The relationships between sexual arousal, attributional style, attributions of blame for child sexual abuse (CSA) and psychopathology were investigated in a non-clinical sample. One hundred female undergraduates completed a questionnaire incorporating the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, (Rosenberg, 1965), the Symptom Checklist 90-R (Derogatis, 1996), the Extended Attributional Style Questionnaire (Peterson et al., 1988) and questions about CSA experiences. Participants reporting CSA also completed the Attributions of Responsibility and Blame Scales (McMillen and Zuravin, 1997), and were asked if they had experienced sexual arousal during their CSA. Twenty five per cent of participants reported a history of CSA, and of this group, 32% reported experiencing sexual arousal during CSA. The CSA group had higher levels of symptomatology and negative attributional style than the Comparison non-abused group. Within the CSA group, symptomatology was positively associated with self-blame and negative attributional style, and negatively associated with selfesteem. Self-blame for CSA was positively associated with family/other blame, and negatively associated with self-esteem. The Aroused group experienced greater frequency and severity (number of types) of CSA, and showed higher levels of selfblame for the CSA than the Non-Aroused group. No evidence was found in the current study for a connection between sexual arousal and psychopathology. Further research using a larger sample size is indicated. The importance of including frequency, severity and sexual arousal as possible characteristics of CSA experiences during clinical assessment and interventions with adult survivors and focussing treatment strategies accordingly is discussed.

Battered women who choose to remain with their abusive partners tend to blame themselves for the violence that occurs within their relationships. However, no empirical studies have systematically investigated the specific perceptions of battered women who stay in abusive relationships. Since self-blame may influence battered women's decision to stay or leave, a battered woman's assessment of her own behavior within conflict situations may be critical to understanding this process. The present study examined the differences between abused and non-abused women's cognitive attributions of their own behavior as well as their verbally abusive boyfriends' behavior in the context of hypothetical dating scenes. College age women (n=100) were presented with descriptions of dating situations involving conflict between a male and female. Half the women received scenes wherein the female's statement toward her boyfriend provoked anger (i.e., provocative condition). The other half of the women received scenes wherein the female's statement toward her boyfriend did not provoke anger (i.e., non-provocative). Other personality variables which have been shown to be related to the experience of abuse (i.e., self-esteem and feminine gender role beliefs) were additionally assessed in relation to attributional response. Results suggested that abused women who were exposed to non-provocative female statements were more inclined to blame themselves than were non-abused women who were exposed to non-provocative female statements. Few differences were found between abused and non-abused women who were exposed to provocative female statements. Low self-esteem was shown to be moderately related to attributions of self-blame. Implications of these findings were discussed with regard to abuse prevention and therapeutic intervention. / Master of Science

Sexual assault has consistently been found to be associated with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Research shows that self-blaming attributions are directly linked to distress (Walsh, & Foshee, 1998; Walsh & Bruce, 2011). More specifically, the type of self-blame (i.e., behavioral and characterological) an individual associates with their experienced sexual assault, may influence their perceptions of avoidability of future assault and post-assault recovery. However, the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between behavioral and characterological self-blame in PTSD sexual assault survivors has been unexamined. The purpose of the proposed study is to assess the influence of self-efficacy in the association between variants of self-blame and post-assault distress. The proposed study considers the critical relationship between self-efficacy and self-blame, and aims to evaluate how these factors can ultimately influence posttraumatic adjustment in sexual assault survivors. Results revealed positive associations between behavioral self-blame and depression (r = .28, p < .05). Positive associations were also found between characterological self-blame, PTSD (r =. 42, p < .001) and depression (r =. 50, p p < .001) and self-efficacy was positively related to PTSD and depression symptom severity (r = -.27, p < .05; r = -.54, p < .001). Mediation was found between characterological self-blame, self-efficacy and depression, b = .11; CI: .04 - .21. Findings for this study can help with implication for postassault interventions by creating opportunities for therapist to custom-tailor patient treatments to match the self-blame they most associate with. This may lead to treatments that are more effective.

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No description available.

For many, the course of major depressive disorder (MDD) is recurrent, with periods of remission between major depressive episodes (MDEs); those in remission are known to be at elevated risk of future MDEs. A common and distressing symptom of MDD is overgeneralised self-blame, and this also persists into remission. In order to study the involvement of self-blame in vulnerability to MDD, a large cohort of participants was recruited: a group with remitted MDD (rMDD) and a matched healthy control (HC) group with no personal or family history of MDD. Participants completed electrophysiological and neuropsychological tasks. The rMDD group also completed a 14-month follow-up period, during which symptoms were monitored at intervals; this was to study the predictive effects of electrophysiological and neuropsychological variables, with a view to development of a biomarker with predictive value. The main method was electroencephalography (EEG), chosen for its high temporal resolution in comparison to a commonly used technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). On a practical level, EEG is also more cost effective and widely available, making it more suitable for future clinical transfer of any biomarker developed. A task previously used in fMRI was adapted for EEG; in this task, short sentences designed to evoke negative feelings related to the self and others were presented. The theta signal was abnormally sustained over time during self-blame in the rMDD group relative to the HC group. Given the involvement of theta in temporal binding, this may represent a correlate of dysfunction within the neural network underpinning self-blaming emotions. Correlation of sustained theta with separately collected fMRI data indicated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) was involved in this network. In a source analysis of the EEG data, the dlPFC was identified again; it showed reduced activation in the rMDD group relative to the HC group during other-blame. In summary, activation of the dlPFC appears to be adaptive in both self- and other-blame, as the HC group showed higher activation than the rMDD group; further work is required to confirm the clinical relevance of this. For a separate study of memory overgeneralisation, a known feature of MDD, a novel associative memory task was designed. A loss of bias towards remembering positive memories was found in a subgroup of the rMDD cohort with early life stress (ELS). This reduced positive bias correlated with the number of past MDEs, indicating that the cumulative effect of MDEs reactivating early traumatic memories leads to selective loss of positive memory bias. In summary, although no electrophysiological or neurocognitive predictive markers of recurrence risk were found, clear effects were seen in the cross-sectional results. Importantly, EEG was also validated as a technique for detecting self-blame-selective neural correlates of depression vulnerability. There were clear effects in the temporal domain, which highlight the benefits of EEG above other imaging techniques. However, the sources identified did not correlate with parallel fMRI work, so further work is required to understand the temporal dynamics of these sources. This research provides a platform from which future EEG investigations can develop.

No description available.

This research comprised of three studies designed to investigate the coping strategies utilised by high and low performing university students with non-academic stressors. Coping research has frequently focused on single stressors providing a distorted picture of coping. Utilising a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this research provides new insights into the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of coping with long-term, multiple stressors. It extends our understanding of coping beyond traditionally individualistic conceptualisations where active coping is valued over prosocial relationship-focused coping. Conceptualisations of social support is broadened to view it in more complex interactional terms. In Study 1, 521 university students were surveyed using a standardised coping inventory, the Ways of Coping Checklist revised. Several demographic groups were identified as at academic risk. Having good health, along with the high use Social Support and Problem Solving and the low use of Self Blame strategies all predicted high GPA. Study 2 involved a content analysis of 179 Exclusion Appeal letters submitted by excluded students. When confronted with multiple stressors, poor performing students compartmentalised or amplified multiple stressors which resulted in patterns of reactive problem-focused or emotion-focused coping. Passive and uni-directional approaches to social support resulted in the depletion of such resources. Study 3 investigated adaptive coping patterns using an open-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview with twenty high performing students. High performers viewed multiple stressors as inter-related, which is termed cross situational appraisal and displayed a versatile coping pattern across stressors termed cross situational versatility. Proactive and prosocial coping are critical for the acquisition and maintenance of social support over a long-term period. Implications of these research findings for Student Services staff are discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bakgrund: Sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnors fysiska och psykiska hälsa påverkas både kort- och långsiktigt av det sexuella övergreppet. Bland annat uppges problematik som ofrivillig barnlöshet, skador i underlivet, samt känslor av utsatthet, hjälplöshet, ångest och skuld. I studier framkommer att endast en mindre andel sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnor söker vård direkt efter övergreppet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnors upplevelser av övergreppet, bearbetningsprocessen och vården. Metod: En allmänt beskrivande litteraturstudie grundad på nio kvalitativa artiklar, som behandlade sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnors upplevelser. Resultat: Litteraturstudien visade att kvinnor upplevde sig vara bräckliga emotionellt efter ett sexuellt övergrepp, samt att bearbetningsprocessen inkluderade ett sökande efter förståelse för det inträffade. Vidare att det var viktigt att kvinnorna fick stöd och bekräftelse på att de inte var skyldiga till händelsen. Studien fann även att restriktivitet i hjälpsökandet kunde bero på skamkänslor, misstro till vården, samt otillräcklig tillgång på service. Slutsats: Sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnors livsvärld påverkas långsiktigt av övergreppet och de upplever ofta ett bristande stöd från andra, inte minst vården. Följande omvårdnadsåtgärder föreslås därför, för att förbättra vården av sexuellt utnyttjade kvinnor: Enskilda samtal, Gruppsamtal och Information och utbildning till anhöriga. / Background: Sexually assaulted women's physical and mental health is affected both in short and long term after the assault. Some of the reported problems are infertility, injuries in the genital area, and feelings of vulnerability, helplessness, shame and guilt. It has been shown that only a small proportion of sexually assaulted women seek care immediately after the rape. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe sexually assaulted women's experiences of the assault itself, the healing process and the health care. Method: This general descriptive literature review was based on nine qualitative articles, which dealt with sexually assaulted women's experiences. Results: This literature review showed that women felt to be emotionally fragile after a sexual assault, and the healing process included a search for understanding of the assault. Furthermore, it was important that the women received support and confirmation that they were not to blame for the assault. This study also found that restraint in the help-seeking could be due to feelings of shame, mistrust to the health care and inadequate access to services. Conclusion: Sexually assaulted women's life is affected in long-term because of the assault and they often experience a lack of support from others, especially the health care. Therefore the authors of this review suggest the following nursing interventions to improve the care of sexually assaulted women: Private conversation, Group discussions and Information and education to families.

Research indicates that certain family environments can impact negatively on psychosis. Expressed Emotion (EE) in relatives is a reliable measure of the individual’s interpersonal family environment that has been shown to predict relapse. However, the factors contributing to the development of EE in this condition and the mechanisms by which EE leads to relapse are still poorly understood. Relatives’ control attributions and behaviours have been linked to EE, and controlling behaviours have been found to be predictive of relapse. This thesis investigated the role of behavioural control, controllability and self-blame attributions in high- and low-EE relatives of individuals with psychosis, and explored the impact of these cognitions and behavioural responses on patient’s symptom outcomes and on relative’s distress. The first empirical study (Study 1) utilised a cross-sectional design to compare types of behavioural control attempts (direct influencing vs. buffering) in high-EE-critical/hostile and high-EE-overinvolved relatives of patients with recent-onset psychosis; and examined whether behavioural control attempts and controllability attributions differed for the high- and low-EE relatives. The links between relatives’ behavioural control and patient relapse were also explored. Results confirmed that types of behaviours (direct influencing and buffering) were associated with different sets of beliefs (about controllability) and with different types of EE (criticism and EOI). However, EE, controllability attributions, nor behavioural control predicted patient relapse. Study 2 used a cross-sectional design to explore the links between self-blame attributions and distress, and self-blame attributions and behavioural control in recent-onset relatives. Results showed that self-blame attributions predicted relatives’ controlling behaviours towards the patient. Relatives who blame themselves did so for not overseeing their family member’s mental health problems properly or for perceiving themselves generally as poor carers. However, self-blame was not predictive of distress. The final empirical study (Study 3) examined temporal associations between contact with high/low EE relatives, behavioural control, affect and symptom experiences in the daily life of patient-relative dyads experiencing psychosis, using experience sampling methodology. Findings revealed that contact with high/low-EE relatives per se did not impact on patient’s symptom experiences or affect, but behaviourally controlling interactions did, suggesting that the measure of behavioural interactions rather than the EE status of the relative may be more sensitive to momentary fluctuations in patients’ symptoms. Momentary self-reports of relatives’ behavioural responses were also linked with their negative affect. This thesis evidenced that relatives’ controllability and self-blame attributions and behavioural control are associated in significant and meaningful ways with psychosis experiences and can impact both patient and relative outcomes, shedding some light into the EE mechanisms that relate to relapse and to the development of EE responses in relatives. However, more work is needed to further understand how these mechanisms operate, particularly in high-EE-overinvolved or low-EE relatives, in order to increase our knowledge about relapse prevention. The findings highlighted that the concept of behavioural control should be considered in future clinical work with families experiencing psychosis.