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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.

Exposure to abuse, neglect, and familial dysfunction in childhood is connected to long-term negative effects on mental and physical health in adulthood. Current research of adverse childhood experience is overwhelmingly focused on community samples. Those populations that tend to experience a greater number of adversities (e.g., high-risk forensic populations) are largely overlooked. Studies investigating differential risk factors and outcomes among those in high-risk populations could indicate environmental 2015 Appalachian Student Research Forum Page 107 responsiveness to experiences of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction in early development. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and severity of childhood trauma, maltreatment, and familial dysfunction using the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) survey in a sample of forensic mental health offenders. Participants were randomly selected forensic inpatients (n = 185) from a maximum- and intermediate-security psychiatric facility. The sample is predominantly male (81.0%) and majority Caucasian (56.0%), African American (40.0%), and Hispanic (2.0%) with a mean age of 42.5 (SD=13.2). Approximately 29.0% of the current forensic sample has experienced 4 or more adversities in childhood (e.g., intrafamilial sexual abuse). This is a significantly higher percentage compared to the Center for Disease Control community norms of 12.5% indicating that a greater number of childhood adversities were experienced by the current sample of forensic mental health inpatients than in the general population. Additionally, significant percentages of diagnosed mental health disorders have been revealed. Diagnosed mental disorders in the current sample include, but are not limited to: psychotic disorders (59.0%), intellectual disability or cognitive developmental disorders (57.3%), mood disorders (45.0%), impulse disorders (22.2%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (13.0%). Comprehension of type, severity, and length of exposure to adversities, environmental responsiveness to abuse, maltreatment and familial dysfunction, and the onset and severity of mental and behavioral health outcomes are needed to better inform treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation of forensic psychiatric inpatient populations.

Individuals, who work in high risk confrontational (HRC) settings in which a conflict exists, experience high-stress levels in their jobs and are known to have a high level of decreased performance and decreased survival. Individuals being trained to handle such conflicts should be trained effectively to accomplish the ultimate objective, staying alive. The problem is the lack of research and program evaluations examining effectiveness of training simulations in the transfer of skills under HRC settings. The purpose of my study was to test if the skill of target acquisition could be effectively transferred to a real environment (RE) after exposure within a virtual environment (VE). Ackerman's (1988) Theory of Ability Determinants of Skill Acquisition supports the progression participants advance through in the transfer of learning. A randomized posttest only comparison group design was used. The population involved 24 novice paintball players. Participants were randomly assigned to a simulation treatment or a non-simulation comparison application. Two days after receiving the intervention, participants engaged in live practice sessions (game 1 and game 2) in a RE where target acquisition skills were measured. Evidence suggests significant differences were found between novice players in the type of intervention received and the number of targets acquired in a RE, whereas, no significant change in scores was found between practice sessions, and no interaction was found between intervention received and practice. Recommendations for replicating studies include: (a) focusing on the manipulation of specific variables within the training context, (b) using different live environments, (c) examining factors that influence teaming and strategy formation, and (d) combining experts and novice players for a closer representation of a population in an HRC setting.

The current study focused on examining the relationship between music media literacy and middle school students. The goal of the study was to bring awareness towards adding music media literacy in the middle school curriculum; in order to further educate middle school students on the potential negative effects of popular music on their attitudes and behaviors, help middle school students understand the processes involved in the creation of popular music, and help middle school students understand how popular music can reflect and impact society as a whole. Participants (n=20) were selected through social media ads, ads posted on listservs, and word of mouth. A series of analyses were conducted in SPSS to find any difference in how participants viewed music based on demographic factors. Results showed the students view the lyrics in music to be from real-life scenarios, such as sexualization, sexual activity, substance abuse, violence and aggression. As well, participants showed to view music as a portrayal of both men and women factually in the real-world. These findings support the need for music media literacy in middle school curriculum. Keywords : sexualization, high risk-behaviors, real-life scenarios

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