Psychological Trauma : Theory, Research, Practice and Policy

OBJECTIVE: Although prior research has shown that an array of distinct experiences related to crisis migration are associated with mental health, there is a pressing need for a theory-driven, multidimensional measure to assess the broad spectrum of crisis migration experiences. As such, the present study focused on developing and validating the Crisis Migration Experience Scale (CMES) with a sample of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. METHOD: Participants were adolescent (ages 12-17; n = 430) and adult migrants from Venezuela (ages 18+; n = 569)...

OBJECTIVE: This paper identifies the multiple adversities and trauma experienced by children who are detained after seeking asylum. A conceptual framework identifies the specific impact of immigration detention on the psychosocial development and mental health of refugee children that can inform policy and prevent additional migration-related trauma. METHOD: The paper draws on international evidence about the impact of childhood adversity, challenges faced by all displaced children, and the additional negative consequences of immigration detention...

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to explore the prevalence and determinants of common mental health disorders (CMHDs, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, and anxiety) in Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Specifically, we examined how the associations between cultural adversities (discrimination, unemployment, and separation from family) and CMHDs are modified by levels of religiosity and sex. METHOD: Between March and June 2017, a cross-sectional study was conducted targeting adult Arab Syrian refugees residing in Beirut and Southern Lebanon...

OBJECTIVE: The novel concept of "the trauma therapists" journey' during their work with formerly tortured refugees and asylum seekers is introduced, mapped, and explicated for a convenience sample of 10 psychological therapists/practitioners who work in the United Kingdom. METHOD: This study operationalized semistructured interviews that were focused on therapists' experiences of providing trauma psychotherapy to sanctuary seekers who presented to a range of psychological therapy services...

BACKGROUND: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant risk factor with consistently demonstrated negative implications for satisfaction with adult romantic relationships. Yet, research on risk and protective factors in this context is scarce, particularly among well-functioning adults. OBJECTIVE: Addressing this gap, the present study focused on the potential mediating and moderating roles of mentalizing or reflective functioning, i.e., the capacity to understand oneself and others in terms of intentional mental states...

OBJECTIVE: Comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disordered eating (DE) symptoms is common, reflecting a possible reciprocal relationship between these disorders. Network analysis may reveal candidate mechanisms underlying their comorbidity and highlight important treatment targets. METHOD: Two national samples of U.S. veterans endorsing trauma exposure self-reported PTSD and DE symptoms. The discovery sample included veterans from all service eras ( n = 434)...

OBJECTIVE: During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions imposed on residential treatment programs necessitated rapid implementation of virtual treatment delivery. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (P-RRTP) are a key mental health treatment for Veterans with PTSD who require more intensive interventions than outpatient care. During the pandemic, the W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Healthcare System developed and implemented a Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program for PTSD (VIOPP) to meet the needs of the Veteran population...

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic symptoms, emotional impulsivity, and negative cognition have been proposed as pathways in explaining why individuals have experienced trauma are at increased risk for self-harm. The present study examined whether emotional impulsivity (i.e., negative and positive urgency) and negative cognition (i.e., personal attribution and feeling different from peers) mediate the path from posttraumatic symptoms to self-harm in sexually abused adolescents, a population at the highest risk for self-harm...

OBJECTIVE: Despite sexual victimization posing a serious social problem worldwide, inconsistencies in the conceptualization, definition, and measurement of sexual violence mean that many victims are not included in surveys designed to quantify the nature of this problem. The present studies developed, piloted, and finalized a novel survey of victimization, the sexual encounters questionnaire (SEQ), a robust and extensive tool that screens for a range of sexual violation scenarios that can be perpetrated against a victim of any gender and age...

OBJECTIVE: A novel framework for understanding college students' alcohol use is moral injury-psychological distress that stems from events that violate moral beliefs. Considering the predominantly positive associations between moral injury and alcohol use in military samples, this relationship may extend to students. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between potentially morally injurious experiences (PMIEs), alcohol use, and related consequences. Furthermore, we aimed to determine the relative importance of PMIE subtypes on alcohol outcomes...

OBJECTIVE: Despite accumulating evidence of significant albeit moderate associations between childhood trauma and psychopathy, little is known about the potential moderators of these associations. To advance knowledge in this area, the present study investigated the moderating role of resilience in the childhood trauma-psychopathy link. METHOD: A community sample of 521 adult participants from the Netherlands (40.1% men; M age = 35.27 years, SD = 15.99) completed two self-report questionnaires measuring psychopathic personality traits: a self-report measure of resilience and a retrospective measure of childhood traumatic experiences...

UNLABELLED: Empirical studies reveal that interpersonal violence victimization is a highly prevalent phenomena in youth and is associated with a host of difficulties, including mental, physical, and behavioral issues. Sleep, a developmentally fundamental process, is implicated in these unfavorable effects. Despite this, little is known about the interplay between interpersonal violence victimization, sleep, and mental health in adolescent girls, who are at greater risk of victimization, sleep problems, and mental health difficulties than boys...

OBJECTIVE: Previous research suggests that generalized shame is an important consequence of sexual abuse, and that it maintains symptoms and hampers recovery. Orthodox Jews view sexuality as a powerful experience that is sacred within a loving marriage yet profane and damaging outside of that context. Sexual abuse may, therefore, be perceived as a shameful violation of modesty and spiritually degrading. Accordingly, we hypothesized that abuse would be more strongly related to shame among Orthodox Jews and that this would at least partially mediated resulting distress...

OBJECTIVE: The present study used the latent profile analysis (LPA) approach to explore the symptom patterns of depression and anxiety among Chinese teachers during COVID-19 and its relationship with fear of COVID-19 and suicidal ideation. METHOD: A sample of 6,121 teachers from primary and secondary schools in a district-level administrative unit in southern China was used. The LPA was employed to identify different symptom patterns of depression and anxiety. We subsequently used logistic regression to analyze the effects of demographic variables on the different profiles...

OBJECTIVE: Anger is one of the most prevalent concerns among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is often a residual symptom following PTSD treatment. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine how effective trauma-focused PTSD psychotherapies are in reducing anger. METHOD: The study was reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. This study conducted a systematic review of studies that reported the effect of trauma-focused treatments on anger outcomes...

OBJECTIVE: Family violence can negatively affect youth's psychosocial functioning. Strengths-based interventions may enhance positive youth functioning among youth experiencing adversity, but little is known about the effectiveness of camp-based interventions for youth exposed to family violence. The current study examined the effectiveness of Camp HOPE Tennessee in promoting multidimensional well-being and school engagement among youth exposed to family violence. METHOD: This pilot study employed a nonmasked, parallel randomized controlled design...

OBJECTIVE: Homework has been shown to improve outcomes in cognitive-behavioral therapy, though less is known about the importance of homework during trauma-focused psychotherapy. Similarly, prior research suggests family context plays a key role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related distress and treatment engagement. One potential way that families can facilitate better treatment outcomes is by promoting homework engagement. This study examined the impact of a brief family intervention (BFI) for PTSD toward this aim...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the relationship between childhood maltreatment (CM), objective and subjective cognition, and psychosocial functioning in adults with first-episode psychosis (FEP) by examining the moderating role of cognitive reserve (CR). A secondary objective was to explore whether unique CM subtypes (physical and/or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical and/or emotional neglect) were driving this relationship. METHOD: Sixty-six individuals with FEP ( M age = 27...

OBJECTIVE: The pathway from experiencing sexual assault to successful prosecution of sexual assault cases is plagued by complicated and myriad factors, resulting in suboptimal outcomes for both survivors and judicial systems. In particular, disturbance of posttraumatic memory recall under stressful circumstances can negatively impact the veracity of survivor testimony. METHOD: This brief report integrates empirical findings from studies of trauma memory disturbance, and more specifically the impacts of glucocorticoid activation in sexual assault memory, contextualizing through the lens of implications for sexual assault litigation...

OBJECTIVE: Past research examining the relation between adversity and working memory (WM) has found mixed results and has been limited by methodological issues (e.g., cross-sectional studies, limited measurement of adversity). The present study examined how adverse life events may impact WM among preschoolers who live in financially underresourced families and communities longitudinally over the course of 1 year. METHOD: The sample included 325 children (aged 3-5 at baseline), recruited because of their increased risk of exposure to high levels of adversity, and their primary caregivers...