Adaptation and Pilot Testing of a Sexual Health Intervention for Female Survivors of Violence

Experiences of violence and behaviors that increase the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection are high among women in the United States, and they often intersect (Meyer, Springer, &; Altice, 2011 Meyer, J. P., Springer, S. A., &; Altice, F. L. (2011). Substance abuse, violence, and HIV in women: A literature review of the syndemic. Journal of Women's Health (2002), 20(7), 991–1006. doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2328[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Montgomery et al., 2015 Montgomery, B., Rompalo, A., Hughes, J., Wang, J., Haley, D., Soto-Torres, L., &; Hodder, S. (2015). Violence against women in selected areas of the united states.e1-e11. Am J Public Health, 105(10), 2156–2166 [Google Scholar]; World Health Organization (WHO), 2010 World Health Organization (WHO). (2010). Addressing violence against women and HIV/AIDS: What works?. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. [Google Scholar]). However, there are few evidence-based HIV-prevention interventions that address the special needs and challenges faced by female survivors of violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), 2017a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017a). Compendium of evidence-based interventions and best practices for HIV prevention. Atlanta, GA: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexual Transmitted Diseases and Tuberculosis Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/research/interventionresearch/compendium/rr/index.html [Google Scholar]). To address this gap, we adapted and pilot-tested an existing evidence-based women-focused sexual risk-reduction intervention (The Future Is Ours) with 23 self-identified female survivors of violence. The intervention comprised eight-weekly, two-hour cognitive behavioral group sessions focusing on reducing sexual-risk and improving trauma-based coping skills. Using mixed-methods analyses, the adapted intervention was determined feasible and acceptable to participants, and preliminary results suggest that participation could reduce risk factors for sexually transmitted infections. Therefore, testing on a larger scale is warranted.     

‘Snitches get stitches’: School-specific barriers to victim disclosure and peer reporting of sexual harm committed by young people in school contexts

BackgroundSchool based, peer-to-peer sexual harm is under-researched despite its prevalence and adverse effects on young people across the globe. Understanding barriers to victim disclosure and peer reporting might help towards the prevention and protection of young people.ObjectiveThis study explores dual perspectives of young people and educational staff about school-specific environmental barriers to 1) young people’s disclosure of sexual harm experienced, and 2) young people’s reporting of sexual harm on behalf of others.Participants and setting: Participants include 59 young people aged 13–21 and 58 educational staff, drawn from seven schools across four local authorities in England whom formed part of a wider study on harmful sexual behavior and safety in schools.MethodsFocus groups were carried out with young people and education staff. The sessions were thematically analysed and focused on barriers to disclosure within the school context.ResultsPeer groups set powerful ‘rules’ that influence the ability and willingness of young people to report sexual harm. Some school responses for addressing sexual harm are sub-optimal and sexual harm is not adequately prioritised. Some schools appear to struggle to manage more subtle forms of sexual harm compared with more recognized forms of violence and abuse. A significant proportion of sexual harm is so prevalent that it is ‘normalised’, and therefore under-reported. This resigned acceptance to sexual harm consequently shapes young people’s disclosures.ConclusionsSchool systems of responding to sexual harm require strengthening to increase feelings of safety and empowerment of young people.     

The relationship between exposure to family violence in childhood and post-traumatic stress symptoms in young adulthood: The mediating role of social support

BackgroundExtensive research has examined the relationship between exposure to family violence and its long-term mental health effects. Social support has been found to moderate this relationship, but there is a dearth of research on its mediating role.ObjectivesThe article presents the results of a study on the relationship between witnessing interparental violence and experiencing parental violence during childhood and adolescence on the one hand, and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) during young adulthood on the other. In addition, the article presents results on the role of social support as a mediator in this relationship.Method, participants, and settingA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 516 Israeli university and college students (90.7% female, and 9.3% male; M age = 24.9, SD = 2.7) using a retrospective, self-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe results revealed that exposure to each pattern of family violence (i.e., witnessing interparental violence and experiencing parental violence) predicted higher levels of PTSS. Furthermore, social support was found to partially mediate the relationship between exposure to family violence during childhood and adolescence and current PTSS as well as its four symptoms, i.e., depression, sleep disturbance, dissociation, and anxiety.ConclusionsThe results of the current study highlight the important role of social support in the association between adversities experienced early in life and young adulthood outcomes. The findings are interpreted on the basis of Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll et al., 1990), which served as the conceptual framework for the study. The limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.     

Attachment insecurity accounts for the relationship between maternal and paternal maltreatment and adolescent health

ObjectivesMaltreatment is linked with poor health outcomes. Attachment and affect regulation may mitigate the long-term impact of these adverse experiences on health outcomes. Little is known about the relative impact of maternal versus paternal maltreatment and interparental violence (IPV) on general health status of female and male youth.MethodThe present study examined the impact of exposure to maternal and paternal emotional and physical maltreatment, neglect, IPV, and cumulative maltreatment exposure in adolescence on general physical health problems reported five years later. High-risk youth (N = 179; Mage = 15.34, SD = 1.53; 46.4% female) self-reported maltreatment experiences, attachment insecurity, and affect dysregulation at Time 1; and affect dysregulation and physical health five years later at Time 2.ResultsAttachment insecurity accounted for the effect of maternal and paternal emotional maltreatment, and maternal and paternal cumulative maltreatment exposure, on physical health. Additionally, attachment insecurity accounted for the effect of paternal neglect on physical health. Further sex differences were found with regard to maltreatment type and are discussed.ConclusionBoth maternal and paternal maltreatment in adolescence predicted poor general health five years later via attachment insecurity. Youth who lack a secure attachment with their parents are most vulnerable to these impacts.     

“Because if we don’t talk about it,how are we going to prevent it?”: Lucidity,a narrative-based digital game about sexual violence

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an interactive, narrative-based, multimedia game to promote learning and communication about sexual violence and health topics. High school-aged participants created the game concept in a three-week workshop, after which assets were assembled and refined by a university-based game design lab. The outcome, Lucidity, was a multimedia game with a nonlinear narrative that led to two different outcomes based on player decisions. The narrative followed the life of one character, an African American woman named Zaria who remembers and grapples with a sexual assault from her past. The player discovers parts of the story by reading comics, watching videos, navigating interactive websites and playing short videogames. The final evaluation consisted of gameplay, a post-game focus group and follow-up interviews. Twenty-four young people participated in three focus group discussions (n = 9, n = 5, n = 10); 23 participated in the follow-up interviews. Salient themes identified in the focus group discussions included: overall approval of the game, the acquisition of new knowledge and minimal past exposure to conversations or education about sexual violence. At follow-up, almost all (n = 22) had initiated a conversation about sexual violence with a parent, peer and/or teacher. Lucidity succeeded in engaging young people and facilitating communication with adults and peers regarding sexual violence and other sexual health topics. Ultimately, a game-based intervention such as this represents a feasible approach for introducing issues of sexual violence, with potential for future implementation in educational settings.     

竞技体育中的攻击与暴力:运动心理学界的一次争论

近年来,国际运动心理学界围绕竞技体育中攻击与暴力的问题展开了一次争论。起因是国际运动心理学会发表《体育中攻击与暴力：国际运动心理学会的立场》文章后受到质疑,于是双方在体育中攻击与暴力的本质、运动员和观众攻击与暴力的区分、媒体的影响、裁判员的角色以及国际运动心理学会的忠告等问题上进行了激烈的辩论。在介绍、审视这次争论基础上,对国际运动心理学会的作法提出了自己的看法。     

我国球场观众暴力遏制策略的研究

采用文献资料、访谈与现场研究等方法探讨我国球场观众暴力的遏制策略问题。在介绍中外防范与治理球场观众暴力主要方法的基础上，针对我国球场观众暴力防治工作现状与问题，提出了6条遏制策略。研究结果可供政府有关部门在防治球场观众暴力时参考。     

校园暴力产生的原因及对策

近年来,校园暴力事件时有发生。文章分析了隐藏这一现象的深刻原因,同时呼吁教育工作者应当高度关注这一问题;并提出了两点解决办法:普法教育的加强和非暴力情感的培养。     

Mela: festival scenes in South Asian cinema

This article examines a recurrent film motif across a number of South Asian films, mostly called Mela. It also offers some observations on melas, actual and allegorical, as represented in films but often seeming to exceed their containment in context so as to say more about the conviviality of life, where this is at issue, where life is at a juncture in need of resolution within the cycle of becoming. The issues of violence, loss, national identity, politics of interpretation and repetition in ideology are canvassed. While the essay is focused upon Mela films themselves, and South Asian film more broadly, it has of course been important to note work by scholars such as M. Madhava Prasad, Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Anjali Gera Roy, Tejaswini Niranjana, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and the help of my students, some of whom are named below.