Extensive research has shown that childhood adversity impacts development across the lifespan and has been linked to numerous negative health outcomes. Depression symptoms are one such outcome that has been associated with ACE exposure. The literature also indicates emotion regulation may be a mediator between ACEs and depression outcomes. The primary aim of this study (N = 766) is to investigate pathways leading from ACEs to depression and potential protective factors. It was hypothesized that difficulties in emotion regulation would mediate the link between ACEs and later depressive symptoms, social support would moderate the pathway between difficulties in emotion regulation and depression, and social support would have a greater buffering effect in individuals with more severe ACE exposure. Results supported emotion regulation as a mediator between ACEs and depression. Social support was not found to significantly buffer against depression. Future research may benefit from examining transdiagnostic emotion regulation treatments.

Many studies have noted the detrimental impact adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have on individuals’ developmental trajectories and, as a result, the utilization of trauma-informed practices has been of increasing interest within the field of education. Most research on trauma-informed pedagogy is derived from samples of children in grades K-12, whereas research on trauma-informed teaching practices within higher education is comparatively scarce. The specific aims of the current investigation are two-fold. The first aim is to explore the effect of postsecondary instructors’ disciplinary specialization (i.e., person-thing orientation) on their receptivity to compassionate teaching practices. The second aim is to implement a brief (i.e., one hour, single session), asynchronous intervention to inform instructors about ACEs, subsequent effects on learning, and evidence-based, trauma-informed teaching practices. Results indicated that participants’ thing-orientation scores negatively predicted their post-intervention receptivity scores and that there was a significant increase in knowledge about compassionate teaching practices from pre-assessment to post-assessment. Future studies should seek to replicate these findings and continue to identify factors that may influence one’s receptivity to compassionate teaching practices.

This diploma thesis deals with the psychological construct of resilience and spirituality. These are phenomena with overlaps in practice (psychotherapy, prevention), which have recently been widely researched not only in psychology. In the theoretical part we present spirituality and resilience from the point of view of psychology and we also deal with their connection in psychological research. The main goal of the empirical part is the research verification of the relationship between spirituality and resilience. We also dealt with the structure of this relationship, looking for possible negative correlations within these two phenomena. Our sample consisted of 407 respondents aged from 18 to 30 years. Resilience data were obtained on-line using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale method, spirituality data using the Czech method of the Prague Spirituality Questionnaire. Keywords resilience, spirituality, protective factor, adversity

This study was designed to explore the role of community music therapy in enhancing protective factors for youth at risk, which are associated with, and predictive of resilience. Resilience is understood as adaptive behaviour when faced with adversity and threats to adaptation. This qualitative research utilised a case study of six learners from Heideveld Primary School, aged nine to eleven, who participated in nine group music therapy sessions. Video recordings of the sessions and portfolio entries created by the participants were analysed by means of thematic coding and categorising. Individual, relational, community and cultural protective factors, which can enable resilience, were observed in the music therapy space and were incorporated into eight themes that offered insight into the contextually pertinent factors that can promote resilience in relation to the types of adversity faced in the Heideveld ecology. It was also explored how these factors may be enhanced in a community music therapy process. The importance of affording experiences of safety and a nurturing support system in the music therapy space, as well as the ability of interactions within musicking to evoke and enhance protective factors, are highlighted. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a stressful life experience with lasting/far-reaching health and psychopathological consequences. Our laboratory recently identified a significantly increased frequency of acquired chromosomal anomalies (assessed using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay) in adult female twins exposed to CSA when compared to their unexposed co-twin. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate potential mechanism(s) underlying the observed increases in levels of micronuclei in an expanded group of 90 female identical twins (61 CSA+ females and 29 CSA- females [including a total of 27 MZ co-twin pairs]) using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methodologies, with PNA probes specific for the centromeric and telomeric regions of all chromosomes coupled with the standard CBMN assay, we were able to characterize the chromosomal contents of MN and, thus, gain insight into the mechanisms underlying MN formation. By scoring 100 MN per study participant for the number of centromeric signal(s) and/or telomeric signal(s) present, we categorized the MN as harboring either: (1) terminal fragments (only a telomeric signal); (2) acentric interstitial fragments (no telomeric or centromeric signal); (3) centric interstitial fragments (only a centromeric signal); or (4) an intact chromosome(s) or chromatid(s). We identified elevated frequencies of intact chromosome-derived MN in CSA+ women as compared to CSA- women (P=0.014), implicating chromosome loss as a mechanism potentially underlying the increased frequencies of MN identified in adult females with a history of CSA. MN containing fragmented chromosomes were also observed in all of the study participants evaluated; however MN containing terminal fragments and MN containing acentric interstitial fragments were seen less frequently in CSA+ women compared to CSA- women. This study represents the first time that the chromosomal contents of MN have been evaluated in individuals in the context of a psychosocial factor. As chromosomal loss and breakage contributes to the development of age-related health problems, these observations provide important insight into the biological mechanisms that may underlie the latent morbidity and psychopathology associated with childhood adversity. Future studies aimed at understanding the biological impact of early-life trauma could determine if the observed increase in acquired chromosomal abnormalities results in detectable somatic clonal mosaicism. This knowledge could ultimately be used to develop screening tools to identify individuals “at risk” for negative health outcomes in adulthood.

In this mixed methods dissertation study, I used design-based research (DBR; Brown, 1992; Cobb et al., 2003; The Design-Based Research Collective, 2003) to develop and refine a Tier 1 professional development (PD) intervention in trauma-informed teaching practices. This intervention was implemented with all full-time educators at one school and focused on Tier 1 practices to be implemented for and applicable to all students. I engaged in ongoing collaboration with educators at Oakdale Elementary School, a suburban Massachusetts school, to study and refine this intervention. I conducted ongoing qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, which informed both the intervention design and study of process and outcomes. This study investigated how and why the intervention evolved over time, the acceptability of the intervention, shifts in thinking and teaching practices, and how those shifts were facilitated. Over the course of implementation, 10 collaborative design decisions were made to create an intervention that addressed the needs and desires of Oakdale’s educators as well as the structural affordances and constraints of PD implementation at Oakdale. The intervention contained three after-school PD trainings: (1) Secondary Traumatic Stress and Self-Care, (2) Trauma 101: Supporting Students who Have Experienced Trauma, and (3) Educational Impacts of the Opioid Epidemic. Educators rated the intervention favorably: 88% of year-end survey participants were very satisfied with the trainings and 94% felt that the trainings would be very useful in other schools. In addition, Oakdale’s educators reported shifts in their thinking (e.g., increased empathy) and teaching practices (e.g., enacting proactive strategies) that they attributed to the trainings. Finally, based on the data collected in this study, I developed a theoretical model of how to support educators’ learning and implementation of trauma-informed teaching practices. This theoretical model identifies contextual, relational, and procedural elements of the intervention that participants reported to facilitate learning. This model can be tested in future studies of trauma-informed teaching PD and, if substantiated, used to guide additional intervention design. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. / 2023-05-13T00:00:00Z

To date, no prior research has examined the combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing in longitudinal pathways to depressive symptomatology in adulthood. The present study was conducted with 225 men and 225 women to explore the unique and combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing on depressive symptoms in a community sample of married adults. Results for both men and women indicated significant main effects of a cumulatively risky family environment on depressive symptoms, as well as main effects of families with higher levels of abuse and neglect, chaos and disorganization, and interpersonal family conflict. A significant moderating relation was found for women with earlier pubertal timing and higher levels of childhood interpersonal family conflict on greater levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood. No other significant relations were determined in other moderation and mediational analyses. This project furthers our understanding of how the combined roles of pubertal timing and childhood family experiences can clarify the developmental, evolutionary, and clinical theories that link childhood and adolescent experiences to depression in adulthood. Specifically, childhood home environments defined by frequent interpersonal conflict (quarreling, arguing, and shouting), combined with early pubertal development, may play an important role in predicating depressive symptomatology among adult women.

Individuals in the forensic mental health system who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are more likely to display suicidal ideation and engage in suicidal or non-suicidal self-injurious behavior. Additionally, prior research suggests that sex offender status may be disproportionately associated with increased suicidality. The current study explores risk correlates in those at heightened risk of suicidality and self-harm due to involvement with the criminal justice system, the presence of serious mental illness, and exposure to ACEs. Initial ACEs research explored the impact of self-reported physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, emotional and physical neglect, and household dysfunction on long term adult mental and physical health outcomes. While the ACE survey is a strong determinant of possible later adulthood adversity in samples with a range of exposure to adversity, it may be less helpful in criminal justice and forensic populations who experience disproportionate exposure to ACEs. Other risk correlates above and beyond those identified in the ACE survey may influence suicidality and self-harm and are yet to be explored. Here, outcomes included history of suicide attempts, age at first suicide attempt, and if 1st psychiatric hospitalization resulted from attempting suicide. Predictors included gender, total ACE score, out of home placements, status as a violent or sexual offender, mental health diagnoses, multiple sexual perpetrators against female participants, and cause of parental incarceration. Participants were 182 forensic inpatients in a maximum and intermediate security state hospital. The majority were male (81%; n = 147), with ethnicity nearly evenly distributed between Caucasian (56%; n = 101) and African-American (40%; n = 73), with few of Hispanic (2%; n = 4) or mixed ethnic (2%; n = 4) origins. Participants were, on average, 32.5 years of age (SD = 11.6, range 10-61). Most presented with a psychotic disorder (59.90%, n = 109), while other most frequent diagnoses included intellectual disability/cognitive developmental disorders (57.70%, n =1 05), a mood disorder (45.60%, n = 83), and impulse control disorders (22.5%, n = 41). Thirty-seven participants reported an ACE score of 0 (20.6%), 36 an ACE score of 1 (20. %), 32 an ACE score of 2 (17.8%), and 17 an ACE score of 3 (9.4%). Fifty-eight patients presented with an ACE score of 4+ (33%). Mean gender differences were significant (χ2 = 25.9, df = 8, p < .001), with the modal ACE score among female participants at 7, at a rate of nearly 23%. Of note, 29 (15.9%) had previous arrests for sexual offenses, and 79 (42.7%) were arrested for non-sexual violent offenses. Those remaining had engaged in these behaviors but were not arrested. In order to evaluate the impact of our predictor variables on the relationship between ACE score and likelihood of an individual making a suicide attempt, a single predictor logistic model will be fitted to the data. History of suicide attempts included 96 participants (52.7%) having made an attempt. Because it is likely that ACE score alone will not explain the relationship between suicide attempts in a sample with such elevated ACE scores, additional predictors will be included in a multiple predictor logistic model, including status as a sexual offender. Similar analyses will examine the impact of ACEs, sex offender status, and other related variables on the likelihood that first psychiatric hospitalization resulted from suicidality. A one-way between subjects ANOVA will be conducted to compare the effect of an ACE score of four or more on the age at first suicide attempt. We will additionally examine the impact of sex offender vs. violent vs. other offense status on age at first suicide attempt.

Individuals exposed to abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction during childhood are at increased risk of developing chronic illnesses including heart disease, cancer, and chronic emphysema. A relationship between early childhood adversity and health risk factors contributing to chronic disease such as smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle has also been established in prior literature. Chronic conditions carry many negative consequences at both societal and individual levels and have been associated with significant financial cost, a decline in quality of life, and functional impairment. According to research, more than half of an average community sample has experienced at least one type of adverse childhood experience, including psychological, physical, or sexual abuse or substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, or criminal behavior within the household, with approximately 25% experiencing two or more. However, there is evidence that higher than usual levels of trauma exist in forensic inpatient samples, which may increase the odds of chronic disease development in this population. Despite this evidence, little research exists examining the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in forensic mental health clients, as well as the relationship between trauma and chronic health conditions and risky health behaviors in this population. Archival data were collected from a forensic psychiatric facility in the Midwestern US. Inclusion criteria included admission since 2005, residence for at least one year, and discharge prior to data collection. A list of clients (N=182) meeting inclusion criteria was randomly generated by the facility’s research coordinator. Medical, psychiatric, social services, and annual review reports as well as discharge summaries were coded by three trained research assistants. The sample was predominantly male (N=147; 80.8%) and Caucasian (N=101; 55.5%). The average admission age was 32.5 years (SD=11.6 years) and average discharge age was 40.5 years (SD=12.7). Reasons for initial admission include transfers from lower-security facilities for aggressive behavior, lack of competency to stand trial, direct admission from the state department of corrections, suicidality or self-harm behavior, and pretrial evaluation. All participants were civilly committed to the facility at the time of discharge. In this study, frequencies and descriptive statistics will illustrate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences broadly and categorically within a forensic inpatient facility. Logistic regression will also be used to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experience and later chronic disease diagnosis. A hierarchical regression will also be used to evaluate to what extent risky health behaviors account for relationships between chronic diseases and adverse childhood exposures. Results may explain how trauma exposure may increase the likelihood of chronic illness among forensic mental health patients.

Early adverse experiences in childhood (e.g., abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction) have been linked to negative long-term effects on physical and mental health. Kaiser Permanente and the CDC surveyed adults in the community in the mid-1990s and found a strong and cumulative relationship between the degree of exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and risk factors for negative outcomes in adulthood including higher risk for substance abuse and intimate partner violence. Also, criminal populations, particularly sexual offenders, report much higher rates of adversities than the general public. College students have a disproportionately high risk of intimate partner violence, rape, and other forms of sexual assault, and there is limited research on the characteristics of perpetrators and victims of sexual and intimate partner violence on campus, which could inform prevention efforts and our understanding of repeated victimization and the effects of cumulative experiences of victimization. Our sample consists of university students (N = 995; 69.2% female; M = 20 years old) who are predominantly Caucasian (84%) in the Southeastern US. An ACE total score between 0 and 10 was calculated for each participant by summing the number of Yes responses indicating experiences of childhood adversities. Regarding the prevalence of childhood adversities, 71% of the sample experienced at least one, and approximately 19% fell within the “high-risk” range of 4 or more ACEs, which is higher than the 13% of adults from the community who reported 4 or more ACEs in the original study conducted by the CDC. Thus, it appears that childhood adversities are widespread among college students in this sample. Regarding outcomes since turning 18 years of age, 2% of the sample admitted to engaging in coercive sexual behavior, 1% admitted to having sexual contact with someone who was not fully consenting, 1% had been arrested for a sexual offense, and 0.1% reported being a registered sexual offender. These behaviors were collectively considered sexual misconduct for the purpose of analyses. A logistic regression analysis yielded a significant model ( 2 = 29.51, R 2 = 0.11, p = 0.000) and indicates ACE Total Score (β = 0.34,  2 = 26.73, p = .00) and gender (β = - .85,  2 = 5.80, p = .02) predict sexual misconduct in adulthood. A second logistic regression analysis significantly predicted physical violence towards a partner as an adult ( 2 = 55.52, R 2 = 0.13, p = 0.000) Page 122 2016 Appalachian Student Research Forum with significant effects from ACE total score (β = 0.32,  2 = 42.41, p = .000) and gender (β = 1.16,  2 = 11.62, p = .001). Our findings thus far support further investigation of how adverse experiences relate to violent or sexual perpetration among college students. Additional analyses will include the relationships between these outcomes involving perpetration in adulthood and different types of early experiences of adversity, length of victimization and substance abuse.