One hundred, primarily incarcerated, adult male sex offenders, were interviewed to determine the extent of their own experience of childhood sexual abuse and their incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also investigated were the roles played by various aspects of sexual abuse in the development of PTSD and other psychological disorders. Fifty seven percent of the sample reported having been sexually victimized. Findings regarding age when the abuse began, use of force and severity of body violation were consistent with previous studies. As was found in prior research, the majority of their abusers were known to them and were women. Abuse by men and having been anally penetrated were correlated with the development of PTSD. Also implicated in the development of PTSD and related symptomology was the use of force during the abuse, severity of bodily violation, and, inconsistently, duration of the abuse. Regression analysis revealed use of force, not telling about the abuse as a child, a closer relationship to one's perpetrator, and increased severity of body violation to be, in combination, most consistently predictive of PTSD development. In the sexually abused sample, 33% received a retrospective diagnosis of PTSD, while five percent were currently diagnosed. This contrasts with rates found in the non-sexually abused sample of 7% past diagnosis of PTSD and 2% current diagnosis of PTSD. / Ph. D.

Previous research indicates that those with a history of abuse have an increased risk to experience subsequent traumatic events. This study utilized a convenience sample of undergraduate students to examine the reaction of those with a history of abuse to subsequent traumatic experiences. In addition, the study assessed the level of posttraumatic growth an individual experiences following childhood abuse. The level of posttraumatic growth was examined to determine if the growth allowed for participants to better handle successive traumas. Those with a history of abuse experienced higher levels of symptomology following a successive traumatic event. Results did not support the hypothesis that among those with a history of abuse, lower levels of posttraumatic growth would predict higher levels of symptoms following a later trauma. Implications and limitations of the study, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

The prevalence of rape in South Africa is widespread and survivors often experience severe posttraumatic stress and shame. Although secondary traumatic stress (STS) is a risk for everyone who works with primary survivors of trauma it has only been examined in a variety of professionals that provide supportive and clinical services to traumatised populations. Little is known about the impact that this experience has on the friends and family members that support these survivors. In some cases, supporters have to find a way to cope with significant distress associated with witnessing posttraumatic stress in a loved one. This begs the question of how their perceived ability to cope would influence their experience of STS. However, no studies exist that explore the dynamics between severity of posttraumatic stress in rape survivors and secondary traumatic stress and coping self-efficacy in their supporters. For this quantitative study, 23 rape survivors from a local non-governmental organisation completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised (HTQ-R). The 28 informal supporters that were identified, completed the Traumatic Attachment Belief Scale (TABS) and the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE). Cross-group equivalence, the presence of the outlined factors in the sample, as well as the interaction between factors, are explored and described. Findings indicate that although the survivors endorsed some symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, their scores were not elevated enough to meet the cut-off point for this diagnosis. Findings related to the supporters indicate that the sample experienced average to high average levels of secondary traumatisation. Despite this, the subjects experienced adequate levels of coping self-efficacy. These findings indicate a need to provide more counselling resources to informal supporters in order to alleviate their secondary traumatisation and in turn increase their ability to assist primary rape survivors.

The purpose of this study was to investigate intervention outcomes for domestic violence in families and adult children. This study targeted intervention outcomes of families and adult children from domestic violence homes for the purpose of comparing those self referred versus those who were mandated for intervention.

The results of this study revealed that despite the childhood sexual abuse event, the victims were able to change their views in a positive direction with regard to the benevolence of the world and people as they marched through life and presumably experienced positive events.

We hypothesized that the formation of malevolent introjects undermines the development of self-compassion, which in turn produces greater feelings of shame. We hypothesized that these feelings of shame account for concurrent depressive symptoms in adulthood. To test these hypotheses, we proposed a multiple mediator mediation model in which our independent variable was childhood maltreatment. We modeled child maltreatment as negatively predicting our first mediator, self-compassion, which in turn positively predicted internalized shame. We modeled internalized shame as positively predicting scores on our dependent variable, adult depressive symptoms. Participants were 158 adults fluent in English who were community members and college students living in a southwestern American metroplex. The model accounted for 61.8% of the variance in depressive symptoms in adulthood. A significant indirect effect from child maltreatment passed through both our mediators and ended in depressive symptoms in adulthood. We discuss limitations and theoretical and clinical implications, and future directions.

In this study, the role of positive and negative religious coping was evaluated for their interrelationship with demographic variables, religious variables, and the outcome of mental health distress. A sample of 253 United Methodist Church leaders from counties throughout the state of Mississippi completed a survey including measures for demographic characteristics, religious coping, general coping, and mental health distress. Through regression analysis and path analysis, the relationships among the variables were measured to determine the importance of religious coping strategies while controlling for demographic variables and general forms of coping. Through regression analysis, the subjective report of personal losses immediately after Hurricane Katrina, participation in religious activities, and involvement in recovery efforts significantly predicted the presence of mental health distress among United Methodist Church leaders in Mississippi. In particular, religious participation insulated against the presence of mental health distress while personal losses and recovery involvement promoted the likelihood of mental health distress. Positive forms of general coping as well as religious forms of coping provided no significant contribution to the presence or absence of mental health distress, but negative forms of general coping did predict higher levels of mental health distress. Among this religiously oriented sample, religious forms of coping was not significantly predictive of the presence of mental health distress after accounting for general forms of coping which suggested that religious coping may be indistinguishable from forms of coping that are more generalized in nature. Through path analysis, negative religious coping significantly influenced the increased presence of mental health distress but did not serve as a mediator between mental health distress and other religious and demographic variables. A surprising finding in this study was the important mediating role of recovery involvement between mental health distress and other factors including religious participation, religious salience, and status as an ordained minister. Additionally, at nearly three years after the storm, persons reporting to currently live in close proximity to the disaster and persons continuing to experience loss due to the disaster reported a higher prevalence of mental health distress. Implications for the current literature and the need for further research were discussed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Epidemiologic studies suggest that depression is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although several possible mediators of this association have been proposed, few studies have examined the role of moderators. Accordingly, I examined adverse childhood experiences (ACE) as a potential moderator of the depression-CVD association, given that individuals with a history of ACE show a greater inflammatory response to depression, and inflammation plays a role in the development of CVD. Data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were analyzed. Participants were 29,282 adults (58% female, 42% non–white) aged 18–97 years, free of CVD diagnoses at baseline. Lifetime depressive disorder (LDD) was assessed by the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule–IV (AUDADIS–IV), and adverse childhood experiences (abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction), and CVD were assessed during separate interviews. The primary outcome was incident CVD (n = 1,255), defined as nonfatal arteriosclerosis, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and/or stroke reported during the Wave 2 interviews. All analyses were adjusted for demographic and traditional CVD risk factors. Logistic regression models revealed that both LDD (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.28–1.62, p < .001) and any ACE (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.16–1.35, p < .001) were independent predictors of incident CVD. Interactions between LDD x any ACE (p = .024), LDD x neglect (p = .003), and LDD x household dysfunction (p < .001), but not LDD x abuse (p = 0.16), were detected. Analyses stratified by the ACE variables revealed that LDD was a predictor of incident CVD among adults with a history of (1) any ACE (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.32–1.73, p < .001), but not among those without a history (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 0.87–1.50, p = .332); (2) neglect (OR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.36–1.87, p < .001) and among those without a history (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.07–1.62, p = .005); (3) household dysfunction (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.46–2.04, p < .001), but not among those without a history (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.96–1.43, p = .11). Overall, the present findings suggest that depression may be a stronger risk factor for CVD among adults with a history of ACE, especially neglect and household dysfunction, than among adults who did not have these experiences.

Statistics for sexually abused children are high. When children do not receive therapy, they may develop marital problems later in life. Survivors of sexual abused have difficulty letting other people come close to them. Because emotional and sexual intimacy is important components of a marital relationship, survivors of sexual abused experience conflict within their marriages. Intimacy in the marital relationship reminds them of the abuse situation and they would try to escape from it. If couples do not go through therapeutic intervention, they would have difficulty understanding the changes in their relationship after the marriage. Within a therapeutic environment partners are able to recognise the effects of abuse and are able to learn how to handle it in order to achieve a successful marriage. The changes in intimacy levels after marriage will be investigated in this study. The study will make recommendations towards professional principles for social workers in practice. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Sciences)

Not available / text