[Anger expression on the road: validity and reliability of the driving anger expression inventory]. / Trafikte ofke ifadesi: sürücü ofke ifadesi envanteri'nin geçerlik ve güvenilirligi.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to check the validity and reliability of DAX (The Driving Anger Expression Inventory) in a Turkish population. METHOD: The study included 220 randomly chosen drivers between the ages of 20 and 65 years from Ankara, Istanbul, and Samsun. The assessment instruments were DAX, The Driving Anger Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, and the anger symptoms dimension, anger reactions dimension, and anger-eliciting situations dimension of the Multidimensional Anger Scale. RESULTS: Psychometric analyses of the scale showed that the Turkish-adapted DAX has the same factor structure and, like the original DAX, consists of 4 subscales and 1 index. The analyses revealed that male drivers between 21 and 30 years old reported more physically aggressive expression and that they used their vehicle to express anger, whereas female drivers reported more adaptive/constructive expression. Furthermore, it was found that drivers who were university graduates expressed their anger verbally when driving, while drivers who were primary and secondary school graduates expressed anger physically. Regression analyses showed that traffic violation penalty, police presence, discourteous or disrespectful behavior to other drivers, and driving slow were predictive variables for total aggressive expression (verbal, physical aggressive expression, and using of the vehicle to express anger). CONCLUSION: The current study revealed that the Turkish version of DAX might be a valid and reliable scale to measure forms of anger expression related to driving and important signs related to coping with driving-related anger were identified. Furthermore, it can be suggested that DAX could be used as an assessment instrument for driver selection, and it can be used during the psycho-technical assessment procedure.

Bodies recovered from wells, sewerage systems and pits: what is the cause of death?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the problems encountered during investigations into causes of death in corpses found in wells, sewer systems and pits, and to seek solutions to the problems. In fact, wells, sewer systems and pits have some common characteristics which may cause the problems. They contain water, have a hypoxic/anoxic environment and prevent corpses from being recognised. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on the data obtained from the 1st Specialization Board of the Council of Forensic Medicine, affiliated with the Ministry of Justice, we retrospectively reviewed 69 corpses found in wells, sewer systems and pits between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2002. Data on age, sex, crime scene and causes of death were obtained and evaluated using the SPSS 11.0 package programme. RESULTS: Of 69 cases, 69.1% were male and 33.4% were aged 0 to 10 years. Fifty-eight per cent and 13.1% of the cases were found in wells and sewer systems respectively. Forty-three (62.3%) cases were found in a place with water. However, 34.9% of them had not drowned. The most frequent cause of death was drowning (40.6%). The cause of death was unknown in 18.8% of the cases. 15.9% of the corpses were exhumed to determine the cause of death. Twenty-six cases (37.7%) had signs of putrefaction and the cause of death was not determined in 9 cases. Diatom was investigated in 42.0% of the cases (29 cases), but 17 cases did not have diatom. CONCLUSION: It is a complicated process to determine the causes of death in bodies recovered from wells, pits, water supplies and sewer systems, etc. Thorough forensic investigations are required because death may result from a wide variety of factors, and lesions on the corpses may undergo some changes quickly or can be covered in wells, pits and water supplies. A complete crime scene investigation, a thorough autopsy and histopathological, toxicological and biochemical examinations would prevent potential problems in determining the causes of death in bodies recovered from wells, sewer systems and pits. Almost one-third of the bodies recovered from wells, sewer systems and pits were aged 10 years or younger, which indicates a public health problem. Extra safety precautions will help to solve this problem.

Road traffic accidents and disability: a cross-section study from Turkey.

PURPOSE: To investigate socio-demographic features, lesions which caused disabilities and the rate of disabilities caused by particular lesions and thus to reveal how disabilities are evaluated and general characteristics of disabilities due to road traffic accidents in Turkey. METHOD: In this study we retrospectively reviewed 563 victims of road traffic accidents evaluated by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Ankara University, between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 2002 to determine whether they had disabilities and to estimate the rate of disabilities. We collected data about age, gender, trials outcomes, affected body parts, surgical interventions, lesions taken into account in estimation of disabilities, the rate of disabilities. RESULTS: 64.7% of the cases were male and 35.3% were female. The mean age of the cases was 33.11 (SD:16.70) years. The most frequently affected body part was lower extremities and 73.6% of lesions taken into account in estimation of the rate of disability were located in the pelvis and lower extremities. CONCLUSIONS: In order to prevent these injuries, the mechanisms of the injuries should be determined and to this aim findings obtained at the scene, hospital records and findings obtained at the physical examination of the victims should be linked. Larger studies are needed to determine preventive measures for elimination of the causes of accidents, prevent permanent disabilities, plan education programs and make recommendations about the preventive measures.

Comparison of Turkish Injury Scale (TIS) with the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS).

According to the Turkish Penal Code, Section 456, an assailant is punished in a correlation to the severity of the victim's injury. In this study, the injury scale used in Turkey in the basis code 456 is compared with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). For this aim, a total of 984 cases out of the total amount reported at the Traumatology Section of the Turkish Council for Forensic Medicine were randomly selected and evaluated retrospectively. In all, 40.7% of injuries were caused by blunt trauma, whereas 59.3% were caused by a penetrating trauma. According to the Turkish Injury Scale (TIS), 40.3% of the cases were scored to be of a first degree of injury, 15.6% as second degree and 44.1% as third degree. When compared, the score points 3, 4 and 5 in the AIS were seen to be nearly equivalent to the TIS of third degree. From this point of view, in the modified AIS 91.1% of first degree of injury, 51.2% of second degree and 97.2% of third degree of injury are harmonious with TIS. Generally, 83.2% of the cases are harmonious with the AIS system. The purpose of this study is to determine what was the source of differences and to focus on particular traumatic lesions in order to determine a possible rearrangement of the Turkish Injury Scale.

Establishment of interdisciplinary child protection teams in Turkey 2002-2006: identifying the strongest link can make a difference!

OBJECTIVES: The University of Iowa Child Protection Program collaborated with Turkish professionals to develop a training program on child abuse and neglect during 2002-2006 with the goals of increasing professional awareness and number of multidisciplinary teams (MDT), regional collaborations, and assessed cases. This paper summarizes the 5-year outcome. METHODS: A team of instructors evaluated needs and held training activities in Turkey annually, and provided consultation when needed. Descriptive analysis was done via Excel and SPSS software. RESULTS: Eighteen training activities were held with 3,570 attendees. Over the study period, the number of MDTs increased from 4 to 14. The MDTs got involved in organizing training activities in their institutions and communities. The number of medical curriculum lectures taught by MDTs to medical students/residents, conferences organized by the MDTs, and lectures to non-medical professional audiences increased significantly (R(2)=91.4%, 83.8%, and 69.2%, respectively). The number of abuse cases assessed by the MDTs increased by five times compared to pre-training period. CONCLUSIONS: A culturally competent training program had a positive impact on professional attitudes and behaviors toward recognition and management of child abuse and neglect in Turkey. The need to partner with policy makers to revise current law in favor of a greater human services orientation became clear. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Pioneers in developing countries may benefit from collaborating with culturally competent instructors from countries with more developed child protection systems to develop training programs so that professional development can improve recognition and management of child abuse and neglect.