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Individuals high in social anxiety report higher interpersonal dependency (e.g., Darcy et al., 2005), lower satisfaction with their sexual communication with their intimate partners (Montesi et al., 2009), less self-disclosure (e.g., Sparrevohn & Rapee, 2009), and less emotional expression (e.g., Spokas et al., 2009) than non-anxious individuals. In comparison to non-anxious individuals, socially anxious individuals also report lower satisfaction with various aspects of their intimate relationships including lower sexual satisfaction (Bodinger et al., 2002), less social and emotional intimacy (Schneier et al., 1994), and lower overall relationship quality (Sparrevohn & Rapee, 2009). The primary aim of the present investigation was to better understand the lack of satisfaction and fulfillment reported by socially anxious individuals in intimate relationships. Data were collected from 135 undergraduate students in committed, heterosexual, monogamous, sexually active partnerships of at least three months duration. Structural equation modeling was used to examine variations of a partially latent structural regression model in which higher social anxiety and higher interpersonal dependency were predictive of higher sexual communication reluctance and, in turn, lower overall relationship satisfaction and higher sexual dissatisfaction. Based on an examination of overall model fit statistics, chi square difference statistics, parameter coefficients, and correlation residuals, two models (one including fear of damaging the relationship and one without this variable) were retained. Both of the retained models, which included direct paths from social anxiety to satisfaction in addition to indirect paths from social anxiety and interpersonal dependency to the outcome satisfaction variables, had excellent fit (Model 1D:X²M=3.48,df=8,p=.90,RMSEA=0.00,CFI=1.00; Model 2D: X²M =15.07,df=14,p=.3, RMSEA=0.02,CFI=0.99). Exploratory hypotheses were examined. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits of open communication between intimate partners about specific areas of the sexual relationship (e.g., sexual fantasies). Future directions of study are proposed. / Psychology

Yes / This paper examines how people living apart together (LATs) maintain their relationships, and describes how they view this living arrangement. It draws on a 2011 survey on living apart together (LAT) in Britain, supplemented by qualitative interviewing. Most LATs in Britain live near to their partners, and have frequent contact with them. At the same time most see LAT in terms of a monogamous, committed couple, where marriage remains a strong normative reference point, and see living apart as not much different from co-residence in terms of risk, emotional security, or closeness. Many see themselves living together in the future. However, LAT does appear to make difference to patterns of care between partners. In addition, LATs report advantages in terms of autonomy and flexibility. The paper concludes that LAT allows individuals some freedom to manoeuvre in balancing the demands of life circumstances and personal needs with those of an intimate relationship, but that practices of living apart together do not, in general, represent a radical departure from the norms of contemporary coupledom, except for that which expects couples to cohabit.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur tjänstemän hos socialtjänsten och polisen uppfattar samverkan mellan de olika organisationerna, mer specifikt samverkan som metod i arbetet mot brott i nära relationer. Studien ämnade även undersöka hur de uppfattar myndigheternas roller i ett sådant samarbete. För att undersöka detta genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med tjänstemän från båda myndigheterna, i både förstadiet och efter genomförandet av ett samverkansprojekt mot brott i nära relationer. Studiens resultat visade att idén om att samverka mot brott i nära relationer har ett starkt stöd bland tjänstemännen hos båda myndigheterna. De faktorer som uppfattades som viktigast för en effektiv samverkan är en tydlig ansvarsfördelning mellan aktörerna, att förankra metoden i hela organisationen, en administrativ samordning och att samverkan får tillräckliga resurser. Resultatet visade också att tjänstemännen hos de båda myndigheterna hade en tydlig bild av den egna yrkesrollen, men att en osäkerhet hos aktören kan dyka upp när hen förväntas agera på ett vis som inte är i linje med den egna uppfattningen om rollen. / The aim of the study was to investigate how officials of the social services and the police perceived inter-organizational collaboration. More specifically inter-organizational collaboration as a method in the work against intimate partner violence. The study also aimed to examine how they perceive the authorities' roles in such cooperation. In order to investigate this, semi-structured interviews have been carried out with officials from both authorities. The interviews were conducted both in the preliminary stage and after a collaborative project against intimate partner violence. The study's result showed that the idea of cooperating against this type of problems has a strong support among the officials of both authorities. Factors that are perceived as the most important for effective collaboration are a clear division of responsibilities between the actors; to have the collaboration on an institutional level, instead of interpersonal, administrative coordination and ensuring that the collaboration has sufficient resources. The result also showed that the officials of the two authorities had a clear conception what constitutes as their professional role. That clear conception can create an uncertainty within the actor when he or she is expected to act in a manner that is not in line with his or her perception of the role.

The thesis is dedicated to intimate relationships of people with schizophrenic disorder (F20). The aim of this study was to determine the importance of intimate relationships attributed by women and men with schizophrenia in young adulthood. Their experience, ideals and expectations of partnership were also investigated. The theoretical part is divided into three parts. The first chapter describes the illness of schizophrenia, its characteristics, etiology, epidemiology, symptoms, deficits in cognitive and social functioning as well as current treatments oriented at psychosocial intervention. In the second chapter, the topic of partnerships of common people is presented. The third chapter describes the theme of partnerships in persons with schizophrenic disorder itself. The empirical part is based on qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 11 respondents, investigating intimate relationships and sexuality of people with schizophrenia. The results are properly described and afterwards discussed with the available literature. In the conclusion, it is recommended further research and intervention in social relationships among people with schizophrenia.

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of women's violence against men in intimate relationships, get an idea of ​​what forms of expression that this type of violence has and to highlight the men's experiences of violence. There is little scientific research in the field in Sweden. Crime Prevention Council has determined that eight percent of all complaints involving domestic violence in 2010, reported by men over 18 years. You can only speculate on how large number of unreported cases is among abused men. The international studies highlight that the abused men feel ashamed of having been subjected to violence by a female partner. I have been based this essay on two theoretical premises, Per Isdal theory of "violence perspective" and Elaine Bergqvist's definition of the suppression technique. The study was conducted through a qualitative content analysis. This type of method used to interpret the various texts, and to this study, three autobiographies was analyzed.    The results from the survey highlights that all men have been subjected to extensive financial, material, latent and psychological violence. Two men have been subjected to regular physical violence and one of the men has been the victim of sexual violence. The discussion highlighted that violence against men in intimate relationships is undetectable and taboo and that the phenomenon must be recognized and made more visible. The conclusion of this study was that the abused men feel ashamed to seek help but that is also exists lack of adequate help and support to give to men which has been abused.

Unipolar depression, estimated to be the leading contributor to burden of disease in middle- and high-income countries, often has an onset in adolescence. The disorder is associated with substantial role impairment and is highly recurrent. This raises questions about both subsequent mental health and social outcome. In order to shed light on this, a community sample of adolescents with depression and non-depressed peers was followed-up after 15 years. In 1991-93, first-year students in upper secondary school (age 16-17) in the town of Uppsala, Sweden, were screened for depression. Adolescents with positive screening and selected peers with negative screening (n=631 in total) were assessed regarding mental health, social situation, and personality. At around age 31, the participants were followed-up in both national registers (n=609) and personal interviews (n=409). Outcome regarding social factors, mental health, and personality was assessed. At follow-up, the former depressed adolescents had completed higher education to a lesser extent than the former non-depressed adolescents. The females with adolescent depression were also at increased risk of subsequent abortion, divorce, single parenthood, and partner violence. Characteristics associated with depression in adolescence (such as poor school performance and disruptive disorders) seemed to contribute to the poor outcome in the social domain. Regarding adult mental health, long-term depression in adolescence was associated with a particularly poor outcome. Compared to adolescents with shorter episodes of depression, those with long-term depression were more likely to report recurrent depression, suicidal ideation, and a range of other mental disorders in adulthood. Measures of personality traits related to neuroticism (a tendency towards negative emotionality) were elevated during ongoing depression and anxiety disorders, but were normalized with remission. However, repeated depressive episodes seemed to leave the individual more vulnerable to stress. It is now important to assess if early treatment can alter the poor outcome depicted in this thesis. Since social adversity, educational difficulties, and interpersonal problems accompany the depressive disorder from adolescence onward, it should also be investigated if interventions aimed at such contextual factors can prevent recurrence and improve quality of life.

The debate over the legitimacy of Fibromyalgia as a pain syndrome is often highlighted in the literature. The result of this is that patients are left feeling demoralised by the lack of acknowledgement of their symptoms and the innuendos of hypochondria or malingering. This study proposes that professionals move beyond this and into a more solution-focused stage that encourages the examination of predisposing factors and the implementation of means of improving the lives of patients. The aim of this study was to describe the psychological profiles of Fibromyalgia patients in terms of attachment styles, Sense of Coherence, Attributional Style and depression. Twenty-nine patients aged between twenty-two and sixty-four participated in the study, completing the relevant questionnaires. The design is a quantitative one, with both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures being employed to analyse the data. It is argued that key elements in the onset, maintenance and augmentation of Fibromyalgia Syndrome symptoms are to be found by examining the psychological feature of patients with the disorder. Although some research has been conducted into psychological factors in Fibromyalgia, the field is not nearly as well explored as the physical elements. This research is therefore of great importance to the Fibromyalgia knowledge base. Moreover, it offers a Salutogenic perspective, which may be useful in combating the devastating effects of this chronic pain syndrome. The study is limited by its cross-sectional design and lack of control group. Nonetheless, it does give rise to some intriguing findings. If attachment is to be regarded as the working model that an individual maintains of self and other, then it is possible that disorders that are believed to be related to depression (such as FMS) will also be correlated to insecure attachment styles. The research, however, indicates that the FMS patients in this sample do not display the predicted high percentage of insecure attachment styles. An almost even split between those having a high Sense of Coherence and those with a low score was also found. When relating these findings to other psychological parameters (such as Attributional Style and level of depressive symptoms), a discussion is born that allows for more complex interactions than a linear argument does. The research is then lifted from its pathogenic origins to embrace the origins of health. Further research is then prompted by this study and framed in the Salutogenic question: how do some patients with FMS maintain healthy attachment styles and a high Sense of Coherence despite their illness? / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare inom socialtjänsten och personal vidskyddade boenden upplever att tillgången till och utformningen av skyddsinsatser ser ut förvåldsutsatta kvinnor med en missbruksproblematik. Syftet är även att undersöka hur deupplever att denna målgrupps möjligheter till skydd fungerar i relation till våldsutsattakvinnor utan missbruksproblematik. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ metod där de teoretiskabegreppen stigma, handlingsutrymme och ideala offret används för att analysera resultatet.Studiens slutsatser är att arbetet med våldsutsatta kvinnor beskrivs som särskilt komplext dåbåde våldsutsattheten och missbruket ska beaktas. Ett hinder i arbetet med målgruppen ärstigmatiseringen som resulterar i att många kvinnor inte vill söka hjälp. Tillgången tillskyddade boenden är begränsad för målgruppen. Både tillgången till och utformningen avskyddade boenden måste förbättras för att kunna tillgodose behoven. Studiens slutsatser geren inblick i den särskilda utsattheten som finns hos våldsutsatta kvinnor medmissbruksproblematik, samt bidrar med förslag till utvecklingsmöjligheter i arbetet medmålgruppen inom det sociala arbetet. / The aim of the study is to investigate how social workers within the Social Services and staffat sheltered accommodation perceive the access to and the design of protection efforts forabused women with an addiction problem. Also to investigate how they perceive this group'sopportunities for protection work in relation to abused women without an addiction problem.The study is based on a qualitative method where the theoretical concepts of stigma,professional discretion and the ideal offer are used to analyze the results. The conclusions arethat the work with women exposed to violence is described as particularly complex as boththe exposure to violence and the abuse must be taken into account. An obstacle in workingwith the group is the stigma that contributes to many women not wanting to seek help.Access to sheltered accommodation is limited for the women. Both the availability and thedesign of sheltered accommodation must be improved to meet the needs. The conclusions areconsidered to be able to give an insight into the vulnerable that exists in abused women withaddiction problems and contribute with suggestions for development opportunities in thework with the women within the social work sector.

Bakgrund: Våld i nära relation är ett samhällsproblem där den våldsutsatta ofta är en kvinna. Kvinnors upplevelser av våld i nära relationer är relevant att belysa för att sjuksköterskor och samhället ska få en bättre förståelse för de utsatta kvinnornas upplevelser. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka kvinnors upplevelser av våld i nära relationer. Metod: Studien utgick från en induktiv ansats där datamaterialet bestod av självbiografier som analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat: Från datamaterialet framkom kvinnors upplevelser av våld i nära relationer. För kvinnorna innebar det en vardag präglad av fysiskt, psykiskt och sexuellt våld och en ständig oro. Normaliseringsprocessen gjorde att kvinnorna stannar kvar i relationen och upplevelser av skam, skuld och hopp var centrala. Resultatet beskriver kvinnornas liv och hur de tog sig ur den våldsamma relationen.  Konklusion: Med hjälp av självbiografier har kvinnors upplevelser av våld i nära relation analyserats. Att belysa kvinnors upplevelser och erfarenheter kan ha en inverkan på hälsooch sjukvården och samhället. Kunskap och förståelse har skapats utifrån självbiografierna vilket anses vara nödvändigt för att som sjuksköterska kunna möta kvinnors behov och rop på hjälp. / Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a society problem where the victim often is a woman. Women's experiences of being exposed to IPV are relevant to illustrate to increase understanding within the society and nurses.  Aim: The aim was to investigate women's experiences of violence in intimate partnership. Method: The study presented with an inductive approach where the data material consisted of autobiographies that were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Findings: The results based on the data material shows the experience of being exposed to intimate partner violence. For the women, it meant an everyday life marked by physical, psychological and sexual violence and constant worry. The normalization process meant that the women remained in the relationship and experiences of shame, guilt and hope were central. The result describes the women’s lives and how they got out of the violent relationship. Conclusion: Using autobiographies, women's experiences of violence in close relationships have been analyzed. Highlighting women's experiences can have an impact on healthcare and society. Knowledge and understanding have been created based on the autobiographies, which is considered necessary to be able to meet women's needs and cries for help as a nurse