Childhood Adversity Moderates Change in Latent Patterns of Psychological Adjustment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Survey of U.S. Adults

Emerging evidence suggests that the consequences of childhood adversity impact later psychopathology by increasing individuals’ risk of experiencing difficulties in adjusting to stressful situations later in life. The goals of this study were to: (a) identify sociodemographic factors associated with subgroups of psychological adjustment prior to and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) examine whether and to what extent types of childhood adversity predict transition probabilities. Participants were recruited via multiple social media platforms and listservs. Data were collected via an internet-based survey. Our analyses reflect 1942 adults (M = 39.68 years); 39.8% reported experiencing at least one form of childhood adversity. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) and latent transition analyses (LTAs) were conducted to determine patterns of psychological adjustment and the effects of childhood adversity on transition probabilities over time. We identified five subgroups of psychological adjustment characterized by symptom severity level. Participants who were younger in age and those who endorsed marginalized identities exhibited poorer psychological adjustment during the pandemic. Childhood exposure to family and community violence and having basic needs met as a child (e.g., food, shelter) significantly moderated the relation between latent profile membership over time. Clinical and research implications are discussed

Back to the 'old school': bicycle messengers, employment and ethnography

This article examines issues that arose from a mixed method study of bicycle messengers in the UK that included an ethnographic phase of research in which the researcher worked as a bicycle messenger for pay. The question of dangerous research settings and the subsequent advantages and disadvantages to the research process are discussed in relation to other recent ethnographies. The article then discusses the differences between styles of ethnography that involve danger, with particular reference to Lyng's idea of `edgework, arguing that distinctions between types of ethnography may not be useful. Finally, having discussed these recent ethnographic developments, the article suggests that there ought to be an increase in work-based ethnographies in the Chicago School tradition of Howard Becker and Donald Roy, among others

The ethics of conducting a co-operative inquiry with vulnerable people

Background: Mental health services users have been calling for greater participation in clinical research. Participation in this context means research 'with' rather than 'on' groups of people. Conducting a co-operative inquiry involving the participation of vulnerable individuals as co-researchers, in particular those with a history of mental health problems, places an obligation on researchers to articulate and justify sound ethical procedures.Aims: The aim of this paper is to consider how the ethical issues encountered when conducting participative research with vulnerable people can be addressed in the implementation of a co-operative inquiry with users of mental health services.Method: The study was based on personal reflection and a critical review of associated literature obtained from a database search using Boolean logic.Findings: The findings, presented under the headings of the four prima facie moral principles, suggest the need for researchers using participative approaches to demonstrate the humanistic attributes required for engaging and working with people over a period of time. These include building and maintaining trusting relationships, assessing competence to participate, managing interpersonal and group dynamics and making complex collaborative decisions about participants' continued participation in a study.Conclusions: When using a co-operative inquiry approach involving vulnerable individuals, researchers need to demonstrate clearly how a balance between autonomy and paternalism will be achieved, how risks will be anticipated and managed and how fairness will be maintained throughout all procedures. Researchers using participative approaches need to have developed a level of personal insight and self-awareness through access to supervision which focuses on sources of unintended manipulation and interpersonal dynamics that may arise at the inception of a study and throughout its course. Researchers and ethics committees have a shared responsibility to ensure that vulnerable people are appropriately engaged to maintain the advancement of user knowledge which informs nursing practice