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The mediators of favorable multisystemic therapy (MST) outcomes achieved at 12 months post recruitment were examined within the context of a randomized effectiveness trial with 127 juvenile sexual offenders and their families. Outcome measures assessed youth delinquency, substance use, externalizing symptoms, and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors; and hypothesized mediators included measures of parenting and peer relations. Data were collected at pretreatment, 6 months post recruitment, and 12 months post recruitment. Consistent with the MST theory of change and the small extant literature in this area of research, analyses showed that favorable MST effects on youth antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors were mediated by increased caregiver follow-through on discipline practices as well as decreased caregiver disapproval of and concern about the youth's bad friends during the follow-up. These findings have important implications for the community-based treatment of juvenile sexual offenders.
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the mechanisms by which an evidence-based treatment of juvenile offenders decreased the antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interest and sexual risk behaviors of juvenile sexual offenders participating in a randomized effectiveness trial. Pertinent antisocial behaviors included criminal offending, substance use, and externalizing problems. Deviant sexual interest and sexual risk behaviors were also examined in light of their hypothesized association with sexual reoffending (Worling & Langstrom, 2006). Importantly, and consistent with the recommendations of Weersing and Weisz (2002) pertaining to studies testing mediational models, this effectiveness study focused on real-world clients treated in community-based contexts.
Multisystemic therapy (MST; Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, & Cunningham, 1998) was selected as the evidence-based treatment model examined in this study (Letourneau et al., 2008) for two main reasons. First, research shows that adolescent sexual offenders have more in common with other delinquents than is generally assumed (Blaske, Borduin, Henggeler, & Mann, 1989; Butler & Seto, 2002; Ronis & Borduin, 2007; van Wijk et al., 2005). Such findings suggest that effective treatments for delinquency hold promise in treating juvenile sexual offenders. With 10 published randomized trials with delinquents and their families (Henggeler, Sheidow, & Lee, 2007), MST has relatively well-established effectiveness with this clinical population (National Institutes of Health, 2006; U.S. Public Health Service, 2001). Although this conclusion has been disputed by Littell and colleagues (Littell, Popa, & Forsythe, 2005) in their meta-analysis, the findings of the Littell review have not been replicated in other meta-analyses (Aos, Miller, & Drake, 2006; Curtis, Ronan, & Borduin, 2004), and the methodology of that review has been criticized (Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, & Swenson, 2006; Ogden & Hagen, 2006). Second, two MST randomized efficacy studies (i.e., graduate students as therapists, an MST treatment developer as supervisor) with juvenile sexual offenders have demonstrated considerable promise (Borduin, Henggeler, Blaske, & Stein, 1990; Borduin, Schaeffer, & Heiblum, in press). For example, at a 3-year follow-up (Borduin et al., 1990), MST was significantly more effective than individual counseling at preventing sexual reoffending (i.e., 12.5% recidivism for MST versus 75% for individual counseling). Together, these outcomes with juvenile offenders in general and juvenile sexual offenders in particular led to the funding of an effectiveness trial (i.e., community-based practitioners and supervisors, minimal exclusion criteria) to examine the effectiveness of MST as adapted for juvenile sexual offenders in a real-world clinical setting. The present report is based on this trial.
The favorable outcomes that MST has achieved with juvenile offenders have been thought to support the model's underlying theory of change. A primary assumption in this theory of change is that adolescent antisocial behavior is driven by the interplay of risk factors associated with the multiple systems in which youth are embedded (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This assumption is based largely on decades of correlational and longitudinal research (e.g., Loeber & Farrington, 1998; U.S. Public Health Service, 2001) showing that adolescent antisocial behavior is linked with key characteristics of the youth (e.g., poor problem solving skills), the family (e.g., low monitoring, ineffective discipline), peer relations (e.g., association with deviant peers), school functioning (e.g., poor academic performance), and neighborhood context. Thus, to be optimally effective, interventions should have the capacity to address a comprehensive array of risk factors (e.g., association with problem peers), though on an individualized basis (i.e., not all youth and families will have the same risk factors), while concomitantly building protective factors (e.g., parenting effectiveness).
Although the individualized nature of MST has likely facilitated its clinical success, such individualization also decreases the probability that hypothesized mediators of favorable outcomes will evidence significant treatment effects in clinical trials - because those mediators will not be targeted in each and every clinical case. Hence, in examining possible mediators of favorable MST outcomes, analyses that focus on measures of those constructs most central to the MST theory of change are most likely to be fruitful. For MST, caregivers have been viewed as the main conduits of change. MST, therefore, focuses on empowering caregivers to gain the resources and skills needed to be more effective (i.e., improved monitoring, supervision, discipline) with their children. Then, as caregiver effectiveness increases, the therapist guides caregiver efforts to prevent antisocial behavior (e.g., by disengaging their children from deviant peers). Although the logic of this perspective seems relatively compelling and the targeted variables fit with key factors that sustain antisocial behavior in adolescents, the MST theory of change with juvenile offenders has not been tested in a formal mediational study.
MST is not alone among evidence-based practices that have few rigorous tests of their underlying theories of change (Kazdin, 2007; Weersing & Weisz, 2002). Nevertheless, at least for evidence-based interventions for youth antisocial behavior, the small extant literature supports the pivotal roles played by caregivers and peers. In a study of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC; Chamberlain, 2003) in which juvenile offenders received either MTFC or group home care, Eddy and Chamberlain (2000) showed that the positive effects of MTFC on adolescent criminal activity were mediated by improved caregiver behavior management practices and decreased adolescent association with deviant peers. Similarly, in an indicated prevention trial of the Coping Power program with at-risk preadolescent boys, Lochman and Wells (2002) found that parental inconsistent discipline was a key mediator of subsequent youth antisocial behavior outcomes. These results are consistent with MST findings from two separate clinical trials with juvenile offenders showing that the degree of therapist adherence to the MST protocol was associated with improved family relations and decreased deviant peer affiliation, which, in turn, were associated with decreased delinquent behavior (Huey, Henggeler, Brondino, & Pickrel, 2000). Although these findings are consistent with the MST theory of change, Huey et al. (2000) did not include the types of formal mediational tests (i.e., the control groups in the pertinent studies were not included in the analyses) recommended by reviewers (Kazdin, 2007; Weersing & Weisz, 2002). The present study aims to build on this budding area of research by examining family and peer variables as mediators of positive MST effects with juvenile sexual offenders.
Two methodological and conceptual points are particularly pertinent to the design and conduct of this study. First, as emphasized by reviewers (e.g., Worling & Langstrom, 2006), juvenile sexual offenders have low rates of recidivism. Hence, for the 1-year post recruitment follow-up examined in the present study, it was not possible to include sexual reoffending as a key outcome variable. Thus, in addition to measures of antisocial behavior in general, deviant sexual interest and sexual risk behaviors were used as outcome indices. These behaviors are well-supported risk factors for adult sexual offender recidivism (e.g., Hanson & Bussiere, 1998) and widely hypothesized predictors of juvenile sexual reoffending (Worling & Langstrom, 2006), though the latter association has not been demonstrated empirically (Letourneau & Miner, 2005). Second, as noted throughout the manuscript, we have endeavored to address the multiple requirements for demonstrating mediators and mechanisms of change originally proposed by Hill (1965) and recently summarized by Kazdin (2007). These requirements include the usually expected associations between the treatment, mediators, and outcomes in the context of a randomized clinical trial (Baron & Kenny, 1986); specificity (i.e., only a subset of plausible mediators account for therapeutic change); consistency of results with similar studies; demonstration of a timeline between cause and effect; and the plausibility of the findings.
In sum, this study tested the theory of change of an evidence-based treatment of juvenile offenders within the context of a randomized effectiveness trial conducted with juvenile sexual offenders and their families. Specifically, key aspects of family relations and peer relations were examined as mediators of antisocial behavior outcomes in general and sexual problem outcomes in particular.
The present manuscript is based on data collected through a 12-month post-recruitment follow-up of a recently completed randomized trial comparing MST with treatment as usual (TAU) for juvenile sexual offenders (Letourneau et al., 2008). The parent study included a randomized design with assessment data collected at pretreatment, 6 months post recruitment, and 12 months post recruitment. Research assistants administered the assessment batteries to youth and their caregivers at convenient times in their homes or to youth in out-of-home placement, if necessary. Families were reimbursed for their time for each completed assessment.
Participants were 127 11- to 18-year-old youth recruited from the Juvenile Justice Bureau of a large Midwestern city after being referred to the State's Attorney from January 2004 through May 2006 for sexual offending and their caregivers. Inclusion criteria were (a) adjudication or diversion for a serious sexual offense (e.g., offenses that involved sexual assault or attempted sexual assault) with an order for outpatient sexual offender-specific treatment, (b) presence of a local caregiver with whom the youth resided, (c) youth age from 11 to 17 years, (d) fluency in either English or Spanish, and (e) absence of current psychotic symptoms or serious mental retardation. To enhance external validity, youth with co-occurring psychiatric or behavioral disorders were included. Most instances of study ineligibility were due to the youth having already begun sex offender treatment.
Families were recruited for the study by a researcher who obtained informed consent and assent, with all forms and procedures approved by the institutional review boards of the participating universities. Immediately following recruitment, a sealed envelope was opened, and the family was informed of the condition to which they were assigned. A permeated stratified random assignment process (McEntegart, 2003) was used to avoid chance imbalances on important characteristics (e.g., youth-victim age differences) that can occur with the use of traditional randomization procedures. As described more extensively in the parent study (Letourneau et al., 2008), the recruitment rate was 74%, but two families withdrew from the study upon learning that they were not randomized to their desired intervention - leaving a final sample of 127 participants. Of these 127 families, 6 withdrew from the research during the course of the following year for a variety of reasons (e.g., change in guardianship, stigma associated with participation in a sexual offender study). Nevertheless, intent-to-treat analyses were used in all analyses (i.e., no participants were excluded for reasons of treatment dropout, low treatment compliance, and so forth).
Participants in both treatment conditions included diverted youth (i.e., treatment requirements, but no probation oversight) and youth on probation (i.e., treatment requirements and probation oversight).
MST is a well-specified (Henggeler et al., 1998), comprehensive, family- and community-based treatment for adolescents presenting serious clinical problems and at imminent risk of out-of-home placement. MST is provided by master's or advanced bachelor's (social work, psychology) level clinicians using a home-based model of service delivery in which treatment is delivered in the family's natural ecology (e.g., home, school, community). Drawing upon evidence-based intervention strategies (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy, pragmatic family therapy approaches), MST clinicians develop and direct interventions toward ameliorating those individual, family, peer, school, and community factors that are linked directly and or indirectly with the youth's presenting problems, with caregivers viewed as the keys to achieving sustainable outcomes. Therefore, and most pertinent to the present study, the central emphasis of MST is usually to develop caregiver parenting competencies and to concomitantly overcome any barriers (e.g., caregiver skill deficits, substance abuse, lack of social support, stress) to the development of these competencies. Caregivers are then supported and guided in their development and implementation of interventions aimed at addressing youth emotional, behavioral, peer, and school difficulties. MST clinicians usually carry between four and six cases at any one time and are available to youth and families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The duration of treatment usually ranges from 4 to 5 months. In the present case, however, the average duration of treatment was 7.1 months, primarily due to the intense community safety concerns presented by this clinical population.
In the present study, standard MST was supplemented with three primary adaptations for treating juvenile sexual offenders as detailed in a supplementary manual (Borduin, Letourneau, Henggeler, Saldana, & Swenson, 2005). First, to attenuate youth and caregiver denial about the offense, therapists were trained to assess and address the primary drivers of an individual's denial (e.g., shame, fear of additional social or legal consequences) and the extent to which denial interfered with treatment goals (e.g., whether, despite denying the extent of the offense, caregivers remained willing to make changes to reduce the likelihood of future offending). Youth denial was considered relatively normative, given that many youth will lie to stay out of trouble. As long as caregivers and youth made relevant behavioral changes, they were retained in treatment despite denial. Second, protocols also addressed safety planning to minimize the youth's access to potential victims. Safety planning was based on the functional analysis of the index offense, in which the behavioral drivers and other factors leading up to the offense were targeted for change. For example, if easy access to younger children (e.g., via frequent unmonitored babysitting or sharing bedrooms) was a driver of the youth's offending behavior, that access would be eliminated. Third, protocols addressed promotion of age-appropriate and normative social experiences with peers. For example, prosocial after-school and community activities were identified based on youth interests, and caregivers were given strategies to assist youth involvement in such activities.
All youth in the TAU condition were referred to sexual offender-specific treatment provided by the juvenile sexual offender unit of the county juvenile probation department. Standard treatment components of this weekly group-based treatment included: (a) decreasing deviant arousal, (b) increasing victim empathy, (c) addressing cognitive distortions, (d) relapse prevention, and (e) family counseling. Based on juvenile sexual offender treatment practice recommendations from nationally recognized organizations (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, 2001; Center for Sex Offender Management, 1999), the comparison treatment condition is considered an example of "best practices." In addition, youth on probation, but not diverted youth, received monthly home and school visits by probation officers. The average duration of treatment and justice oversight for youth on probation was 10.5 months, and the duration averaged 7.7 months for diverted youth - with 27% of all TAU youth still receiving treatment at the 12-month follow-up. Moreover, five caregivers opted to send their youth to private sexual offender treatment services. These youth were retained in the TAU condition because Illinois has legislated minimum standards for sexual offender treatment providers that are very similar to treatment practices in the juvenile sexual offender unit in the probation department.
MST has a relatively intensive and comprehensive quality assurance protocol that aims to promote youth and family outcomes through enhanced therapist adherence to MST treatment principles. This protocol includes a 5-day orientation training, quarterly booster training, weekly face-to-face supervision from an MST supervisor, weekly telephone consultation with an MST expert, and ongoing fidelity monitoring from several sources (e.g., caregiver ratings, supervisor reports, consultant reports). As reviewed by Schoenwald (2008), this quality assurance system is well specified, and several studies have demonstrated significant associations between therapist adherence to the MST protocols and short- and long-term youth outcomes. For present purposes, the MST Therapist Adherence Measure (TAM; Henggeler & Borduin, 1992) was completed monthly by caregivers in the MST condition to assess treatment adherence. Although mean scores were below those of MST therapists in a recently completed clinical trial (Henggeler et al., 2006) and a 45-site transportability study (Schoenwald, Sheidow, Letourneau, & Liao, 2003), scores were well above those of therapists who were not delivering MST in that clinical trial (Henggeler et al., 2006).
The key outcome measures examined in the present study were those that had demonstrated significant treatment effects in the parent study (Letourneau et al., 2008).
Adolescent antisocial behavior (i.e., externalizing behaviors, delinquency, and substance use) was tapped with three well-validated instruments. (a) The Externalizing T-scores of the Youth Self Report of the Child Behavior Checklist (YSR; Achenbach, 1995) were used to assess youth externalizing behaviors. The Child Behavior Checklist measures are considered among the best for assessing youth mental health functioning (e.g., Hudziak, Copeland, Stanger, & Wadsworth, 2004). (b) The 40-item Self-Report Delinquency Scale (SRD; Elliott, Ageton, Huizinga, Knowles, & Canter, 1983) is one of the best validated of the self-report delinquency scales (Thornberry & Krohn, 2000) and was used to assess criminal activity during the previous 6 months. (c) Substance use was assessed with 12 items from the Personal Experience Inventory (PEI; Winters & Henly, 1989) that tap the frequency of self-reported substance use for the previous 3 months.
Youth sexual deviance and risk taking were assessed with the youth-report and parent-report versions of the Adolescent Sexual Behavior Inventory (ASBI; Friedrich, Lysne, Sim, & Shamos, 2004), a 45-item instrument that measures inappropriate or concerning sexual behaviors. The ASBI was based on the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI; Friedrich, 1997), the only measure of child sexual behavior that has been normed, validated, and published (Friedrich, Olafson, & Connelly, 2004). The ASBI extends the CSBI by assessing sexual risk taking and other sexual behaviors in older youth (i.e., 12 to 18 years) at risk for sexual aggression or other harmful or sexual risk-taking behaviors (Friedrich, Lysne et al., 2004). In particular, the ASBI is used in clinical settings (e.g., Kolko, Noel, Thomas, & Torres, 2004) and in federally funded research(e.g., NIMH 057727, D. Kolko, PI) for the assessment of juveniles who sexually offend. An initial principal components factor analysis indicated five scales for both the parent and youth report versions, accounting for 47% and 38% of the total variance for parent and youth reports, respectively (Friedrich, Lysne et al., 2004). For purposes of the present study, two of five subscales were examined: deviant sexual interests and sexual risk/misuse (risk). The three other scales (i.e., concerns about appearance, fear, and sexual knowledge and interest) were not viewed as key indices of treatment outcome. The youth and caregiver report on the deviant sexual interests scales include nine and five items, respectively (e.g., "has been accused of sexually abusing another person" and "peeps into windows or tries to see others in the bathroom"). The youth and caregiver report on the sexual risk/misuse scales include 8 and 10 items, respectively (e.g., "pushes others into having sex" and "gets used sexually by others"). In the original validation study, internal consistencies for these scales were .81 and .79 (caregiver report) and .77 and .65 (youth report), respectively. The extent to which these two scales measure distinct constructs is unclear. For example, in a more recent factor analysis, items from these scales loaded together (Wherry, Berres, Sim, & Friedrich, in press). Consequently, and for reasons of parsimony, the deviant sexual interests and sexual risk/misuse scales were combined into a single sexual behavior problem composite score for the present study. Mean internal consistencies for the composite scales across the three time points were .73 for caregiver reports and .57 for youth reports.
As discussed previously, an extensive body of correlational and longitudinal research and a small body of research on the mediators of favorable outcomes of evidence-based treatments of antisocial behavior in adolescents suggest that key mediating constructs pertain to caregiver parenting practices and youth association with deviant peers.
Scales from the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS; Loeber, Stouthamer-Loeber, van Kammen, & Farrington, 1991) were used to evaluate youth and caregiver reports of parenting constructs separately for each informant. These scales included lax discipline (seven items for both caregiver and youth scales), caregiver supervision (five items for caregiver scale and four items for youth scale), and communication (four items for caregiver scale and five items for youth scale). The lax discipline items (e.g., "Do you let your child get away with things?") come from the PYS Discipline Scale and assess caregiver follow-through on discipline practices. The supervision items (e.g., "If you or another adult are not at home, does your child leave a note or call you to let you know where she/he is?") come from the PYS Supervision/Involvement Scale and assess caregiver monitoring of the youth's whereabouts. The communication items (e.g., "In the past 90 days, about how often have you discussed with your child his/her plans for the next day?") come from the PYS Revised Parent-Adolescent Communication Form. Communication items tap caregiver-youth discussion about daily activities. The items that comprise these parenting scales are rated using a Likert response format. Higher values indicate better outcomes for the communication and supervision scales and poorer outcomes for the lax discipline scale. These scales are well-validated with established reliability and construct validity (e.g., Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, & Van Kammen, 1998; Loeber et al., 2001). In the current sample, the internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha) for the parenting scales (youth and caregiver report) ranged from .64 to .84 across the three times of assessment.
Caregiver disapproval of the youth's friends and youth association with deviant versus conventional peers were assessed with three validated scales from the PYS (Loeber et al., 1991; Pardini, Loeber, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 2005). These scales assessed bad friends (combining four items from youth reports with four items from caregiver reports), peer delinquency (11 items, youth report), and peer conventional activities (eight items, youth report). The bad friends items (e.g., "Were there any children among your group of friends of which your caregiver disapproved?") come from the PYS Parents and Peers Scale. The bad friends items are rated by both youth and caregivers using a yes-no response format and summed to yield a total score, with higher scores reflecting greater caregiver disapproval of and concern about the negative influence of the youth's friends. The peer delinquency items (e.g., "During the past 90 days, how many of your friends have stolen something worth more than $5 but less than $100?") come from the PYS Peer Delinquency Scale. These items are rated on a Likert scale with higher scores reflecting more frequent peer engagement in delinquent behaviors. The peer conventional activity items (e.g., "During the past 90 days, how many of your friends have been involved in school athletics?") were based on the PYS Conventional Activities of Peers Scale. The items that comprise this scale are rated using a Likert response format with higher scores reflecting higher involvement in prosocial activities among the youth's friends. In the current sample, the internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha) for the peer relations scales ranged from .67 to .89 across the three times of assessment.
The data are comprised of three repeated measurements (level-1) nested within 127 youth/caregivers (level-2), yielding a two-level Mixed-Effects Regression Model (MRM). The outcome and mediator processes (i.e., slopes) were modeled according to a linear polynomial term with values of 0, 1, and 2 corresponding to the three evenly spaced measurement occasions; and treatment condition was coded such that MST = 0 and TAU = 1.
Because of a preponderance of 0 responses, scores on the SRD, PEI, and ASBI composite youth- and caregiver-report scales were dichotomized to reflect any report of delinquent behavior, substance use, or sexual behavior problems. Due to positively skewed distributions, scores on caregiver reports of the PYS supervision and communication scales were dichotomized to reflect low versus high levels of caregiver-reported supervision or communication. The remaining outcomes and mediators were modeled as continuous variables.
MRMs were performed using HLM software (version 6.04; Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, Congdon, & du Toit, 2004) with Restricted Maximum Likelihood estimation (continuous dependent variables) or Penalized Quasi-Likelihood estimation using a Bernoulli distribution and logit link function (dichotomous dependent variables). Robust SEs were used to compute the Wald (i.e., T-ratio) test statistic for the fixed effects (Maas & Hox, 2005), and Population-Average results were interpreted for dichotomous outcomes (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). A random effect was always modeled for initial status, and a random effect was modeled for slope when it improved fit according to the likelihood ratio test (continuous dependent variables) or when the Wald test for the slope variance component was significant (dichotomous dependent variables). To yield interpretable model intercepts, the linear polynomial term and treatment condition indicator were entered uncentered, and continuous covariates (described subsequently) were centered around their grand mean according to the method described by Raudenbush and Bryk (2002). Of note, this centering strategy only affects the interpretation of the model intercept, with the intercept value corresponding to the predicted baseline score for the youth in the MST condition who have an average score on the continuous covariate(s).
The product of coefficients test (i.e., A Path × B Path) with asymmetric confidence limits was used to test for mediation (MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, & Sheets, 2002). Asymmetric confidence limits and critical values for the product of coefficients were computed using the PRODCLIN program (MacKinnon, Fritz, Williams, & Lockwood, 2007; MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004).
The longitudinal nature of the outcome and putative mediator variables has important implications for the statistical method used to test for mediation. Specifically, the A Path addresses the question, "Does treatment affect the mediator process?," and the B Path addresses the question, "Does the mediator process affect the outcome process?" Analytically, the present data conform to the parallel process latent growth curve modeling approach described by Cheong, MacKinnon, and Khoo (2003). However, for several reasons, the methodology of Cheong et al. was adapted to the case of MRMs. Specifically, because the present investigation aims to identify mechanisms by which the treatment effects reported in the parent study (Letourneau et al., 2008) operate, it was important to employ a consistent analytic methodology, to utilize the findings of the parent study in the tests of mediation (i.e., the C Path results), and to facilitate direct comparison and interpretation of the present findings with those of the parent study. Of note, this adaptation provides a relatively direct replication of the equations provided by Cheong et al. (p. 246). A key difference, however, and a limitation of this adaptation, is that it implicitly assumes that the mediator process for each youth was modeled without error.
Because conventional MRM software does not simultaneously model two change processes, the A and B Path models were estimated separately. The A Path model was specified according to
where LINEAR is the measurement occasion, TAU is treatment condition, INTYi is each participant's initial status on the outcome process (centered around the grand mean initial status), and β11 provides the A Path coefficient and SE.
Because the B Path represents the effect of the mediator slope on the outcome slope, a separate step was required to extend the Cheong et al. (2003) method to the MRM case by generating a participant-specific mediator slope to be used as a predictor of the outcome process. The HLM level-2 residual file for each mediator process provided the Empirical Bayes Estimate (EBE) of each participant's initial status and rate of change on the mediator (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). EBEs provide accurate estimates and are robust to violations of random effects distribution assumptions in designs similar to that of the present study (Candel & Winkens, 2003). The B Path model was specified according to
where INTMi is each participant's initial status on the mediator process (centered around the grand mean initial status). SLOPEM is each participant's slope on the mediator process (centered around the grand mean slope). β13 provides the B Path coefficient and SE. Product of coefficients tests were conducted using the A and B Path coefficients and SEs obtained in these models, with statistical significance of the mediated effect indicated by confidence limits that do not cross 0.
The mean age of the adolescent sexual offenders was 14.6 years (SD = 1.7 years) at pretreatment, and only three (2.4%) of the youth were female. Reflecting the makeup of the collaborating county, 54% of youth were Black, 44% were White, and of these, 31% indicated Hispanic ethnicity. The index sexual offenses (i.e., those offenses that made the youth eligible for this study) included aggravated criminal sexual assault (31%), criminal sexual assault (18%), aggravated criminal sexual abuse (15%), criminal sexual abuse (24%), other sexual offenses (5%), and sexual offenses that were pled (i.e., officially reduced) to nonsexual offenses (7%). In addition, 35% of the youth had a history of arrest for other nonsexual offenses (i.e., not pled from sexual offenses). Regarding primary caregivers, 64% were mothers, 19% were other female relatives, 15% were fathers, 2% were foster parents, and 1% was an "other" male relative. Seventy-two percent of the youth lived with two adult caregivers, and 28% lived with one adult caregiver. Overall, family socioeconomic status was relatively low, with 41% of caregivers not completing high school, 27% graduating from high school, and 32% completing one or more years of college. Likewise, 33% of families earned less than $10,000/year, 38% earned $10,000 to $30,000/year, and 29% earned $30,000 or more.
Independent samples t-tests and chi-square analyses were used to examine baseline differences between treatment conditions on the index offense, presence of non-sexual (prior) offenses, and demographic variables. In no case did a statistically significant between-groups difference emerge, supporting the randomization process.
Tests of mediation were conducted for the significant outcomes (i.e., antisocial behavior, sexual behavior problems) reported in the parent study (Letourneau et al., 2008) and for the putative mediators consistent with extant research (i.e., parenting practices, delinquent peer association). Youth age, race, and prior offense history were included as covariates for each of these models. Descriptive statistics for each of the outcome variables and putative mediators by treatment condition and assessment occasion are presented in Table 1.
Youth and parents in the MST condition reported significantly greater reductions from pretreatment to 12 months post recruitment on externalizing symptoms (YSR), β11 = 2.49, SE = 1.08, T (333) = 2.31, p < .05, 95% CIβ11 = 0.37 to 4.61; delinquency (SRD), β11 = .92, SE = .27, T (358) = 3.38, p < .01, 95% CI β11 = 0.40 to 1.44; substance use (PEI), β11 = 1.20, SE = .29, T (358) = 4.19, p < .001, 95% CI β11 = 0.63 to 1.77; youth reported sexual deviance and risk taking (ASBI), β11 = .70, SE = .25, T (367) = 2.76, p < .01, 95% CI β11 = 0.21 to 1.19; and caregiver reported sexual deviance and risk taking (ASBI), β11 = .67, SE = .24, T (367) = 2.82, p < .01, 95% CI β11 = 0.20 to 1.14 scores, relative to their TAU counterparts.
To answer this question, a series of analyses evaluated the treatment effect on the nine putative mediator variables, with the effect of the initial status of each of the five outcome variables held constant. The results from these models revealed significant treatment effects for two of the mediator variables (i.e., bad friends scale, lax discipline-youth report scale). For the bad friends scale, scores for the MST condition decreased significantly over time (βs ranged from −.86 to −.91, Ts > −4.70, ps < .001, CIβs = −1.28 to −0.51) and, relative to the MST condition, scores for the TAU condition decreased significantly less over time (βs ranged from .57 to .69, Ts > 2.16, ps < .05, CIβs = 0.06 to 1.29) when the effect of the initial status of each of the five outcome variables was held constant. Of note, the coefficient for the TAU condition represents a deviation from the slope for the MST condition. Given an MST slope of −0.86 and a TAU coefficient of 0.57, the TAU slope is computed as −0.29 (i.e., −0.86 + 0.57), and this difference is significant as indicated above. For the lax discipline-youth report scale, scores for the MST condition decreased significantly over time (βs ranged from −.12 to −.14, Ts > −4.31, ps < .001, CIβs = −0.20 to −0.05) and, relative to the MST condition, scores for the TAU condition decreased significantly less over time (βs ranged from .05 to .14, Ts > 2.20, ps < .05, CIβs = 0.01 to 0.21) when the effect of the initial status of four of the five outcome variables was held constant. Significant treatment effects were not detected on the other variables (ps > .05); thus, they were eliminated from consideration as potential mediators in the present investigation.
Next, analyses were conducted to explore the effect of the bad friends and lax discipline-youth report putative mediator slopes on the outcome slopes. Results (see Table 2) revealed significant mediator slope effects of bad friends on the SRD, PEI, and ASBI composite youth-report scales. These models indicated that the rate of change on the bad friends scale was significantly associated with improvement on these three outcome scales from pretreatment to 12 months post recruitment (SRD, 95% CI β13 = 1.44 to 11.04; PEI, 95% CI β13 = 1.54 to 10.97; ASBI composite youth-report, 95% CI β13 = 1.14 to 11.34). For the lax discipline-youth report scale, results (see Table 2) showed significant mediator slope effects on the YSR externalizing, SRD, and both ASBI composite scales. These models indicated that the rate of change on the lax discipline scale was significantly associated with improvement on these four outcome scales from pretreatment to 12 months post recruitment (YSR externalizing, 95% CIβ13 = 19.32 to 39.16; SRD, 95% CIβ13 = 2.28 to 7.46; ASBI composite youth-report, 95% CIβ13 = 1.36 to 6.92; ASBI composite caregiver-report, 95% CIβ13 = 0.04 to 5.8).
As described by Cheong et al. (2003), mediation is implied when there is a significant treatment effect on the mediator process (A Path) combined with a significant effect of the mediator process on the outcome process (B Path). The models tested above that were characterized by this pattern of results are summarized in Table 2. For these models, the product of coefficients test was used to determine the point estimate of the mediated effect and the corresponding 95% asymmetric confidence intervals according to the data analytic procedures described previously. A mediated effect is considered statistically significant when the confidence interval does not include zero (MacKinnon et al., 2007). As shown in Table 3, none of the lower and upper confidence limits based on the distribution of the products contained zero. This indicates that bad friends and/or lax discipline significantly mediated the MST outcomes for the SRD, PEI, and ASBI composite scales.
The purpose of this study was to examine the mechanisms by which MST decreased the antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors of juvenile sexual offenders participating in a randomized effectiveness trial. Outcome analyses showed MST treatment effects on youth delinquency, substance use, externalizing symptoms, and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors. Several potential parenting and peer-related mediators were examined, and two revealed significant MST treatment effects. Caregivers in the MST condition evidenced significantly decreased concerns about the youths' association with bad friends throughout the 12-month follow-up relative to their TAU counterparts, based on youth and caregiver reports. Also, based on youth reports, caregivers in the MST condition evidenced significantly increased disciplinary follow-through on youth misbehavior (i.e., decreased lax discipline) during the follow-up compared to caregivers in the TAU condition. Bad friends and lax discipline were examined as possible mediators of MST effects on youth antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors. The corresponding results were relatively consistent, with six mediational analyses showing significant effects. Bad friends mediated MST effects on offender delinquency, substance use, and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors-youth reports. Lax discipline mediated MST effects on delinquency and both youth and caregiver reports of deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors.
Together, the findings suggest that MST empowered caregivers to better identify friends who were having a negative influence on their adolescents, advise them to stop associating with such friends, and follow-through on planned discipline. These behaviors, in turn, led to decreased antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interest/risk behaviors on the part of the adolescent sexual offenders. Assuming that this conceptualization of the mediational processes is at least partially correct, these findings support a central emphasis of MST - the empowerment of caregivers to provide more consistent discipline to their delinquent youth and to attempt to extract these youth from their deviant peers. Before interpreting the present findings further, it is valuable to review the methodology and findings of the present study in consideration of the criteria for demonstrating mediators of change described by Kazdin (2007). First and most obvious, significant associations must be demonstrated between the therapeutic intervention, the hypothesized mediators, and the outcome measures. These associations are discussed extensively in the Results section.
Second, a demonstration of specificity is useful, where therapeutic change is accounted for by a limited number of constructs rather than by many plausible constructs. Several parenting- and peer-related measures were not identified as mediators in the present study, including caregiver communication and supervision, and the peer delinquency and conventional activities scales. A close, post hoc review of the items that comprise these scales might help to explain the specificity observed for this study. For example, the communication scale assesses caregiver-youth discussion about the activities of the day and those planned for the next day - with no emphasis on the appropriateness of the activities or attempt to change them. Similarly, the peer delinquency scale assesses the extent of delinquent behavior among the youth's friends during the past 90 days - with no indication of the degree to which the youth was associating with these friends. In contrast, the lax discipline and bad friends scales identified as mediators in the present study tapped caregiver attempts to influence peer association and discipline problem youth behavior. Thus, these latter scales might better reflect the clinical emphases of MST.
Third, Kazdin (2007) noted that consistency of replication of results across studies, samples, and conditions contributes to inferences about mediators. In this regard, the results of the present study are consistent with the aforementioned findings for MTFC (Eddy & Chamberlain, 2000) that caregiver (i.e., foster parent) behavior management practices and juvenile offenders' association with deviant peers were key mediators of subsequent criminal activity. Likewise, the present results are consistent with the aforementioned findings of Lochman and Wells (2002) regarding the mediational role of inconsistent parent discipline for the Coping Power program. Finally, though not a formal mediational study, the results are consistent with those of Huey et al. (2000) across two MST randomized trials with juvenile offenders. Together, these studies suggest that changes in caregiver discipline practices and youth association with deviant peers are critical factors in the attenuation of antisocial behavior in adolescents.
Fourth, the timeline of the causal relationship must be established. The temporal relation between change in the bad friends and lax discipline mediators and change in the outcomes was difficult to discern due to the limited number of assessment occasions in the current study. As noted by Kazdin (2007), multiple, repeated assessments of the mediators and outcomes over the course of treatment are needed to effectively evaluate time sequence (i.e., whether change in the mediator precedes change in the outcome or whether change in the outcome precedes change in the mediator). Although more frequent measurements of the mediator and outcome, particularly during the course of treatment, would permit greater flexibility in modeling the two change processes (e.g., through the application of discontinuous change models), the data analysis strategy used here represents a notable improvement over previous studies that have exclusively focused on cross-sectional associations between mediator and outcome constructs. Nevertheless, in light of the well-established bidirectionality of family relations, perhaps decreased youth behavior problems led to decreased caregiver disapproval of the youth's bad friends and made it easier for caregivers to follow through on disciplinary practices (i.e., decreased lax discipline). The correlational nature of the data do not preclude this interpretation, in contrast with our preferred view that improved parenting led to decreased behavior problems.
Kazdin's fifth recommendation for demonstrating mediation is to show a gradient whereby greater activation of the proposed mediator is associated with greater change in an outcome. The current approach is consistent with this recommendation as it involved a direct test of the relation between the magnitude of change on the mediator (defined here as each youth's slope on the mediator) and growth or change on a given outcome over time.
Finally, the plausibility and coherence of how a mechanism operates and fits with findings from the broader research literature contributes to inferences regarding the mediator. The important roles that caregiver discipline and youth association with deviant peers play in the development and maintenance of antisocial behavior have been supported consistently by an extensive correlational and longitudinal literature (Loeber & Farrington, 1998; U.S. Public Health Service, 2001). The present results fit well with that literature and most closely replicate the findings of Eddy and Chamberlain (2000).
In light of the small extant literature noted previously and the degree to which the findings meet Kazdin's (2007) criteria for demonstrating mediators of clinical change, the present findings have important clinical implications for MST and other interventions aimed at reducing antisocial behavior in adolescents. First, the findings that lax discipline and bad friends mediated both youth antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interests/risk behaviors supports the contention that the determinants of general antisocial behavior in adolescents have much in common with the determinants of adolescent sexual behavior problems (Butler & Seto, 2002; Letourneau, Borduin & Schaeffer, in press; van Wijk et al., 2005). This suggests, for example, that treatments that are effective for delinquency also hold promise in treating adolescent sexual offending. Second, these results in conjunction with those of Huey et al. (2000), suggest that reducing deviant peer affiliation is critical to the success of MST. As discussed in the MST treatment protocols (e.g., Henggeler et al., 1998), several clinical emphases are assumed important to achieving the aim of reduced association with deviant peers. These include caregiver sanctions for continued association with deviant peers, caregiver support of youth involvement with more prosocial peers, caregiver support of youth participation in prosocial peer activities that have adult supervision (e.g,. sports, church youth groups, clubs), and the development of increased social and academic competence in school. Third, consistent with the extensive body of research synthesized by Dodge, Dishion, and Lansford (2006), the findings suggest that group-based interventions that increase youth association with deviant peers while ignoring caregiver discipline strategies might be less effective than family-based approaches such as MST. We should caution, however, that some reviewers (e.g., Waldron & Turner, 2008) have concluded that well-specified cognitive-behavioral approaches delivered in group settings can attenuate adolescent antisocial behavior.
Assuming the veracity of the present findings, the most important goal of future research should be to determine the specific components of treatment (e.g., in-session behaviors, protocols) that lead to improved caregiver discipline and disengagement of youth from deviant peers. The MST model assumes that an essential precursor to caregiver empowerment and improved discipline is the effective identification and amelioration of barriers to parenting effectiveness (e.g., caregiver substance abuse, untreated mental health problems, high stress, despair). The hypothesized determinants of these barriers are identified and addressed by the therapist before treatment moves on to provide the resources (e.g., parenting knowledge, parenting skills, indigenous social support to sustain those skills) needed to address the youth's serious antisocial behavior. Although the empirical analysis of such complex clinical processes is daunting, progress has been made by researchers of other evidence-based treatments of antisocial behavior in children (e.g., Patterson & Chamberlain, 1994) and adolescents (e.g., Robbins, Alexander, & Turner, 2000) in examining in-session links between therapist behaviors and caregiver behaviors.
Study limitations pertain primarily to issues of external validity and the circumscribed nature of the measurement methods. First, although juvenile sexual offenders share many characteristics with other juvenile offenders, studies comparing these groups have failed to include measures of deviant sexual beliefs and arousal patterns, putative specific causes of sexual offending in adolescents (Ronis & Borduin, 2007). Thus, the observed findings do not necessarily generalize to other types of serious juvenile offenders or to offenders who have been incarcerated or placed in residential facilities for their offenses. Second, the ASBI is a promising measure of adolescent sexual behavior that enjoys several advantages over the limited set of alternative measures (e.g., the ASBI was created within a developmental framework rather than adapted from an adult measure and includes both parent and youth report). This measure, however, is relatively new, and further research is needed to more completely delineate its psychometric properties. Third, it is possible that other measures (e.g., observational) of the family and peer constructs assessed as mediators in this study, other outcomes (e.g., sexual recidivism), or other potential mediating constructs (e.g., problem solving skills) might have yielded different results. As noted earlier, however, the individualized nature of MST interventions creates challenges in examining potential mediators because interventions do not always target the same mediators in each case. Finally, the statistical methodology was adapted from an approach used to model two simultaneous change processes. One consequence of this adaptation is that the mediator change process for each youth was modeled without error. The mediator slope estimates used for each youth were generated using a robust method, (i.e., Empirical Bayes Estimates) for estimating each youth's slope. It is possible, however, that other statistical approaches could lead to different conclusions regarding the mediator and outcome processes. Of note, the confidence intervals for some of the mediator process effects covered a wide range of values, suggesting a level of imprecision in these effects. As a result, the confidence intervals should be considered when interpreting the findings.
In conclusion, the findings support the MST theory of change and are consistent with the small extant literature in this area of research. Improvements in caregiver disciplinary practices, especially pertaining to youth association with problem friends, were key mediators of decreased antisocial behavior and deviant sexual interests/risk behaviors. These findings have important clinical implications for the community-based treatment of juvenile sexual offenders and possibly for the treatment of adolescent antisocial behavior in general.
This manuscript was supported by grant R01MH65414 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
We sincerely thank the many families that participated in this project as well as the clinical and research teams including Jessica Jankowski, David Camacho, Carlos Corado, Tresa Taylor, Jennifer Smith Powell, Timothy Snowden, Charles Alexander, Michael Selders, Gaby Adisho, Laura Oddi, Donyetta Jones, and Amy Cullen. The success of this study depended upon close collaboration with the Cook County State's Attorneys Office, especially Sister Katherine Ryan, Kathleen Bankhead, James McCarter, Margaret Cunningham, Mary Jennings, Lynda Peters, and Joan Pernecke. Finally, we are indebted to professionals at the Circuit Court of Cook County and Juvenile Probation and Court Services. Judge Curtis Heaston permitted the random assignment of youth to treatment conditions. Director Mike J. Rohan, Simon Dmukauskas, Irvin Ashford, and Amanda Halawa-Mahdi provided access to essential treatment information.
Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at http://www.apa.org/journals/ccp/
PubMed Central Canada is a service of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) working in partnership with the National Research Council's national science library in cooperation with the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine(NCBI/NLM). It includes content provided to the PubMed Central International archive by participating publishers. |


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This upcoming summer I will be doing the John Muir Trail, again. I have done this trail several times now and with the combined experience from my dad I will be writing on ideas and concepts that might make your backpacking experience more enjoyable, functional and unorthodox. What happens when unorthodox becomes the orthodox? What happens when thinking outside the box becomes the norm?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Unorthodox: An Introduction
Sometimes when people see the word 'unorthodox' they think taboo or bad. This is not the case with me or with my blog. As defined by most dictionaries, Unorthodox simply means: independent in behavior or thought. There are certain standards that every backpacker follows, such as bring a backpack, bring food, bring water. If you break away from those things and try to 'free think' and do something non-conforming then you will likely end up dead or in really bad shape. Way to be a free thinker on that one. However, there are certain aspects of backpacking that can be allowed the privilege of unorthodox thinking. That will be the basis of this blog along with added content about my trip and other things backpacking that come to mind.
5 comments:
Looking at the list:
I never understood trowels. I have never lacked for a radom stick or pointy rock to dig a poo-hole with.
Nail clippers? agood swiss army knife has a pait of sissors that work great as well as all the other cool stuff.
Our river crossers are way cool...thanks Borg. I'll know how cool in about 4 weeks.
did the list mention duck tape? gotta have duck tape.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Broken Harbor; Tana French
26 comments:
I found Broken Harbor a WOW! book and was delighted to find her. I do want to read her other books.
ReplyDeleteI also have In the Woods and have been meaning to read it for what seems like FOREVER! I need to get to it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review. I'll look out for Broken Harbour... Dublin Murder Squad sounds intriguing. I've not heard of this series. Now, is it Dublin, Ireland? I'm curious why Harbour is spelled as Harbor. Just wondering...
ReplyDeleteI've read the first three - they're definitely worthy of a read! I'm really looking forward to this one, thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to reading BROKEN HARBOR. I read IN THE WOODS several years ago and then read THE FAITHFUL PLACE last year with my book group. Still need to get to THE LIKENSS (which I've heard such good things about from other friends). This is a series, but only loosely. Tana French takes a character from her previous book, sometimes a fairly minor character, and makes them the lead protagonist in the next book. It's an interesting way to tie things together and I usually spend the book wondering who will head up the next one. I had guessed that Scorcher's partner Richie would be the lead, but it was Scorcher himself. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh I just knew you would love her!! Tana French is amazing! And you don't really need to read in order but she does introduce the next main character in her books in the previous books. It is an interesting way to write and she does amazing. All four of her books have been as good (or better than) Broken Harbor. She is definitely one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI've read all three of French's previous mysteries and although there's been a lot of hype about this new one, I know it's one I want to read sooner than later. She gets better and better with each new publication! Now to find the time. I'm in the middle of two chunksters -- The Thorn Birds (buddy read with Bellezza) and The Passage (on audio). It may be October before I get to this one! On second thought, maybe I'll wait and read it on my flight to TX in November. It's sure to be one that keeps me distracted. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have heard a lot about this author and series lately. I was thinking of getting this one or the previous one for my husband for his birthday - he loves mysteries and suspense!
Great review -
Book By Book
Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thank again for visiting.
(I apologize for the word verification, spammers spoil it for all sadly.)


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P is for Practical | |
PerlMonks |
Re^3: A brief survey of the DBI usability layer modules on the CPANby metaperl (Curate) |
on Nov 01, 2005 at 22:24 UTC ( #504763=note: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
But in the meantime I need to be able to look at my code and see what�s going on without having to stop and think hard for a third of a second at every other method, or I�ll never get anything done.It sounds like your code is too DWIS instead of DWIM. Your top-level code should just be do_this, do_that which no hint of what model is doing what for you.
In Section


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I was 9 or 10 years old when I was first told about masturbation by a friend who was a year older than me. At that stage I did not think there was anything special about it. I shared a room with my younger brother, but fortunately, as I developed and came to enjoy masturbation, I was able to move into a room of my own and enjoy the privilege of masturbating in private without having to wait for my younger brother to get to sleep. I still had lots of "wet-dreams," although my mother did not seem to be fazed by the stains on the sheets. She was upset when I decided I was going to sleep naked, which is something I still do. My father could never quite bring himself to explaining the facts of growing up to us.
I recall as a young teenager being envious and awed by the openness and natural acceptance of masturbation by my farming cousin. He went to a boarding school in the nearest village, and he told me everybody in the in the school dormitory masturbated every night after lights-out. They each used their dirty socks to contain their semen, which kept everything nice and clean, and the socks went straight into the laundry basket with no telltale stains on the sheets. He said almost nobody in the dormitory ever had a "wet-dream." On the farm they grew a type of melon in the maize [corn] fields. He would cut a hole in the melon and use it as an artificial vagina for his masturbation sessions when he was home from school.
I was a town boy, living on the outskirts of the capital city. When I was an adolescent just after World War II it was an almost frontier-like existence, and life was relatively simple. The city is situated between several rows of rolling hilly ridges called "koppies," rather like rocky waves. One of my friends would sometimes visit me while I was trying to complete my schoolwork. He would lean against the wall, open his fly, pull out his penis, and start slowly masturbating as an encouragement for me to join him. Scared that my mother might catch us, I would stop my schoolwork, and we would go for a walk up the uninhabited hill behind my home to masturbate ourselves.
Not far from my home was an old railway bridge over a valley, constructed with arches. On one of my walks through the wooded area, I found a used condom discarded in one of the arches under the bridge. I examined it with great excitement and interest, as I had only heard of condoms, but never seen one. I remember smelling it, feeling the semen, thinking what a lot of semen there was in it, and of trying the semen-filled condom on myself. I was not then aware of the serious dangers of becoming infected by one or more sexually transmitted disease, which I could have picked up from the semen in the condom.
When I was young I was very limber and could fold myself with my knees over my shoulders to reach my stretched foreskin, and sometimes just reach the head of my penis with my tongue. However, I never managed to stretch enough to suck on it.
At one stage when I was about 18, I owned a light motorcycle and was holding the bike by the saddle while chatting to a girl. She suddenly threw her leg over the bike and sat on the saddle, right onto where my hand was placed. I reacted as if it was a scorpion, and whipped my hand out of the way of her genitals. I sometimes regret my excessive modesty and shyness of those days.
When I as at University, before I could afford to buy my own sleeping bag, I needed one to go on a camp. I asked two of the senior guys if I could borrow one from them. They laughed and said they used their sleeping bags in the mountains, where they regularly masturbated. I could borrow one if I did not mind that the insides of the sleeping bags were white and stiff from their dried semen. With a red face I declined the offer and managed to borrow another sleeping bag without a reputation.
It was while living in the University residence that I was able for the first time to try on an illicitly borrowed jockstrap which had been hung up to dry. I later went and bought my own, as the feeling of wearing one seemed to make me incredibly horny. It was also there that I got walked in on while stroking away stark naked on a lazy weekend afternoon. Because the university city was not my hometown and I was unknown, I felt I was able to work through my inhibitions and embarrassment and assert myself. I would sometimes pluck up courage, red-faced and with sweaty palms, to march into a pharmacy and buy a pack of condoms to use in my masturbation sessions.
I could most probably have been described as an "original nerd," urgently wanting to experiment sexually but fearful of the consequences. Although consumed by guilt, I was never able to give up the wonderful sensations achieved through masturbation. I was still a virgin at 27 when I got married, and am still married to the same wonderful woman after 36 years (with 3 children and grandchildren), and still enjoy masturbating. Since discovering JackinWorld (which has opened up a whole new world of understanding and acceptance to me), I am now almost totally relaxed about what was previously my "secret vice." Through all of my wide reading of erotic books and sex manuals, including the Kinsey Report, I was never convinced that what I was doing was perfectly normal.
I have presented and published a number of technical papers and have been honored by several learned societies in being elected as a Fellow. I sometimes wonder, while we are debating, if my colleagues guess what sexy thoughts are going on in my head, or if they also share similar thoughts.
I have always been a strong believer in the freedom of speech. I firmly consider that no other person can assume that they have the right to "protect" me by taking away my right to choose to read or see what I want to, so long as it does not harm anybody else.
Do you find yourself masturbating more often during some seasons than others? Why?
Answer this question | Suggest a question
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Melon baller


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ACParadise Network:
American Cosplay Paradise
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Cosplayer chibik3r0 > Costume of Joshua Christopher (Chrono Crusade)
- Most Recent Photo
- 12-11-2010
- Series
- Chrono Crusade
- Character
- Joshua Christopher
- Year Completed:
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- Awards
- Best Artisan - Anime North 2010
- Costume worn at:
- Anime North 2010
- Youmacon 2010
About this Costume
- Construction Details:
This was a surprisingly simple costume with little to no stress involved. As well as cheap since I got the fabric on sale. Only thing I didn't make was the white dress shirt.
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Great location one of my favorite beaches. There is a good ramp access and bathrooms. Always glad to be on a beach with a lifeguard.
My favorite thing in the world is an empty beach! Unspoiled without the people, umbrellas, beach chairs, and thousands of other things folks feel the need to bring to the beach. The few patrons we did see were far off in the distance creating a private experience for my family to kick back and just enjoy the ocean. If you're... More
This beach is gorgeous. I didn't have the luck of shell hunting that others did. I didn't see hardly any shells. However, this is a well kept beautiful beach! I hope to visit again.
The beach was fantastic and very relaxing. Must stop when on the island. The beach was white and water warm.
Lifeguards leave after Labor Day. There was no charge in Sept. Read a review that said they only had porta pottys, not true. There are 3 or 4 Pit Toilets, each in a separate room that was clean with hand sanitzer. Outside showers and outdoor changing booths. Laqrge parking lot and concrete walkway all the way from parking to the... More
the finest beach on the east coast! Clean, white sand as far as the eye can see. The waves are gentle and enjoyable. Warm water.
Perhaps he was due to it being the end of August but there were almost no people on this beach. It was great having 2 lifeguards but one exercised while the other watched. The beach was great for shells
Gorgeous natural beach! The beach was very nice and clean. We went on a day trip from Nags Head. It was about an hour drive from Nags Head to to the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry. Took about 45 minutes to get on the ferry and 45 minutes to get to the island. We spent a few hours in the village... More
This has to be one of the best beaches on the east coast. Totally undeveloped and unspoiled. It was a short walk from the parking lot, maybe 150 yards. It seemed like our own private beach it is so isolated.
Our family of six had a SUPER visit here last week. Having lifeguards on duty inspired additional confidence in our boogie-boarding 8 year old grandson. The beach sand as you wade into the ocean is especially smooth and free of shells-at least where we were swimming. The changing areas were clean and handy, but note: no running water, chemical toilet... More
Where is a reasonably priced place to stay on this island?
Asking about cell reception...we have Verizon service with Galaxy phones? Is there reception? Not so much for the beach but for the entire area?
Is surfing allowed at this beach?
What is the fee?
Are dogs allowed on the beach?
See all questions (6)


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The tables below contain all known guest stars for the first two seasons of the original Mickey Mouse Club, by order of appearence. Some guests appeared more than once per season; others had a single appearence turned into two by the film editors. Disney paid a standard starting guest fee of $450, though at least one child guest star received $1,000 for his performance. Many guests didn't even get that; they were Disney contract players, voice-over artists, or employees, who appeared without additional compensation.
After the USA nearly swept the 1956 Olympic figure skating awards the show's producers booked five skating acts for guest star spots during the second season. The vast majority of guest stars, however, had tie-ins to other Disney projects. Third season guest stars appeared on either Mondays or Wednesdays, with Tuesdays usually given over to serials and cartoons. The only guest star to appear on a Tuesday during that season is listed at the bottom of the page.
Where available, images have been provided from the guest's actual appearence on the show. Failing that, general publicity photos or images from other film or television appearences have been used. For some of these folks, however, there is simply no picture available. Only original appearences are listed; reruns are excluded.
Most of the information below was extracted from original research done by Bill Cotter, however, any errors of fact or mistakes in interpretation are my own.
  Season 1   (1955-56)
  Season 2   (1956-57)
  Wally Boag
  Oct 4, 1955
  The Rolling Robinsons
  Roller Skaters
  Oct 2, 1956
  Sons of the Pioneers
  Western Singers
  Oct 11, 1955
  Dave Marco
  Silhouette puppets
  Oct 9, 1956
  George Givot
  Disney Voice Actor
  Oct 18, 1955
  The Birk Twins
  Oct 16, 1956
  Jeri Southern
  Oct 25, 1955
  Leo Carrillo
  Oct 23, 1956
  Jerry Colonna
  Nov 1, 1955
  Owen McGiveney
  Oct 30, 1956
  The Mellomen
  Singing Quartet
  Nov 8, 1955
  The Maxwells
  Comedy Skaters
  Nov 6, 1956
  Clarence Nash
  Cliff Edwards
  Jose Oliveira
  Nov 15, 1955
  Ronnie Robertson
  Willie Krall
  Ice Skaters
  Nov 13, 1956
  The Bell Sisters
  Singing Duo
  Filmed: 7/30/1955
  Nov 22, 1955
  Cliff Edwards
  Nov 20, 1956
  Candy Candido
  Disney Voice Actor
  Nov 29, 1955
  Firehouse 5+2
  Dixieland Jazz
  Nov 27, 1956
  The Happy Jesters
  Comic Singing Trio
  Dec 6, 1955
  Ray MacDonald
  Peggy Ryan
  Tap Dancers
  Dec 4, 1956
  Morey Amsterdam
  Dec 13, 1955
  Fess Parker
  Buddy Ebsen
  Disney Actors
  Dec 11, 1956
  Candy and Nancy
  Unknown act
  Dec 20, 1955
  Robert Lamouret
  Dec 18, 1956
  Firehouse 5+2
  Dixieland Jazz
  Dec 27, 1955
  Donna Atwood
  Ice Skater
  (1st half)
  Dec 25, 1956
  Carla Alberghetti
  Jan 17, 1956
  Phil Romayne
  Cathy Steele
  Ice Skaters
  Jan 1, 1957
  Helene Stanley
  Disney Actress
  Jan 24, 1956
  Donna Atwood
  Ice Skater
  (2nd Half)
  Feb 5, 1957
  Hank Penny
  Jan 31, 1956
  Fess Parker
  Disney Actor
  Feb 12, 1957
  Archer and Gile
  Folk Singers
  Feb 7, 1956
  Master Ralph
  Feb 19, 1957
  Larry Collins
  Feb 14, 1956
  Judy Canova
  Tweeny England
  Apr 16, 1957
  Clarence Nash
  Cliff Edwards
  Jose Oliveira
  Feb 21, 1956
  Gil Lamb
  Apr 23, 1957
  Donald Novis
  Judy Marsh
  Wally Boag
  Feb 28, 1956
  Sid Miller
  MMC Director
  Apr 30, 1957
  Season 3   (1957-58)
  Kevin Corcoran
  Disney Actor
  Mar 18, 1958


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Loading... Rune Games (original 1983; edition 1983)by Stella Longland & Marijane Osborn (Author), Stella Longland (Author), Marijane Osborn (Author), Mark Duffin (Cover artist), Steven Longland (Illustrator)
Work detailsRune Games by Marijane Osborn (1983)
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The changes were announced together with a gloomy trading statement which knocked almost 10 per cent off Pearson shares. The company warned that this year's profits will be hit by heavier-than-expected restructuring charges and significant job losses. Analysts downgraded profits forecasts as the shares fell 49p to 667p.
Pearson has addressed the succession question by saying that Mr Barlow will continue as chief executive until the annual meeting in May 1997. A successor will be announced then, the company said.
As the company is thought to favour an internal candidate, that puts three men in contention. One is John Makinson, managing director of the Financial Times, named yesterday as the group's new finance director. He will replace James Joll next April. Mr Joll, who is 59, will leave the board at the end of 1996.
Another candidate is Greg Dyke, the head of Pearson TV, who will be promoted to the main board in March. It is the first time Pearson has granted a boardroom seat to one of its divisional chiefs. David Bell, who is chief executive of the Financial Times group, will also join the board in March and is a possible heir-apparent.
The changes were welcomed in the City, which has been looking for fresh blood on the Pearson board. Pearson said yesterday that its re-organisation costs would cost around pounds 45m instead of the pounds 12m previously expected. The company has already made significant redundancies at Westminster Press and at the Financial Times, where the Isle of Dogs printing plant was closed.
It is now spending a further pounds 32m cutting backroom office costs, which will require further redundancies.
- More about:
- Business Magazines
- Financial Times
- Isle Of Dogs
- Pearson Plc


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Monday, December 21, 2009
☞ REMEMBER: Harlem Horse Trolley Circa 1892
If folks think the subways get cold in the winter, can you imagine what it was like sitting in a horse-drawn trolley to get uptown? That's exactly what folks had to deal with while using the main mode of transportation for the public from 1855 until around 1904, before the first subway was available. The Harlem Trolley's had metal wheels that followed metal tracks but had no engine. Horses supplied the power and the above photo shows what it must have been like traveling through a blizzard in 1892. It must have taken a couple of hours just to get to 125th Street from Wall Street! In 1870 the elevated trains would become the choice mode of transportation but both forms of travel was said to still have been a freezing way to get about in the winter. Click on photo to enlarge.
East Harlem,
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | AADR contact: Ingrid L. Thomas +1.703.299.8084 or firstname.lastname@example.com |
March 7, 2016
AADR to Award the 2016 Irwin D. Mandel
Distinguished Mentoring Award to Kenneth Anusavice
Alexandria, Va., USA – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) has announced Kenneth Anusavice as the 2016 recipient of the AADR Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award. He will be recognized at the Association's 45th Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Los Angeles, Calif., USA, on March 16, 2016, at the Opening Ceremonies. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the 40th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.
Anusavice is a past president of AADR (2003-04) and is currently the director for the UF Center for Dental Biomaterials, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. He specializes in dental biomaterials, particularly dental ceramics, but his research extends into other fields including restorative materials, caries, fracture and, most recently, wear of enamel and fractal analysis.
Through this award, Anusavice is being recognized for his expertise and leadership, which has shaped the careers of numerous students, trainees and junior faculty. The award consists of a plaque and a monetary award of $1,000.
The AADR Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award was established to provide national recognition for outstanding efforts to foster and promote research training and career development of students, trainees and junior faculty. It is intended to identify individuals at all levels of their career with an exemplary record of mentoring. This award was renamed in 2012 in honor of its first recipient, Irwin D. Mandel.
About the American Association for Dental Research
The American Association for Dental Research (AADR), headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit organization with more than 3,700 members in the United States. Its mission is: (1) to advance research and increase knowledge for the improvement of oral health; (2) to support and represent the oral health research community; and (3) to facilitate the communication and application of research findings. AADR is the largest Division of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). To learn more about the AADR, visit www.aadr.org.


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Good they were fired, we don't need any spies in Verizon!!
what a shame. Curiosity always kills the cat.
Barack should follow suit and FIRE anyone on his team that engages in leaks.
He should not call on news organizations that promote or publish false or leaked stories.
I want to see this thing tightened up .... I don't want the kind of environment we've had for the last 8 years.
Teach the media that fast and loose is a thing of the past.
No better for them, I hope none of them have families. Because now is not the time for anyone to loose their job over something stupid.
My question is how many other of the thousands of Verizon employees are snooping through our private records out of "idle curiosity?"
Its time to re-strengthen our privacy laws to protect consumers!
And so they should have been.
Maybe they thought they were inacting the Patriot Act.
"This was some employees' idle curiosity," the source said, adding that records of no other customers of note were breached."
Apparently, it is acceptable for Verizon employees to breach the records of customers so long as they are not "customers of note."
TyWebb-your post is the gold standard now. that's the funniest post i've read all day. thanks for that.
President-Elect Obama, Please have the White House sweep before you step foot in there again! Especially when Bush exits and now that you've hired Hillary and Bill Clinton Mrs. Secretary of State and Mr. Secretary. This is a partnership that is divisive and sneaky. I hope that you truly have your back watched.
Doesn't Verizon do due dilligence on their employees? What happened to integrity?
At least we know who has been leaking all the staff positions
Two strikes and you're out Peeping Toms and Tomasenas!
That's what they get for being nosy!!
I heard someone on CNN said that Obama caused these people to get fired...are you kidding me?
OK...say I work at a bank and I steal all of the money out of your account and the bank finds out and fires me for it...Then I say it's all your fault that I got fired. Make sense? I don't think so!
If you work in an industry where you have access to people's personal information, you sign a confidentiality agreement saying that you promise to keep that confidentiality or you can be fired or prosecuted. These employees clearly violated a customer's privacy and stole their information. They should be fired and prosecuted if they gave those records to anyone outside the company.
I am glad to know that Verizon Wireless is taking this seriously.
As a Verizon Wireless customer, I am pleased to know that my privacy is protected.
I will never switch – Verizon has been good to me.
LOL Who did they Fire?? McCain and Palin??? So that's was where they got their info from for there ads........lol
And they should have been......
Re: Obama School choice for family
Security is a must for this family, so please quit the nasty attacks and wish the future US First Family well. Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not raised with silver spoons, or government handouts, so let's work together a help this newly elected President make the much needed necessary changes. PEACE!
glad they got fired. this has got to stop. not only for PE Obama but for all of us. I wouldn't want my records viewed either. where are your manners???
Afganistan... Russia has got you and the World, Cleaning up their mess, while they build idea's on Europe... Poland, first... Then pick off unsuspected small Countries... Another 1939 Plus;...
serves them right...
Of course these folks should have been fired. But this was not national news. Just a bad choice by a few dimwits.
But the Obama folks made it headlines as a repeated story as a veiled warning – don't question Obama. Got it? They Will Find You.
Did anyone notice the Gross Over-reaction: "Verizon ... initially put on leave all employees who had access to the account — "whether authorized or not"" Maybe the ones who were authorized were just THINKING of doing harm (thought police?)
They should be fired. Now the Ohio state employee that dug into Joe the Plumber's record should be fired as well. But will the democrats in Ohio do the right thing?
Apparently the employees who violated the constitution in order to provide customer information (without warrant) to the government were hired to, well, I guess violate the constitution and to hell with the customers.
Did they fire them too?
We all know the answer to that one – NO, not only weren't they fired, the company lobbied to the tune of millions of dollars, along with AT&T, to make sure they weren't even held accountable.
Can we spell h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e-s?


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Learn about this topic in these articles:
discussed in biography
Pampa's great work was the
("First [or Original] Scriptures"), in which Jain teaching and tenets are expounded. Another epic of his creation is the
Pampa-Bharata (
c. 950; Bharata is both the ancient name for India and the name of a famous king), in which Pampa likened his royal master to the mythical hero Arjuna in the
Jaina literature
...from a Jain perspective, are important works of early postclassical Tamil literature. Jain authors were also an important formative influence on Kannada literature. The Jain lay poet Pampa's
Adipurana (another text dealing with the lives of Rishabha, Bahubali, and Bharata) is the earliest extant piece of
mahakavya ("high poetic")...
place in Kannada literature
...I, a 10th-century Kannada grammarian. Pampa was the
ādikavi ("first of poets"), having attained that stature with two great epics:
Vikramārjuna Vijaya and
Ādipurāṇa. The former is a rendering of the
Mahābhārata, with the hero, Arjuna, identified with the poet's royal patron, Arikēsarī. This...


text:
02-26-2004, 06:30 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Member # 23929
Location: Monticello, NY
Posts: 30
Upper control arm bushing?
I am looking for ideas for an upper control arm bushing/joint to fit the stock axle gear case ear on a TJ. I don't like the original rubber bushing because it looks like it will push out, the bolt is small, and the rubber won't twist enough for long travel. Another choice I found is Curries Johnny Joint. The 7/16 drilled attaching bolt seems too small for a single upper arm, or is it OK? The upper arm will be a custom long arm so almost any bushing or joint that fits the axle could be used.
Thanks for your ideas Bob W |
02-27-2004, 07:45 AM | #2 (permalink) |
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2001
Member # 3916
Location: south
Posts: 2,430
I used an RE spherical joint, but I have two arms (the way it should be)...
TJ; ARB'd & ChroMo'd 1-tons; 42" IROK's; Atlas 4.3; 4-linked, 106" WB... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
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02-27-2004, 08:00 AM | #3 (permalink) |
Registered User
I used daystay JJ on axle end with 5/8" bolt and poly joint on frame end with 9/16 bolt
It works very good
Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver |
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PennFuture Praises House for Sending Dirty Air Bill Back to Committee
Dec 12, 2005, 00:00 ET from PennFuture
HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) today praised the members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for sending HB2141, a bill that would repeal Pennsylvania's Clean Vehicles Program, back to the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for deliberation and hearings. The bill would overturn this fall's unanimous Environmental Quality Board (EQB) vote to allow the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to move forward with regulations requiring cars sold in the Commonwealth to meet more protective pollution standards beginning with the 2008 model year. The regulations were first proposed by the DEP under then Governor Tom Ridge, but were delayed. The committee assigned control of the clean car program repeal by today's House action is chaired by Representatives William F. Adolph, Jr. (R-Delaware) and Camille "Bud" George, (D-Clearfield), both of whom voted for the program in their capacity as members of the Environmental Quality Board. "We are truly pleased that the members of the House refused to be railroaded into passing bad legislation," said Jan Jarrett, vice president of PennFuture. "The proposed cleaner car standard passed by the EQB will mean cleaner air, which is desperately needed by the one million Pennsylvanians with respiratory problems -- most of them children or the elderly. With less pollution being released, we should see fewer asthma attacks, other breathing problems and cardiac problems, all of which are exacerbated by pollution from cars and trucks. And putting cleaner cars on the road will reduce our demand for gasoline, which will lead to price cuts, meaning more money in the bank for all Pennsylvanians." "It isn't just the families of Pennsylvania that were put at risk by HB2141, the bill attacking clean car rules," continued Jarrett. "Businesses and industries across the Commonwealth were also on the chopping block. Without a cleaner car rule, air pollution will continue to grow, and existing and new businesses and industries will be required to clean up more and more to help Pennsylvania to meet federal clean air standards. Clearly, the legislators got the message about this job-killing bill and decided that cooler heads needed to prevail. "The members of the House recognized what a really bad idea this dirty air bill is and did the right thing today," concluded Jarrett. "This is a big win for public health and Pennsylvania's environment and economy. Once this bill is seriously studied, we are confident that the legislators will support the clean car program." The clean cars program unanimously approved by the EQB requires automakers to reach an average pollution standard for vehicles offered for sale in Pennsylvania. In other words, automakers must ensure that sales of vehicles that emit more pollution are balanced out by sales of those that emit much less pollution. For new car sales beginning with the 2008 model year, only those vehicles certified by the California Air Resources Board could be sold and registered in Pennsylvania. The list of cars certified and available for sale this year includes American made and foreign SUVs, luxury sedans and compacts. And vehicles sold in New York, which already has a similar clean car program, are exactly the same average price as those currently sold in Pennsylvania. In 1998 during the Ridge Administration, Pennsylvania adopted the California car program in order to be able to participate in the National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) Program. Under the terms of the NLEV program, which expires in 2006, the state was supposed to fully implement the program starting with model year 2006 -- this year. However, changes to the clean car program and other considerations made it necessary for Pennsylvania to move implementation back to the 2008 model year. In addition to New York and California, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island already have similar clean car programs.
SOURCE PennFuture


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Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Aging Weather Satellite (New York Newsday)
Uploaded with secretsaucestudio.com/ I did a super rush illustration spot for Alleen Barber at New York Newsday today. I get a rush out of deadlines this tight sometimes. I got the job notice late yesterday and did the sketch early this morning, and the finish had to be in by 2pm to align with the East Coast time zone. It came out pretty well, considering I had about 3 hours to do the finished work, but it's amazing how you can edit yourself to meet a deadline. This piece was about how aging weather satellites are not being repaired or replaced because of an ailing infrastructure budget. The solution just came to me in a couple of minutes. Super fun to do.
Alleen Barber,
New York Newsday,
Op Ed
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Doctor eServices: |
Millions of infants and children are affected by a wide range of physical and developmental concerns. To ensure the mobility and long-term independence of these patients, Atlantic Rehabilitation offers a variety of services to treat conditions, such as:
Our medical team includes physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and a feeding specialist. They work in tandem with a physiatrist at Goryeb Children's hospital to create unique treatment plans for each child that may address:
Pediatric rehabilitation is provided at a variety of Atlantic Rehabilitation locations, including Atlantic Rehabilitation – Morristown and Wayne Campus. Please call 1-855-862-2778 to schedule an appointment or to verify availability of services.


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97 Followers
137 Following
Nothing to do here.
6,966 total episodes
372 total
21 total
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Hey, do you still use your skype???
Hay how's it going bogg :)
Hay B kun how ya doing ? :D
traditionalul La multi ani ! si ma bucur ca mai activezi pe AP :)


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07 September 2012
Nabiyotum crater
What an impressive landform, described in a Telegraph photogallery as "an aerial view of Nabiyotum Crater in Lake Turkana - the world's largest desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake - in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.
Lake Turkana: "It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. By volume it is the world's fourth-largest salt lake[citation needed] after the Caspian Sea, Issyk-Kul, and Lake Van (passing the shrinking South Aral Sea... Nile crocodiles are found in great abundance on the flats. The rocky shores are home to scorpions and carpet vipers..."
This is located in the Rift Valley area of Africa, the acknowledged "cradle of mankind." I wonder if modern people have explored inside the crater, which does have a land bridge to the mainland.
Photo credit: Martin Harvey.
5 comments:
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2012 at 6:53 PM
I used Google Maps to zoom down into the crater. I started by going to Nairobi, Kenya, then north to Lake Turkana. The crater is at the southern tip of the lake. At max zoom, you see a few trees and an internal mini-lake. There also appears to be a path worn across the rim and down into the crater, at about 7:30 on the clock. There also make be a shed or shelter of some kind under a central group of trees (see the little white spot).
Lurker111Replies" I started by going to Nairobi, Kenya, then north to Lake Turkana..."
An even faster way is to type "Turkana" into the search box. I agree with you re the trail - presumably man-made unless there is some type of desert mammal that seeks water there. Re the white pixel I have no idea.I noticed that white pixel, too, but later I took a look at a Panoramio photo showing the inside of the crater, and there was nothing resembling a shelter.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=3&with_photo_id=61272441&order=date_desc&user=6426253Interesting, because with that (excellent) view, what I initially took to be a "path" leading down into the bottom now looks to be an outflow path for water from a cup-shaped catchment area on the far side of the crater.
Wish I could visit there, even as bleak as it looks.