Childhood abuse and neglect in body dysmorphic disorder

OBJECTIVE: No published studies have examined childhood abuse and neglect in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This study examined the prevalence and clinical correlates of abuse and neglect in individuals with this disorder. METHODS: Seventy-five subjects (69.3% female, mean age=35.4+/-12.0) with DSM-IV BDD completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and were interviewed with other reliable and valid measures. RESULTS: Of these subjects, 78.7% reported a history of childhood maltreatment: emotional neglect (68.0%), emotional abuse (56.0%), physical abuse (34.7%), physical neglect (33.3%), and sexual abuse (28.0%). Forty percent of subjects reported severe maltreatment. Among females (n=52), severity of reported abuse and neglect were .32-.57 standard deviation units higher than norms for a health maintenance organization (HMO) sample of women. Severity of sexual abuse was the only type of maltreatment significantly associated with current BDD severity (r=.23, p=.047). However, severity of sexual abuse did not predict current BDD severity in a simultaneous multiple regression analysis with age and current treatment status. There were other significant associations with childhood maltreatment: history of attempted suicide was related to emotional (p=.004), physical (p=.014), and sexual abuse (p=.038). Childhood emotional abuse was associated with a lifetime substance use disorder (r=.26, p=.02), and physical abuse was negatively associated with a lifetime mood disorder (r=-.37, p=.001). CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of individuals with BDD reported childhood abuse and neglect. Certain types of abuse and neglect appear modestly associated with BDD symptom severity and with gender, suicidality, and certain disorders.     

Academic staff job change: Winning characteristics in organizational musical chairs

This study examined predictors of job change for academic staff administrators. Analyses of questionnaire data from 143 administrators who had been employed from 1971 through 1978 indicated that predictors of job mobility differ for diverse kinds of moves with two exceptions—age and gender. The four most important predictors for internal institutional change were age, mentor, president of a professional organization, and marital status (married). Planning to move, gender, and editorship, contributed most to external institutional change, whereas age, mentor, gender, and planning to move contributed most significantly to overall job change (adjustedR ²=.439).     

Nine years after child sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE: During 1988-1990, 103 children presented to Child Protection Units (CPU) at two children's hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Nine years later, the psychological adjustment of these young people (mean age=19.1 years, SD=3.4 years; range=14-25 years) was compared with that of non-abused young people of similar age and gender to assess group differences and examine potential risk factors. METHOD: At intake, data on the nature of the index sexual abuse, demographics and the family environment were collected by clinicians. A comparison group, of similar age and gender, was selected from schools in the catchment area of the CPUs. Six years after presentation for the abuse, records of the statutory child protection authority were checked to determine any further notifications for abuse and/or neglect. Nine years after intake, 49 of the abused young people and 68 of the non-abused young people and/or their parents were interviewed and assessed. RESULTS: The sexually abused young people performed more poorly than non-abused young people on psychometric tests of depression (p=.001), self-esteem (p<.001), anxiety (p<.001), behavior (Child Behavior Checklist: p=.01; Youth Self Report: p=.01; Young Adult Self Report: p<.001), and despair (p=.001). They were also more likely to have a history of bingeing (p=.002), self-inducing vomiting (p=.02), smoking cigarettes (p=.01), and using amphetamines (p=.002), ecstasy (p=.002) and cocaine (p=.004). Potential risk factors were in two groups, family and child. Family factors: family functioning, parental drug/alcohol problems, mother's sexual abuse history, mother's depression and socio-economic status. Child factors: despair and hopefulness, number of negative life events, ratings of their father's care, previous notifications for child sexual abuse and placements in out-of-home care by the statutory child protection authority. In the presence of other risk factors, child sexual abuse was a significant predictor of self-esteem, behavior and bingeing. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than focusing only on the individual's child sexual abuse, treatment may also need to address the family's functioning and the individual's feelings of despair.     

Use of Feedback-Oriented Online Exercises to Help Physiology Students Construct Well-Organized Answers to Short-Answer Questions

Postsecondary education often requires students to use higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as analysis, evaluation, and creation as they assess situations and apply what they have learned during lecture to the formulation of solutions. Summative assessment of these abilities is often accomplished using short-answer questions (SAQs). Quandary was used to create feedback-oriented interactive online exercises to help students strengthen certain HOCS as they actively constructed answers to questions concerning the regulation of 1) metabolic rate, 2) blood sugar, 3) erythropoiesis, and 4) stroke volume. Each exercise began with a SAQ presenting an endocrine dysfunction or a physiological challenge; students were prompted to answer between six and eight multiple-choice questions while building their answer to the SAQ. Student outcomes on the SAQ sections of summative exams were compared before and after the introduction of the online tool and also between subgroups of students within the posttool-introduction population who demonstrated different levels of participation in the online exercises. While overall SAQ outcomes were not different before and after the introduction of the online exercises, once the SAQ tool had become available, those students who chose to use it had improved SAQ outcomes compared with those who did not.     

Predictors of adult quality of life for foster care alumni with physical and/or psychiatric disabilities

INTRODUCTION: This study used quality of life and resilience as theoretical frameworks for evaluating predictors of outcomes for adults who received foster care services alumni of foster care and were diagnosed with a physical or psychiatric disability while in foster care. METHOD: First, outcomes for foster care alumni with and without physical and psychiatric disabilities (N=1,087) were compared according to quality of life variables. Second, using only participants with disabilities (N=578), stepwise regression analyses were performed to determine whether risk and protective factors were associated with specific outcomes. RESULTS: Alumni with disabilities had significantly lower economic (p=.020) and health (p=.001) outcomes; and reported lower educational attainment (p=.002), more difficulty paying monthly bills (p=.026), more psychiatric diagnoses (p=.006), lower self-esteem (p=.013), and worse physical health (p=.001) than those without disabilities. For alumni with disabilities, receiving special education services and experiencing sexual abuse while in foster care were significant risk factors for poor self-esteem; conversely, receiving services and resources that prepared foster care alumni for leaving foster care (e.g., protective factors) predicted better outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: By expanding the quality of life outcomes analyses to investigate the impact of risk and protective factors on outcomes of foster care alumni with disabilities, this study fills a gap in the literature by assessing outcome differences within the foster-care population. The study found protective factors were associated with more educational attainment and higher self-esteem in adulthood. Conversely, those who received special education services and experienced sexual abuse while in foster care may be at the greatest risk of poor self-esteem and therefore, could benefit from services that enhance self-esteem.     

Are older adults satisfied with their sexuality? Outcomes from a cross-cultural study

ABSTRACT

The present study intends to analyze older adult perspectives on what determines sexual satisfaction in old age. Four hundred and twenty-one non-institutionalized older parti- 10 cipants from three different nationalities aged 65 to 97 years were interviewed. All narratives were submitted to content analysis. This study’s outcome originated five themes: positive communication (k =.94, p <.01); supportive partner (k =.82, p <.01); feeling attractive (k = 81, p <.01); good sexual activity (k =.97, p <.01); and eroticism (k =.98, p <.01). 15 This study highlighted different determinants of sexual satisfaction in old age and emphasized the importance of positive communication and a supportive partner for older adults.     

The relationship of exposure to childhood sexual abuse to other forms of abuse,neglect, and household dysfunction during childhood

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the relationship of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to nine other categories of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including childhood abuse, neglect, and multiple types of household dysfunction. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study data were collected from 17,337 adult health plan members who responded to a survey questionnaire. Regression models adjusted for age, race, and education were used to estimate the strength of the association of CSA to each of the other nine ACEs and a graded relationship between measures of the severity of CSA and the number of other ACEs (ACE score). RESULTS: CSA was reported by 25% of women and 16% of men. In comparison with persons who were not exposed to CSA, the likelihood of experiencing each category of ACE increased 2- to 3.4-fold for women and 1.6- to 2.5-fold for men (p < 0.05). The adjusted mean ACE score showed a significant positive graded relationship to the severity, duration, and frequency of CSA and an inverse relationship to age at first occurrence of CSA (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CSA is strongly associated with experiencing multiple other forms of ACEs. The strength of this association appears to increase as the measures of severity of the CSA increases. The understanding of the interrelatedness of CSA with multiple ACEs should be considered in the design of studies, treatment, and programs to prevent CSA as well as other forms of ACEs.     

Men's self-definitions of abusive childhood sexual experiences, and potentially related risky behavioral and psychiatric outcomes

OBJECTIVES: To estimate how many heterosexual and gay/bisexual men self-define abusive childhood sexual experiences (CSEs) to be childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and to assess whether CSA self-definition is associated with risky behavioral and psychiatric outcomes in adulthood. METHODS: In Philadelphia County, 197 (66%) of 298 recruited men participated in a telephone survey. They were screened for CSEs and then asked if they self-defined abusive CSEs to be CSA; they also were asked about risk behavior histories and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms. RESULTS: Of 43 (22%) participants with abusive CSEs, 35% did not and 65% did self-define abusive CSEs to be CSA ("Non-Definers" and "Definers," respectively). Heterosexual and gay/bisexual subgroups' CSA self-definition rates did not significantly differ. When self-definition subgroups were compared to those without CSEs ("No-CSEs"), Non-Definers had lower perceived parental care (p=.007) and fewer siblings (p=.03), Definers had more Hispanics and fewer African Americans (p=.04), and No-CSEs had fewer gay/bisexual men (p=.002) and fewer reports of physical abuse histories (p=.02) than comparison groups. Non-Definers reported more sex under the influence (p=.001) and a higher mean number of all lifetime sex partners (p=.004) as well as (only) female sex partners (p=.05). More Non-Definers than Definers reported having experienced penetrative sex as part of their CSA (83% vs. 35%, p=.006). Different explanations about self-definition were provided by subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Many men with abusive CSEs do not self-define these CSEs to be CSA, though not in a way that differs by sexual identity. The process by which men self-define their abusive CSEs to be CSA or not appears to be associated not only with self-explanations that differ by self-definition subgroup, but also with behavioral outcomes that impart risk to Non-Definers.     

高中生的人格、情绪及其关系的研究

本研究采用问卷调查方法,对高中生的人格、情绪及其关系进行研究。结果发现高中男女生在精神质上存在显著差异(t=-2.857,p=.005),而在神经质、外倾性、说谎量表上的得分均没有差异。高中生的积极情绪显著多于消极情绪,在积极情绪方面男女之间存在显著差异(t=2.89,p=.004),男性的积极情绪显著多于女性(M男=29.75,M女=27.73),而消极情绪男女之间不存在差异(t=.60,p=.55)。人格与情绪密切相关,神经质是和消极情绪相联系的,而外倾性是和积极情绪相联系的。     

Psychosocial impact of mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors: an insight

Objective:To evaluate the psychosocial impact among mothers with perinatal loss and its contributing factors.Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted in University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) from April 2008 to May 2009 using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and self administered questionnaire.Results:Sixty-two respondents were included and most of them were working mothers (77.4%).The mean age of the respondents was (31.0±5.6) years and a majority of the subjects aged between...     

Interplay between childhood maltreatment, parental bonding, and gender effects: impact on quality of life

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine associations between childhood adversity, parental bonding, gender, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in non-treatment-seeking adults from the community. METHOD: Effects of differential parental rearing were compared in adults who reported a high degree of childhood maltreatment (n=72) and those who reported no significant adverse events in childhood (n=69). Subjects completed retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment and perceived parenting style, as well as measures of current depressive symptoms and quality of life. RESULTS: The subjects without childhood maltreatment were younger and endorsed less current depressive symptomatology than did subjects with childhood maltreatment. While the subjects without a history of maltreatment reported more "optimal" bonding experiences with their parents, the maltreatment group members were more likely to characterize their early parental bonding experiences in terms of "affectionless control" (p<.001 for both maternal and paternal parenting), "affectionate constraint" (p=.025 for maternal parenting and p=.004 for paternal parenting), or "weak or absent" bonding (p<.001 for both maternal and paternal parenting). Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that overall quality of paternal care (p=.015) and current level of depressive symptoms (p<.001) were significant independent predictors of adult quality of life. Gender effects between subjects providing parental bonding data were limited to the group with childhood maltreatment. CONCLUSION: These findings extend previous work documenting a relationship between early life maltreatment and suboptimal parental bonding, suggesting gender-specific effects of maternal and paternal care. Effects of childhood maltreatment on quality of life in adulthood appear to be linked with the quality of childhood paternal care and the occurrence of depressive symptomatology in adulthood, suggesting possible targets for primary or secondary prevention.     

Can individuals with Down syndrome acquire alphabetic literacy skills in the absence of phoneme awareness?

Two studies investigating the relationship betweenphoneme awareness and word reading ability in Downsyndrome (DS) are reported. The first study included33 Brazilian individuals with DS (mean age = 23years). They all had begun to read and all showedclear signs of phonological recoding skills. Thirty-three normal children (mean age = 7 years),matched with the individuals with DS for readingability, participated as controls. The second studyincluded individuals with DS with a wider range ofreading ability: a group of 46 readers (mean age = 22years) and a group of 47 nonreaders (mean age = 18years). The results question Cossu, Rossini, andMarshall's (1993a) claim that phoneme awareness is notrelated to alphabetic reading acquisition in DS.Although the individuals with DS who participated inthe first study performed rather poorly on a task thatpresupposes the ability to explicitly manipulatephonological representations, they performed quitewell on a task assessing the ability to detectphonemic similarities in words. We suggest that it wasthis ability that enabled them to acquire phonologicalrecoding skills as well as they did, despite theircognitive limitations. The results of the second studywere consistent with this interpretation. The abilityto detect phonemic similarities in wordssignificantly differentiated between the readers andthe nonreaders, even after we controlled forvariations in letter knowledge, intelligence, andchronological age.     

The prevalence of a history of child sexual abuse among adults visiting family practitioners in Israel

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) in a random sample of adult patients presenting for routine health care to family practice clinics in Israel. METHOD: One thousand and five randomly selected patients aged 18 to 55, attending 48 clinics, participated in this questionnaire study. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent indicated that they had been sexually abused as children. More women reported CSA (p < .0001 ) than men, as did women originating from Western countries (p = .02) and those with more than 12 years of education (p = .01). There were no significant associations between CSA and the other socio-demographic variables examined. Fondling was the most common and intercourse the least common activity experienced. Forty-five percent of the perpetrators were previously known. The mean age at which the child sexual abuse began varied between 10 and 14. Only 45% of the subjects had ever told anyone about the experience. CONCLUSIONS: Since no other prevalence study has been reported to date in Israel, these findings suggest that as in other Western countries CSA is a relatively common problem. Family physicians and other health professionals should be aware of this high prevalence and its known potential for initial and long-term deleterious outcomes.     

Attitudes of Turkish parents, pediatric residents, and medical students toward child disciplinary practices

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to: determine the attitudes of parents, pediatric residents, and medical students from a Turkish population toward childhood disciplinary methods; ascertain the association of participants' abusive childhood history with their attitudes toward discipline; and assess their attitudes about disciplinary actions, which should be reported as abuse. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Social Pediatrics. Sixty-five parents, 39 pediatric residents, and 106 medical students completed a questionnaire (Survey of Standards of Discipline). This questionnaire was designed to measure sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes toward childhood disciplinary practices, and abusive childhood experiences. There were 43 different disciplinary acts in this questionnaire. The participants were expected to give responses to these acts in three categories: (a) acceptable as discipline; (b) unacceptable as discipline; and (c) unacceptable as discipline-would report to authorities as child abuse. Based on the responses to this questionnaire, we developed the Severity Scale. Using this scale, physical severity scores, verbal severity scores, and total severity scores were measured for each participant. RESULTS: None of the participants accepted life-threatening practices as discipline, but some declared certain abusive disciplinary practices as acceptable. Some forceful disciplinary methods were not considered as reportable by participants. All severity scores of both residents and students were found to be higher than those of the parents (for verbal severity scores p=.042). Also, both verbal and physical severity scores of parents with one child were higher than those of parents with two children (for verbal severity scores p=.044). Ninety-one participants (43.3%) indicated that beating was an acceptable form of discipline. Of parents, 66.9% reported abusive childhood history by their own criteria. Of medical students with an abusive childhood experience, 56.5% accepted beating as appropriate (p=.001). Both verbal and physical severity scores were found to be higher in participants with abusive childhood history. CONCLUSIONS: Abusive childhood history and lack of education regarding appropriate discipline techniques are linked to the acceptance of certain physical discipline practices. Turkey's cultural and traditional norms may be associated with the use of physical punishment, and in some cases, physical abuse. The lack of awareness of abusive discipline methods among physicians constitutes problems for child protection and must be addressed. Thus, educational programs on child disciplinary practices are required to provide an increased awareness of child abuse among health professional trainees and parents in Turkey.     

Attitudes towards corporal punishment and reporting of abuse

OBJECTIVES: To assess physicians' attitudes towards corporal punishment in childhood and their subsequent actions regarding the reporting of child abuse. PARTICIPANTS: 107 physicians (95 pediatricians and 12 family practitioners) who work in hospitals and community clinics in northern Israel were interviewed. Of the participants, 16% were new immigrants. PROCEDURE: A structured interview was conducted by one of two pediatric residents. RESULTS: Attitudes towards corporal punishment were not influenced by the physicians' sex or specialty. Corporal punishment was approved by 58% of the physicians. A significant difference in attitudes towards corporal punishment between immigrants and Israeli born physicians was found (p=.004). Family practitioners and especially senior ones were found significantly less tolerant towards corporal punishment than pediatricians (p=.04). While reporting behavior was not found to be associated with parental status and the past experience of the physicians with child abuse, a significant effect of attitudes towards corporal punishment on reporting behavior was found (p=.01). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Corporal punishment is still perceived as an acceptable disciplinary act by a significant proportion of physicians responsible for the health care of children in our area. (2) Attitudes towards corporal punishment are different between immigrants and native born Israeli trained doctors and, unexpectedly, pediatricians were more tolerant of corporal punishment than family practitioners.     

Longitudinal comparisons of wechsler scales in educable mentally handicapped children and adults

The change in IQ scores over an extended period of time (approximately 17 years) of subjects who had been placed in classes for the Educable Mentally Handicapped was investigated. Analysis indicated that a significant difference existed between WISC scores administered at the time of initial placement (mean age, 11–9) and WAIS scores administered at a later date (mean age, 17–6). In addition, although a difference was revealed with respect to WAIS scores when the students were divided into two groups based upon initial WISC scores (⩽70 vs. >70), it was determined that the change was in a uniform fashion over time; i.e., neither regression nor interaction effects were detected. A final analysis revealed that those students who were located for a follow-up testing approximately 10 years later (mean age 28–8) continued to show a significant increase in IQ scores. The importance placed upon IQ scores for initial placement of students in EMH programs appears to remain suspect.     

Personality traits and abilities as predictors of academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the respective effects of cognitive abilities and personality traits on academic achievement. The subjects were 141 sixth-grade French adolescents (mean age: 12) who took three cognitive tests (g factor, numerical ability, and spatial ability) and answered a personality questionnaire based on the Big Five Model. Path analyses indicated that Openness-intellect had an effect on junior high school achievement in all disciplines, with most effects being indirect ones mediated by verbal achievement (French). Neuroticism-anxiety also had an effect, although not as marked and mainly on mathematics. Personality is complementary to abilities in predicting academic achievement. Possible conceptual extensions and field applications are addressed in the conclusion.     

Parental satisfaction with programmes provided for children with learning difficulties in Oman

This study aimed to explore parental satisfaction with programmes provided for children with learning difficulties (LD) in Oman. A sample was collected from 299 parents who filled out an electronic self-reporting questionnaire during the second semester of 2021. The researchers designed a 19-item questionnaire that was distributed over two domains: 14 items on parent satisfaction and five items on parent co-operation. The results revealed that parents' overall satisfaction with the effectiveness of the LD programmes in which their children were enrolled was high. The results also indicated statistically significant differences among the mean scores on parents' satisfaction over the age variable groups, in favor of the younger group, followed by the middle group, and lastly the older group. There were also statistically significant differences among the mean scores on parents' satisfaction according to the province locations, in favor of the capital city of Oman, Muscat, and its peripheral provinces, followed by the western provinces, and lastly, the eastern provinces. The study recommends conducting similar studies to investigate the satisfaction of school principals, specialists, teachers and children with LD to determine the effectiveness of Oman's LD programmes.     

Compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among Colorado child protection workers

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to understand better the risk of compassion fatigue (the trauma suffered by the helping professional) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment), and the potential for compassion satisfaction (the fulfillment from helping others and positive collegial relationships) among Colorado county child protection staff using the Compassion Satisfaction/Fatigue Self-Test [Figley, C. R., & Stamm, B. H. (1996). Psychometric review of Compassion Fatigue Self-Test. In B. H. Stamm (Ed.), Measurement of stress, trauma, and adaptation (pp. 127-130). Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press]. An additional goal was to test the relationship of these three constructs to each other. METHOD: A self-report instrument developed by Stamm and Figley was used to measure the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout and the potential for compassion satisfaction among 363 child protection staff participating in a secondary trauma training seminar. RESULTS: Participants were significantly more likely to have high risk of compassion fatigue, extremely low risk of burnout, and good potential for compassion satisfaction. Participants with high compassion satisfaction had lower levels of compassion fatigue (p=.000; mean=35.73 high compassion satisfaction group, mean=43.56 low group) and lower levels of burnout (p=.000; mean=32.99 high compassion satisfaction group, mean=41.69 low group). CONCLUSION: Approximately 50% of Colorado county child protection staff suffered from "high" or "very high" levels of compassion fatigue. The risk of burnout was considerably lower. More than 70% of staff expressed a "high" or "good" potential for compassion satisfaction. We believe compassion satisfaction may help mitigate the effects of burnout.     

Student-life stress in Education and Health Service majors

In order to better understand the effects of student-life stress on Education and Health Service majors (n?=?195) at a private, religious, Midwestern university in the USA, we assessed student perception of overall stress level and physical stress level using the Student-life Stress Inventory. The targeted sample consisted of students with declared majors that lead to careers involving interaction with vulnerable populations (i.e., children, individuals with disabilities, patients). Women in this study experienced a significantly higher (F?=?7.092 [1195], p?=?.008) overall stress level than their male counterparts. When the physical stress reaction scores were isolated, women still experienced significantly higher stress levels (F?=?7.758 [1195], p?=?.01). Regardless of gender, seniors and graduate students had an overall stress difference that was 11 points below that of freshman students in overall stress scores. There was a significant difference in the overall stress score (F?=?6.484 [2181], p?=?.001) between students who took 18 or more credit hours and those who took less. Students who worked more than four hours per week had a significantly higher overall stress level. Students in the age category 23+ had significantly less physical stress. There was a significant difference between students who prayed at least daily and students who never pray (F?=?1.114 [3188], p?=?.03). This study provides a valuable insight into the characteristics of individuals more likely to have difficulties adjusting to the demands of college life and the inherent stress of a profession in Education or Health Service.