Interpersonal Violence in Disaster

Interpersonal violence: improving victim recognition and treatment.

Marital rape is a concept that many find difficult to comprehend. Until the Oregon trial of John Rideout, who was accused of rape by his wife Greta, there was little discussion of marital rape by the general public or by researchers and counselors skilled in dealing with other types of rape cases. However, the extensive media coverage given the Rideout case has raised a number of questions about this subject. For example, what actions should be defined as rape when the acts involve husband and wife? When women are forced to have sexual relations with their husbands, do they accept this as part of their marital duties or does the use of force have long-term negative consequences for the marriage? And finally, in what types of marriages does forced sex or marital rape occur? This paper attempts to answer some of these questions based upon interview data gathered from nearly 300 women.

Father-Daughter Incest

Highlights the expansion of interpersonal violence as a global issue that encompasses physical, sexual, or psychological violence used by an individual or small group of individuals. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for 91.4 percent of 2011 deaths from interpersonal violence. Household surveys provide the bulk of the data on violence against children and youth as well as against women and the elderly. Serious and enduring consequences from such violence include increased risks of injuries, infectious diseases, mental health problems, reproductive health problems, and noncommunicable diseases. Public health interventions aim to prevent violence from occurring, and specific prevention programs fall into seven categories: (1) developing safe, stable parent-child relationships; (2) developing life skills in children and adolescents; (3) reducing availability and harmful use of alcohol; (4) decreasing access to lethal means; (5) promoting gender equality; (6) changing cultural and societal norms; and (7) implementing victim identification, care, and support programs.

Objective: To examine the association between sexual abuse in childhood and adult depression in women.Design: Two stage, case detection and case identification design, using the 30-item general health questionnaire and...

Dissociation in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: What is the role of different types of childhood adversity?

Using objective measures, the authors found a high rate of childhood sexual and physical abuse in a sample of 66 female psychiatric inpatients. Childhood abuse experiences were correlated with severity of adult psychiatric symptoms. The authors explore the usefulness of adult psychological symptoms, diagnoses, and prescribed medications as factors in the identification of patients who have histories of early sexual and physical abuse.

The development of primary prevention efforts to reduce child sexual abuse before it occurs has been inhibited by a lack of research into the attitudes and beliefs associated with child abuse and maltreatment. This article presents findings from 4,918 men pooled from nationally representative surveys of men in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and presents a latent class analysis of men's attitudes to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse, and its relationship with sexual interest in children and/or sexual offending against children. This study identified and described three latent classes of attitudes towards technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse, identifying significant and meaningful behavioural and demographic differences between the three groups of men. An important finding of this study is that the shift from "normalisation/blame diffusion" (associated with the belief that technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse is normal and acceptable behaviour) to "denial of abusiveness: and restrictive stereotypes" (associated with denying that abuse is harmful and desired by the child) was associated with greater odds of acting on sexual interest in children. The finding suggests that the moral or ethical quandary posed by sexual interest in children, and the consensus that child sexual abuse is morally wrong, has an important role to play in the prevention of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse. Interventions that seek to reinforce attitudes that child sexual abuse is harmful, and the fault of the perpetrator, may prevent at-risk men from offending. From the perspective of secondary prevention, targeting men who hold normalisation and blame diffusion beliefs may assist agencies in identifying offenders earlier in their offending trajectory. The findings also underscore the critically important role of the media and other sources of cultural influence, including the technology sector and entertainment industry, in reinforcing the moral wrong of child sexual abuse.

Children Witnessing Domestic and Family Violence: A Widespread Occurrence during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

The author proposes the addition of narrative and existential therapies to current empirically based treatments for victims of interpersonal violence who are experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A brief history of PTSD, current diagnostic criteria, and cultural influences in relation to this disorder are addressed. ********** The breadth of interpersonal violence is continuously expanding. According to Broman-Fulks et al. (2006), epidemiological studies estimated that between 50% and 70% of individuals in the United States have experienced some form of interpersonal violence during their lifetime. Interpersonal violence and trauma are exceedingly complex phenomena that have cultural, social, political, and psychological implications (Carlson, 2005; De Silva, 1993; Goto & Wilson, 2003). One constant commonly associated with interpersonal violence is the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of such violence (Phillips, Rosen, Zoellner, & Feeny, 2006). The complexity of working with survivors of interpersonal violence who are experiencing PTSD makes it imperative for clinicians to provide holistic treatment that attends to all of these layers. In this article, I propose an integration of existential and narrative therapies with current evidence-supported approaches to treating the aforementioned population. First, I briefly define interpersonal violence, then provide a history and review of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, which frequently results from such crimes. I then address cultural influences that could have an impact on diagnosis and treatment, followed by current treatments within the mental health field. Finally, I review the essential components of existential and narrative approaches and conclude with a discussion of how a combination of these treatment modalities could be beneficial for counselors in their work with survivors of interpersonal violence. INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE Interpersonal violence is defined here as an encounter that threatens or manifests bodily or emotional harm (Gore-Felton, Gill, Koopman, & Spiegel, 1999, p. 294). There are various forms of interpersonal violence, for example, sexual assault, domestic violence, executions, emotional abuse of children and spouses, terrorist attacks, mass shootings, torture, and other forms of homicide. The diffusion of impact can range from a single victim of assault to thousands affected by a mass shooting. Unfortunately, interpersonal violence is becoming a more common occurrence across the United States (Gore-Felton et al., 1999). In 2002, an estimated 1.6 million people across the globe died from self-inflicted, interpersonal, or communal violence. Of these, one third were homicide victims, and about 170,000 died as a direct result of mass violence (World Health Organization, 2007). The disruptive effects of interpersonal violence can be a determinant of mental health (Satcher, Friel, & Bell, 2007). Because of the growing evidence of such violence, it is important to understand the psychological consequences of it (Gore-Felton et al., 1999). PTSD History PTSD is a relatively new diagnostic category, although pathological responses to stressful events have been acknowledged in various contexts for decades (De Silva, 1993). The study of psychological trauma has been chronically forgotten because it provokes powerful controversy and requires one to encounter the essence of human vulnerability and villainy (J. Herman, 1997). It has been postulated that the conception of this disorder was in the late 19th century and was originally referred to as hysteria. At the time, most physicians considered hysteria to be a disease proper to women and originating in the uterus (Sgroi, as cited in J. Herman, 1997, p. 10). French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot was one of the founding scientists to study the controversial disorder. Through various case studies, Charcot was able to demonstrate that the root of hysterical symptoms was psychological (J. …

No abstract available for this article.

Mindfulness-based interventions for women victims of interpersonal violence: A systematic review

World report on violence and health: What it means for children and pediatricians

This study explored whether emergency rooms in a metropolitan county had standard procedures or offered services that address the needs of victims of interpersonal violence. Fifty hospital emergency rooms (75 percent of the facilities eligible to participate in the survey) responded to a 55-item questionnaire about their handling of victims of interpersonal violence. Emergency rooms generally relied on patient self-reports to determine whether a patient is a victim of violence. Standard operating procedures for reporting cases to state agencies and referrals for additional services were most likely to exist for areas in which hospitals' response is mandated by law, such as sexual assault and child abuse. In addition, three-fourths of the hospitals had procedures for dealing with elder abuse, an area in which reporting is strongly encouraged. Most direct services received by victims were not specifically targeted to them but were services offered to the general emergency room population. The most frequent referrals were to rape advocacy groups and battered women's groups. The hospitals were most likely to respond to victims in areas in which their actions were mandated by law, such as sexual assault and child abuse, or strongly recommended, such as elder abuse. The majority of emergency rooms do not conduct adequate epidemiological surveillance of injuries resulting from interpersonal violence. Protocols, services, and referrals for victims of family violence, peer violence, and other forms of interpersonal violence should be mandated by law or by standards of treatment.

Research on the etiology of dissociation in adults has focused primarily on childhood sexual abuse. The role of co-occurring childhood stressors and of more chronic adverse conditions such as neglect is less clear. This study examined the level of dissociation in relation to childhood trauma (sexual/physical abuse, witnessing interparental violence), early separation from a parent, and perceived parental dysfunction. One hundred sixty inpatients consecutively admitted to a general psychiatric hospital were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the Structured Trauma Interview. The mean Dissociative Experiences Scale score was 17.4; 18.0% of the patients scored beyond 30. Early separation was reported by 26.4% of the patients; 30.1% had witnessed interparental violence; 23.6% reported physical abuse; 34.6% reported sexual abuse; 11.7% reported rape before age 16; and 42.1% reported sexual and/or physical abuse. The level of dissociation was primarily related to reported overwhelming childhood experiences (sexual and physical abuse). When sexual abuse was severe (involving penetration, several perpetrators, lasting more than 1 year), dissociative symptoms were even more prominent. Highest dissociation levels were found in patients reporting cumulative sexual trauma (intrafamilial and extrafamilial) or both sexual and physical abuse. In particular, maternal dysfunction was related to the level of dissociation. With control for gender and age, stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the severity of dissociative symptoms was best predicted by reported sexual abuse, physical abuse, and maternal dysfunction. These findings indicate that dissociation, although trauma-related, is neglect-related as well. This implies the importance of object relations and attachment in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with dissociative disorders.