Traumatic death survivors are an at-risk population that could benefit from social work interventions. This action research study explored social work perspectives on crisis practice with traumatic death survivors in acute medical settings. The research questions focused on whether early crisis interventions by social workers would benefit traumatic death survivors, which interventions were recommended in crisis practice with this population, the potential effects of repeated trauma exposure on the social workers providing the crisis interventions, and recommendations to manage this professional exposure to trauma. The purpose of the study was to explore social work perspectives on potential benefits of crisis interventions with traumatic death survivors and potential effects of crisis practice on the social workers providing the services. Crisis theory and family systems theory informed the study. Participants were selected from a convenience sample of licensed social workers, and data were collected in 1 focus group and 3 in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive and thematic analysis. Findings supported the benefits of social work crisis interventions for traumatic death survivors and the need for self-care, self-awareness, and support to reduce the risks of negative effects of crisis practice on social workers. Specific crisis interventions recommended for practice include the roles of advocate and guide, grief support, viewing of the body, and explanation of next steps. An increase in knowledge and recommendations for future practice based on study findings might promote positive social change by raising awareness about the problem and improving social work practice with traumatic death survivors.

Recent advances in early detection and treatment of breast cancer have led to increasing numbers of long term survivors of breast cancer. There is a growing concern about the potential adverse effects of chemotherapy on cognitive functioning. The current study examines the neuroanatomical correlates of late neurocognitive effects of chemotherapy in elderly breast cancer survivors who have survived more than ten years and were exposed to chemotherapy at the time of their cancer treatment. The participants in this study are 30 women breast cancer survivors in the age range of 65-81 years. In this cross sectional design, regional brain volumes measured using magnetic resonance imaging were correlated with cognitive test scores using multiple regression analyses. The test scores from Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Trail Making Test B are used as measures of executive function. The test scores from the Letter Number Sequencing subset of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) are used for measures of working memory. We found support for the hypothesized association between reduction in performance on specific neuropsychological tests and reduced volumes predominantly in the frontal, temporal and subcortical white matter regions. These results suggest that the frontal, temporal and subcortical white matter region are a neuroanatomical correlate of cognitive impairment seen in our study population. Future research will be needed to discern whether the structural correlates of cognitive impairment seen in long term cancer survivors is likely to be developed as an imaging marker for cognitive evaluation and rehabilitation.

Domestic violence (DV) touches the lives of many individuals in close, intimate relationships. Women of all ages, ethnicities, nationalities, and from all walks of life—the poor and the wealthy—demonstrate how widespread this phenomenon is and shed light to the deleterious effects of DV to individuals and society. While current research has demonstrated that progress has been made and is moving away from blaming individuals in abusive situations, few studies have broached this topic using qualitative methodology in order to give voice to women’s stories in hopes of better understanding their lived experiences. The goal of this study was to provide a better understanding of women’s stories and of the mechanisms that assist women in leaving violent relationships by obtaining a complete picture of their relationships from beginning to end. Thus, by gaining more insight into their sources of strength, resilience, and mechanisms that

This thesis focuses on disclosure of sexual abuse by men who were sexually abused either as children or adolescents. The research questions that it set out to answer were 'why and how do males in Australia disclose to another person that they have been sexually abused?' Aims were to understand disclosure from the perspective of male survivors in Australia, identify the factors that inhibit, trigger and facilitate disclosure, and develop a theory of disclosure reflecting the processes involved.

<p><strong>Syfte </strong>Studiens syfte var att undersöka: självskattad hälsorelaterad livskvalitet hos tonåringar som drabbats av cancer två år (T5), tre år (T6) och fyra år (T7) efter diagnos, samt att jämföra deras skattningar med en referensgrupp randomiserad från befolkningen.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Metod </strong>Tonåringarna med cancer besvarade SF-36 2 år (N=38), 3 år (N=42) samt 4 år (N=39) efter diagnos. En referensgrupp (N=300) randomiserad av Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB) besvarade samma formulär vid ett tillfälle. Samtlig data insamlades via telefonintervju.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Resultat </strong>Två år efter diagnos skattar gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar sin fysiska funktion, rollfunktion – fysiska orsaker, allmän hälsa samt summaindex för fysisk hälsa lägre än referensgruppen. Denna skillnad avtar över tid och vid tre år efter diagnos skattar gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar fysisk funktion och allmän hälsa lägre än referensgruppen. Fyra år efter diagnos skattar gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar endast sin fysiska funktion lägre än referensgruppen. Gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar skattar sin psykiska hälsa högre två år och fyra år efter diagnos jämfört med referensgruppen. Inga signifikanta skillnader kunde påvisas med avseende på hälsorelaterad livskvalitet inom gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar vid jämförelse två år samt fyra år efter diagnos. Inga signifikanta skillnader relaterat till kön med avseende på hälsorelaterad livskvalitet kunde påvisas i gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar vid något mättillfälle.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Slutsats </strong>Resultatet visar att gruppen med cancerdiagnostiserade tonåringar fortsätter uppleva fysiska besvär två till fyra år efter diagnos. Däremot skattar de sin psykiska funktion bättre än referensgruppen två år och fyra år efter diagnos. Detta tyder på en psykisk och psykosocial utveckling relaterat till sjukdomen och vad den inneburit för individen. Mer forskning krävs för att på ett bättre sätt påvisa huruvida kön har en inverkan på tonåringar med cancers hälsorelaterade livskvalitet.</p> / <p><strong>Aim </strong>The aim of the study was to investigate: self-reported health-related quality of life among adolescents diagnosed with cancer two years (T5), three years (T6) and four years (T7) after diagnosis, and to compare their ratings with a reference group randomized from the general population.</p><p><strong>Method </strong>The adolecsents with cancer completed the SF-36 two years (N=38), three years (N=42), and four years (N=39), after diagnosis. A reference group (N=300) randomly drawn by Statistics Sweden from their civil register of the Swedish population completed the same instruments at one assessment. Data was collected by telephone interviews.</p><p><strong>Results </strong>Two years after diagnosis the adolecsents with cancer estimate their physical functioning, role - physical, general health, and the physical component summary scale lower than the reference group. This difference diminishes over time and three years after diagnosis the adolecsents with cancer estimates physical function and general health lower than the reference group. Four years after diagnosis the adolecsents with cancer only estimates its physical function as lower than the reference group. The adolecsents with cancer rate their mental component summary scale higher two years and four years after diagnosis, compared to the reference group. No significant differences were observed with regard to health-related quality of life in the adolecsents with cancer when comparing two years and four years after diagnosis. No significant differences related to gender with regard to health-related quality of life could be detected in the adolecsents with cancer at any measurement occasion.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion </strong>The results show that the adolecsents with cancer continues to experience physical symptoms two to four years after diagnosis. However, they estimate their mental component summary scale better than the reference group two years and four years after diagnosis. This suggests a mental and psychosocial development related to the disease and what it meant to the individual. More research needed to better detect whether gender has an impact on health-related quality of life in adolescents struck by cancer.</p>

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Salzburg, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-200) and index.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between word reading and white matter (WM) integrity in the reading system and test a theory-based moderated mediation model such that relationship of WM integrity with word reading is mediated by processing speed and indirect effect is moderated by group. Thirty-seven adult survivors of childhood brain tumor and typically developing adults participated (mean age=24.19(4.51) years, 62% female). Tractography identified the WM tract for three reading system connections. Fractional anisotropy of the IFOF and PT-OT tracts were significantly correlated with word reading in survivors (r=.55, .46, respectively; p

Increasingly individuals are coming into contact with the criminal justice system. For millions of Americans this contact is mediated by the victimization or offense of a loved one. This study focused on exploring what the family members of victims and offenders identify as their needs and concerns in relation to the criminal justice system, assessing if the system is effective in addressing these needs and concerns, and understanding how these families' lives are shaped by interaction with the system. Grounded theory method was used to analyze the narratives posted on two on-line message boards, one for victims' families and one for offenders' families. The results from this study suggest that both groups express the same frustrations and concerns about the criminal justice system, and that both groups develop similar coping strategies to assist them in negotiating the system after initial incarceration or victimization.

As the number of cancer survivors continues to rise, there is an increasing need for psychological research to better understand and help individuals cope with their cancer journey. According to Socioemotional Selectivity theory (SST), shortened time perspective and mortality awareness heighten the importance of social and emotional goals. In the present analysis, SST is applied to the unmet needs of cancer survivors. This is done to provide a better understanding of the association between unmet needs of cancer survivors and the impact of such needs on the survivors' psychological well-being, especially in the case of survivor’s awareness of his/her mortality. In keeping with SST theory, we anticipated that for those with higher mortality awareness (e.g., recurrence of cancer, older age, greater mortality ratio), high unmet social and emotional needs, above else, will be associated with lower psychological well-being. Partial support was found for these hypotheses and results are discussed in terms of their contribution to a better understanding of the nature of psychological well-being of cancer survivors.

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