughout the research process.

As a sociocriminologist studying women’s prisons, I have contended that leisure needs to be rethought as a component of its environment and therefore as subjected to prisons’ functioning and goals (Marcoux Rouleau, 2020). In the following pages, I build on this to argue that despite its many benefits to incarcerated women and people in general, leisure has a limited capacity to fix that which is cracked and broken by the institution itself. Indeed, poverty, homelessness, victimization, and addiction are pathways to poor health and to criminalization, especially among women (Chesnay, 2016, 2017). Incarceration amplifies and creates issues with health and wellbeing, leading critical scholars to conclude that such problems are constitutive of the institution (Robert and Frigon, 2006). I infer that emphasis on leisure as the penultimate answer to poor health in prison does a disservice to incarcerated individuals, who are held accountable for improving their wellbeing while government responsibility is deflected, and discuss what practitioners, scholars, and advocate can do about this.

9/11 is a paradigmatic event: one cannot evoke and understand the notion of terrorism without having the fall of the Twin Towers in mind. Here is one of the main characteristics of “basic historica...

Dans la dernière année, des thèmes abolitionnistes ont été au cœur de mobilisations comme #BlackLivesMatter, #MoiAussi, et #LibérezLesTous. Cet article s’inspire d’une méthodologie sociolégale et féministe pour proposer une analyse pragmatique et abolitionniste de la Loi sur le système correctionnel du Québec (LSCQ). Je présente deux enjeux reflétant des torts structurels perpétués dans les prisons pour femmes – le travail et les fouilles à nu – et soutiens que ces pratiques instillent des torts corporels quotidiens vu leur cadrage au sein de la LSCQ. Bien que le travail en prison soit présenté comme moyen de réinsertion sociale, vu la LSCQ les femmes reçoivent des salaires inadéquats relatifs au coût de vie en prison, ce qui limite l’accès aux produits menstruels et peut mener à des alternatives dangereuses. Pour ce qui est des fouilles à nu, celles-ci sont présentées comme favorisant la sécurité de l’institution mais sont subies comme agressions sexuelles infligées par l’état. La LSCQ prévoit que ces fouilles puissent être conduites dans une variété de circonstances à la discrétion des agents correctionnels, laissant ainsi place à une application discriminatoire des règlements et exposant les femmes racisées à davantage de violences en détention. Je conclus en présentant des réformes abolitionnistes qui pourront réduire ces torts corporels quotidiens à court terme. J’appelle aussi à une solidarisation avec les personnes incarcérées au sein des mouvements sociaux., In the past year, abolitionist themes have been at the forefront of mobilizations such as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #FreeThemAll. This paper relies on socio-legal feminist methodology and proposes a pragmatic abolitionist analysis of correctional law, the Loi sur le système correctionnel du Québec (LSCQ). I emphasize two issues reflective of ongoing structural harms within women’s jails – prison labor and strip searches – and argue that both practices instill everyday bodily harms due to their framing in the LSCQ. Although prison labor is presented as favoring social reinsertion, per the LSCQ incarcerated women receive inadequate wages relative to the cost of living in prison thus limiting their access to menstrual products and potentially leading to dangerous alternatives. As for strip searches, they are presented as means to ensure the safety of the institution yet are experienced as unsafe and as stateinflicted sexual assault. Per the LSCQ, strip searches can be conducted in a range of circumstances leaving much to correctional officers’ discretion, thus allowing for discriminatory rule enforcement and exposing incarcerated women of color to further violence. I conclude by presenting short-term abolitionist reforms which could reduce these everyday bodily harms. I also call for increased solidarity with incarcerated people within social mobilizing and organizing.

The digital world represents a new frontier for law enforcement operations. The virtual nature of online communications creates challenges regarding legal frameworks and sovereignty that are exacerbated by the inherent context of the digital world, the current state of policing expertise and resources and the detection and reporting rates of cybercrimes. This book chapter presents an informed review of the current state of ‘what works’ in policing both offline and online, providing at each step the context needed to understand how new technologies impact police operations. Our conclusion suggests that new models of policing are indeed needed to effectively police the digital world and that cooperation through nodal governance could improve the ability of police agencies to regulate cyberoffenders.

Leisure is commonly understood as contributing to well-being; this is especially appealing when considering multiply marginalized populations such as incarcerated women. However, leisure is not impervious to cooptation by less benevolent social processes. In this conceptual analysis, I argue that incarcerated women's leisure must be rethought as a component of its environment and by extension, as subjected to coercive and normative prison missions. After broadly delineating incarcerated women's leisure, I determine that some characteristics of leisure can be compatible with these prison missions. I then examine individual, organizational, and social benefits and issues with leisure in women's prisons. I link these practices to reduced coerciveness and increased normativity. I conclude by suggesting that ensuring incarcerated people's well-being through leisure is not in itself an end, but a means to achieve prison's coercive and normative ends. I discuss implications for scholars, practitioners, and advocates.

According to the criminal career paradigm, the link between past and future criminal activities is important and the desistance process may vary for individuals whose criminal trajectories were punctuated by failure compared to those who achieved a certain level of success. This study, based on the life narratives of 27 individuals who maintained a state of non-offending for more than a year, examines how criminal achievement modulates the desistance process. The aim is to understand whether criminal achievement acts as a barrier or a facilitator in the desistance process. A short questionnaire based on the life-history calendar method was used to classify individuals according to the parameters of their criminal careers. Narrative life stories were then used to look at the obstacles and frustrations encountered during desistance. The results show the relation between criminal achievement and desistance is complex: success in criminal activities is not always hindering desistance.

Various multiple-disciplinary terms and concepts (although most commonly “interdisciplinarity,” which is used herein) are used to frame education, scholarship, research, and interactions within and outside academia. In principle, the premise of interdisciplinarity may appear to have many strengths; yet, the extent to which interdisciplinarity is embraced by the current generation of academics, the benefits and risks for doing so, and the barriers and facilitators to achieving interdisciplinarity, represent inherent challenges. Much has been written on the topic of interdisciplinarity, but to our knowledge there have been few attempts to consider and present diverse perspectives from scholars, artists, and scientists in a cohesive manner. As a team of 57 members from the Canadian College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada (the College) who self-identify as being engaged or interested in interdisciplinarity, we provide diverse intellectual, cultural, and social perspectives. The goal of this paper is to share our collective wisdom on this topic with the broader community and to stimulate discourse and debate on the merits and challenges associated with interdisciplinarity. Perhaps the clearest message emerging from this exercise is that working across established boundaries of scholarly communities is rewarding, necessary, and is more likely to result in impact. However, there are barriers that limit the ease with which this can occur (e.g., lack of institutional structures and funding to facilitate cross-disciplinary exploration). Occasionally, there can be significant risk associated with doing interdisciplinary work (e.g., lack of adequate measurement or recognition of work by disciplinary peers). Solving many of the world’s complex and pressing problems (e.g., climate change, sustainable agriculture, the burden of chronic disease, and aging populations) demands thinking and working across long-standing, but in some ways restrictive, academic boundaries. Academic institutions and key support structures, especially funding bodies, will play an important role in helping to realize what is readily apparent to all who contributed to this paper—that interdisciplinarity is essential for solving complex problems; it is the new norm. Failure to empower and encourage those doing this research will serve as a great impediment to training, knowledge, and addressing societal issues.

What do policing leaders think and know of forensic science? Beyond crime scene investigators or detectives, how do police senior managers perceive the role, utility and limitations of forensic science? Very few empirical studies have addressed the issue. Forensic scientsts should be concerned about the perception that law enforcement senior managers have of their discipline for two reasons. First, strategic and financial decision-makers are obviously key players in the overall administration and provision of forensic science, either as a supervisor, money provider or as a customer. Second, literature has highlighted that other actors involved in forensic science underestimate the scope and possibilities offered by forensic science, hence limiting its exploitation and potential. Following interviews with 18 police senior managers from Quebec (Canada), this study shows that they generally restrict forensic science to a reactive discipline whose role and utility is to identify offenders and support the Court. This understanding of forensic science, like that of many others including a significant share of forensic scientists, differs from the perception of other police activities in modern law enforcement agencies where proactive action is sought. Considering these findings and the growing body of literature which calls for forensic science to connect more tightly with policing and security, we advocate a more extensive education of police leaders regarding the scope of forensic science.

Few offenders maintain a linear or constant path in their criminal activities; instead, zigzag paths characterize most criminal careers. The present study seeks to understand the dynamics of such intermittent cycles and examines the effect of direct experience with the justice system and offender success in criminal ventures on the likelihood that offenders will interrupt and then restart their illegal activities. Using the method of life history calendars, the study is based on detailed criminal career data from 172 offenders involved in lucrative forms of crime. Results show the relevance and complementarity of sanctions and dimensions of criminal achievement in understanding an offending path. The research design highlights the importance of considering the timing of circumstances in understanding zigzag paths.

Characterization of cognitive and behavioral complaints is explored in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) samples according to the severity of PTSD, depression and general anxiety conditions. Self-reported questionnaires on cognitive and behavioral changes are administered to PTSD, MTBI, MTBI/PTSD and control groups. Confounding variables are controlled. All groups report more complaints since the traumatic event. PTSD and MTBI/PTSD groups report more anxiety symptoms, depression and complaints compared to the MTBI group. Relatives of the PTSD group confirm most of the behavioral changes reported. Results suggest the utility of self-reported questionnaires to personalize cognitive and behavioral interventions in PTSD and MTBI to cope with the impacts of the traumatic event.

Contradictory evidence exists regarding the role of peritraumatic distress (PDI) and dissociation (PD) in the development of PTSD. Victims of certain trauma types may be more susceptible to these peritraumatic reactions. Few studies have assessed gender differences in these associations, particularly among victims of violent crimes. This prospective study evaluated the main and interactive effects of peritraumatic reactions with gender on PTSD onset, independently of known risk factors. Methods. 111 adult victims of violent crime (68 women, Mage = 41.23) completed the Structured Clinical Interview, the Modified PTSD symptom Scale, the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experience Questionnaire, and the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory. Hierarchical regressions and chi-square tests were conducted for continuous and categorical measures of PTSD. Results. Extremely elevated scores of PD and PDI were obtained for both sexes. Greater PDI and PD were related to more PTSD symptoms (b =0. 380, p =. 001; b =0. 217, p =. 025, respectively). No significant interaction effects with gender emerged. These results remained when acute stress disorder was controlled for. Analyses on categorical data produced similar results. Conclusion. Victims of violent crimes recall severe peritraumatic reactions. The more severe these are, the more likely they are to develop significant PTSD symptomatology in the months that follow.

BackgroundThis study investigated the potential environmental effects of peer victimization and the quality of relationships with parents and friends on diurnal cortisol secretion in mid-adolescence.MethodThis study used the monozygotic (MZ) twin-difference design to control for genetic effects and thus estimate the unique environmental influences on diurnal cortisol. Participants were 136 MZ twin pairs (74 female pairs) for whom cortisol was assessed four times per day over four collection days grouped in a 2-week period in grade 8 (mean age = 14.07 years). Participants also provided self-reports of peer victimization from grade 4 to grade 8 and of the relationship quality with the mother, father and best friend in grade 8.ResultsThe expected pattern of diurnal cortisol secretion was observed, with high levels at awakening followed by an increase 30 min later and a progressive decrease subsequently. Controlling for a host of confounders, only within-twin pair differences in peer victimization and a problematic relationship with the mother were significantly linked to twin differences in diurnal cortisol secretion. Specifically, whereas a more problematic mother–child relationship was associated with morning cortisol secretion, peer victimization was linked to cortisol secretion later in the day (diurnal slope).ConclusionsControlling for genetic influences and other confounders, stressful relationships with peers and the mother exert unique and time-specific environmental influences on the pattern of diurnal cortisol secretion in mid-adolescence.

Introduction The use of peer support programmes to help workers experiencing potentially traumatic events (PTE) has increased in high-risk organisations in the last decades. However, the scientific evidence of its effectiveness is still very limited. This paper aims to describe the protocol of a prospective cohort study that assesses the efficacy of a peer support programme among youth social services employees exposed to a PTE at work on psychological well-being, work functioning and needs of support. Methods and analysis This is a mixed-methods prospective study that will examine workers9 evolution four times over a 12-month period in Canada. This study involves: (1) quantitative data obtained through self-administrated questionnaires among 222 workers, and (2) qualitative in-depth interviews with a subsample of 45 workers. This study will compare findings from a cohort who received the support of a peer following a PTE (peer support–experimental protocol) as part of the experimental protocol of the Montreal Youth Social Services-University Institute (MYSS-UI), the second group of workers did not ask for the peer support (no peer support-experimental protocol) but was part of MYSS-UI, and the third group received standard organisational support from the Monteregie Youth Social Services (MYSS) (standard organisational protocol). Ethics and dissemination The protocol and informed consent form complied with the ethics guidelines of the MYSS-UI. The Research Ethics Board of MYSS-UI and MYSS reviewed and accepted the protocol as required. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at research and general public conferences, disseminated via a public report for the institute that funded the project and for all workers. Results of this study will influence decision making regarding intervention policies following PTE and peer support interventions may be expanded throughout the youth social services in Canada and worldwide.

Recent models propose deoxyribonucleic acid methylation of key neuro-regulatory genes as a molecular mechanism underlying the increased risk of mental disorder associated with early life adversity (ELA). The goal of this study was to examine the association of ELA with oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation among young adults. Drawing from a 21-year longitudinal cohort, we compared adulthood OXTR methylation frequency of 46 adults (23 males and 23 females) selected for high or low ELA exposure based on childhood socioeconomic status and exposure to physical and sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence. Associations between OXTR methylation and teacher-rated childhood trajectories of anxiousness were also assessed. ELA exposure was associated with one significant CpG site in the first intron among females, but not among males. Similarly, childhood trajectories of anxiousness were related to one significant CpG site within the promoter region among females, but not among males. This study suggests that females might be more sensitive to the impact of ELA on OXTR methylation than males., Gouin, J.-P., Zhou, Q. Q., Booij, L., Boivin, M., Côté, S. M., Hébert, M., Ouellet-Morin, I., Szyf, M., Tremblay, R. E., Turecki, G. & Vitaro, F. (2017) Associations among oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) DNA methylation in adulthood, exposure to early life adversity, and childhood trajectories of anxiousness. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-14 (7446).

The objectives of this study were to investigate the perceived causes of perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) among young adults, to assess whether distinct profiles exist, and to investigate sex differences. Questionnaires and structured interviews were administered to 233 young French-Canadian couples. Findings revealed that the perceived cause of anger was the most frequently provided explanation for partner aggression. In addition, women reported anger as a perceived cause of their violence more frequently than men, while men reported loss of control and revenge more often than women. Moreover, classification analyses resulted in three profiles of IPV perpetrators based on the perceived causes of their violence: (1) Reactive, (2) Common and (3) Hostile. The Reactive profile is characterized by the perceived causes of self-defence and loss of control. Individuals in this profile also perpetrated the greatest number of different physically violent behaviors. Individuals in the Common profile did not report a particular perceived cause of violence significantly more than the other profiles. These individuals were the least violent. Finally, the Hostile profile is characterized by the perceived causes of alcohol or drugs, domination, provocation, jealousy and intimidation. These individuals perpetrated the greatest number of psychologically and physically violent behaviors and perceived the impact of their violence the most negatively. Proposing a typology for IPV perpetrators in the young adult population contributes to a better understanding of perceived causes and high-risk situations (Flynn & Graham, 2010), thus allowing for possible prevention of more serious acts of aggression in later years.

While prior research has shown that the probability of detection plays a role in the decision-making of many offenders, much less is known on offenders’ relative success in avoiding arrest. In this study, we draw from detailed criminal career data on 172 offenders involved in lucrative criminal activities to examine the role of criminal competence in the probability of being arrested in a given month. We examine a particular aspect of competence, criminal efficiency, which is defined as the ability to earn a relatively large amount of money for each crime committed. Our research design allows us to disentangle the effect of criminal efficiency as a static trait of offenders from the dynamic variations in efficiency that offenders experience over time. Results show that efficiency is a strong, negative predictor of arrest, both at the static and dynamic levels.

© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Background Given mixed findings as to whether stressful experiences and relationships are associated with increases or decreases in children's cortisol reactivity, we tested whether a child's developmental history of risk exposure explained variation in cortisol reactivity to an experimentally induced task. We also tested whether the relationship between cortisol reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems varied as a function of their developmental history of stressful experiences and relationships. Method Participants included 400 children (M = 9.99 years, SD = 0.74 years) from the Children's Experiences and Development Study. Early risk exposure was measured by children's experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at 3 years. Recent risk exposure was measured by children's exposure to traumatic events in the past year. Children's cortisol reactivity was measured in response to a social provocation task and parents and teachers described children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Results The effect of recent exposure to traumatic events was partially dependent upon a child's early experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting: the more traumatic events children had recently experienced, the greater their cortisol reactivity if they had experienced lower (but not higher) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at age 3. The lowest levels of cortisol reactivity were observed among children who had experienced the most traumatic events in the past year and higher (vs. lower) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting in early childhood. Among youth who experienced harsh, nonresponsive parent-child relationships in early childhood and later traumatic events, lower levels of cortisol reactivity were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. Conclusions Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to psychological stressors and the relationship between HPA axis reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems vary as a function of a child's developmental history of exposure to stressful relationships and experiences.

Background Up to 71% of trauma victims diagnosed with PTSD have frequent nightmares (NM), compared to only 2% to 5% of the general population. Objectives The present study examined whether nightmares before the beginning of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could influence overall PTSD symptom reduction for 71 individuals with PTSD and different types of traumatic events. Patients and Methods Participants received a validated CBT of 20 weekly individual sessions. They were evaluated at five measurement times: at pre-treatment, after the third and ninth session, at post-treatment, and at 6 months follow-up. Results The presence of nightmares did not impact overall CBT efficiency. Specific CBT components were efficient in reducing the frequency and distress of nightmares. Conclusions Most participants no longer had PTSD but some still had nightmares.

While studies exist on the gambling habits of the correctional population prior to incarceration, little information exists on gambling habits during imprisonment. This article aims to describe gambling practices in Quebec prisons. The impact of prison life on these activities and their meaning will be analyzed, relying on semistructured interviews with 51 men currently detained in three federal penitentiaries in Quebec. Contrary to our expectations, the regulations prohibiting gambling in Correctional Service of Canada institutions do not present a central obstacle to this practice. In fact, participation in gambling is limited more by elements connected to the detention institution and the sentence. The availability of certain games, more particularly card games such as poker, as well as the pleasure resulting from those games seem considerably limited in comparison with group bets like sports pools., Bien que des études existent sur les habitudes de jeu de la population carcérale avant incarcération, on a peu d’information sur les habitudes de jeu pendant l’emprisonnement. Le présent article vise à décrire les pratiques de jeu dans les prisons du Québec. On analysera l’impact de la vie en prison sur ces activités et leur signification en s’appuyant sur des entrevues semi-structurées avec 51 hommes actuellement détenus dans trois établissements pénitentiaires fédéraux au Québec. Contrairement à ce que nous nous attendions de trouver, la réglementation interdisant le jeu dans les établissements de Service correctionnel du Canada ne présente pas un obstacle majeur à cette pratique. En fait, la participation au jeu est davantage limitée par des éléments liés à l’établissement de détention et à la peine. Certains jeux dont disposent les de´tenus, plus particulièrement les jeux de cartes tels que le poker, ainsi que le plaisir qui en résulte semblent considérablement limités par rapport aux paris sportifs effectués en groupes.

This study aims to identify individual and organizational predictors of trivialization of violence in 2 work sectors: healthcare and law enforcement. On the basis of data from a survey conducted among 1,141 workers from healthcare (e.g., nurses, orderlies.) and law enforcement (e.g., police, security agents), individual (sex, age, exposure to violence), and organizational factors (violence prevention training, support from colleagues and supervisors, presence of a “zero tolerance” policy and safety of physical environment) were used to predict trivialization of violence. Analyses were also conducted separately for women and men, and post hoc comparisons of regression estimates were performed to assess sex differences. Men were more likely than women to think that violence is normal in their workplace. Law enforcers were more likely than healthcare workers to perceive a taboo associated with complaining about workplace violence. This last result was most salient in the model with women, where the odds of perceiving a taboo associated with complaining about workplace violence were 2 times higher among law enforcers. Organizational factors were all significant negative predictors of perceiving a taboo associated with complaining about workplace violence. Trivialization was also positively associated with witnessing violent acts, not with being direct victim of workplace violence. By identifying factors that hinder work-related threat assessment and management, this study showed that organizations can decrease or prevent trivialization of workplace violence. Organizations may counter underreporting of this threat, which will increase capacity to assess the real magnitude of this problem and to better manage it

Background—Studies indicate that women victims of intimate partner violence are at increased risk for poor mental health. This research disentangled the effect of partner violence on new-onset depression and psychosis spectrum symptoms from effects of child maltreatment and other confounding factors, including substance abuse and antisocial personality. Methods—Participants were 1,052 mothers involved in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative cohort of families followed prospectively. To test the directionality of associations between partner violence and depression, only women without a history of depression at the beginning of the study were considered (n = 978). Partner violence and mental health were assessed during face-to-face interviews with women across three time points. Results—Four of 10 women reported being the victim of violence from their partner in a 10-year period. They represent 33% of our cohort and they account for 51% of new-onset depression. These women had a twofold increase in their risk of suffering from new-onset depression once the effect of childhood maltreatment, socioeconomic deprivation, antisocial personality, and young motherhood were controlled. Women who were abused both in childhood and adulthood were four to seven times more likely to suffer from depression than never-abused women. We observed similar associations with psychosis spectrum symptoms. Conclusions—Women victims of partner violence account for more than their share of depression. Findings strengthen existing evidence that partner violence independently contributes to women’s poor mental health. Psychological difficulties among a considerable number of women could be reduced by stopping partner violence.

This exploratory study intends to characterize the neuropsychological profile in persons with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) using objective measures of cognitive performance. A neuropsychological battery of tests for attention, memory and executive functions was administered to four groups: PTSD (n = 25), mTBI (n = 19), subjects with two formal diagnoses: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI/PTSD) (n = 6) and controls (n = 25). Confounding variables, such as medical, developmental or neurological antecedents, were controlled and measures of co-morbid conditions, such as depression and anxiety, were considered. The PTSD and mTBI/PTSD groups reported more anxiety and depressive symptoms. They also presented more cognitive deficits than the mTBI group. Since the two PTSD groups differ in severity of PTSD symptoms but not in severity of depression and anxiety symptoms, the PTSD condition could not be considered as the unique factor affecting the results. The findings underline the importance of controlling for confounding medical and psychological co-morbidities in the evaluation and treatment of PTSD populations, especially when a concomitant mTBI is also suspected.

Until recently, only one study was published on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individual therapy via videoconference (Germain, Marchand, Bouchard, Drouin, & Guay, 2009); however, it only assessed the posttreatment effect. This study presents the follow-up of Germain et al.’s (2009) study. The main goal was to compare the effectiveness after six months of CBT for PTSD either face-to-face (n = 24) or by videoconference (n = 12). Each participant received CBT for 16 to 25 weeks and completed various questionnaires before and after treatment and at a six-month follow-up. The two treatments had equivalent levels of symptom reduction (Modified PTSD Symptom Scale: η2 < 0.01, p > .05) and proportion of patients with a clinically significant change in symptoms (42% for face-to-face vs. 38% for videoconferencing, p > .05). Thus, CBT for PTSD via videoconference seems to be a viable alternative when adequate face-to-face treatments are less available.

Social support and coping are both related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, but the mechanisms underlying their relationships remain unclear. This study explores these relationships by examining the perceived frequency of supportive and countersupportive interactions with a significant other in PTSD patients. Ninety-six participants with PTSD were recruited and completed questionnaires assessing social interactions, ways of coping, and PTSD symptoms. Associations of social interactions (r2 = 4.1%–7.9%, p < .05) and coping (r2 = 15.9%– 16.5%, p < .001) with symptoms were independent, and suggested a direct association between social interactions and PTSD. Countersupportive interactions were more associated to symptoms than supportive interactions. Our findings suggest the development of psychotherapies that integrate social support interventions.

Background An important challenge in conducting social research of specific relevance to harm reduction programs is locating hidden populations of consumers of substances like cannabis who typically report few adverse or unwanted consequences of their use. Much of the deviant, pathologized perception of drug users is historically derived from, and empirically supported, by a research emphasis on gaining ready access to users in drug treatment or in prison populations with higher incidence of problems of dependence and misuse. Because they are less visible, responsible recreational users of illicit drugs have been more difficult to study. Methods This article investigates Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) as a method of recruiting experienced marijuana users representative of users in the general population. Based on sampling conducted in a multi-city study (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver), and compared to samples gathered using other research methods, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of RDS recruitment as a means of gaining access to illicit substance users who experience few harmful consequences of their use. Demographic characteristics of the sample in Toronto are compared with those of users in a recent household survey and a pilot study of Toronto where the latter utilized nonrandom self-selection of respondents. Results A modified approach to RDS was necessary to attain the target sample size in all four cities (i.e., 40 'users' from each site). The final sample in Toronto was largely similar, however, to marijuana users in a random household survey that was carried out in the same city. Whereas well-educated, married, whites and females in the survey were all somewhat overrepresented, the two samples, overall, were more alike than different with respect to economic status and employment. Furthermore, comparison with a self-selected sample suggests that (even modified) RDS recruitment is a cost-effective way of gathering respondents who are more representative of users in the general population than nonrandom methods of recruitment ordinarily produce. Conclusions Research on marijuana use, and other forms of drug use hidden in the general population of adults, is important for informing and extending harm reduction beyond its current emphasis on 'at-risk' populations. Expanding harm reduction in a normalizing context, through innovative research on users often overlooked, further challenges assumptions about reducing harm through prohibition of drug use and urges consideration of alternative policies such as decriminalization and legal regulation.

The objective of this research is to evaluate the outcomes of a treatment for addicts. 123 subjects were tested before treatment and at 5, 8 and 11 months follow-up periods with a French version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Exposure to treatment was based on the number of clients’ contact-hours with a therapist. The sample was divided into three groups according to the number of hours spent in treatment. The data was analysed using MANOVA on the seven scales of the ASI for the three groups and the four time periods. Results showed that all groups improved significantly but that this improvement was not related to the number of hours spent in treatment.

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify rates, characteristics, and predictors of mental health treatment seeking by military members with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Our sample was drawn from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey–Canadian Forces Supplement (CCHS-CF) dataset. The CCHS-CF is the first epidemiologic survey of PTSD and other mental health conditions in the Canadian military and includes 8441 nationally representative Canadian Forces (CF) members. Of those, 549 who met the criteria for lifetime PTSD were included in our analyses. To identify treatment rates and characteristics, we examined frequency of treatment contact by professional and facility type. To identify predictors of treatment seeking, we conducted a binary logistic regression with lifetime treatment seeking as the outcome variable. Results: About two-thirds of those with PTSD consulted with a professional regarding mental health problems. The most frequently consulted professionals, during both the last year and lifetime, included social workers and counsellors, medical doctors and general practitioners, and psychiatrists. Consultations during the last year most often took place in a CF facility. Treatment seeking was predicted by cumulative lifetime trauma exposure, index traumatic event type, PTSD symptom interference, and comorbid major depressive disorder. Those with comorbid depression were 3.75 times more likely to have sought treatment than those without. Conclusions: Although a significant portion of military members with PTSD sought mental health treatment, 1 in 3 never did. Trauma-related and illness and (or) need factors predicted treatment seeking. Of all the predictors of treatment seeking, comorbid depression most increased the likelihood of seeking treatment.

The scientific literature often mentions that there is a statistical connection between alcohol and drug consumption and criminal behaviour. However, there is little information available which would make it possible to quantify this connection, and specify the impact that drugs and alcohol have on criminal behaviour. Consumption of psychoactive substances has two major effects: intoxication and addiction. These effects are related, respectively, to the psycho-pharmacological and economic-compulsive models of the connection between drugs and crime. The first model associates drug use and intoxication with a decrease in cognitive functions and a lack of self-control, leading to aggressive impulses, violence and lack of inhibitions. The second model refers to the huge costs that are associated with being addicted to certain drugs. A person addicted to these drugs would need to engage in lucrative criminal activities in order to pay for them. This article explores and attempts to further define the links between alcohol, illicit drugs and criminal behaviour, taking into account the types of drugs consumed and the types of criminal behaviour displayed.

Objectives: This article further examines the phenomenon of aggression inside barrooms by relying on the “bouncer-ethnographer” methodology. The objective is to investigate variations in aggression through time and space according to the role and routine of the target in a Montreal barroom. Thus, it provides an examination of routine activity theory at the micro level: the barroom. Methods: For a period of 258 nights of observation in a Canadian barroom, bouncers completed reports on each intervention and provided specific information regarding what happened, when and where within the venue. In addition, the bouncer-ethnographer compiled field observations and interviews with bar personnel in order to identify aggression hotspots and “rush hours” for three types of actors within barrooms: (a) bouncers, (b) barmaids and (c) patrons. Findings: Three different patterns emerged for shifting hotspots of aggression depending on the target. As the night progresses, aggressive incidents between patrons, towards barmaids and towards bouncers have specific hotspots and rush hours influenced by the specific routine of the target inside the barroom. Implications: The current findings enrich those of previous work by pointing to the relevance of not only examining the environmental characteristics of the barroom, but also the role of the target of aggression. Crime opportunities follow routine activities, even within a specific location on a micro level. Routine activity theory is thus relevant in this context, because as actors in differing roles follow differing routines, as do their patterns of victimization.

Several studies have demonstrated the intermittent nature of problematic gambling behaviours. Despite the upsurge in research in this area, few studies have examined the dynamics of gambling behaviour or the factors influencing gambling trajectories. Using a retrospective self-report gambler survey inspired by the life history calendar method, the current study sheds light on the intermittency of gambling and the static and dynamic factors that may modulate gambling trajectories. Attention was paid to deviant life circumstances, especially criminal offending, and their effects on gambling parameters. The multilevel analyses results, conducted with data gathered from a sample of a hundred problem gamblers, revealed the impact of life circumstances on these trajectories. On the one hand, sources of social control—hours worked, participation in therapy—have the effect of alleviating gambling problems. On the other hand, deviant life circumstances—commission of lucrative crimes, consumption of psychoactive substances, paying off gambling debt—exacerbated gambling. The dynamic factors that predict changes in gambling behavior and identified in this research support the development of intervention policies based around them., Plusieurs études ont démontré la nature intermittente des comportements de jeu problématique. Malgré la recrudescence de la recherche dans ce domaine, peu d’études ont examiné la dynamique du comportement de jeu ou les facteurs influençant les trajectoires de jeu. À l’aide d’une enquête rétrospective sur les joueurs compulsifs autodéclarés, inspirée de la méthode du calendrier sur l’historique de vie, cette étude met en lumière l’intermittence du jeu et les facteurs statiques et dynamiques qui peuvent moduler les trajectoires de jeu. L’attention a été portée sur les conditions de vie déviantes, en particulier les infractions criminelles et leurs effets sur les paramètres de jeu. Les résultats des analyses à plusieurs niveaux, réalisés à partir de données recueillies auprès d’un échantillon de cent joueurs compulsifs, ont révélé l’impact des circonstances de la vie sur ces trajectoires. D’une part, les structures de contrôle social, p. ex., les heures travaillées, la participation à une thérapie, ont pour effet d’atténuer les problèmes de jeu. D’autre part, les circonstances de vie déviantes, comme la perpétration de crimes lucratifs, la consommation de substances psychoactives, le remboursement des dettes de jeu, aggravent le jeu. Les facteurs dynamiques qui prédisent les changements dans le comportement de jeu et qui ont été répertoriés dans cette recherche appuient l’élaboration de politiques d’intervention fondées sur ces facteurs.