Experiences Of Abuse Research Articles

아동기 학대 경험이 신체화에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the dual mediating effects of clarity on emotional awareness and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy between childhood abuse, somatization in adulthood.
 Methods The result of 291 adults between the ages of 20 and 59 were distrivuted to scales of childhood trauma, somatization, clarity on emotional awareness, and cognitive emotion regulation strategy. Descriptive statics, Pearson’s correlation analysis and dual mediation analysis analyzed data via SPSS 25.0, Process Macro 6 model.
 Results First, childhood abuse experience, somatization, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy were positively correlated with each other, and these three variables were negatively correlated with clarity on emotional awareness. Second, in the relationship between childhood abuse experience and somatization, clarity on emotional awareness and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy showed a dual mediating effect. This means that the higher childhood abuse experience, the higher level of somatization in relationship, the clearer the emotional awareness as an emotional factor, and the less maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy are adopted as a cognitive factor, the lower the somatization.
 Conclusions These findings indicate that it suggests factors for counseling psychological intervention in somatization due to childhood abuse experiences by revealing the dual mediating effect of clarity on emotional awareness and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy on the effects of childhood abuse experiences and adult somatization. Limitations and recommendations for future research are presented.

Regulating vulnerability: policy approaches for preventing violence and abuse of people with disability in Australian service provision settings

This article analyses policy frameworks designed to protect people with disability from harm in service provision settings and respond to their experiences of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation, with a focus on the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The creation of a new disability services market has facilitated greater choice and empowerment for NDIS participants, but has also exposed them to new risks and vulnerabilities. Drawing on feminist vulnerability theory, a policy audit, and qualitative research with seventeen key stakeholders, the article reflects on the need to incorporate more nuanced understandings of vulnerability in safeguarding policy and respond to the situational and pathogenic vulnerability created by the way systems and structures operate. It identifies opportunities to enhance the personal autonomy of people with disability through accessible pathways for complaints and justice, and greater focus on natural and mainstream safeguarding systems in complementing disability-specific systems.

An exploratory study of University Students’ Lived Experiences and Memories of Childhood Abuse.

Child abuse is a serious and devastating global problem. In Tanzania this problem exists in a variety of forms and is deeply rooted in cultural, educational and social practices, often mixed with, and difficult to distinguish from normal measures of correcting and disciplining children. This study is undertaken to describe the patterns of child abuse (physical, emotional and sexual) as experienced by university students in Tanzania in their childhood. The study also aims at obtaining deeper understanding of the different types of perpetrators who interacted with, and inflicted abuse to children in the family and community at large. Data comes from a representative sample drawn from university students (n=470) in one university in Tanzania in March 2019. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. The results show multiple experiences of physical, emotional and sexual child abuse for both male and female students. The findings also indicate that family members, teachers, peers, and motor-cycle drivers were involved in the abuse of children consistent with similar studies which categorize such groups of people as perpetrators of child abuse (Moore et al, 2007; UNICEF Tanzania, 2011; Kisanga, 2012; McCrann, 2017) The study recommends that behaviors of child abuse be given due attention to ensure proper care, normal development and guarantee protection of children. The study also highlights the significance of engaging university students on intervention programs to counteract the negative effects of child abuse during adulthood.

Parental psychological maltreatment, negative cognitive style and psychological distress among Pakistani adolescents

ABSTRACT Negative perceptions within parent–child relationship has become a focus of research in recent psychological literature. Keeping this in view, the current paper aims to study how parental psychological maltreatment and negative cognitive style connect with psychological distress among Pakistani adolescents? Three hundred and seventy adolescents including 200 boys and 170 girls took part in the study. The mean age was 16.11 (SD = 1.54). Participants from different educational institutes filled in Psychological Maltreatment Experience Scale, Adolescent Cognitive Style Questionnaire – Short Form (Adapted version) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Findings of the study indicated that both parental psychological maltreatment and negative cognitive styles have strong association with psychological distress. The results emphasize the role of negative cognition in parent–child relationship and importance of reducing the hostile effects of parental maltreatment on youth’s mental health.

Paternal cocaine-seeking motivation defines offspring’s vulnerability to addiction by down-regulating GABAergic GABRG3 in the ventral tegmental area

Epidemiological investigations indicate that parental drug abuse experiences significantly influenced the addiction vulnerability of offspring. Studies using animal models have shown that paternal cocaine use and highly motivated drug-seeking behavior are important determinants of offspring addiction susceptibility. However, the key molecules contributing to offspring addiction susceptibility are currently unclear. The motivation for cocaine-seeking behavior in offspring of male rats was compared between those whose fathers self-administered cocaine (SA) and those who were yoked with them and received non-contingent cocaine administrations (Yoke). We found that paternal experience with cocaine-seeking behavior, but not direct cocaine exposure, could lead to increased lever-pressing behavior in male F1 offspring. This effect was observed without significant changes to the dose-response relationship. The transcriptomes of ventral tegmental area (VTA) in offspring were analyzed under both naive state and after self-administration training. Specific transcriptomic changes in response to paternal cocaine-seeking experiences were found, which mainly affected biological processes such as synaptic connections and receptor signaling pathways. Through joint analysis of these candidate genes and parental drug-seeking motivation scores, we found that gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit gamma-3 (Gabrg3) was in the hub position of the drug-seeking motivation-related module network and highly correlated with parental drug-seeking motivation scores. The downregulation of Gabrg3 expression, caused by paternal motivational cocaine-seeking, mainly occurred in GABAergic neurons in the VTA. Furthermore, down-regulating GABAergic Gabrg3 in VTA resulted in an increase in cocaine-seeking behavior in the Yoke F1 group. This down-regulation also reduced transcriptome differences between the Yoke and SA groups, affecting processes related to synaptic formation and neurotransmitter transmission. Taken together, we propose that paternal cocaine-seeking behavior, rather than direct drug exposure, significantly influences offspring addiction susceptibility through the downregulation of Gabrg3 in GABAergic neurons of the VTA, highlighting the importance of understanding specific molecular pathways in the intergenerational inheritance of addiction vulnerability.

Older LGBTQ People and Religious Abuse: Implications for the UK Regulation of Care Provision in Later Life

Research suggests health, social care, and social work professionals who are highly religious, and adhere closely to traditional doctrine, are more likely to take a negative view of LGBTQ people. This includes those who provide services to older people. Negative attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and/or queer (LGBTQ) people can translate into poor care and even abuse. This commentary discusses recent literature on older LGBTQ people’s experiences of religious abuse. It highlights the concerns among many older LGBTQ people about care from religious based providers where religion becomes a factor leading to abuse, associated with microaggressions, psychological abuse, harassment, discriminatory abuse, neglect, and poor care. Even though only a minority of religious care providers may hold negative attitudes towards LGBTQ people, and even fewer may allow this to inform poor/abusive practice, this is nonetheless an area of concern and merits further investigation. All care providers, including those with strongly held religious beliefs, should deliver equally good, affirmative, non-abusive care to older LGBTQ people, and to LGBTQ people of all ages.<strong>Key words</strong>LGBTQ; religious care providers; abuse; adult protection; equality and human rights; law

The Role of Childhood Trauma in Affective Stress Recovery in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study.

Affective recovery, operationalized as the time needed for affect to return to baseline levels after daily stressors, may be a putative momentary representation of resilience. This study aimed to investigate affective recovery in positive and negative affect across subclinical and clinical stages of psychosis and whether this is associated with exposure to childhood trauma (sexual, physical, and emotional abuse). We used survival analysis to predict the time-to-recovery from a daily event-related stressor in a pooled sample of 3 previously conducted experience sampling studies including 113 individuals with first-episode psychosis, 162 at-risk individuals, and 94 controls. Negative affective recovery (ie, return to baseline following an increase in negative affect) was longer in individuals with first-episode psychosis compared with controls (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI; 1.03, 2.61], P = .04) and in at-risk individuals exposed to high vs low levels of emotional abuse (HR = 1.31, 95% CI [1.06, 1.62], P = .01). Positive affective recovery (ie, return to baseline following a decrease in positive affect) did not differ between groups and was not associated with childhood trauma. Our results give first indications that negative affective recovery may be a putative momentary representation of resilience across stages of psychosis and may be amplified in at-risk individuals with prior experiences of emotional abuse. Understanding how affective recovery contributes to the development of psychosis may help identify new targets for prevention and intervention to buffer risk or foster resilience in daily life.

‘No one believed us: no one came to help’: caregivers' experiences of violence and abuse involving children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

AbstractChild and adolescent‐to‐parent violence and abuse (CAPVA) refers to abusive and violent behaviours by children towards their parents or primary caregivers. The abuse and harmful behaviours can include a full range of physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and material actions over prolonged periods of time, from childhood to young adulthood. Parents and caregivers of children with neuro‐developmental conditions are vulnerable to CAPVA, and little research has been undertaken exploring the experiences of caregivers of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). In Aotearoa New Zealand, 56 caregivers were interviewed using semi‐structured interviews, and over half identified significant levels and impacts of CAPVA, including dealing with physical violence and frequent emotional abuse. Health and stress issues were present in all caregivers interviewed. Caregivers also identified how systemic ignorance and a lack of understanding from caring professionals led to parent blaming, a sense of shame and isolation. Yet, caregivers also showed resilience and implemented strategies of de‐escalation and distraction. More specialised practice is needed in this emerging field of family violence and in how to support families with children who have FASD.

Intergenerational effects of child maltreatment on adolescents’ anxiety and depression in Ethiopia: the important mediating and moderating roles of current psychological distress

BackgroundChild abuse is widespread around the world, and one continent with particularly high rates is Africa. Research in high- and middle-income countries shows the cascading effect of parental history of child abuse and neglect on adolescents’ maltreatment and, in turn, on mental health problems. This cascade has been reported in young children but has rarely been studied in parent-adolescent dyads or in low-income countries (LICs). The goal of this study was to test intergenerational associations of child abuse and neglect and to examine how these experiences are in turn associated with youth anxiety and depression in an LIC.MethodsA total of 231 adolescents (age: 13–21 years) and 185 of their parents (n = 90 fathers and n = 95 mothers) were recruited from secondary schools in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed a set of questionnaires assessing child maltreatment (in adolescence and own past history in parents), parental psychological distress, youth depression and anxiety, and sociodemographic factors.ResultsThe frequencies of child maltreatment exposure were 68% for adolescents and 65% for their parents (when they were a child). Fifty-one percent and 42% of adolescents had borderline to clinical levels of anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. Adolescents of parents with a history of child abuse and neglect also reported higher exposure to maltreatment themselves (p < 0.001). Current paternal, but not maternal, psychological distress mediated this intergenerational association of maltreatment experiences (95% CI [1.164, 9.467]). We further found parents’ psychological distress to be a significant moderator of the indirect pathways of the intergenerational effect of child maltreatment on adolescents’ anxiety and depression (95% CI [− 0.770, − 0.012]).ConclusionsWe found child maltreatment to be intergenerationally associated, and this effect subsequently affected adolescents’ anxiety and depression through different pathways supporting the cascading effects across generations. Intervention plans may be effective through an array of possible indirect pathways and encourage the implementation of multiple access points to facilitate change in the lives of affected youth in Africa.

Bystander experiences of domestic violence and abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article seeks to understand the experiences of bystanders to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. Globally, professionals voiced concern over the COVID-19 restrictions exacerbating conditions for DVA to occur. Yet evidence suggests this also increased opportunities for bystanders to become aware of DVA and take action against it. This mixed methods study consists of a quantitative online survey and follow-up interviews with survey respondents. Conducted in Wales, UK, during a national lockdown in 2021, this article reports on the experiences of 186 bystanders to DVA during the pandemic. Results suggest that bystanders had increased opportunity to become aware of DVA due to the pandemic restrictions. Results support the bystander situational model whereby respondents have to become aware of the behaviour, recognise it as a problem, feel that they possess the correct skills, and have confidence in their skills, before they will take action. Having received bystander training was a significant predictor variable in bystanders taking action against DVA; this is an important finding that should be utilised to upskill general members of the community.

The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Unintended Pregnancy Among Married Women of Reproductive Age in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Childhood abuse has been associated with adverse medical, psychological, behavioral, and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. Despite this, limited research explores the connection between childhood abuse and unintended pregnancy during adulthood. Notably, existing studies have predominantly focused on high-income countries, leaving a significant gap regarding low- and middle-income nations. This study aims to investigate the impact of childhood physical, sexual, and psychological abuse on the prevalence of unintended pregnancies and explore the interaction effects of childhood abuse on unintended pregnancy occurrences. The cross-sectional survey study was conducted between October 2015 and January 2016 in the Chandpur District of Bangladesh. Data were collected from 426 married women aged 15–49 years who had at least one child of six months or younger. The assessment of child abuse pertains to the mother’s own experiences of childhood abuse and not abuse inflicted on her child. The prevalence of childhood physical, psychological, and sexual abuse was 37%, 26%, and 15%, respectively. About 25.1% of their most recent pregnancies were unintended. Notably, women with a history of childhood sexual abuse were twice as likely to experience unintended pregnancy compared to those without such a history. Furthermore, a dose-response connection was observed between the combined exposure of all categories of childhood abuse and a higher risk of unintended pregnancy. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions, such as comprehensive sex education, accessible mental health support, and improved child protection frameworks, to address the potential repercussions of maternal childhood abuse and reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancies.

Assessment of Sensory Processing Issues in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Experiences of Maltreatment.

This study aims to identify the sensory characteristics of children with both developmental disabilities such as ASD and ADHD and a history of child maltreatment (DM group), children with developmental disabilities (DD group), and typically developed children (TD group). The sensory characteristics of 24 children were assessed through virtual reality and self-administered questionnaires. The results elucidated that the duration of gazing at the "teacher" (60-75 s) was significantly different with the DM group's gaze being shorter than the DD group's gaze (p = 0.042). The duration of the "others" gaze (45-60 s) was also significantly different with the DM group's gaze being longer than the DD and TD groups' gaze (p = 0.018; p = 0.030). Additionally, the scores for tactile sensitivity, taste/smell sensitivity, under-responsive/seeks sensation, and the total short-term sensory profile were significantly different between the DM-DD and DD-TD groups. The scores of the heart rate perception test and Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness were significantly lower in the DM and DD groups. In conclusion, children who have experienced trauma and developmental disabilities may have different sensory characteristics than children with only developmental disabilities or none, implying the need for further research and tailored care.

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, along with their associated factors, among Eritrean refugees in Dabat town, northwest Ethiopia, 2023

BackgroundRefugee populations are forcibly displaced from their homes as a consequence of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Eritreans, initially displaced to the Maiayni camp within the Tigray region, have faced further relocation to Dabat town due to the conflict between the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian government forces. Subsequently, another conflict has arisen between the Amhara Popular Force (Fano) and Ethiopian government forces in Dabat town, disrupting its stability. These collective challenges in the new environment may contribute to the development of symptoms such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Currently, there is a lack of available data on these symptoms and their associated variables in Dabat Town. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms, along with associated factors, among Eritrean refugees in Dabat town, northwest Ethiopia. This will provide significant evidence for developing and implementing mental health intervention strategies that specifically address the particular difficulties faced by refugees.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from July 25 to September 30, 2023, in the Eritrean refugee camp in Dabat town. A systematic random sampling method was employed to select a total of 399 Eritrean refugees with 100 response rate. Data were collected using the standard validated Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire, which included socio-demographic characteristics. Summary statistics such as frequency and proportion were utilized to present the data in tables and figures. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify associated factors, and variables with a p-value (p ≤ 0.05) were considered statistically significant factors.ResultThe findings of this study indicated that 45% (95% CI: 35.6-48.23), 33.6% (95% CI: 31.66–37.45), and 37.3% (95% CI: 35.56–40.34) of the participants had symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, respectively. Sex, age, employment status, lack of food or water, experience of torture or beating, and imprisonment emerged as statistically significant predictors of depression. Employment status, murder of family or friends, rape or sexual abuse, torture or beating, and lack of housing or shelter were statistically significantly associated with anxiety. PTSD was found to be significantly associated with sex, length of stay at the refugee camp, lack of housing, shelter, food, or water, experience of rape or sexual abuse, abduction, employment status, and murder of family or friends.Conclusions and recommendationThe results of this study revealed that more than one-third of Eritreans living in the refugee camp in Dabat town had symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. This prevalence is higher than the previously reported studies. Various factors, including age, gender, monthly income, unemployment, experiences of rape or sexual abuse, witnessing the murder of family or friends, being torched or beaten, imprisonment, and deprivation of basic needs such as food, shelter, and water, were identified as contributors to the development of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This research underscores the need for both governmental and non-governmental organizations to secure the provision of essential necessities such as food, clean water, shelter, clothing, and education. This study also suggested that Eritrean refugees be legally protected from rape, sexual abuse, arson, detention without cause, and kidnapping. Moreover, the study calls for health service providers to develop a mental health intervention plan and implement strategies to deliver mental health services at healthcare facilities for Eritrean refugees in the Dabat town Eritrean refugee camp.

Heightened response to positive facial cues as a potential marker of resilience following childhood adversity

ABSTRACT Background: Childhood maltreatment profoundly influences social and emotional development, increasing psychiatric risk. Alterations in the implicit processing of threat-related cues following early abuse and neglect represent a marker of mental health vulnerability. Less is known about how early adversity influences the perception of positive social cues, despite their central role in establishing and maintaining social interactions and their association with better mental health outcomes. Methods: The sample consisted of 42 children and adolescents with substantiated childhood maltreatment experiences and 32 peers (mean age 13.3), matched on age, pubertal status, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and cognitive ability. A computerised experimental task assessed the perceived emotional intensity of positive (happy) and negative (fearful) facial expressions. Mental health symptoms were measured via self- and parental reports, and perceived social support was self-reported. Results: The experience of abuse and neglect was associated with heightened perceived intensity of positive facial cues. Cross-sectional post-hoc moderation and mediation analyses, employing a model-building approach, revealed that in maltreatment-exposed participants: (i) their increased response to positive facial cues was associated with lower symptoms; (ii) the presence of social support accounted for their heightened perceived intensity of positive facial cues; (iii) the presence of social support putatively contributed to lower symptoms by increasing the perceived intensity of positive facial cues. No group differences in perceived intensity of negative expressions were observed. Conclusions: These findings provide fresh insight into how positive faces are processed following maltreatment experience in childhood. Maltreatment experience was found to be associated with heightened perceived intensity of happy faces, which in turn was associated with better mental health and greater levels of social support. This suggests that heightened saliency of positive emotions acts protectively in children with maltreatment experience.

Addressing the Complex Links between Psychopathy and Childhood Maltreatment, Emotion Regulation, and Aggression-A Network Analysis in Adults.

Childhood maltreatment is the strongest predictor of psychopathology and personality disorders across the lifespan and is strongly associated with a variety of psychological problems, namely, mood and anxiety disorders, behavioral and personality disorders, substance abuse, aggression, and self-harm. In this study, we aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the interplay between different traits of psychopathy and distinct dimensions of childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation, and aggression. Using a cross-sectional design, we employed correlational network analysis to explore the nomological network of psychopathy and provide a sample-based estimate of the population parameters reflecting the direction, strength, and patterns of relationships between variables. The sample consisted of 846 adults (71% females) who completed questionnaires measuring psychopathy, childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation, and aggression. The results highlight that disinhibition traits of psychopathy are the closest attributes of early experiences of abuse (but not neglect) in childhood and correlate with all dimensions of emotion regulation difficulties, being specifically associated with reactive aggression. Neglect was a unique attribute in the nomological network of meanness, with widespread correlations with emotion regulation difficulties but also an increased ability to engage in goal-directed behavior. Physical abuse was the only dimension of childhood adversity that was found to be intercorrelated with boldness and increased emotional regulation was found in this psychopathic trait. No significant associations were found between boldness, meanness, and aggression once shared variance with disinhibition was controlled. These results are discussed in terms of their implication for research and clinical practice.

Symptom patterns in the co-occurrence of depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms: A network analysis of a Canadian nationally representative sample

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the symptom patterns of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a matched nationally representative sample of the Canadian population. We also tested whether childhood maltreatment (CM) exposures and sex would be linked with different symptom patterns. MethodsA total of 3296 participants from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health with complete information on MDD and GAD symptoms and being matched on the studied sociodemographic characteristics were included in the current study. Network analysis was performed to examine the MDD-GAD symptom network, network stability and centrality indices were also estimated. Finally, network comparison in connectivity patterns was conducted to explore the impact of maltreatment experience and sex differences in the MDD-GAD symptom networks. ResultsThe CM group had stronger network connections and showed differences in the network structures from the non-CM group. In the CM group, depressed mood and diminished interest were central symptoms and strongly connected with other symptoms. Additionally, females had stronger connections in the MDD-GAD symptom network than males, and sleep disturbance was a central symptom for females, alongside depressed mood and diminished interest. LimitationsThe cross-sectional design restricts our capacity to establish longitudinal or causal connections between symptoms. ConclusionsDepressed mood was the most central node that was strongly connected with other symptoms in the network. Distinct MDD-GAD symptom networks were discovered in the CM and the female group when compared to their counterparts. Noteworthy, individuals with CM had a stronger correlation between worry and suicidal ideation. Clinical management and intervention efforts should pay close attention to these core symptoms to yield optimal treatment effects, particularly for females and individuals with CM.

Differences in anxiety, depression, and oral health-related quality of life among dental anxiety patients with and without reported abuse experience.

This study aimed to explore the differences in anxiety, depression, and oral health-related quality of life between people with dental anxiety who reported abuse experience (n=60) and people with dental anxiety who did not report abuse experience (n=97). Both groups attended a dental service focused on the treatment of dental anxiety intended for people with a history of physiological or psychological trauma, or odontophobia. The participants responded to a questionnaire that included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP), and the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+ ). The differences between groups were tested for statistical significance using Welch's T-tests, and linear regression was used to adjust for gender. The participants with reported abuse experience expressed greater psychological symptoms of anxiety and poorer oral health-related quality of life. The participants with reported abuse experience also expressed a higher fear of losing control, as well as feeling shame and disgust. This study shows that individuals with dental anxiety and a history of abuse may face more complex challenges than those with dental anxiety and no history of abuse.

Atypical Interpersonal Problem-Solving and Resting-state Functional Connectivity in Adolescents with Maltreatment Experience.

Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered neurocognitive functioning, which is thought to reflect, in part, adaptation to early adverse environmental experiences. However, we continue to lack a precise mechanistic understanding linking atypical neurocognitive processing with social functioning and psychiatric outcomes following early adversity. The present work investigated interpersonal problem-solving, resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), and mental health symptoms in adolescents with documented maltreatment experience and explored whether altered neural function contributes in part to poorer social functioning. Forty adolescents (aged 12-17) with documented experiences of abuse or neglect and a carefully matched group of 42 non-maltreated peers participated in this study that measured task-based interpersonal problem-solving skills and rsFC. Adolescents with maltreatment experience showed poorer interpersonal problem-solving performance, which partly accounted for their elevated mental health symptoms. Resting-state seed-based analyses revealed that adolescents with maltreatment experience showed a significant increase in rsFC between medial Default Mode Network (DMN) hubs, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), with a posterior cluster, including the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), precuneus (PCu), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and lingual gyrus (LG). Moderation analyses revealed that maltreatment-related increased DMN rsFC partly accounted for poorer performance in interpersonal problem-solving. Poorer interpersonal problem-solving, partly accounted for by atypical coupling between DMN medial hubs, was associated with maltreatment exposure. Interventions tailored to enhance interpersonal problem-solving represents a promising avenue to promote resilience and reduce the likelihood of mental health disorder following maltreatment experience.

Gender and Social Determinants of Health: A Mixed Method Study in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Gender is recognized as a fundamental social determinant within the overarching framework of the World Health Organization's Social Determinants of Health (SDH). It is conceptualized as a central factor influencing population health and contributing to health inequalities. Objective: To investigate disparities based on gender in the social determinants of health and assess gender inequities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: A mixed-methods approach, comprising both a survey and an exploratory qualitative study, was employed at Mardan Medical Complex Hospital in Mardan. A total of 10 interviews were conducted with healthcare workers (HCWs), and the study included 210 patients. Results: Out of the 210 patients, the majority were female (107/210, 51%), while 103/210 (49%) were male. 80 out of 103 (77%) females were house wives. More female (30 out of 103) is illiterate than male (21 out of 107) in the study participants, men (25 out of 107) are more educated in the secondary and higher education than women (16 out of 103). Women have high literacy level in religious education (12 out of 103). Women (25 out of 103) are more prone to partner’s verbally or physical aggression than men (15 out of 107). Among female patients, predominant challenges encompass domestic concerns, experiences of violence and abuse, a deficit of trust, and socio-cultural barriers. In contrast, a prevalent social determinant of health for males was identified as financial responsibility, contributing to a notable incidence of mental health illnesses. Conclusions: In conclusion, the study sheds light on significant gender-based disparities in social determinants of health (SDH) and their profound impact on the well-being of individuals.

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and its effects on self esteem among youth

This present study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and its effect on self-esteem among youth. This study was conducted through the survey method, using an online survey via Google Form for the respondents. The total number of respondents received is 156 (n =156) participants from youth aged 18 to 30, with 74 (47.4%) male respondents and 82 (52.6%) female respondents who are willing to participate in the study. Instruments used in this study were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). This research includes the use of descriptive analysis for the demographic information. Meanwhile, the research hypothesis was tested using Pearson’s correlation to obtain the results between the two variables. Results indicated that emotional neglect has the highest number of childhood maltreatment experiences by youth, but emotional abuse has the most severe case. Childhood maltreatment had a strong negative correlation with self-esteem (r(156) = 0.671, p &lt;0.001). Among the respondents, the increase in the level of childhood maltreatment was correlated with a decrease in self-esteem. Through this study, screening children’s conditions and environment early with extensive intervention is essential to preventing such adverse complications.