Research indicates children's exposure to family violence results in long-term negative consequences, hindering social skill development and impacting on the ability to function as healthy, productive adults. Also, there exists a widely accepted theory, called the 'cycle of violence', which hypothesises that children who have experienced violence at the hands of their parents tend to grow up to become violent parents themselves. Some evidence for this theory has been found following research with groups of abusive parents and people who have committed crimes, This study explores the specific impacts of childhood exposure to family violence on the subsequent mothering of a group of women drawn from the general population. A qualitative approach using a methodology that combined feminist and narrative approaches was used. Nine women who have been exposed to family violence in childhood including physical, emotional/psychological, sexual abuse and witness to violence between parents participated in interviews which explored their experiences of mothering Each woman was interviewed twice to collect stories of childhood and of mothering experiences. These were analysed revealing that the women's mothering was affected by their childhood exposure to family violence in several ways, ranging from direct emotional impacts to indirect impacts of conceptualisations formed in the light of childhood experiences. This study adds to the existing knowledge of the long-term impacts of childhood exposure to family violence by focussing specifically on subsequent mothering. The findings encourage social work and health care personnel to appreciate that women exposed to family violence in childhood have specific issues with their mothering and there is a need to address these issues. It also challenges the weight given to the cycle of violence theory in intervention and prevention strategies in child abuse and family violence sectors

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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is common among refugee women, and some adulthood and childhood factors are more influencing IPV against this group of women. Generally, there is a gap in research about the different influencing factors of IPV against refugee women. There is little empirical evidence and research about influencing factors for IPV in this vulnerable population and few studies on this specific topic in Sweden. To fill in this gap, this study aims to investigate the adulthood and childhood determinants of intimate partner violence against Persian refugee women in Sweden who had intimate partners during the past year. The main theoretical framework of this study was the Socio-ecological model (SEM). I conducted a cross-sectional study using an online survey with five questionnaires and I did descriptive analysis for reaching results and final analysis for this project. I did linear regression to analyze how much two independent variables which are socio-cultural adaptation and childhood abuse victimization affect the main dependent variable. Findings show that; childhood abuse experience/victimization history as one of the main independent variables was significantly a higher predictor of the main dependent variable. According to the findings of this study, different layers of the socio-ecological model (SEM), such as individual, family, community, and society, influenced the main outcome of the study, which was emotional and economic violence against Persian refugee women in Sweden by their intimate partners. IPV can be identified, analyzed, and prevented using the SEM model and taking into account its various interconnected layers. Research on IPV and the factors that contribute to IPV victimization in women can advance knowledge in this field and aid in the development of future preventive interventions and programs to assist this vulnerable group.

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As a whole, eating disorders have been characterised as having the following key features: a persistent over concern with body size and shape; and weight control behaviours such as fasting, exercise, and self-induced vomiting. However, there tends to be a blurred line between those that do and do not meet diagnostic thresholds as the level of psychological distress is comparably similar. This study examined whether psychological inflexibility (from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy perspective) was associated with eating disorders and whether it mediated the relationship between childhood abuse and invalidation and eating disorders. This was considered to be important because high rates of abuse have consistently been found in this population, yet not everyone goes on to develop an eating disorder. In addition, the role of emotional abuse has been largely neglected. A clinical sample of 190 participants with a clinical or subclinical eating disorder were recruited from eating disorder charities and support forums; they completed a range of questionnaires measuring experiences of abuse and maternal/paternal emotional invalidation in childhood, current levels of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance and current levels of eating pathology. The sample was split into three groups based on their Eating Disorder Risk Composite scores: elevated, typical and low clinical range. It was found that those in the elevated clinical range (most severe eating pathology) had the poorest emotional processing and significantly higher levels of psychological inflexibility, thought-shape-fusion, depression and anxiety than those in the low clinical range (least severe eating pathology). In terms of predicting current levels of eating pathology, three variables emerged as significant predictors: emotional processing, thought-shape fusion and depression. In terms of predicting current levels of psychological inflexibility, five variables emerged as significant predictors: childhood emotional abuse, emotional processing, thought-shape-fusion, depression and anxiety. The results add novel findings to the literature regarding the role of early experiences on the development of psychological inflexibility, and the role of psychological inflexibility in the maintenance of eating pathology and psychological distress. Clinical implications of these findings in relation to assessment, formulation, intervention and prevention are discussed.

This research investigated an issue that has implications for early breastfeeding cessation and impaired mother-child bonding. It focused on child abuse survivors' perceptions and reactions surrounding breastfeeding and bonding, the necessity of trust before disclosing abuse, and the transition to self-efficacy. It also provided recommendations for health professionals' practice.

Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with the development and maintenance of mental disorders. The purpose of this naturalistic study was (a) to identify different patterns of childhood maltreatment, (b) to examine how these patterns are linked to the severity of mental disorders and (c) whether they are predictive of treatment outcome. Methods: 742 adult patients of a university hospital for psychotherapy and psychosomatics were assessed at intake and discharge by standardized questionnaires assessing depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI) and general mental distress (Symptom Check List-90-R, SCL-90-R). Traumatic childhood experience (using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ) and ICD-10 diagnoses were assessed at intake. Results: The patients could be allocated to three different patterns of early childhood trauma experience: mild traumatization, multiple traumatization without sexual abuse and multiple traumatization with sexual abuse. The three patterns showed highly significant differences in BDI, General Severity Index (GSI) and in the number of comorbidity at intake. For both BDI and GSI a general decrease in depression and general mental distress from intake to discharge could be shown. The three patterns differed in BDI and GSI at intake and discharge, indicating lowest values for mild traumatization and highest values for multiple traumatization with sexual abuse. Patients with multiple traumatization with sexual abuse showed the least favourable outcome. Conclusion: The results provide evidence that the severity of childhood traumatization is linked to the severity of mental disorders and also to the treatment outcome in inpatient psychotherapy. In the study, three different patterns of childhood traumatization (mild traumatization, multiple traumatization without sexual abuse, multiple traumatization with sexual abuse) showed differences in the severity of mental disorder and in the course of treatment within the same therapy setting.

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