Childhood Adversities and Suicide Attempts: A Retrospective Study

The aim of the study was to assess the association among various childhood adversities and suicide attempts. A total of 575 patients of a psychosomatic clinic and general practitioners were examined by use of a structured interview. Seventeen percent of the sample reported a suicide attempt in the past. In particular, two forms of early violence (i.e., sexual abuse and harsh physical punishment) were associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts. In addition, financial hardship was associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts. Parental separation or divorce, and physical arguments between parents, increased the risk only in a bivariate analysis; after controlling for other adversities, no association with suicide attempts remained. Suicide attempts can be considered as an act of violence against oneself; they are associated with early experiences of sexual and physical violence.     

The Relationship Between Childhood Physical Abuse and Adult Attachment Styles

The purpose of the study was to identify the insecure adult attachment style associated with childhood physical abuse. Five hundred fifty-two female and 294 male university students completed questionnaires on their child abuse history, adult attachment style, and other variables. Regression analyses were completed. A history of physical abuse was associated with attachment avoidance while controlling for other forms of childhood abuse. Some support was also found for an association between physical abuse and attachment anxiety. Social support, as a control variable, was found to be an important predictor of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. A history of childhood physical abuse has important and specific impacts on intimate adult relationships with social support acting as a possible protective factor.     

Aggressive Parental Discipline Experienced in Childhood and Internalizing Problems in Early Adulthood

Parental use of aggressive discipline, specifically corporal punishment (CP) and psychological aggression (PA), has been shown to increase the risk for a number of problem behaviors in children and adolescents. How CP and PA experienced in childhood contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in adulthood remains to be understood. Survey data collected from University of Manitoba students (n?=?1133) was used to assess the effects of childhood experiences of CP and PA on internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem) in early adulthood. Because aggressive disciplinary techniques do not occur in isolation, a number of protective factors were also considered in analyses. Both CP and PA were associated with lower levels of parental warmth/support and responsiveness, and more inconsistency in discipline. However, highly inductive parents tended to use CP and PA more frequently than less inductive parents. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that childhood PA predicted anxiety and lower self-esteem in adulthood, even after the effects of positive parenting were taken into account. These findings suggest that not only do CP and PA tend to occur within environments that are less conducive to positive development, but also predict problematic developmental outcomes in adulthood even after the effects of protective factors are taken into account.     

Physical Discipline and Socioemotional Adjustment Among Jamaican Adolescents

The study examined the relationship between physical punishment and socioemotional well-being in a sample of Jamaican adolescents. The data indicated that the overwhelming majority of adolescent respondents experienced physical punishment within their families. Physical punishment was significantly associated with adverse psychological and behavioral consequences, in that adolescents reporting being victims of physical punishment also indicated a greater propensity to developmental adjustment problems than their non-victimized peers. However, unlike findings from research emanating from more industrialized cultures, sociodemographic factors were not associated with the incidence of physical punishment. Gender showed statistical significance on all socioemotional dimensions and with behavior problems but not with physical punishment. Implications for policy decisions to reduce children’s exposure to violence within that particular cultural context are discussed.     

Attachment as a Mediator between Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Symptomatology

This study examined the mediating role of attachment in the relationship between childhood maltreatment perpetrated by parents and adult symptomatology. Young adults (N = 803), with and without a history of abuse, were recruited from a local university to complete a series of questionnaires inquiring about past maltreatment experiences, adult attachment in current close relationships, and psychological symptomatology. While attachment was found to be a mediator for all three types of abuse when they were looked at individually, a more robust mediated effect was found in the case of psychological abuse. When all three types of parental maltreatment (psychological, physical, and exposure to family violence) were considered simultaneously, attachment mediated the relationship between only psychological abuse and symptomatology. Parallel meditated effects were observed across two measures of symptomatology: trauma-related symptomatology and externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. The results of this study further our understanding of psychological maltreatment and its intra-individual correlates.     

Childhood Abusive and Supportive Experiences, Inter-Parental Violence, and Parental Alcohol Use: Prediction of Young Adult Depressive Symptoms and Aggression

Issues in both the children of alcoholics and child abuse literatures were addressed in an attempt to disentangle the effects on young adults of growing up in alcoholic homes versus abusive homes. Using multiple regression, retrospective reports of parental abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual) and parental support (love/support, independence, and fairness), witnessing violence between parents, and parental alcohol use were used as predictor variables for outcomes noted by both literatures. When the effects of all other predictors were statistically controlled, parental alcohol use was not significantly related to depressive symptoms or aggression. Different abusive and supportive behaviors, depending on sex of parent and sex of participant, were significant predictors of both depression and aggression. Results underscore the importance of including and controlling for inter-parental violence and for different types of child abuse (especially emotional abuse) and parental supportive behaviors in investigations of outcomes related to abusive and alcoholic families. Implications for treatment of individuals from these families are discussed.     

Developmental Impacts of Child Abuse and Neglect Related to Adult Mental Health, Substance Use, and Physical Health

This study examined the association between officially recorded child abuse and neglect and adult mental health, substance use, and physical health outcomes. Data are from a longitudinal study of more than 30 years in which individuals were interviewed most recently in their mid—30s. Analyses consisted of group comparisons using chi-square tests for categorical variables and independent samples t-tests for continuous measures. Logistic and linear regressions controlled for gender and childhood SES, adult age, marital status, and education. Adults maltreated in childhood reported more symptoms of adult depression, anxiety, and more impairment due to mental and physical health problems. A higher percentage of those with maltreatment histories reported lifetime alcohol problems and appear at greater risk for substance abuse. Most findings of these bivariate analyses remained significant after accounting for gender and childhood socioeconomic status. Somewhat fewer significant results were observed after controlling for adult age, marital status, and education.     

Childhood Physical and Verbal Mistreatment,Psychological Symptoms,and Substance Use: Sex Differences and the Moderating Role of Attachment

Sex differences in sequelae associated with levels of childhood physical mistreatment and verbal mistreatment were examined in a non-clinical sample of 272 university students. We predicted and found that both forms of mistreatment are related to attachment difficulties as well as various adverse psychological symptoms. We hypothesized, based on attachment theory, that the strength of a child’s attachment to one parent would moderate adverse emotional sequelae of mistreatment by the other parent. This prediction was only partially supported. Strength of the mother-daughter attachment moderated several of the adverse psychological symptoms in response to mistreatment by fathers, but mother-son attachment did not so moderate. Strength of the father-son attachment also did not moderate the symptoms associated with mistreatment perpetrated by mothers, nor did the father-daughter attachment. These results suggest that, among other relevant factors, sex differences should also be taken into account in treatment and prevention efforts.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult Sexual Perpetration

Empirical findings indicate that many adult sexual offenders experienced sexual abuse during childhood. It has been suggested that characteristics of offenders' sexual perpetrating behaviors may resemble their own victimization experiences, although there has been minimal empirical investigation in this area. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary data on the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and characteristics of sexual offending behavior. A sample of adult male sexual offenders with histories of sexual abuse completed the Sexual Victimization Survey as well as a measure on their sexual offenses. Such characteristics as the nature of sexual activities, duration and frequency of experiences, and age and relationship of participants were examined. Results showed trends in the hypothesized direction and revealed a variety of similarities between childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual perpetration. Findings of this exploratory study suggest the importance of addressing the nature of victimization in the treatment of sexually abused boys and offenders with histories of sexual abuse.     

The Implications of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Adult Social Behavior

Research indicates that childhood sexual abuse creates many long-term psychological difficulties, which may impair social behavior. These problems include anxiety, fear, depression, self-hatred, alienation, and suicidal tendencies. It was hypothesized that childhood sexual abuse would produce impaired social behavior in adults sexually abused as children. Two hundred and twenty-two male and female introductory psychology students from the University of Manitoba completed the Rand Corporation's Social Health Battery amplpar1978amprpar;, Linn's Social Dysfunction Rating Scale (1969), and a shortened version of Finkelhor's Sexual Victimization Survey (1979). Participants who experienced childhood sexual abuse exhibited impaired social behavior, which included fewer friends and social contacts, and more social adjustment problems. The importance of early intervention for children who experienced sexual abuse was discussed.     

Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse: An Analysis of Coping Mechanisms Used for Stressful Childhood Memories and Current Stressors

Coping mechanisms used to deal with stressful childhood memories and current stressors were assessed for 196 women in each of 4 groups: no abuse history, sexual abuse history, physical abuse history, and both sexual and physical abuse history. Current psychological adjustment was also examined. Discriminant function analyses revealed a variety of significant differences between the groups in use of strategies for coping with memories of abuse or another childhood stressor. There was no relationship between childhood history of abuse and the manner in which women coped with a current stressor. Women with an abuse history reported significantly poorer adult adjustment than did nonabused women, and different coping strategies were predictive of adjustment for abused and nonabused women.     

Predictability of Physical and Psychological Violence by Early Adverse Childhood Experiences

Early Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) in families of origin can take the form of witnessing it and/or being its victim, both of which can lead to the occurrence of domestic violence. Given such close linkage, the purpose of the present study was to determine the predictive abilities of ACEs regarding specific types of physical and psychological violence. To do so, 50 couples from those referred to five different family courts in Tehran to seek divorce due to domestic violence, were randomly selected and administered an author’s-made questionnaire assessing different types of physical and psychological violence and the participant’s history of abuse by their parents. Our findings showed that witnessing domestic violence in childhood can predict different types of physical and psychological violence, but mostly could account for “hitting” of the physical type and “cursing” of the psychological type. Similarly, being the victim of domestic violence mostly accounted for predict “strangling” of the physical type and “cursing” of the psychological type. Such results are discussed in the context of the existing literature and underscore ACEs importance in terms of their predictive ability of various types of physical and psychological violence.     

Childhood Violence Exposure: Cumulative and Specific Effects on Adult Mental Health

Childhood exposure to violence and victimization is a significant public health problem, with potentially long-lasting, deleterious effects on adult mental health. Using a longitudinal study design, 123 young adults—identified in adolescence as at-risk for high school dropout—were examined for the effects of multi-domain childhood victimization on emotional distress and suicide risk, net of adolescent risk and protective factors, including family dysfunction. The hypothesis that higher levels of cumulative childhood victimization would be significantly associated with mental health maladjustment in young adulthood was confirmed by the analysis. However, the victimization predictors of adult emotional distress were different than the predictors of adult suicide risk. These findings indicate the need for prevention and intervention approaches that include thorough assessment, and focus on the childhood and adolescent problem areas that are most consequential for long-term psychological well-being.     

Childhood Behavior and Adult Criminality: Cluster Analysis in a Prospective Study of African Americans

Adult criminality has important roots in childhood. While many studies have established that multiple problem behaviors in childhood increase the likelihood of future crime and deviance, the current study extends this “established” relationship by asking three questions: (1) Do different combinations of childhood behavioral risk factors affect adult offending? (2) Do family risk factors affect adult offending above and beyond these combinations of risks?, and (3) Are there gender differences present with respect to these two questions? Gender-specific cluster analyses identified seven clusters of childhood behavioral patterns based on teacher ratings measured in first grade among an epidemiologically-defined cohort of African Americans. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine the relationship of cluster membership, family risks, and criminal arrests through age 32 for serious violent and property crimes. While some gender differences emerged, both males and females in the multiple problem cluster were more likely to have later arrests for serious crime. Females who were frequently punished as first graders were most likely to have later arrests for serious crimes, while males who were from mother-only families were at higher risk of having serious criminal arrests compared to those from mother–father families. Implications for prevention and intervention strategies are also discussed.     

Exposure to Interparental Violence and Childhood Physical and Emotional Abuse as Related to Physical Aggression in Undergraduate Dating Relationships

The present study examined whether witnessing interparental violence and experiencing childhood physical or emotional abuse were associated with college students’ perpetration of physical aggression and self-reports of victimization by their dating partners. Participants (183 males, 475 females) completed the Adult-Recall Version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2-CA; Straus 2000), the Exposure to Abusive and Supportive Environments Parenting Inventory (EASE-PI; Nicholas and Bieber 1997), and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al. 1996). Results of zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regressions demonstrated that being female and having experienced higher levels of childhood physical abuse were associated with having perpetrated physical aggression at least once. Among women, exposure to mother-to-father violence and childhood physical abuse were related to the extent of dating aggression. Among men, witnessing father-to-mother violence and childhood emotional abuse were associated with the extent of dating aggression. Witnessing interparental violence and experiencing childhood physical abuse increased the likelihood that women would report victimization, whereas childhood emotional abuse decreased the likelihood that respondents reported dating victimization. Viewing father-to-mother violence and experiencing childhood emotional abuse increased the extent that men reported being victimized by their dating partners, whereas witnessing mother-to-father violence and experiencing physical abuse decreased the extent that men reported being victimized by their dating partners. Results suggest the importance of parent and respondent gender on dating aggression.     

The Effects of Childhood Physical Abuse or Childhood Sexual Abuse in Battered Women's Coping Mechanisms: Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies and Severe Depression

What role does childhood abuse have on the coping choices made by a battered woman? Ancillary to a depression study (Bailey, 1996) in 79 battered women from a Houston area women's shelter were compared for past abuse experiences and how the women were coping with abuse in adulthood. This study compared coping styles between two groups of battered women: those who experienced childhood physically abuse (CPA) (n=35), and those who did not experience childhood physically abuse (NCPA) in childhood (n=44). All of the women filled out a battery of questionnaires including The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and a scale for learned helplessness. A t-test conducted on obsessive-compulsive tendencies (OCT) scale of the BSI found that women who were NPPA had significantly lower BSI-OCT scores t(77)=−2.05, p < .05 than women who were PPA. No statistically significant differences were found between groups for learned helplessness. Out of the 35 battered women who reported physical abuse in childhood were more likely to report sexual abuse as girls than battered women who were not physically abused, t(77)=−3.40, p < .001. Battered women who had been physically and sexually abused in childhood were more severely depressed. Battered women who were not abused in childhood had more obsessive compulsive tendencies. The ramifications of these findings for therapeutic treatment are discussed.     

Childhood Violence and Adult Partner Maltreatment: The Roles of Coping Style and Psychological Distress

The study investigates the impact of psychological well-being, coping style, and maltreatment types on adult partner maltreatment patterns. A large sample of undergraduates completed assessments measuring history of childhood violence exposure, psychological distress, coping, and adult partner maltreatment. The multiply abused group (childhood physical abuse and witnessing family violence) experienced the highest levels of all forms of adult maltreatment, followed by the childhood physical abuse group. As childhood victimization became more severe, the relationship between childhood victimization and adult partner maltreatment became more direct. The current study highlights that individuals exposed to a greater degree of childhood victimization are more vulnerable to adult maltreatment because there are few mediators which may prevent or decrease risk for adult maltreatment. The results suggest that treatment and prevention efforts with victims of interpersonal violence should foster individualized coping skills and address specific psychopathology depending upon the individual??s childhood abuse history.     

The Imprint of Childhood Physical and Emotional Abuse: A Case Study on the Use of EMDR to Address Anxiety and a Lack of Self-Esteem

This article examines the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in helping a client address problems with persistent anxiety and a lack of self-esteem. During EMDR treatment, the client explored the dichotomous thinking that had plagued her since childhood, and correspondingly, the role of childhood physical and emotional abuse in her chronic feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. The client experienced significant improvement in her levels of anxiety and problems with self-esteem, both at the end of treatment and at 1-year follow up. Qualitative and quantitative data are utilized in this case study outlining the use of EMDR with a client diagnosed with dysthymic disorder.     

Childhood Maltreatment in College Women: Effect on Severe Physical Partner Violence

This study examined risk of severe physical partner violence victimization as a function of childhood maltreatment among college women. Engaged and soon to be engaged female students were recruited for the study. Compared to their counterparts, risk of severe physical partner violence was three-fold greater in women who experienced childhood physical violence and five-fold greater among those who witnessed mother-to-father violence. Victims of childhood maltreatment may encounter social and personal problems that increase their vulnerability to violence in adulthood. Physical violence is a problem among college students and is related to their experiences of childhood victimization.     

后现代身体的分裂与聚合——基于政治仪式中身体规训技术的分析

后现代情境中身体的分裂趋向,直接阻碍了个体迈向政治共识的道路,间接威胁到政治权力系统的稳定和民族国家政治文化的持存。政治仪式作为一种特殊的政治行为系统,借助连续性身体规训技术和稳定性社会规训技术,一方面,发挥传统的政治功能,由外而内地对分裂的身体施加一种强制性的聚合力;另一方面,为适应后现代社会而积极转变,通过唤起个体公民对其身份中蕴含着的政治权利和政治责任的重视,由内而外地产生出一种主动性的聚合力。