The purpose of this study was to examine the role childhood sexual abuse (CSA), social support and a person's worldview (i.e., optimistic or pessimistic attitudes) had on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

No description available.

Although intimate partner violence is an established societal problem, psychological violence often falls in the shadow of physical violence. Studies have shown that both men and women are exposed to psychological violence to an equal extent, but despite this, men's exposure is not noticed to the same extent as women's. This study investigates the expression of psychological violence, which characteristics of individuals that are exploited by perpetrators and why individuals choose to remain in relationships where they are exposed to psychological violence, and whether the reasons differ between men and women. The results of this qualitative study are based on semi-structured interviews with six individuals, three men and three women who had previously been in a relationship characterized by psychological violence. The study's theoretical framework consists of Hearns view of intimate partner violence and concept of a distant intimacy, Connell and Pearse’s gender theory, Beauvoir's concepts of the other, immanence and transcendence, and Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity. The results of the study indicate that the expression of psychological violence in heterosexual relationships was quiet the same for both our male and females respondents. The difference was that the female respondents felt criticized and derided by their partner. The male and female respondents also attributed themselves with similar characteristics, such as caring, accommodating and emotional. Yet it was only the female respondents who felt like their characteristics were exploited. The reason why the female respondents chose to remain in the destructive relationship was because they got broken down by the violence and formed a position of dependence on the their partners. The male respondents, on the other hand, remained in the relationship due to its difficulties in identifying their partner's destructive behavior as problematic. / Trots att våld i nära relationer är ett etablerat samhällsproblem hamnar psykiskt våld ofta i skuggan av fysiskt. Mätningar tyder på att kvinnor och män utsätts för psykiskt våld i en lika stor omfattning, men trots det så uppmärksammas inte männens utsatthet i samma utsträckning som kvinnornas. I detta självständiga arbete undersöks det psykiska våldets uttryck, vilka egenskaper som utnyttjas och varför individer väljer att stanna kvar i parrelationer där de utsätts för psykiskt våld, samt om anledningarna skiljer sig mellan män och kvinnor. Datainsamlingen utgjordes av semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex respondenter, tre kvinnor och tre män, som tidigare varit i en relation präglad av psykiskt våld. Studiens teoretiska referensram består av Hearns (2012) teoretisering av våld i nära relationer och begrepp avlägsen intimitet, Isdal (2001) sju undergrupper av psykiskt våld, Connell och Pearse genusteori, Beauvoirs begrepp den andre, immanens och transcendens, samt Connells begrepp hegemonisk maskulinitet. Studiens resultat tyder på att det psykiska våldets uttryck i heterosexuella relationer var nästintill detsamma för våra manliga och kvinnliga respondenter. Det som skildes var det kvinnliga respondenterna upplevelse av degradering och förlöjligande av sin manliga partner. De kvinnliga och manliga respondenterna tillskrev sig även med liknande egenskaper, som omhändertagande, tillmötesgående och känslosamma. Men det var endast det kvinnliga respondenterna som upplevde att dessa egenskaper utnyttjades. Det som gjorde att de kvinnliga respondenterna valde att stanna kvar i den destruktiva relationen var att de hade blivit nedbruten av våldet och bildat sig en beroendeställning till deras manliga partner. De manliga respondenterna stannade däremot kvar i relationen på grund av dess svårigheter att identifiera problematiken med deras partners destruktiva beteende.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas, 2007. / "December 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-170) and appendices.

The purpose of this study was to examine and identify the current availability, utilization, and perceived benefits of treatment services for secondary victims (i.e. family members/significant others of sexual assault victims).

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 E86 / Master of Science

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur de som jobbar med brottsdrabbade inom den engelska brottsofferjouren, Victim Support, förstår brottsdrabbades behov och sin egen roll i att bemöta dessa. Avsikten var även att undersöka hur traditionella föreställningar kring brottsdrabbade, och kategorier som manligt/kvinnligt, ålder, klass etcetera, påverkar denna förståelse. Studien utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med volontärer och anställd personal inom Victim Support. Resultaten visade att jouraktiva väger in flera parametrar när de bedömer brottsdrabbades behov. Kategorierna ålder, kön och brottstyp framkom som särskilt betydelsefulla. Traditionella föreställningar om brottsoffer framträder också i intervjudeltagarnas resonemang och tycks påverka sättet man förstår sin egen roll som ”hjälpare” på. Klienter som uppfattas avvikande har ibland svårare att få adekvat stöd. Det är därför av stor vikt att alla som jobbar med brottsdrabbade blir medvetna om hur stereotypiska antaganden kan ta sig i uttryck och vad de kan få för konsekvenser. / The aim of this study was to investigate how people working in English Victim Support, understand crime victim's needs and their own role in addressing them. The purpose was also to investigate how traditional notions of crime victims and categories such as gender, age, class etcetera, affect this understanding. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with volunteers and staff of Victim Support. The results showed that the participants took several parameters in consideration when assessing crime victim’s needs. The categories of age, sex and type of crime emerged as particularly significant. Traditional notions of victims also appear to influence the participants understanding of victims and their own role. Clients perceived as deviant may also have difficulties in receiving adequate support. It is therefore important that all working with crime victims become aware of how stereotypical assumptions can manifest and the potential consequences of them. / <p>9302021242</p>

Under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia, 1.7 million people died from starvation, overwork, torture, and murder. While five senior leaders are on trial for these crimes at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, hundreds of lower level perpetrators live amongst their victims today. This thesis examines how rural Cambodians (including victims, perpetrators, and bystanders) are coexisting after the trauma of the Khmer Rouge years, and the decades of civil war before and after. In this qualitative research study, 134 semi-structured interviews were conducted with rural villagers, government officials, and peacebuilding practitioners. Cambodian culture is characterized by conflict avoidance, and reliance on family networks, hierarchy, and patronage. Buddhism is a strong cultural influence as well. These characteristics, as well as the lack of trust resulting from the Khmer Rouge years, provided important context for this analysis of Cambodian social recovery. Research on the processes of coexistence and reconciliation inform this study (Bloomfield 2006; Huyse 2003; Kriesberg 2001; Lederach 1997; Rigby 2001). However, few studies have been done that examine community reconciliation in Cambodia (Etcheson 2005b). This thesis examines the processes of reconciliation, including interfering and facilitating factors. Processes such as building relationships and trust, and developing empathy and compassion are explored. Cambodians’ views of apologies, revenge, forgiveness, and other key concepts are reviewed. Models of coexistence, acceptance, perpetrator coping strategies, and a victim decision-making tree are presented to assist in the analysis of the data. These models provide a theoretical framework for the understanding of the situation of coexistence and reconciliation in Cambodia. The thesis suggests that Cambodians are currently living in various stages of coexistence (surface, shallow, and moderate) and have not yet approached a condition of deep reconciliation. Practical applications of the findings are suggested.

Although societal interest in violence is not new, the lay public and legal and mental health professionals have become increasingly interested in distinguishing nonstranger and stranger violence. The importance of the victim-offender relationship is underscored by the fact that society appears to be less fearful of the nonstranger offender than it is of the stranger offender. This research explores the role of the victim-offender relationship in crimes of violence. Inmate self-report, official data, and prison infraction data were used. All data collection occurred within the Arizona state prison system and included 273 inmate subjects who committed violent offenses. The victim-offender relationship was studied in the context of the validity of offender self-report, the prison experience of inmates, criminal justice processing of offenders, recidivism of offenders, specialization of offenders, and offender's perception of victim contribution. Results suggest that the violent offender self-report is valid and reliable, and that stranger and nonstranger offenders are similar in some ways and different in others. In particular, stranger offenders have more disciplinary problems in prison; are charged and convicted of less serious crimes but are given longer sentences; have more extensive juvenile records and histories of drug abuse; are more likely to have been in prison before; do not have more extensive self-reported crime commission rates; are no more or no less likely to specialize; and are less likely to perceive victim contribution than nonstranger offenders. Conclusions and implications for public policy are discussed.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2001.