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Adolescent gang members are at high risk for polytraumatization (i.e., experiencing two or more types of trauma), which may contribute to behavioral problems, such as delinquency or drug distribution, and mental health symptoms, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. The present study examined the associations between polytraumatization and these behavioral and mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that increased polytraumatization would lead to increased (b) mental health symptoms, (b) delinquency, and (c) drug distribution. Participants included 441 adolescent gang members (57.8% male; age range: 14-19 years) from a midsized city in the Midwestern United States. A path model was used to test hypotheses. A total of 88.0% of participants experienced polytraumatization, such as physical and sexual assault, involvement in accidents, or witnessing a death or injury. Polytraumatization was uniquely and positively associated with depressive and PTSD symptoms, delinquency, and drug distribution, βs = .25-.50, ps < .001, explaining an additional 5.9%-22.5% of the variance in these outcomes beyond covariates. Untreated traumatic exposure among adolescent gang members may subsequently lead to poor behavioral and mental health outcomes. These results may inform prevention and intervention efforts focused on mental health and social justice among a high-risk adolescent population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates interfaith groups from across the United States to understand how these religious settings may serve as mediating structures to facilitate individual political action. Based on a multilevel modeling analysis with 169 individuals from 25 interfaith groups, we found that core activities of the group, such as group members sharing community information (e.g., announcing upcoming events, political meetings, community issues) or sharing religious information (e.g., educating members about their religion) positively and negatively predicted individual political action as a result of group participation, respectively. Moreover, a sense that the interfaith group served as a community to work for local change, but not trust within the group, predicted political action as a result of group participation. However, this effect for a sense the group served as a community to work for local change was stronger and more positive as the degree of community information sharing in the group increased. These results show that a core activity of sharing community information may enhance the ability of a group to mediate political action. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential role of interfaith groups to mediate political action, and show the importance of considering both individual and group characteristics when understanding these religious settings. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence, psychological dimensions, reporting, and impact of sexual harassment of college students throughout the world are reviewed. Special attention is paid to methodological constraints in conducting cross-cultural research in sexual harassment, including difficulty in securing research participants, different methodologies to collect incidence data, use of retrospective data, and varying, definitions of sexual harassment. Recommendations for implementing intervention programs are offered. The strategies suggested deal with the social causes that maintain the harassment, including renegotiating the balance of power between men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]