Masculine norms,disclosure, and childhood adversities predict long-term mental distress among men with histories of child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse (CSA) can have a profound effect on the long-term mental health of boys/men. However, not all men with histories of CSA experience psychopathology. To improve prevention and intervention services, more research is needed to understand why some male survivors experience mental health problems and others do not. The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to mental distress among a large, non-clinical sample of men with histories of CSA (N = 487). Using a cross-sectional design with purposive sampling from three national survivor organizations, data were collected through an anonymous Internet-based survey. Multivariate analyses found that only one of the four CSA severity variables—use of physical force by the abuser—was related to mental distress. Additional factors that were related to mental distress included the number of other childhood adversities, years until disclosure, overall response to disclosure, and conformity to masculine norms. Overall, the final model predicted 36% of the variance in the number of mental health symptoms. Mental health practitioners should include masculine norms, disclosure history, and childhood adversities in assessments and intervention planning with male survivors. To more fully explicate risk factors for psychopathology in this population, future studies with probability samples of men that focus on mediational processes and use longitudinal designs are needed.     

Rape Trauma Syndrome

When the topic of sexual assault is presented in high school and college health courses, it is mostly from a prevention perspective. Rarely do such courses include the mental and emotional health issues suffered by the rape survivor. Knowledge about rape trauma syndrome helps significant people in the victim's life understand the full range of reactions to the traumatic experience of rape. This lesson describes survivors’ behaviors and reactions after a rape, otherwise known as rape trauma syndrome. Included in this lesson is the federal definition of rape, a summary of rape trauma syndrome, lyrics to a song with relevant applications to the phases of rape trauma syndrome, and a rubric for grading a reaction paper related to the lesson. Three National Health Education Standards are addressed via the lesson as well.     

从创伤理论分析《藻海无边》中安托瓦内特的身份追寻

《藻海无边》是英国女作家琼·里斯的代表作,小说一经发表就引起了国内外学者的关注。目前大多数学者都试图从后殖民主义和女性主义分析它,本文试图从创伤理论分析安托瓦内特悲惨的追寻身份的历程,并指出克里奥尔人的尴尬处境。     

Psycho-Education with Asylum Seekers and Survivors of Torture

This article examines psycho-educational programmes for asylum-seekers and tortured refugees at the Danish Red Cross Asylum Department and Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture victims respectively. The psycho-education programme is based on a cognitive theoretical framework. However, it is argued that the processes observed during the programmes and the changes in the participants’ lives may be conjointly understood within theoretical frameworks of narrative therapy, social constructionism, and community psychology, emphasizing professionals’ and participants’ co-construction of alternative stories and action possibilities, and the importance of the context and social network outside the intervention context.

Potential impact of the validated Predicting Abusive Head Trauma (PredAHT) clinical prediction tool: A clinical vignette study

BackgroundThe validated Predicting Abusive Head Trauma (PredAHT) tool estimates the probability of abusive head trauma (AHT) in children <3 years old with intracranial injury.ObjectiveTo explore the impact of PredAHT on clinicians’ AHT probability estimates and child protection (CP) actions, and assess inter-rater agreement between their estimates and between their CP actions, before and after PredAHT.Participants and SettingTwenty-nine clinicians from different specialties, at teaching and community hospitals.MethodsClinicians estimated the probability of AHT and indicated their CP actions in six clinical vignettes. One vignette described a child with AHT, another described a child with non-AHT, and four represented “gray” cases, where the diagnosis was uncertain. Clinicians calculated the PredAHT score, and reported whether this altered their estimate/actions. The ‘think-aloud’ method was used to capture the reasoning behind their responses. Analysis included linear modelling, linear mixed-effects modelling, chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, intraclass correlation, Gwet’s AC₁ coefficient and thematic analysis.ResultsOverall, PredAHT significantly influenced clinicians’ probability estimates in all vignettes (p < 0.001), although the impact on individual clinicians varied. However, the influence of PredAHT on clinicians’ CP actions was limited; after using PredAHT, 9/29 clinicians changed their CP actions in only 11/174 instances. Clinicians’ AHT probability estimates and CP actions varied somewhat both before and after PredAHT. Qualitative data suggested that PredAHT may increase clinicians’ confidence in their decisions when considered alongside other associated clinical, historical and social factors.ConclusionsPredAHT significantly influenced clinicians’ AHT probability estimates, but had minimal impact on their CP actions.     

College Students’ Relationship Between Trauma and Disordered Eating

Among college students, a correlation exists between trauma exposure and eating disorders. Although disordered eating behaviors are more prevalent than eating disorders, the relationship between different types of trauma exposure and disordered eating is unknown. The current study explored this relationship. One hundred two participants completed questionnaires on disordered eating and trauma exposure. Results showed that (a) sexual abuse was a significant predictor of concerns regarding food and weight gain (p < .05) and (b) other form of trauma (e.g., natural disaster) was a significant predictor of difficulties in individuals’ relationship with food (p < .05). Clinical implications, especially those related to trauma assessment and disordered eating behaviors, are discussed. The importance of examining the impact of nonsexual trauma is described, and the clinical utility of breaking eating pathology down into specific abnormal attitudes and behaviors is highlighted.