Victimization in childhood: General and specific associations with physical health problems in young adulthood

Literature Review and Content Analysis of Bullying Assessments: Are We Measuring What We Intend to?

The initial phase in any initiative aimed at preventing bullying involves evaluating the present prevalence to pinpoint students who might be more susceptible to involvement in the bullying dynamic. Assessment serves as a guide for shaping future decisions regarding intervention. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate current assessment tools to determine the extent to which the bullying dynamic is currently measured. The results indicated that assessment tools measured verbal bullying/victimization most frequently, followed by relational and physical. Also, items measured repetition and intent about 50% of the time, while they measured power imbalance less frequently (i.e., 25%). The importance of matching an appropriate assessment to a school's needs is emphasized. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Childhood Polyvictimization and Associated Health Outcomes: A Systematic Scoping Review

Background: Polyvictimization, the experience of multiple types of victimization, is associated with detrimental health outcomes. Despite extensive research on the health consequences of polyvictimization, one challenge in understanding this literature lies in the varied operationalized definitions of polyvictimization and health outcomes. This scoping review provides the volume of the current literature on this topic, documents the varied constructs of polyvictimization and associated health outcomes, identifies knowledge gaps, and guides future research directions. Method: A systematic search of English-language original articles that presented quantitative associations of childhood polyvictimization and health outcomes was performed through six-database searches, a gray literature search, and citation mining from June 2020 to January 2021. The varied constructs of polyvictimization, health outcomes, and other study characteristics were extracted. Results: A total of 96 studies were included. Two ways of creating continuous variables (30.21%) and four ways of constructing categorical variables (72.92%) were identified for operationalizing polyvictimization. The majority of health outcomes were mental, behavioral, or social (96.88%), while slightly more than 10% of studies examined physical health (11.46%) or general health conditions (10.42%), respectively. More than half of studies used U.S. samples (56.25%). Conclusions: The varied constructs of polyvictimization suggests that there is a need to establish a valid polyvictimization construct that is consistently agreed upon in the research community. Findings summarize the specific health outcomes that can be targeted for further investigation and prevention efforts. Findings also suggest that the study of resilience and coping education for childhood polyvictims is sorely needed.

Routine conversations about violence conducted in Swedish child health services-A mixed methods study of nurses' experiences

AIM

To evaluate an intervention where nurses in child health care services routinely talk to and inform parents about violence.

METHODS

The intervention included providing information during home visits and individual conversations with mothers and fathers/partners in connection with screening for parental depression. A convergent mixed-methods design was used with a documentation form for each child (n = 475) and results from focus group interviews with nurses. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative with manifest content analysis.

RESULTS

Almost all families participated in the intervention; individual conversations were conducted with nearly all the mothers, and to a somewhat lesser extent with the fathers/partners. Initially, the nurses felt slightly uncomfortable about these conversations, but described experiencing development and professionalisation in their role of talking about violence. Parents' reactions were generally positive and they expressed appreciation for this topic being raised.

CONCLUSION

The results show that the intervention has been carried out successfully. The newborn period is a phase in which mothers and fathers are interested and receptive to knowledge and support in sensitive matters. Prerequisites for implementation were the preparation phase for the nurses, the use of routine questioning and a questionnaire as a basis for the conversations.

Association of daily hassles, daily uplifts, coping styles and stress-related symptoms among women exposed to sexual abuse-A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Women who experience physical or sexual violence report poor self-perceived health. Knowledge of daily hassles, daily uplifts and coping styles, as well as how these factors can affect health and well-being among survivors of sexual abuse, is important for healthcare professionals to understand and target their needs.

AIM

The aim of the current study was to explore the association of daily hassles, daily uplifts, coping strategies and stress-related symptoms among female survivors of sexual abuse.

METHODS

A group of women (n = 57), exposed to sexual abuse, were recruited from nine support centres in Norway. Participants completed a questionnaire that addressed demographics, socioeconomic conditions, trauma history, daily hassles, daily uplifts, coping styles and stress-related symptoms. Two groups of participants were compared: one group that had above-median scores on uplifts and adaptive coping styles and one group that had above-median scores on daily hassles and maladaptive coping styles.

RESULTS

Results indicate that women who experienced more daily hassles and used maladaptive coping styles reported significantly more stress-related symptoms, and particularly emotional symptoms, than women who experienced more daily uplifts and used adaptive coping styles. There were few differences between the two groups related to socioeconomic conditions and trauma history.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that women in both groups struggle with stress-related physical, emotional, cognitive and target group-specific symptoms. However, high incidence of daily hassles and the use of maladaptive coping styles were associated with an increase in stress-related symptoms. Novell's findings indicate that despite severe traumatic experiences, adaptive coping styles and favourable perceptions of stress in everyday life were associated with a lower frequency of stress-related symptoms. It may therefore be helpful to focus on altering maladaptive coping styles to reduce stress-related symptoms among sexual abuse survivors.

Associations Among Age of First Experience of Violence, Type of Victimization, Polyvictimization, and Mental Distress in Nigerian Females

This study explored associations of age of first victimization, sexual violence (SV), physical violence (PV), polyvictimization, and mental distress among females in Nigeria (n = 1,766, 13-24 years old) using the nationally representative 2014 Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed. Nigerian females reporting SV victimization and polyvictimization were more likely to experience higher mental distress. The older the female was at the time of PV victimization, the greater the risk for mental distress. Violence is prevalent in Nigeria and its impact on youth's health is severe. However, evidence-based and data-driven policies and programs can reduce and prevent violence.

The Multilevel Pathway in MSTs for the Evaluation and Treatment of Parents and Minor Victims of ACEs: Qualitative Analysis of the Intervention Protocol

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may be an important risk factor for the onset of developmental psychopathological disorders. Families involved in ACEs are often the subject of social or welfare policies aimed solely at the victim, without a proper consideration of family functionality. Methods: We describe the results of an Italian intervention project, which aimed to reinforce both the local networking of the Campania region, and the skills of the operators involved in actions to prevent and combat ACEs. The project was characterized by different phases and two actions, namely: (1) diagnosis and therapy aimed at child victims of ACEs and their families; (2) supervision of the operators of the multidisciplinary specialized teams (MSTs). Results: 99% of the cases under review were characterized by intra-family violence; 34% suffered psychological abuse, 33% neglect, 23% inappropriate care, 4% sexual abuse, 3% excessive care and 3% physical abuse. Conclusions: Thanks to the interventions carried out, severe and chronic ACE situations were recognized, and processes of de-institutionalization and the construction of life projects were carried out in accordance with the territorial services. This offered child victims and their families an opportunity to restore the conditions of well-being, both for the growth of the individual and the family system.

Violent victimisation trajectories from adolescence through adulthood: consequences for sleep problems

BACKGROUND

Violent victimisation is a stressful experience that has been linked with sleep problems among children, adolescents and adults. However, prior research has not assessed how victimisation trajectories across different stages of the life-course correspond to sleep outcomes. The present study assesses how trajectories of violent victimisation from adolescence to middle adulthood correspond to sleep behaviours in adulthood.

METHODS

Data are from fives waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N=6015). Semi-parametric group-based trajectory modelling was used to estimate violent victimisation trajectories from adolescence to middle adulthood. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between sleep quantity and quality across violent victimisation trajectories.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrate that the relationship between violent victimisation and sleep in adulthood is not consistent across all victimisation trajectories. Rather, sleep quality and quantity are the worst among those who persistently experience violent victimisation from adolescence through adulthood.

CONCLUSION

Persistent exposure to violence can be a particularly damaging experience with consequences for sleep quantity and quality. Establishing interventions that reduce violent victimisation across the life-course and promote positive sleep behaviours among those with a history of victimisation are important public health measures.

Health Correlates of Abuse History and Moderating Effect of Parenting Stress for Mothers with Mental Disorders

Parenting stress is common and may lead to worsening health, particularly in the context of other risk factors such as mental disorders or a history of abuse. This study investigated how parenting-related stress impacts the effect of abuse experiences on health among mothers with mental health disorders. Survey data was analyzed from 172 predominantly Hispanic mothers receiving outpatient behavioral health services. Most (80.2%) mothers had experienced abuse. Those reporting childhood abuse had 3.82 greater odds of experiencing abuse in adulthood. Findings demonstrated worse health outcomes among those experiencing abuse in both childhood and adulthood and those with a greater number of abuse experiences. Caregiving load intensified the relationship between abuse and anxiety and sleep disturbance. Parenting self-agency intensified the relationship between abuse and cigarette use. These findings have important implications for mental health nursing practice by identifying parenting-stress as an important target for interventions to improve health among women with histories of abuse and mental health disorders.

Self-reported symptoms of temporomandibular pain and jaw dysfunction in adolescents are associated with exposure to violence

BACKGROUND

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are multifactorial, and high levels of stress seem to increase symptoms. The association with exposure to violence has not been explored in adolescent populations.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of self-reported symptoms of temporomandibular pain and jaw dysfunction with child physical abuse, intimate partner violence, forced sexual intercourse, and bullying victimisation.

METHODS

An epidemiological, cross-sectional, school-based study was conducted in Olinda, northeast Brazil. The sample comprised 2,431 adolescents aged 14-19 years. TMD-related symptoms and exposure to violence were assessed with questions from the 3Q/TMD screener and queries on exposure to different forms of violence. Multilevel logistic regressions were conducted to evaluate how 3Q screen-positive responses are associated with self-reported exposure to violence.

RESULTS

Self-reported TMD-related symptoms had a prevalence of 40.5%. Significantly more females than males screened positive to all 3Q/TMD questions (p < .001). Adolescents experiencing intimate partner violence (p = .012) and bullying (p < .001) had significantly higher odds of 3Q positive responses than those who reported no exposure to violence. Significant associations of TMD-related symptoms with forced sexual intercourse (p = .014) and with bullying (p = .007) were observed.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents with self-reported symptoms of temporomandibular pain and jaw dysfunction were significantly more often exposed to some type of violence. The number of adolescents reporting TMD-related symptoms increased in a dose-response manner with the number of violence forms the individual had experienced.

Prenatal sleep quality and mental health symptoms across the perinatal period: A longitudinal study of high-risk women

BACKGROUND

Trauma-exposed women may be at magnified risk for posttraumatic stress (PTSS) and depression symptoms in the perinatal period, but few studies have examined symptomatology across the perinatal period in high-risk samples. Further, the role of sleep in perinatal symptomatology has been largely neglected in the violence literature, despite its well-established associations to mental health in other samples. This study aimed to examine the trajectory of PTSS and depression symptoms across the perinatal period and the effects of childhood adversity, intimate partner violence and prenatal sleep impairment on PTSS and depression symptoms across the perinatal period.

METHOD

In a longitudinal, prospective study, 101 low-income pregnant women were interviewed during pregnancy, at 6-weeks postpartum, and 4 months postpartum. N = 83 women completed at least 2 interviews and were included in the analyses. Prenatal sleep, childhood adversity, and IPV exposure were assessed at the prenatal interview; PTSS and depression were assessed at all interviews.

RESULTS

Past year IPV was associated with elevated prenatal mental health symptoms and prenatal sleep difficulties were associated with a worsening trajectory in perinatal PTSS.

CONCLUSIONS

Screening for IPV and prenatal sleep difficulties may be paramount in identifying those at risk for the development or exacerbation of mental health symptoms in the perinatal period.

PTSD and dissociation symptoms as mediators of the relationship between polyvictimization and psychosocial and behavioral problems among justice-involved adolescents

Polyvictimization (PV) has been shown to be associated with psychosocial and behavioral impairment in community and high risk populations, including youth involved in juvenile justice. However, the mechanisms accounting for these adverse outcomes have not been empirically delineated. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation are documented sequelae of PV and are associated with a wide range of behavioral/emotional problems. This study used a cross-sectional research design and bootstrapped multiple mediation analyses with self-report measures completed by a large sample of justice-involved youth (N = 809, ages 12-19 years old, 27% female, 46.5% youth of color) to test the hypothesis that PTSD and dissociation symptoms mediate the relationship between PV and problems with anger, depression/anxiety, alcohol/drug use, and somatic complaints after controlling for the effects of exposure to violence and adversities related to juvenile justice involvement. As hypothesized, PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship of PV with all outcomes except alcohol/drug use problems (which had an unmediated direct association with PV). Partially supporting study hypotheses, dissociation symptoms mediated the relationship between PV and internalizing problems (i.e., depression anxiety; suicide ideation). Implications are discussed for prospective research demarcating the mechanisms linking PV and adverse outcomes in juvenile justice and other high risk populations.

Outcomes of psychotherapeutic and psychoeducative group interventions for children exposed to intimate partner violence

Witnessing violence toward a caregiver during childhood is associated with negative impact on children's health and development, and there is a need for effective interventions for children exposed to intimate partner violence in clinical as well as in community settings. The current effectiveness study investigated symptom reduction after participation in two established group interventions (one community-based psychoeducative intervention; one psychotherapeutic treatment intervention) for children exposed to intimate partner violence and for their non-offending parent. The study included 50 children-24 girls and 26 boys-aged 4-13 years and their mothers. Child and maternal mental health problems and trauma symptoms were assessed pre- and post-treatment. The results indicate that although children showed benefits from both interventions, symptom reduction was larger in the psychotherapeutic intervention, and children with initially high levels of trauma symptoms benefited the most. Despite these improvements, a majority of the children's mothers still reported child trauma symptoms at clinical levels post-treatment. Both interventions substantially reduced maternal post-traumatic stress. The results indicate a need for routine follow-up of children's symptoms after interventions.

Health and Health Care From the Perspective of Intimate Partner Violence Adult Female Victims in Shelters: Impact of IPV, Unmet Needs, Barriers, Experiences, and Preferences

Intimate partner violence (IPV) predicts poor health for victims and their children, but little is known about the perspective of victims. This study reports the perspectives of adult female IPV victims about the impact of IPV on their health and barriers of health care access for themselves and their children. The majority rated their health as good to excellent (69%). However, 83.5% indicated that IPV negatively affected their health; 53.5% had unmet health care needs. Mental health care was the most common unmet need for women; children's unmet needs were immunizations and preventive care. Transportation difficulties posed the biggest barrier to health care access.

Conditional and indirect effects of age of first exposure on PTSD symptoms

Childhood violence exposure (CVE) in formative developmental years may have potent effects on severity and complexity of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in adulthood, yet little research has examined the role of age of first exposure in the context of polyvictimization or gone beyond an examination of direct effects. The current study examines the specific associations between age of first exposure, total CVE, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adulthood. Further, the conditional and indirect effects of age of first exposure on posttraumatic stress symptoms were examined. We hypothesized that age of first exposure to violence would be associated with higher total violence exposure across childhood, thereby predicting current posttraumatic stress symptom severity (i.e., indirect effect). We also postulated that age of first exposure would affect the relationship between total violence exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms such that earlier exposure would exacerbate the effects of violence exposure (i.e., conditional effect). Participants included 269 violence-exposed adults recruited through MTurk; the mean age of first CVE was 6 years (SD=3.29). Conditional process models indicated that age of first exposure was significantly associated with higher total childhood violence exposure, which in turn, was significantly associated with current posttraumatic stress symptoms in all domains. Further, a conditional effect of age of first exposure was present such that the relationship between total exposure to violence and symptoms of hyperarousal was stronger for those first exposed at earlier ages. Findings provide support suggesting the particular potency of early trauma on regulatory response systems.