The study examined the effects of multiple interpersonal traumas (incurred simultaneously) on severity of PTSD symptoms; as demonstrated by the literature on the dose-effect relationship for PTSD, greater reports of interpersonal trauma, were hypothesized to lead to more severe PTSD symptomology. The 267 participants, were all Liberian war refugees living in Ghana, West Africa. Regression analysis was utilized to examine the contributions of interpersonal traumas (posttraumatic diagnostic scale), age, gender and marital status to PTSD symptoms (Impact of Event Scale). Interpersonal trauma was the strongest predictor, (β = .21, t(138) = 2.45, p < .05) of PTSD severity, which was supportive of the hypothesis. / Department of Psychological Science

[pt] Em 1921, Walter Benjamin publicou, com apenas 28 anos, seu controverso ensaio Da crítica da violência, representando um acerto com o modelo republicano de governança e desenvolvimento à luz da Primeira Guerra Mundial. Identificando uma relação intrínseca e necessária entre autoridade legal e violência física, Da crítica da violência tem se tornado um texto altamente influente para a discussão de violência na política, inspirando teóricos tão diferentes como Carl Schmitt, Herbert Marcuse, Jurgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida e Giorgio Agamben. Esta dissertação de mestrado propõe uma leitura do ensaio benjaminiano que o entende primeiramente como resposta à filosofia crítica e política de Immanuel Kant. Discutindo os conceitos de crítica, política vis-à-vis violência e história nas obras dos dois autores, essa dissertação visa esclarecer as divergências e também paralelas nos pensamentos dos dois autores, argumentando que ambos autores defendem uma visão que considera a violência como o único meio para alcançar a liberdade. / [en] In 1921, Walter Benjamin published, at the age of only 28, his controversial essay Critique of violence, representing an account on the republican model of governance and development in the light of the First World War. Identifying an intrinsic and necessary relationship between legal authority and physical violence, Critique of violence has become a highly influential text for the discussion on the role of violence in politics, inspiring theorists as different as Carl Schmitt, Herbert Marcuse, Jurgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida and Giorgio Agamben. This master thesis proposes a reading of Benjamin s essay which it comprehends primarily as an answer to the critical and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Discussing the concepts of critique, politics vis-à-vis violence, and history in the works of both authors, this master thesis has the goal to clarify the divergences but also the parallels within the thought of both authors, arguing that both authors defend a position which considers violence as the only means for achieving freedom.

This thesis has been carried out as there has been a need to expand research in men's violence against women in close relationships. This by a historical comparison to discover causal explanation and conceptions with a focus on change and continuity over time. Men's violence against women needs more research, although new interventions such as laws have been put into place, the problem still remains in society. The thesis will focus on finding change and continuity over time. Analyzing the area through a historical perspective can further contribute to a greater insight into the problem today, to reduce the risk of repetition of the past, regarding conceptions on gender and violence and not make the problem invisible. The material that has been used in the thesis is based on news articles from Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, based on four selected time periods during the 1900–2020s. The analysis focus on the public's perceptions and causal explanations of men's violence against women in close relationships. The result of the analysis concluded, among other things, that research and news articles do not always correspond and that society's perceptions and causal explanations have both altered and continued. A finding  in the thesis is that jealousy and men's feelings are two relatively unexplored areas.