Child behaviour problems and parenting skills of mothers in environments of intimate partner violence

Objetivo: Evaluar la problemática comportamental de los/las menores que han estado expuestos/as junto a sus madres a situaciones de violencia de género, y el efecto moderador de las pautas de crianza materna. Método: Se analiza, mediante la Child Behavior Checklist, la problemática conductual de 46 menores de entre 6 y 16 años de edad, y la posible relación entre los problemas detectados y las competencias parentales mostradas en la interacción madre-hijo/a en los centros de acogida. Resultados: Se detecta una mayor problemática conductual en los/las menores, en comparación con la población normativa. Las dificultades en la crianza y la interacción madre-hijo/a se relacionan especialmente con la manifestación de problemas externalizantes. Conclusiones: Vivir en contextos de violencia de género afecta al ajuste psicosocial de los/las menores y deteriora las competencias parentales de las víctimas. En consecuencia, la intervención de los/las profesionales del ámbito sociosanitario con las víctimas debería prestar mayor atención a las dificultades de los/las menores y a restablecer las competencias de crianza de las madres en aras de paliar las repercusiones de la violencia de género en sus hijos/as.Objective: To assess the behavioural problems of children who have been exposed to intimate partner violence situations, and the moderating effect of mother parenting. Method: We analysed, using the Child Behavior CheckList, behavioural problems of 46 children between 6 and 16 years, and the relationship between the detected problems and parenting skills shown in the mother-child interaction in shelters. Results: Increased behavioural problems were detected in children, compared with normative population. Difficulties in parenting skills in mother-child interaction especially connect with the manifestation of externalizing problems in children. Conclusions: Living in a gender violence environment affects children's psychosocial adjustment and it damages the victim's parental competence. Consequently, the intervention of socio-health professionals with Intimate partner violence victims should pay more attention to detect the difficulties of children and restore the parenting skills of the mothers in order to alleviate the repercussions of gender violence on their children.Ayudas a proyectos de investigación emergentes de la Generalitat Valenciana GV/2014/90 Estrategias para visibilizar e intervenir en el impacto de la exposición a la violencia de género en los menores

Recovery from depressive symptoms, state anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in women exposed to physical and psychological, but not to psychological intimate partner violence alone: A longitudinal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is well established that intimate male partner violence (IPV) has a high impact on women's mental health. It is necessary to further investigate this impact longitudinally to assess the factors that contribute to its recovery or deterioration. The objective of this study was to assess the course of depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and suicidal behavior over a three-year follow-up in female victims of IPV.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Women (n = 91) who participated in our previous cross-sectional study, and who had been either physically/psychologically (n = 33) or psychologically abused (n = 23) by their male partners, were evaluated three years later. A nonabused control group of women (n = 35) was included for comparison. Information about mental health status and lifestyle variables was obtained through face-to-face structured interviews.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results of the follow-up study indicated that while women exposed to physical/psychological IPV recovered their mental health status with a significant decrease in depressive, anxiety and PTSD symptoms, no recovery occurred in women exposed to psychological IPV alone. The evolution of IPV was also different: while it continued across both time points in 65.21% of psychologically abused women, it continued in only 12.12% of physically/psychologically abused women while it was reduced to psychological IPV in 51.5%. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that cessation of physical IPV and perceived social support contributed to mental health recovery, while a high perception of lifetime events predicted the continuation of PTSD symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that the pattern of mental health recovery depends on the type of IPV that the women had been exposed to. While those experiencing physical/psychological IPV have a higher likelihood of undergoing a cessation or reduction of IPV over time and, therefore, could recover, women exposed to psychological IPV alone have a high probability of continued exposure to the same type of IPV with a low possibility of recovery. Thus, women exposed to psychological IPV alone need more help to escape from IPV and to recuperate their mental health. Longitudinal studies are needed to improve knowledge of factors promoting or impeding health recovery to guide the formulation of policy at individual, social and criminal justice levels.</p

IMPRoving Outcomes for children exposed to domestic ViolencE (IMPROVE): an evidence synthesis

BackgroundExposure to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of negative outcomes across the lifespan.ObjectivesTo synthesise evidence on the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions for children exposed to DVA, with the aim of making recommendations for further research.Design(1) A systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; (2) a systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; (3) a network meta-analysis (NMA) of controlled trials and cost-effectiveness analysis; (4) an overview of current UK provision of interventions; and (5) consultations with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.SettingsNorth America (11), the Netherlands (1) and Israel (1) for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; the USA (4) and the UK (1) for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; and the UK for the overview of current UK provision of interventions and consultations with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.ParticipantsA total of 1345 children for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; 100 children, 202 parents and 39 professionals for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; and 16 young people, six parents and 20 service providers and commissioners for the consultation with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.InterventionsPsychotherapeutic, advocacy, parenting skills and advocacy, psychoeducation, psychoeducation and advocacy, guided self-help.Main outcome measuresInternalising symptoms and externalising behaviour, mood, depression symptoms and diagnosis, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and self-esteem for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions and NMA; views about and experience of interventions for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions and consultations.Data sourcesMEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Citation Index, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Social Services Abstracts, Social Care Online, Sociological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index, World Health Organization trials portal and clinicaltrials.gov.Review methodsA narrative review; a NMA and incremental cost-effectiveness analysis; and a qualitative synthesis.ResultsThe evidence base on targeted interventions was small, with limited settings and types of interventions; children were mostly &lt; 14 years of age, and there was an absence of comparative studies. The interventions evaluated in trials were mostly psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational interventions delivered to the non-abusive parent and child, usually based on the child’s exposure to DVA (not specific clinical or broader social needs). Qualitative studies largely focused on psychoeducational interventions, some of which included the abusive parent. The evidence for clinical effectiveness was as follows: 11 trials reported improvements in behavioural or mental health outcomes, with modest effect sizes but significant heterogeneity and high or unclear risk of bias. Psychoeducational group-based interventions delivered to the child were found to be more effective for improving mental health outcomes than other types of intervention. Interventions delivered to (non-abusive) parents and to children were most likely to be effective for improving behavioural outcomes. However, there is a large degree of uncertainty around comparisons, particularly with regard to mental health outcomes. In terms of evidence of cost-effectiveness, there were no economic studies of interventions. Cost-effectiveness was modelled on the basis of the NMA, estimating differences between types of interventions. The outcomes measured in trials were largely confined to children’s mental health and behavioural symptoms and disorders, although stakeholders’ concepts of success were broader, suggesting that a broader range of outcomes should be measured in trials. Group-based psychoeducational interventions delivered to children and non-abusive parents in parallel were largely acceptable to all stakeholders. There is limited evidence for the acceptability of other types of intervention. In terms of the UK evidence base and service delivery landscape, there were no UK-based trials, few qualitative studies and little widespread service evaluation. Most programmes are group-based psychoeducational interventions. However, the funding crisis in the DVA sector is significantly undermining programme delivery.ConclusionsThe evidence base regarding the acceptability, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes for children exposed to DVA is underdeveloped. There is an urgent need for more high-quality studies, particularly trials, that are designed to produce actionable, generalisable findings that can be implemented in real-world settings and that can inform decisions about which interventions to commission and scale. We suggest that there is a need to pause the development of new interventions and to focus on the systematic evaluation of existing programmes. With regard to the UK, we have identified three types of programme that could be justifiably prioritised for further study: psycho-education delivered to mothers and children, or children alone; parent skills training in combination with advocacy: and interventions involving the abusive parent/caregiver. We also suggest that there is need for key stakeholders to come together to explicitly identify and address the structural, practical and cultural barriers that may have hampered the development of the UK evidence base to date.Future work recommendationsThere is a need for well-designed, well-conducted and well-reported UK-based randomised controlled trials with cost-effectiveness analyses and nested qualitative studies. Development of consensus in the field about core outcome data sets is required. There is a need for further exploration of the acceptability and effectiveness of interventions for specific groups of children and young people (i.e. based on ethnicity, age, trauma exposure and clinical profile). There is also a need for an investigation of the context in which interventions are delivered, including organisational setting and the broader community context, and the evaluation of qualities, qualifications and disciplines of personnel delivering interventions. We recommend prioritisation of psychoeducational interventions and parent skills training delivered in combination with advocacy in the next phase of trials, and exploratory trials of interventions that engage both the abusive and the non-abusive parent.Study registrationThis study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013004348 and PROSPERO CRD420130043489.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.</jats:sec

Expression Pattern Of Polyketide Synthase-2 During Sea Urchin Development

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are a large group of proteins responsible for the biosynthesis of polyketide compounds, which are mainly found in bacteria, fungi, and plants. Polyketides have a wide array of biological functions, including antibiotic, antifungal, predator defense, and light responses. In this study, we describe the developmental expression pattern of pks2, one of two pks found in the sea urchin genome. Throughout development, pks2 expression was restricted to skeletogenic cells and their precursors. Pks2 was first detected during the blastula stage. The transcript level peaked at hatched blastula, when all skeletogenic cell precursors expressed pks2. This was followed by a steady decline in expression in the skeletogenic cells on the aboral side of the embryo. By the prism stage, pks2 expression was limited to only 3-4 skeletogenic cells localized on the oral side. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The Impact of Resource Constraints on the Psychological Well-Being of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Over Time

This study examined the impact of resource constraints on the psychological well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), testing whether resource constraints is one mechanism that partially mediates the relationship between IPV and women&apos;s well-being. Although within-woman changes in resource constraints did not mediate the relationship between change in physical abuse and change in well-being, change in resource constraints fully explained the relationship between change in psychological abuse and change in psychological well-being over time. Survivors&apos; resource constraints were fully responsible for the significant mental health consequences that women experienced after psychological abuse. Between-women differences in initial resource constraints were also examined; however, they did not mediate the relationship between women&apos;s earlier experiences of abuse and change in their well-being over time. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is among the most serious of social problems that affect women&apos;s lives in the United States today. It is estimated that 1.5 million women suffer the devastating consequences of IPV each yea

Main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on the well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence across 2 years

Intimate partner violence is a serious and pervasive social problem with deleterious consequences for survivors&apos; well-being. The current study involved interviewing 160 survivors 6 times over 2 years to examine the role of social support in explaining or buffering these negative psychological consequences. The authors examined both between-and within-persons variability to explore women&apos;s trajectories regarding their experiences of abuse, social support, depression, and quality of life (QOL). Findings revealed the complex role of social support on women&apos;s well-being. Evidence was found for main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on women&apos;s well-being. First, social support was positively related to QOL and negatively related to depression. Social support also partially explained the effect of baseline level and subsequent change in physical abuse on QOL and depression over time, partially mediated the effects of change in psychological abuse, and moderated the impact of abuse on QOL. The buffering effects of social support were strongest at lower levels of abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed