Mary C. Sheehan

A Multidimensional Definition of Partner Abuse: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Composite Abuse Scale

The lack of definitional consistency about domestic violence and the absence of a well-validated comprehensive abuse screening questionnaire have been major methodological flaws in domestic violence research. While there are several screening questionnaires in use, they either are narrowly defined and do not have discrete measures of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse or have not been validated on both abused and nonabused samples. This study presents the development and preliminary validation of a new partner abuse screening questionnaire (Composite Abuse Scale; CAS). Items measuring the three areas of partner abuse were extracted from four published scales: the Conflict Tactics Scale, Measure of Wife Abuse, Inventory of Spouse Abuse, and Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory. A survey using these items was sent to all nurses working at a large Australian public, inner-city teaching hospital. Factor analyses of the responses of 427 participants revealed four dimensions: Severe Combined Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, and Harassment. Preliminary evidence is presented on validity and a high scale reliability is reported fof each subscale.

The composite abuse scale: further development and assessment of reliability and validity of a multidimensional partner abuse measure in clinical settings.

Absence of a well-validated comprehensive partner abuse questionnaire has been a major methodological issue in domestic violence research. A new multidimensional measure of partner abuse, the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS), has four dimensions: Severe Combined Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, and Harassment. A general practice patient sample (N = 1,836) has been used in the development and testing of CAS. Factor analyses in this current study confirmed the four dimensions from a preliminary nurses sample study and resulted in a final scale of 30 items consisting of acts of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. These four factors exhibited good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.85) and the corrected item-total correlations were high (> 0.5). Evidence of criterion and construct validity is presented.

Risk factors for fatal crashes in rural Australia

This paper presents findings from the rural and remote road safety study, conducted in Queensland, Australia, from March 2004 till June 2007, and compares fatal crashes and non-fatal but serious crashes in respect of their environmental, vehicle and operator factors. During the study period there were 613 non-fatal crashes resulting in 684 hospitalised casualties and 119 fatal crashes resulting in 130 fatalities. Additional information from police sources was available on 103 fatal and 309 non-fatal serious crashes. Over three quarters of both fatal and hospitalised casualties were male and the median age in both groups was 34 years. Fatal crashes were more likely to involve speed, alcohol and violations of road rules and fatal crash victims were 2½ times more likely to be unrestrained inside the vehicle than non-fatal casualties, consistent with current international evidence. After controlling for human factors, vehicle and road conditions made a minimal contribution to the seriousness of the crash outcome. Targeted interventions to prevent fatalities on rural and remote roads should focus on reducing speed and drink driving and promoting seatbelt wearing.

A Three Year Outcome Evaluation of a Theory Based Drink Driving Education Program

This study reports on the impact of a “drink driving education program” taught to grade ten high school students. The program which involves twelve lessons uses strategies based on the Ajzen and Madden theory of planned behavior. Students were trained to use alternatives to drink driving and passenger behaviors. One thousand seven hundred and seventy-four students who had been taught the program in randomly assigned control and intervention schools were followed up three years later. There had been a major reduction in drink driving behaviors in both intervention and control students. In addition to this cohort change there was a trend toward reduced drink driving in the intervention group and a significant reduction in passenger behavior in this group. Readiness to use alternatives suggested that the major impact of the program was on students who were experimenting with the behavior at the time the program was taught. The program seems to have optimized concurrent social attitude and behavior change.

Road crashes involving animals in Australia

Each year in Australia many thousands of collisions occur between motor vehicles and animals, resulting in considerable vehicle repair costs, injury to persons, and loss of animal life. This paper reviews animal-related road crashes in Australia and presents data from the in-depth Rural and Remote Road Safety Study in North Queensland for serious casualties (n=33) resulting from direct impact with an animal or swerving to avoid an animal on public roads. These crash types accounted for 5.5% of all eligible on-road serious casualties in the study and, hence, are considered to be an important issue that requires particular attention within rural and remote areas. Kangaroos and wallabies were the predominant species involved in these crashes (44.8%). Consistent with international studies, night-time travel was found to be a significant risk factor when comparing animal-related crashes to other serious injury crashes in the study. There were also a significantly higher proportion of motorcyclists (51.7%) than other vehicle occupants involved in animal-related serious crashes compared to all other serious injury crashes. Data matching to official Government records found underreporting of animal-related crashes to be an issue of concern. These findings are discussed in terms of countermeasures suitable for the Australian context and the need for consistent crash reporting across jurisdictions.

It Goes with the Job: officers' insights into the impact of stress and culture on alcohol consumption within the policing occupation

The current study surveyed members of an Australian state police service (N = 749), in order to assess what officers felt were the major contributing factors to alcohol consumption within the policing occupation. The study further examined which of these factors were actually predictive of risk of harmful drinking as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - AUDIT (Saunders et al., 1993). Results showed that 30% of respondents were at risk of harm from excessive alcohol consumption. When asked to rate the importance of factors they felt contributed to their drinking, officers rated social factors such as celebration, and socializing with peers as the most important factors. However factors related to stress emerged as the most predictive of scores on the AUDIT. These findings highlight an often seen contradiction and have important implications for intervention strategies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption within the policing occupation. While officers appear to be drinking to reduce ...The current study surveyed members of an Australian state police service (N = 749), in order to assess what officers felt were the major contributing factors to alcohol consumption within the policing occupation. The study further examined which of these factors were actually predictive of risk of harmful drinking as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - AUDIT (Saunders et al., 1993). Results showed that 30% of respondents were at risk of harm from excessive alcohol consumption. When asked to rate the importance of factors they felt contributed to their drinking, officers rated social factors such as celebration, and socializing with peers as the most important factors. However factors related to stress emerged as the most predictive of scores on the AUDIT. These findings highlight an often seen contradiction and have important implications for intervention strategies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption within the policing occupation. While officers appear to be drinking to reduce stress, they report drinking for social reasons, thus interventions must take into account the real impact of stress while dealing with social factors to give interventions face validity in the eyes of the officers they aim to help.

Linking manager values and behavior with employee values and behavior: A study of values and safety in the hairdressing industry.

Five theoretical processes that link values and behavior were identified: value congruence, value-behavior consistency, behavioral modeling, value internalization, and descriptive norms. A values questionnaire was administered to 219 employees and their managers. Values for preventive safety procedures and time urgency were linked to safety behavior of employees in the hairdressing industry. Hairdressers are frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals, and the safety behavior measured was wearing protective gloves. Results support value internalization (linking managers and employees values) and behavioral modeling (linking managers and employees behavior). Employee time urgency values were also negatively related to safety behavior (value-behavior consistency). Descriptive norms and value congruence were not supported. Strategies to align values within organizations and the management of safety at work are considered.

The use of AUDIT as a screening tool for alcohol use in the police work-place

There has been little research examining the use of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as a work-place screening tool. In the current study a large scale sample ( n = 4193) of police personnel completed the 10 AUDIT questions and two readiness-to-change questions. The sample represented 67% of all members of an Australian State Police organization. Analysis of AUDIT scores showed that 65% of the sample scored in the low risk of hazardous alcohol consumption range, 32% (33% of males and 24% of females) scored in the at risk for harmful alcohol consumption range and 3% scored in the range indicating risk of alcohol dependence. Age emerged as a clear risk factor of hazardous drinking patterns. The 18-25-year age group recorded higher average alcohol consumption, higher rates of risk of abnormal drinking behaviour, higher rates of adverse consequences from drinking alcohol and higher total AUDIT scores than other age groups. This was consistent for both males and females. Of those scoring i...

Developing a Profile of Alcohol Consumption Patterns of Police Officers in a Large Scale Sample of an Australian Police Service

The current study aimed to examine the prevalence of alcohol use within a large sample (n = 4,193) of Australian police offers. Prevalence and at risk behaviour was measured through the use of a self-report survey containing the AUDIT and standard frequency and quantity questions. Results indicated that although police did not report drinking with high frequency when compared to the national statistics, they did drink in far greater quantities. Further, both males and females in the police sample reported high rates of binge drinking. The 18- to 25-year old age group reported the highest levels of frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed. Twenty-five percent of officers reported having drunk whilst on duty. An alarming proportion of the sample (30%) scored in the ‘at risk of harmful consumption’ category on the AUDIT while a further 3% scored in the ‘alcohol dependant’ category. Examination of demographic variables revealed that males, 18- to 35-year-olds, those divorced or separated, constables, operational personnel and officers who have served between 4 and 10 years were the groups most likely to fall in the risk category on the AUDIT. This was similar for the alcohol-dependant category except that males and females were equally likely to fall in this category. In conclusion, a significant number of police officers displayed at risk alcohol consumption behaviour; in comparison to earlier studies this proportion is not decreasing. Interventions and education programmes are needed within the police workplace, particularly in regard to the dangers of binge drinking for females and youth.

Young driver distraction: state of the evidence and directions for behavior change programs.

Adolescent drivers are overrepresented in distraction-related motor vehicle crashes. A number of potential reasons for such an elevated risk include driving inexperience, high adoption of communication technology, increased peer involvement, and tendency to take risks, which render young drivers particularly vulnerable. Major legislative efforts in Graduated Licensing Systems that include passenger restrictions have shown positive effects. Restrictions on cell phone use are also being introduced; however, it is challenging to enforce such regulations. This article argues that such contextual, legislative interventions are an essential prevention strategy, but there is an unfilled need to introduce behavior change programs that may target adolescents, parents, and friends. A theoretical framework is applied in which risk and protective factors are identified from research within the contexts of community and jurisdiction. In the literature on distraction, social context and normative influences are key elements used to inform program design for adolescent drivers, with parental monitoring informing interventions targeting parents. Following from this assessment of the message content assessment, the design of strategies to deliver the messages is reviewed. In the current literature, school-based programs, simulations, and Web-delivered programs have been evaluated with supplementary strategies delivered by physicians and parents. Such developments are still at an early stage of development, and ultimately will need controlled implementation and evaluation studies. Of course, there is no likely single approach to prevent adolescent driver distraction. Complementary approaches such as the further development of technological interventions to manage phone use are needed.